3 point turns and paddling gets me around....I'm not in a gymkhana - I'll do an 8 point on unstable surfaces. Buddy on the Vstrom thought he'd be clever - fell over .

It's a heavy bike and the geometry makes it want to stay in a straight line.

Feathering the rear brake helps with slow turns while holding a little pressure on the throttle.
You have to be careful the ECVT does not release entirely ....can be an exciting event on a slow downhill on say gravel or grass.....:devil

 

I still find myself putting a foot down at times when making a u-turn. I've had mine for couple of years & just turned 30k miles. You will get better with time. Keeping your feet down is better then allowing it to fall over. :crying
Biggest thing when making tight turns is drag the rear brake & don't lean into the direction of the turn. :wink

 

I drag the rear brake continuously, and try to keep the throttle steady once I find the engagement point. One or two fingers on the rear brake handle, and throttle up gently until you feel the clutch engage. Use the rear brake to moderate your speed while being constant on the throttle. It's so different from slipping the clutch on a regular motorcycle that some practice is a good idea.

 

Using the rear brake on the 650 is much easier than using the foot brake and clutch on a conventional motorcycle.

 

Probably so ... I just haven't gotten there yet. I found the clutch/toe brake easier to keep smooth power to the rear ... but probably just lack of practice so far.


Appreciate the suggestions so far!

 

I believe I have it pretty much sorted on the new, to me, 650.
Was worried about throttle snatch, but its more than manageable and I wont be buying that throttle tamer.
Was worried about the rapid deceleration when letting go of the throttle - so I dont.
Once I have that sorted low speed maneuvering and figure eights seem almost as easy as they were on the 250.
Tight u turns into my driveway with a pillion have not presented a problem yet.
Every day I make sure I do a bit of slow speed stuff just to keep it fresh.

Glad I read up on this forum first though, there could have been a few surprises if I didn't get a few pointers first.
Thanks for that.

 

Like others have said, use you rear brake.

On any CVT bike, keep up the revs at a constant rpm, just enough to ensure the clutch doesn't completely let go. Then modulate your speed with your rear brake only.
It messes with your head the first few times and then becomes a natural part of riding

 

These are all excellent answers. I'll just add that the reason it works is because giving a little throttle spins up the engine, and like a top, the gyroscopic forces from the spin help keep the bike upright, even though your going slow, fall-over speeds.

Try it some time. Do a slow circle once with the engine spun up and once without. It's much more difficult without.

I try to do some slow speed practice at least a couple times a month, or when I get new tires, or trying out a new bike, just a few minutes, but it get me oriented and keeps the muscle memory sharp.

 

Practice makes perfect

The gyroscopic benefit from the engine is surprisingly small when you measure it (around 10% of the wheels usually, and that isn't much either)

Other things are happening because the engine is no longer driving you along, interacting with the geometry and stabilising the rear wheel rpm etc

Try revving a manual bike the same way with the clutch engaged and then disengaged - the result might be surprising.

Also remember how your bike stands up as accelerate out of a corner or drops when you let off the throttle.

 

The 650 driving technique channel

 

I've only been riding my 2012 650 for about 3 months (2000 miles), but I've never quite gotten comfortable with slow speed maneuvering (U-turns primarily). Throttle sensitivity coupled with no clutch friction zone seems to make the 650's slow speed handling a lot different than what I know. So, as an example, right now my feet are tapping the ground a lot when I'm doing U-turns. Not a safety issue, but I'm trying to learn better technique. I'm guessing many of you can quickly point out what works and what doesn't.

Use rear brake instead of clutch friction zone for same purpose, slight pressure on rear brake and very light advance of throttle, with a little practice you will get very good at this and just love it, bike stand up easy all the time.

 

I also agree the back brake is the way to keep control. It the same when mastering counter steering once you get your head around it no problem.

 

What really helps me is looking at where I'm going, NOT down at the front wheel. You'll be amazed at how slowly and sharp you can go using that technique. If you watch some of the YouTube videos of motorcycle cops riding thru a gymkhana course look at where they are looking, always ahead of where the bike is going. This is a little bit unnerving at the beginning but once you have practiced this you'll get more comfortable with the slow speed handling of your bike. I did this with my V-Stom 1000 and could turn it around at full steering lock.




Greg

 

Practice slow ridding, circles and figure eights in a parking lot. Ridding in the manual mode may make it easier. As Greginnm said, always look where you want to go.

 

I agree the whole practice premise is there. I have to say I was a little shaken the first few but now its easy.

 

Stupid, stupid, stupid me

Wife and I out for a ride today and when I started the bike there was a squeek, squeek, squeek from the back, put foot on wheel and it stopped, let wheel spin and it was there , touched brake and it stopped so figured it was brake pad as when I had the back tyre replaced they said it was getting close, but word is that this tyre mob do cheap tyres and then talk you into brakes you dont need so maybe not, another quick visual looked to me like there was brake left but I would modify my riding and braking today and take it easy on them and pull the caliper tomorrow for a better look.

Doing the ride using mostly front brakes and got to a spot doing a tight slow speed Uturn on a quiet one lane back-road and I dont know what got into me but I didn't use rear brake and revs like I have done forever, instead I thought I could do it using front brake, revs and a guiding foot on the ground and .............over it went.

Wife fell out of seat (no damage to her) which was a good thing as it made the load lighter, so I could hold the bike up, so quickly got her to get up to help lift the bike up as I was still in the seat and didn't want to lie the bike down.

Only damage done was the new reflective striping I had added was marked, no visible damage to the actual bike, obviously it only JUST touched the road.
In this instance I was bloody lucky.

So again, revs up and rear brake on.

 

The Ride Like a Pro series of DVDs, videos and books are a worthwhile source of information on riding skills. Jerry "Motorman" Palladino also has a Youtube channel that offers useful snippets from the DVDs. Although Burgys don't have a clutch the rider can feather, a good approximation of the techniques he presents can be done while riding the machines.

Dan K

 

Feet on floorboards (not dangling above the ground), drag rear brake, steady throttle & look where you want to go.

And NO FRONT BRAKE!

 

As Jerry Palladino says in "Ride like a pro":

"The front brake will send you to the ground as if struck by lightning"

Only in low speed tight turns, of course.

 

My 17 year son was able to pass the AZ Motorcycle Skill test with my 2012 650 Exec.

 

Yes there are a ton of people at the CA DMV's that do the same. The popular thing is the 150cc ones. Easy to whip around and such. As I am a firm believer out here in the Moto safety courses, most here do the whole practice on this bike permit on this bike test on this same bike.

 

Remember when you open the throttle on any bike it will spring the bike back up straight, on a 650 a little throttle and feathering/dragging of the rear brake is just like using the clutch gray zone, if you need to turn or U-turn spin your head completely around and look exactly at where you wish to go, the bike always follow the eyes so remember the bike will go where your eyes go. When you turn never never release the throttle and look down as that shoot you down to the ground.

Sometime when I coach someone I have 8 small orange cone that are place on lines of 2 parking spot to form large box, that person must attempt to turn & turn & turn & turn & turn & turn the bike inside the box, with practice everyone do it. This exercise is excellent confidence builder.

 

Cherie - a great exercise. this is part of the test to get a licence in the UK.

We also have to do a continuous figure 8 around 2 cones

 

Hi Matt . I live in gilbert. At German and Val vista. Don't know but 2 brothers that liv closeby tHa also have 650. Give me a shout sometime.

 

Chérie Thanks for the knowledge. Been reading a lot on this forum. And learning a lot.


I'm good at off road. But still learning the skills for on-road.


Very thankful for the knowledge base on this site.


Nyroc