Yup, depending where the pistoons are at, the TDM can stand straight up with a whiff of throttle or just give up KX500 round the cones..... the DT wheelies in second if I'm too throttle happy in the slalom, little bugger lifts the front out of a turn too unless I'm sitting on the tank. You may be slightly mad....buddy!
Bandit wheelies in 1st anytime I get a little "agressive" with the throttle, even from a near stand still. KX, well it doesn't really NEED a front wheel, except to wait for the next ride!
just dont have a drug effected drunk run and crash tackle and assault you because he took offence to riding in a public car park at night...
I practiced again after work last night, taking Mr. Krumpet's advice on opening up the course into account, and using a modified version of MotoMind's course from post 7 (modified because I couldn't quite remember the whole route, so I didn't use cone 5, the middle cone on the far right side of the course). The good: opening up the course a bit definitely allowed me a little more time to work on coordinating throttle, clutch and brake, and it seems to me that it had me using a bit more body language to swerve around the cones. The bad: well.....the lot wasn't quite big enough for the extent to which I opened up the course. There was room to lay it all out, and on my first run through, it was no problem because I was going quite slowly -- more of a low speed dry run than anything else. On my second run through, not so much (although I didn't notice it). On my third run, I was trying to be a bit more aggressive with acceleration and braking, and...well...here's the video (only runs 1 and 3 are shown). It was a stupid newbie mistake -- purely my fault -- and fortunately, while it got my attention, I didn't even drop the bike. But the lesson learned, which I'd like to point out to anyone else who wants to give gymkhana a try, is MAKE SURE YOUR COURSE IS BIG ENOUGH FOR YOU TO SCREW UP without you getting bit in the butt! I only had maybe two feet between the "cone" and the grass on the edge of the lot. Unfortunately, I took about two feet and one inch on my last pass, lol.
No doubt about it Tehwall, your using a LOT more body language! Looks a lot more fluid than your previous vid. Our course is bounded by a kerb & grass too, with the odd storm water drain to keep us honest. It can cause problems, as I mentioned these are the things which cause me a moments distraction. I can end up standing on the pegs or hanging off the outside of the bike to keep it upright If you watch some Supermoto videos too, you could be the forerunner in Gymkhana "backing it in" technique.
Yeah, but not that good! Seriously, if I'm going to keep at this, I'd really like to get a smaller, lighter and cheaper bike that I can set up just for this purpose. My Wee-Strom is my daily rider, and it's a bit top heavy...not to mention that it's geared more for touring and wearing 80/20 DS tires.
Yup, my TDM has dual porpoise tires & is set up for eating miles not cones but it does a good job, our narrower tires & wide bars help i think. A mate has a Ducati 900 ss & it feels really awkward with clip ons, like turning a tanker. I practice on the girlfriends DT230 which is great for building my confidence as I (slowly) improve my technique. Light enough to get the foot down & hold it, which also gives the confidence to still try opening the throttle when all seems lost. Works every time, the bike stands up. I've learned more about bike dynamics in 6 months than I had in the previous 30 years. My G/F, an utter n00b has learned too, much to her amazement, when the bike starts to topple over she lifts her head up & gives it some throttle. We have quite a few "stick the leg out to check the breeze" moments but fewer & fewer touch downs.
I have come to a similar conclusion. Except that I don't really like riding, but I do like gymkhana, a lot! So considering this, I will probably sell my bike and find something just for gymkhana. Probably a supermoto type would be best I'm thinking.
I believe Vulfy, currently MIA, is of the same thought. The wee DT is great but I'm off the edge of the front tire, something wider would be improve the available lean. I'm still trying to get my head around what is happening with my tires. I'm off the edge on the fronts of both bikes but not the rears. Admittedly they are mix & match which would be a simple answer. I'm scraping my boots on the DT but not running out off front tire, the contact patch is probably getting less, though. The trail style bikes would take a lot of abuse too.
Yep, I was thinking a supermoto type bike or maybe a well-used Ninja 250 like my brother's. Hmmm...wonder if he'd let me borrow his to see how it does?
Lol, have you seen what they ride in Japan? NS250's! They ride some bigger bikes too, but I'd rather drop a $1000 Ninja 250 than my >>$1000 Wee-Strom...hey, wait. It's a "Wee" street bike too, come to think of it!
TheWall is a true hero! Moto Gymkhana practice on a narrow road complete with grass growing through the cracks and on a significant slope as well :eek1 In situations such as this it is much better to reduce the number of pylons (cones) and increase the space between them, you'll be amazed at what you can achieve.
Have tried the 'backing it in' technique and it's nowhere near fast enough. Keeping the wheels in line is the trick.