Controlling the Rocket III

In bicycle racing training, new riders were taught: In order to become better on the bike, you must ride the bike! ;)
Since I ride everyday I no longer notice the weight of the R3. Unless I'm pushing it or when I ride another bike. I grip the tank with my knees and use arms/shoulders to counter steer. I pretty much stay in the middle of seat and force it to go where I want.
 
Since I ride everyday I no longer notice the weight of the R3. Unless I'm pushing it or when I ride another bike. I grip the tank with my knees and use arms/shoulders to counter steer. I pretty much stay in the middle of seat and force it to go where I want.

Pretty much the same for me. I don't do gripping with the knees. I counter-steer with hands and shoulders and of course look in the direction where I want to go.
 
Since I ride everyday I no longer notice the weight of the R3. Unless I'm pushing it or when I ride another bike. I grip the tank with my knees and use arms/shoulders to counter steer. I pretty much stay in the middle of seat and force it to go where I want.


Thats zackly how I do it Andy :thumbsup:
 
You can always go "more aggressive"... but generally, whether I'm on a 250cc helping folks learn to ride or on my beloved R3T, becoming "one" with my bike and adjusting how much/hard I press my hand-grips makes either respond at speed. As stated, looking where you want to go and committing to that look makes a HUGE difference.
-MIG
 
There are a number of things to consider that when done together will make you SMOOTH and in control.

1. Using the "visual horizon" (vh) to coordinate your throttle control. The vh is the place where the road disappears over a rise or around a bend. If the vr is getting closer you should be decelerating. If it remains at the same distance from you, then steady throttle. As the vr moves away (the point you can see around the bend), then roll on the throttle.

2. Body position helps regulate your lean angle. Whilst you can "hang off" like a race bike, practicality wise, for the R3, it's more of weighting one ass cheek or the other. Some people discribe this position as if you are going to "kiss the mirrors".

As you approach a right turn, pre-lean right, lift your unweight your left cheek and weight your right ass cheek. Contersteer through the turn and as you roll on to finish turn, shift your body the other way, which maintains the bikes lean longer at the finish. The throttle up stands up the bike and the counterlean keeps it leaned longer.

Of course, do opposite for turning left.

If there are successive left/right/left really clise together...it is often better to just remain centered and exaggerate countersteering.

But regarding body position...the reason you are doing this is to counter the lean of the bike. Leaning right makes the bike lean left which means you can take a corner faster without scraping hard parts. The more the bike leans through the corner, the less traction is left. So leaning right for a right turn increases your traction.

3. Another consideration is your line through the turn. "Delayed apex" should be used whenever you can not see all the way through the turn and the exit beyond. Approach a left turn from the far right of your lane and a right turn as far to the left of your lane, as you consider safe. This lets you see farther around the bend sooner and also sets you up for not getting squeezed offroad or into opposing lane. (These comments are based on driving to the right countries.)
 
Dang, I have no clue as to how it all works nor the minutiae involved but I do know that nobody on another cruiser (and very few sport bikes) has ever kept up with me on the tight twisties. Now before I get accused of needless braggadocio I will admit that most of the other riders I have traveled with have been on Harleys (no other Rockets so far) and are old dudes like myself, but there have been many young uns as well. My problem is from a standing start, I need two hands to hang on to the Rocket but I need one of the said hands to work the clutch. I have a bit of a bad back so I cant lean too far forward, so how do others handle this conundrum? Do yo work the clutch with a few fingers and hold on with the other fingers or what?
 
Dang, I have no clue as to how it all works nor the minutiae involved but I do know that nobody on another cruiser (and very few sport bikes) has ever kept up with me on the tight twisties. Now before I get accused of needless braggadocio I will admit that most of the other riders I have traveled with have been on Harleys (no other Rockets so far) and are old dudes like myself, but there have been many young uns as well. My problem is from a standing start, I need two hands to hang on to the Rocket but I need one of the said hands to work the clutch. I have a bit of a bad back so I cant lean too far forward, so how do others handle this conundrum? Do yo work the clutch with a few fingers and hold on with the other fingers or what?

The R3 has lots of torque and riders often use the low end grunt to pull them through the tight stuff...but if you really want to maximize the beast's potential, keep the rpm's in the high range.

Why? For the engine braking! You should be able to accelerate OR decelerate with only slight twists of the throttle. Don't rely on trail braking (although that also has its advantages at times).

(BTW...you can shift without clutch, if you time it right, with no ill effects on the bike.)
 
Dang, I have no clue as to how it all works nor the minutiae involved but I do know that nobody on another cruiser (and very few sport bikes) has ever kept up with me on the tight twisties. Now before I get accused of needless braggadocio I will admit that most of the other riders I have traveled with have been on Harleys (no other Rockets so far) and are old dudes like myself, but there have been many young uns as well. My problem is from a standing start, I need two hands to hang on to the Rocket but I need one of the said hands to work the clutch. I have a bit of a bad back so I cant lean too far forward, so how do others handle this conundrum? Do yo work the clutch with a few fingers and hold on with the other fingers or what?

Sorry, misread your post the 1st time, didn't catch the starting from stop part. Maybe you need a backrest.

If you use all 4 fingers to pull clutch that is a problem.
 
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