How do you stop or take off on motorcycle

used to be a planter, now a balancer whenever i can, I even do it on purpose at times just to piss off someone behind me. :aw:
 
Balancer until I have to stop, then one legger. Right foot is keeping the rear brake on, to light the brake light and maybe stop me being rear-ended (again). Balancer seems to make car drivers behind mad because they always want to rush up to red lights (so they can wait?) and sometimes they move into the other lane to pass me only for the light to change and off I go ahead of them again.
 
metalangel said:
Balancer until I have to stop, then one legger. Right foot is keeping the rear brake on, to light the brake light and maybe stop me being rear-ended (again). Balancer seems to make car drivers behind mad because they always want to rush up to red lights (so they can wait?) and sometimes they move into the other lane to pass me only for the light to change and off I go ahead of them again.
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:rofl: Sound like you don't have front brake. Just like my friend's Harley Chopper on my "avatar" picture on left of my AD post. I know not easy to keep pressing rear brake pedal to keep brake light on.

Catty
 
I have a front brake :giggle:, but I was taught to put your left down and hold your right on the rear brake to keep the brake light on so inattentive car drivers might notice your brake lights.

Never rode a Harley but have ridden a Dragstar (so feet forward riding position) and yes a bit harder to keep your foot on the rear brake but still possible! Besides, holding front brake = tired hand, and on a Harley the rear does more than it does on a sporty bike.
 
metalangel said:
I have a front brake :giggle:, but I was taught to put your left down and hold your right on the rear brake to keep the brake light on so inattentive car drivers might notice your brake lights.

Never rode a Harley but have ridden a Dragstar (so feet forward riding position) and yes a bit harder to keep your foot on the rear brake but still possible! Besides, holding front brake = tired hand, and on a Harley the rear does more than it does on a sporty bike.
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Ahh make sense. My motorcycle have brake switch on front brake lever and rear brake pedal so either one would light up brake light. My friend's chopper only have one switch in rear brake pedal.

Catty
 
Both my brakes cause the light to come on too... I tend to bring myself to a stop (those last few feet) with just the rear to avoid a lurch, especially if I have a passenger.
 
ALL new motorcycles sold in the USA must have a brake light switch at the foot & hand levers. Customized ones may or may not follow the DOT rules.
 
metalangel said:
I have a front brake :giggle:, but I was taught to put your left down and hold your right on the rear brake to keep the brake light on so inattentive car drivers might notice your brake lights.

Never rode a Harley but have ridden a Dragstar (so feet forward riding position) and yes a bit harder to keep your foot on the rear brake but still possible! Besides, holding front brake = tired hand, and on a Harley the rear does more than it does on a sporty bike.
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That's a horrible practice. Ditch it ASAP. You run the risk of overheating your pads thereby causing brake failure. It's okay to flash your brake lights from time to time (I do!) but constantly keeping your brake lights illuminated defeats the purpose of having brake lights in the first place.
 
NitroHonda said:
That's a horrible practice. Ditch it ASAP. You run the risk of overheating your pads thereby causing brake failure. It's okay to flash your brake lights from time to time (I do!) but constantly keeping your brake lights illuminated defeats the purpose of having brake lights in the first place.
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It was a practice taught by my instructor who was a 14 year veteran police motorcyclist and also police motorcyclist instructor.

I only keep the rear brake on until I observe the car behind me has come to a stop, same practice I use in my car. It's already saved my bacon once, when I got rear-ended at a roundabout by a car which would have knocked me into oncoming traffic had I not had my brake on to stop me being pushed freely forward.

Besides, I ride a Fazer, which is a fairly upright sport bike and the vast majority of braking effort is done with the front brake. Thanks for the input, though.
 
metalangel said:
It was a practice taught by my instructor who was a 14 year veteran police motorcyclist and also police motorcyclist instructor.

I only keep the rear brake on until I observe the car behind me has come to a stop, same practice I use in my car. It's already saved my bacon once, when I got rear-ended at a roundabout by a car which would have knocked me into oncoming traffic had I not had my brake on to stop me being pushed freely forward.

Besides, I ride a Fazer, which is a fairly upright sport bike and the vast majority of braking effort is done with the front brake. Thanks for the input, though.
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It sounded like you were talking about dragging the brakes just to keep them illuminated while riding. Absolutely on keeping your lights illuminated while stopped. I never have my fingers off my levers and keep my eyes completely focused on my mirrors. There are a couple of other things that you can do to help yourself remain visible without taking away from operation.

I have this on mine though I am not sure of the brand. I eBay'ed mine but google "brake flasher module". What it does is exactly what it says... When levers are applied, it flashes your rear brakes instead of keeping them solidly illuminated. It gives me security and is well worth the $50 or so bucks. I also ride with a yellow reflective vest over my leathers. :giggle:

Love them! Which one do you have? The FZ6 or FZ1? I am a big fan of sport-tourers (or also called naked sportbikes) too. I had a 2001 Bandit 1200S throughout college. I put maybe 80k miles on it. Rode it EVERYWHERE! I loved that thing! It had gobs of midrange power. I also had a ZRX1200 but quickly dumped that one as it sprung an oil leak on the cylinder walls. Dealer would not warranty it as it was not losing "enough" oil at the time.
 
NitroHonda said:
It sounded like you were talking about dragging the brakes just to keep them illuminated while riding. Absolutely on keeping your lights illuminated while stopped. I never have my fingers off my levers and keep my eyes completely focused on my mirrors. There are a couple of other things that you can do to help yourself remain visible without taking away from operation.
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Nah, there's a special place in Hell for people who drive or ride like that. I live next to a mountain with an average of a 12% gradient (20% in places) and the number of drivers who don't shift into a lower gear but instead just brake the whole way down to control their speed boggles me. Given there's a tight bend and a school at the bottom, I hate to think how much their overheated discs could give if they needed them.

Love them! Which one do you have? The FZ6 or FZ1? I am a big fan of sport-tourers (or also called naked sportbikes) too.
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FZ6. I love it, the riding position and power delivery is just right for me. I think the new FZ8 wasn't Yamaha's best idea, there was no need for it.
 
metalangel said:
Nah, there's a special place in Hell for people who drive or ride like that. I live next to a mountain with an average of a 12% gradient (20% in places) and the number of drivers who don't shift into a lower gear but instead just brake the whole way down to control their speed boggles me. Given there's a tight bend and a school at the bottom, I hate to think how much their overheated discs could give if they needed them.



FZ6. I love it, the riding position and power delivery is just right for me. I think the new FZ8 wasn't Yamaha's best idea, there was no need for it.
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Mountains? Lucky you!! I just noticed that you're from the United Kingdom. Awesome bike. ATGATT. Stay safe, brah.
 
NitroHonda said:
Mountains? Lucky you!! I just noticed that you're from the United Kingdom. Awesome bike. ATGATT. Stay safe, brah.
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It's not technically a mountain (it's not tall enough) but the slopes are such that if you drive fast enough up or down your ears will pop due to the pressure change, which is cool.

I'm only in the UK for six more weeks before I come home to Canada, so the FZ6 is being sold... :(
 
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