February 27th, 2008
Several FZ1 owners I’ve spoken to have complained about a nasty fuel injection snatch on the transition from a closed throttle to a slightly open one. Coming into a corner, for example, they might be leaned right over and go to get back on the gas, but they’re finding it impossible to get the throttle open without a big jerky power spike to the rear wheel. Annoying and dangerous - but fixable. (more…)
January 11th, 2008
I’m posting this because I’ve seen a number of videos around the Web telling people to pick up dropped bikes by backing up to them and lifting them backwards. Some buddies and I ran a workshop recently to let people try out various techniques in a safe environment, and the backwards technique didn’t work for anyone.
With all due apologies for the shocking gag at the start, this video shows a technique that allowed some pretty tiny women to pick up bikes as big as a Suzuki V-Strom. The wider the handlebars, the better this technique will work, although I’m using an old VFR400R track bike to demonstrate here.
Step 1) Turn the engine off, and put the bike in first gear if it’s not already in gear.
Step 2) Turn the handlebar so that the front wheel is pointing upwards at full lock
Step 3) Get both hands under the lower handlebar, and lift up with your legs. Move in towards the bike as it rises, and get your hip into the tank to help lift.
Don’t relax until you’ve got the sidestand down and the bike settled. Plenty of people have lifted their bike up only to have it fall over the other way.
If you know somebody that’s not confident about lifting their own bike, get a few people together and get them to try this technique.
January 11th, 2008
This can be a handy trick if you find your bike parked in a tight spot. The key is to use the leverage of the handlebars to gently lift the rear wheel up until the bike feels balanced, then drag the front wheel around until you’re facing the other way. It’s valid on most sportsbikes and nakeds, not sure about cruisers - and it’s less about the weight of the bike than how that weight is balanced.
Give it a try - hope you find it useful!
The bike in the video, by the way, is a stripped-down VFR400R, in case you were wondering.