Tips on being smooth

[Cowboyrider]

other than time in the saddle...

looking for tips to work on being smooth changing gears, and slowing down and speeding up.

[Daytona440]

Take a deep breath, and stay calm. don't psych yourself out.

[imkindafkedup]

I'm not one to talk about being smooth at all, but I've been working at staying loose and I noticed it has been improving my riding tenfold.

[akira700]

You want one way to get immediate feedback on being smooth?

Ride two up. If you don't upshift and downshift and brake smoothly
you will know it as they will be flying around on the back there.

[MotoFreak]

Motorcycle Riding Tips, Safety Training & Racing Techniques at Sport Rider

enjoy...fantastic reading material...

[burnham]

It sounds a little funny, but go out and beat the shit out of the bike. Stay safe, but ride aggressively. Find an open area where you can wind the gears out and just practice at it, like you're pulling out onto the highway. It's going to take a while but you will get a feel for where the rpm's are going to be at a specific speed (when you're changing gears) and use the clutch and throttle to keep it smooth. Don't go out and cruise, speed up and slow down, a lot. Weight on the balls of your feet, squeeze the tank with your knees, and bear in mind you hands are there more for telling the bike what to do than holding on. I'm sorry I don't have anything more specific to offer, but this is how I learned.

[Cowboyrider]

Thanks! working overnight tonight so this will be good reading!

I am smoother on the down shift then I am on then shifting up through the gears.

I winded it out a couple times today and had some good shifts going up but i'm not consistent yet...

i like the mental time on the bike but working on things becoming habit...

Motorcycle Riding Tips, Safety Training & Racing Techniques at Sport Rider

enjoy...fantastic reading material...

[butcher bergs]

Time and patience.



And if you miss a gear, DON'T jam it into the first available gear. I've seen way too many riders do this. You risk damaging your transmission.

[Mustang]

I am smoother on the down shift then I am on then shifting up through the gears.

Make sure you're not popping the clutch...meaning, let the clutch out relatively slowly - don't just pull it in, bang the shifter into gear, and quickly open your left hand...ease the clutch out. Also, don't let the RPMs drop too much once you pull in the clutch before shifting.

Aside from that, like someone else said, your hands are for telling the bike what to do, not for holding on. If you're holding on with your right hand, you're probably more likely to be more harsh on the throttle. Try riding with your hands somewhat open - not only will this increase your throttle control by limiting the effect of your weight on the throttle, but it will also limit your fatigue by forcing you to hold your weight up with your abs, back, and legs...not your arms.

Each bike is different too - just b/c you're smooth on one bike shifting and throttle-wise, doesn't mean you'll be smooth on another. I've got 6K miles on my Buell (my 5th bike in 7 years) and I'm still rough sometimes - it's a relatively tricky bike.

[viva_brasil]

shift up without a clutch... once you master it it'll become second nature and a lot smoother. though always shift from first to second with a clutch because it's too aggressive to do it clutch-less.

i find that when cruising around (not WOT) if you're going to shift clutchless, decrease your rate of acceleration before closing the throttle briefly so the next gear slips in. it makes it smoother- the bike won't jolt once the next gear loads. so it's like first gear, clutch into second, then accelerate up to your desired speed and before shifting to third let off the throttle to decrease your acceleration/load on the gear, then once the bike is neutral/settled and you're just applying maintenance throttle apply pressure as if you were shifting up to the gear lever then close the throttle briefly and it'll slip into the next gear.

if you do that while accelerating, it'll still go into the next gear but it won't be as smooth. now, WOT is a different story because you want to try to maintain that acceleration, whereas riding around the street you usually decrease your acceleration (how much you're twisting the throttle) as you move up in the gears.

hope that helps a little, maybe?

[Mr. Kurtz]

Do a trackday.

[drop]

shift up without a clutch... once you master it it'll become second nature and a lot smoother. though always shift from first to second with a clutch because it's too aggressive to do it clutch-less.

i've missed my 2-3 shift a few times while trying to clutch under heavy acceleration. since then i've started kicking up clutchless on 2-3 and 3-4 when pulling hard and it's no longer an issue. 4-5 and 5-6 shifts work too, but at that speed i don't need to shift fast enough for it to ever be a problem.

it's super easy: while accelerating with the throttle open, apply some pressure up on the shifter. quickly close/open the throttle about 1/8 turn, and it'll kick into the next gear.

kawi detent stars/springs are a little on the weak side, and it's easy to lazy foot your way into a false neutral. there are a few aftermarket kits that improve the snap between gears, but the clutchless technique works fine for me.

[Cowboyrider]

Do a trackday.

that is a def at some point!

[stoinkythepig]

Aside from that, like someone else said, your hands are for telling the bike what to do, not for holding on. If you're holding on with your right hand, you're probably more likely to be more harsh on the throttle. Try riding with your hands somewhat open - not only will this increase your throttle control by limiting the effect of your weight on the throttle, but it will also limit your fatigue by forcing you to hold your weight up with your abs, back, and legs...not your arms.

To add a bit to this good advice... Make it a point to keep your elbows a little bent and loose. Then you'll have no choice but to hold yourself up with your back and abs. If you are holding yourself up with your arms, all your handlebar inputs will be contaminated by excessivre downward pressure that varies with acceleration and braking loads. If, instead, your body handles the acceleration and braking loads, your arms and hands will be free to provide nice, pure, and smooth handlebar inputs regardless of any other forces.

Another tip is to keep your eyes level. For instance, when taking a left corner, tilt your head to the right so your eyes stay in a plane that's parallel to the ground. If you keep your head in line with your body, you lose depth perception when you lean around corners.

[seth399]

also, don't stab at the brake lever and also be smooth with the clutch, don't just let it fly out after engaging it and such...with more seat time you will learn where you need to finesse it more and where you can just dump it etc...

[TTD]

Definitely do not use the clutch while shifting up agressively... meaning at high rpms.

I'll use the clutch on the street when I'm cruising, but at the track, when I'm going from WOT in one gear to the next, the clutch will only add a hiccup.

Come to the track someday and watch people go down the front straight. Look how smooth the clutchless upshifters are compared to the clutchers.

Of course, smooth upshifts are but one small piece of the overall smooth rider pie!

[Paul_E_D]

smooth rider pie?

[Jaynnus]

smooth rider pie?

[RandyO]

snow & ice will make you smoother than anything else

[wylee]

snow & ice will make you smoother than anything else

I knew there would be a reference to snow when I saw Randy had posted.

It works well, but is not very forgiving if you are not smoooooooth.

[Tabby]

If you want to learn your clutch, and perfect upshifts with or without the clutch, take it to the drag strip. The time slip and your opponent in the next lane, will drive you to be quicker and smoother on your upshifts. Your 60' time will drive you to learn how to channel all that power into first gear. You learn clutch control REALLY well.

[brady]

You want one way to get immediate feedback on being smooth?

Ride two up. If you don't upshift and downshift and brake smoothly
you will know it as they will be flying around on the back there.

And it works just as well as a test for clutch-less upshifting and rev-matching on your downshifts.

[Cowboyrider]

back in the day i had all these coupons saved up from being a corner worker at trackdays but moving all around they have gone bye bye. maybe i can make it to the oct 2 one to cornerwork again...i don't want to do the trackday because i'll just be getting off a 12hr overnight and i don't want to fall asleep on the track.

Definitely do not use the clutch while shifting up agressively... meaning at high rpms.

I'll use the clutch on the street when I'm cruising, but at the track, when I'm going from WOT in one gear to the next, the clutch will only add a hiccup.

Come to the track someday and watch people go down the front straight. Look how smooth the clutchless upshifters are compared to the clutchers.

Of course, smooth upshifts are but one small piece of the overall smooth rider pie!

[a13x]

Give yourself plenty of time to set things up. Don't try to do everything at once.

[SilverGhost]

All good advice.
Just to add a couple quick notes.
I am not sure what your definition of smooth is or what your looking for(we all have a different view)
If you have a co rider watch and see.
Also check your clutch cable adjustments ( free play, and release point )
This can make a difference.