ARTICLE: How to Buy and live with a Superbike in India

[highwayblaze]

Originally Posted by GTO

Brilliant! And a bible for potential superbike owners from India. Thanks for the writeup Rt....its a fitting return gift from you.

Those words were stolen straight out my mouth
yes its great and finally all the points needed are in ONE place and not in my inbox of pm;s ! Thank you sir this post has been and shall be continued to look at by myself and many a potential buyer from t-bhp and outside as well

[dockap]

I think SBK and Moto GP may come to india if the F1 track does come up in Delhi next year so all u guys with these mean machines will also get a track to unleash ur machines in Delhi during the rest of the year

[binz]

Very Nice! One Zx-12R for me..

Anyway,..could you cover the importance of riding gear also??

[Rtech]

Originally Posted by binz

Anyway,..could you cover the importance of riding gear also??

Done. Included in Post#5.

[n_aditya]

Hey RT, any tips for a first time SBK rider?

I've always wanted to ride one but have been either turned down (as i have never ridden one before) or I myself have backed out (owing to the reason above) for fear of wrecking the bike due to the sheer power of the machine.

[veyron1]

Superb. I'm dumbfounded, really. Very interesting read, Robin.

This entire advice section has got me all blared up. Kindly allow me to add my 2 cents.

On Riding A Superbike.

For First Timers:

The key is not to be intimidated by the girth of the machine. Remember, it's a machine. It reflects you and your thoughts. It shall do unto thou as thou shalt to it.

1) The first step is to get a feel of the bike. We're all used to Splendors, Pulsars & ZMA's. They all have an upright or tourer-type riding position. All SBK's are front-biased, and the first thing you'd notice on any superbike/supersport is the lean angle. You have to stretch to reach the bars, and the tank bulges up your belly. Sit on it, grab the bars, and feel the controls first; depress the clutch, brake, etc & feel the lever/pedal pressure. Raise one foot, rest it on the peg, and feel the riding position.

2) Start the engine. Remember not to open the throttle while cranking the starter. Especially in case of MPFI's.

3) Keep one eye on the tacho. Always. Never let it cross 3000 RPM. This is easier said than done, since the throttles are caliberated such that the first mm of throttle play plunges the tacho into the redline. Therefore, get a feel of the throttle at idle first before slotting into gear. Most SBK's have clutches actuating at the final 2-3 mm of lever play, so remember to release the clutch slowly.

4) For the first 500 km or so, do not accelerate above 7000 RPM. Bingo. You're there.

Basic Riding Tips:

1) The first thing to get used to in an SBK is not the acceleration, but the braking. Strange? Yet true. Speed's no good if the anchors can't stop her on dime. Therefore, spend the first few hundred kilometres familiarizing yourself with the brakes.

With most SBK's having four-pot callipers (and some having six) at the front, braking takes a little time getting used to. Try to bias your braking towards the front, until you're fully aware of the lever feel, suspension dive, front grip levels, etc. Ideally, your braking should be biased 90:10, to the front; on dry tarmac. Wet, 60:40.

2) Second is engine braking. These phenomenally powerful engines also have phenomenally powerful engine braking. How to utilize that? Here you go. This's advisable to be tried on a small bike first. Whenever you feel the need to shed speed, depress the clutch, blip the throttle, downshift, and release the clutch.

The more urgent the situation, the more number of downshifts you can execute sequentially. In an ideal scenario, for perfect braking, you'd also utilise the front and rear brakes while doing this.

3) Now comes the acceleration part. An important point to note here is that in most SBK's, you don't need to rev the pants off the block to gain maximum thrust. Once you get familiar with the bike, try to find the "sweet spots". These are RPM's at which the engine shows power peaks.

For example, the Pulsar DTS-i type 1 (idiotic example in an SBK thread, but nevertheless) redlines at 9,500 RPM. But it's pointless to revv her all the way in each gear. There's a sweet spot between 8200-8700 RPM, at which, upshifts produce maximum acceleration.

4) Cornering is one of the trickiest aspects in a SBK. For every corner, there's a rule. If you enter fast, you HAVE to exit slow. If you enter slow, you can exit fast.

Make sure you calculate the corner well in advance. You should have braked to the cornering speed within 10 meters of the curve's entry point. Remember the SIFO (slow-in-fast-out) rule.

5) While cornering, lean angles are not as important as traction. Therefore, do not try to imitate Doohan. Or Rossi. Or Hayden. Street riding with hard compound tyres is a different ballgame. Watch ghostrider videos to see what I mean.

Avoid mid-corner corrections as far as possible. While leaning into a corner, push the outer footpeg with the heel, and try to balance your weight inwards. The key is to try and keep the bike as straight as possible, (for maximum contact patch and traction) while gaining maximum speed. Easier said than done, and this takes practice. Especially with litre-class, where-in a mid-corner bump can upset you, and a mild throttle twitch could send you tramlining, wide outwards..

The quickest way to steer yourself out of trouble is counter-steer, but let's skip that.

6) DO NOT BRAKE MID-CORNER. This is a thumb rule. Never brake when the steering/handlebar is tilted from the straight position.

Some General Tippanis.

1) Avoid riding in the rains as much as possible. If must, keep a cloth handy to wipe the helmet wisor every now and then. If riding in the night, carry an extra cloth to wipe the headlamps. A dirty headlamp can hamper the light throw drastically, and reduce your area of vision.

2) Always keep a first aid kit (basic kit includes cotton, band-aids, some surgical tape, antiseptic cream, and a swiss knife). You never know when it would come handy.

3) Golden rule. Always carry a basic tool kit as well. Again, you never know when it would come in handy.

4) Never fill the tank upto the brim. Always keep a little gap between the filler neck and fuel level.

5) A backpack/bag is a useful addition while touring, but not if you intend to apex the ghats.

Shall add more as I remember...

[2fast4u]

[quote=veyron1;492525]
The quickest way to steer yourself out of trouble is counter-steer, but let's skip that.quote]

you cant skip this one.

[2fast4u]

In our riding group we would use the SEE strategy its straight from the Busa riders forum.

1) Search for potential hazards - look as far as u can see better is if u r following a vehicle if possible try getting a look ahead of it.
2) Evaluate the situation, how are you going to handle it (speed up, slow down, wait for traffic to do its thing)
3) Execute, put it into motion

The Search part
2 Second following distance
(this is min. for ideal conditions - This figure will change very much for Indian road conditions).

4 Second Immediate path -
couple of times I have cut from 1 - 2 - 3 and into breakdown lane to get back to 1st lane just did not want to slow down. This is bad and I am doing my best to get of this habit.

12 Second Anticipated path

You should never follow closer than 2 seconds
You should be able to respond to anything within 4 seconds from you
You should be searching 12 seconds ahead at all times

Always scan the road ahead, AND left and right for your immediate path incase of emergency. In India u will have to look at the shoulder room which can be very unstable.

[Gerardfdz]

Great Article Robin!- written with "ears of experience!
Getting set to hit the big ones!!!

purchase a good quality helmet that meets Snell/DOT/BS standards.

What about ISI!

[sammyboy]

Awesome stuff RT . This is a fantastic thread and will help members who plan to buy SBK's a comprehensive checklist .
Thanks a lot for educating us

[Rtech]

Nice additions Veyron & 2fast. What you'll have stated is applicable for any sort of 2 wheeler, not just the big bikes.

Originally Posted by Veyron1

The quickest way to steer yourself out of trouble is counter-steer, but let's skip that.

Actually, everyone countersteers, whether they know they are doing it or not. However, knowing what it is and understanding how it works will only help you improve. A basic explanation is:

At low speeds (upto about 15kmph), in order to turn the bike in the direction we want it to go, we turn the handlebar in that direction i.e. if we want to go right, we turn the bars to the right.

However, as speeds gradually build up, you need to do the opposite to go in the direction you want. i.e. if you want to take that same right hand bend, you now turn the handlebar to the left. This causes your front wheel to lean to the right. Every single 2 wheeler rider does this whether he/she is aware of this or not. There is not other way to steer a bike around a corner at any reasonable speed.

To demonstrate this effect, you can do a simple test. While stationary, turn the handlebar of your bike in one direction. The bike automatically leans in the opposite direction. That, in its simplest form is what counter steering is.

Now start you bike and begin to ride at about 20-30kmph in an open area like a parking lot. Imagine that you have a right turn coming ahead. Consciously turn the handlebar to the right (as we assume that turning right will cause us to go right). Your bike will want to turn left.

Now do it correctly. Image a left hand bend approaching. With you left palm, push on the left handle and pull with the right hand. Voila! while your handle bar is pointing ever so slightly to the right, the bike will lean to the left and guide you around the left hand bend. That's counter-steering for you.

The sooner you understand this and consciously begin to notice this while riding, you will improve the way you tackle corners and also become a safer rider.

[Godfather]

Eh!! what was that RTech.. Now i am sooo confused.. Its been a while( more like 5 years) since i rode a bike.. and i have not understood the fact you have mentioned in the above post

Godfather

[Rtech]

Sounds more confusing than it is. Just go out there and try it and it'll become clear in a heartbeat.

[black12rr]

Each curve is different and dont try to replicate the above at all the places.I believe most of them dont work here (our roads) .
They could be gravel , cow dung , stone ,a bump ,2 cages coming towards you overtaking each other in a corner, a wet patch, and oil for worse, a broken truck with no lights standing in the corner ,some one going very slow ,some one crossing the road . All these can be avoided by experience.

Also the comfort and handling of the bikes .Like a zma a light with the front end and easy to steer ,whereas a plusar is little heavy at the front and requires more stregth to pull it into a corner.
Tyres have to great , a little wider tyres with more grip ,will a drop is mileage i can take. Go in for michelins for indian bikes .They stick like glue to road.
You whole body + bike is one those 2 small contact patches from the tyres .Never be cheap on tyres .

Also the riding gear is very import, a clear visor with good full face helmet.A drak sport glasses inside the helmet for cool riding effect. A riding jacket with adequate ventilatation ,mesh jacket in all the seasons along with outer rain liner. A textile jacket in case of cold to very cold areas (like himalayas) .
A good water proof glove , keep pads , and ankle protecting shoes to go in for .Any thing not in order can be real pain .Extra care and protection is needed while riding in rain .Pheww biker life is complicated .

[Rtech]

Don't try and replicate what 12rr? Everything mentioned here are the basics, regardless of where you are riding. A better understanding of how your bike responds to the inputs put in by the rider will only serve to make you a safer rider.