Check your throttle cables. There should be a little bit of slack in the throttle. Just got my rigid bike back from the shop and they made the cables too tight. I found myself applying throttle when I didn't mean to on the way home.

 

It's easy to just throw money at your bike, blaming the bike from inexperience, changing things before you really are familiar w/ it. Pulling the bars back is likely to make matters worse for you, as this increases the travel during turning. Sounds like you may need a reach seat that moves you closer to the bars (for your short arms)--I'd try that 1st.

This is a pretty big, heavy bike for someone to learn on. The MSF course should not be an afterthought; you might want to see if there's an opening in an outlying area.

 

Thanks for the advice. the course is not an afterthought. I've checked with every school in the NYC area and they are all are full. I finally put a deposit down with one of the biggest here and secured the late July class and asked them if there was an earlier opening opening to let me know. they said they would but there is a waiting list even for that, lol. I didn't realize it would be so popular, if I did I would have done it sooner.

 

thanks guys for all the advice and encouragement. I love this place. I am making a list of all the ideas here and am gonna investigate them all. However, I do agree that it's my inexperience that is basically creating the problem and only practice will overcome that.

thanks again guys, this is a top notch forum.

 

It's all just time and practice. I'm glad to see you're not just giving up.

 

I can think of a few open fields in NYC!
Giants stadium
Jets stadium
Doesn't look like they will use them for anything else this year!

 

welcome to the world of riding. it's something you never stop learning, regardless of how long you ride

 

I've seen this before with a lot of riders in my class. Here's a couple of things I have found helps.

Hand Position - Position your hand so the knuckles are UP, and the wrist is DOWN or flat. If you OVER grip the throttle, you run the risk of unwanted acceleration. As the bike acclerates, natural rearward momentum will force you back in the saddle. This action pulls on the arm, even slightly, and if you have a high wrist grip, you run the risk of cracking the throttle open when you don't want to. This wrist position can be uncomfortable at first, but you will get used to it, and it will give you better control. A good way to check this is to sit on your bike and grip the throttle. Then pull or jerk your right arm back at the elbow. If the throttle moves and opens, you need to drop the wrist. If your grip is in the correct position the throttle will NOT move. This also comes in handy when going over bumps and hitting dips and the throttle stays steady.

Squeeze Pressure - Hold the grip as if it were made of clay, firm, yet gently. If you squeeze it too tight, you will malform it. Too tight of a grip leads to poor control and hand transition.

Situational changes - Remember you are changing your grip as the riding conditions and situations change. If you are riding straight, then wrist down and knuckles up is ideal. But if you have to make a full lock turn to the right, wrist down knuckles up is difficult especially if the throttle is tucked into the tank or your belly. Yet by turning your hand slightly UNDER the grip, you will have better throttle control. Same going with a full lock turn to the left. By DROPPING the wrist even further, you will have better throttle control. (Remember to turn your head and commit your eyes in the direction you are turning the bars as this will help keep your turns nice and tight). A firm but relaxed grip will help you make these back and forth transitions easier. If you squeeze too tight you will have difficulty changing hand positions on the throttle.

Control - YOU control the throttle. Do NOT depend on the cables, springs and other gizmos. YOU make the throttle go up, and YOU make the throttle go down.

Practice - I cannot emphasize this enough. Work your wrist in ALL of these positions along with good commited head and eye turns while you are turning the bars. This can be done with the bike off and you straddling it.

As with many things in motorcycling, it's these little things, like hand position, that make a BIG difference in your overall riding.

Anyway, hope this helps you.


Mark

 

LOL, true, but actually, they're in NJ.

 

Wow, thanks for taking the time to write this. I'm sure it will help. I'm having some trouble understanding the hand position without the bike here to experiment with. I'm sure as soon as I get a chance to simulate what you're describing it will come together. thanks again.