Blackbird in the twisties

rlew

Just put on a new set of Pilot Roads on the Blackbird. bought this bike 2 months ago with stock tires and wow, what a difference some good rubber makes.

In any case, I've started doing a fair amount of twisties now that I trust the bike to hold a line. I'm just curious what people are generally running the motor at when coming out of a tight turn. Since the Bird seems to have some low grunt, I tend to not shift down as much coming into curves I end up usually exiting at around 3.5-4k rpms and revving it till the next curve.

It's very convenient not having to shift as much but I wonder if I'm doing the bike a disservice by not revving the engine more coming out of turns. It's not lugging per se but I know these engines are meant to spin. Should I be downshifting more and running the engine at higher rpms when flying through the twisties? Want to hear about some other rider's techniques. Thanks.

lois

I know what you mean about the low end grunt.

When I roll on in the exit, I just make sure that I am fairly close to the start of the power band -7000Rpm (ish), after you have owned your XX for a little while, you will get a feel for what gear to use.


For example, if you use to high of gear in a sharp corner, if need be, you won't have enough power to keep the bike from falling into the turn....so if it happens to be a left hander, then it will be "Hello on coming truck bumper"




OK, maybe that was a really bad "for example"


Lois

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Drifter

I think we have all done this and ended up on the other side of the road at some stage while learning the bird.most get away with it but a few don`t.
Over here in the land of corners I found the 6mm shim completely changed my cornering habit for the better.alot easier to misjudge a corner and get away with it.
I love using the higher revs and lower gears to drive the corners but be prepared for tank fill ups every 180 odd kms and I have been known to drift the arse coming out of corners with a to heavy wrist,,alright if you get away with it..I find by using a higher gear and lower revs is a safe way and a hell of a lot more economic on the fuel tank but then we dont buy our birds to be good do we,,,my 2 cents

lois

Ya....but you guys also call bicycles, "push bikes", so I don't know if you can be trusted....




















Lois

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Strek

rlew... Not a lot of twisties in my neck of the woods but the few that I do find I like to come in with higher revs. If I start to drift too far out of my lane and can't bring it back with more lean its time to downshift for me.


Lois and Drifter is that correct? Push bikes equal bicycles?
Is that what they call bicycles in NZ? I've seen people use that term on forums but wasn't real sure what that meant. When I've read that previously some thoughts came to mind ...maybe one of those scooter things that kids ride that is like a skateboard with handlebars... a broke down bike...Harley maybe... Ducati maybe....A older Triumph maybe....and for some another thread (fastest color thread) here might also come to mind.

CanadianBird

I use my gears in all corners, engine braking has a nice sound on the Bird and high rpm at the apex makes for a thrilling ride. I drifted out of my lane once or twice and I gave myself a sharp tongue lashing.

Drifter

Yea guilty as charged,,,Push bikes equal bicycles down under

PH005

Correct cornering is an exact science, Blah Blah Blah. We all know that. Finding the perfect entry point into one at speed is a great buzz, especially when you have'nt ridden the road before. When you can practise on the same strech of road and experiment with gears and revs then the fun really begins. I love teaching my girlfriend to follow me through corners ( not too fast ) and show her how to straighten them out, ie , in wide , out tight. She gets a buzz even on her 650 cruiser. There is an art to good cornering and I wish the younger generation would understand that. All in all. If in doubt, ease up.

ps. And Thongs or Flip Flops are called " Jandels " . WTF.

fasterspider

My Bird with Pilot Road 2ct tires loves the twisties of Los Angeles.
I just wish I was as good a rider as my Bird is twistie eater.

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Catenaccio

As good as the bird is in twisties (and I consider it a very good bike for corner carving) it isn't as good as my Triumph Speed Four. What the bird does much better is accelerate in the straights. IMHO.

KiwiBird

I grew up in the UK and my folks always called them push bikes and I guess the phrase was imported into NZ as that's where most of the original immigrants were from.

Here's a useless fact for you (might be good for Trivial Pursuit, haha). They got the name "push bike" from the first ones invented in Germany which had no pedals - you just sat on them and pushed them! Alternatively known as Hobby Horses!

In the spirit of international Bird owners, there is no charge for sharing this gem of information.

Geoff

rlew

Sorry, what do you mean by a 6 mm shim? Just curious. Something to do with the footpeg?

KiwiBird

The shim which you put under the top of the rear shock to increase ride height and quicken the steering. The cheapest and best mod you can do to a 'bird. You'll find the write-up here if you're not familiar with it: 6 mm spacer.

Cheers,

Geoff

Thirsty

Of course most Aussies (and I assume Kiwi's) just call bicycles pushies for short. We abbreviate almost everything here 'cause we're so lazy

That begs the question though - why is the word abbreviate so long???

rlew

Thanks Geoff! The things I learn about the BB on a day to day basis. Good stuff.

Logoman

Based on my experience with a 2002 silver XX...

First and even second gear at high revs requires very smooth throttle control in the twisties - at least on an injected bird. The injected birds are a bit snatchy and there's a lot of engine braking to be had if you shut off the throttle. You can get the tach up between 9 and 11K RPM and just smoothly roll on and off the throttle, but you better have a good rear tire and a good road surface.

When I'm not in a hurry, I just choose a gear that'll give me 4,500-5,500 RPM in the corner and add more power coming out as needed. A guy on a duce or triple will probably walk away from you on the exit in situations like that but its better than losing the back end or running wide. I've done both.

It's nice to find a good 3rd gear road and just roll on and off the throttle in that single gear - without using the brakes.

PH005

Strek

Yepper ... fun stuff.

SilverBrd

one gear twistys are a lot more fun!!

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