cover the clutch!!

[DucatiHoney]

In MSF we were told to "cover the clutch" (have at least two fingers positioned on it) at all times--just the clutch, not the brakes. At the time, I didn't question the practice--that might have had something to do with the yelling by the instructor if she saw my hand off of it. :laughing It's been about 2.5 years since I took the course, and I don't see the reasoning behind it. Covering the brakes only, or covering the brakes and the clutch makes sense. Anyone know why they told us to do this?

 

[svclee]

just in case then your always prepared...

 

[DucatiHoney]

Prepared for what? To pull it out of gear only? Just letting off the throttle does that.

 

[Valgar]

What about during hard/panic braking?

Would kind of suck to leave the clutch out, come to a stop and kill the bike, then get run over by something behind you because you couldn't move out of the way.

 

[racergirl]

Prepared for what? To pull it out of gear only? Just letting off the throttle does that.

prepared for evasive maneuvers! :laughing

like an oh shit moment...if u jsut let off the throttle, u may not slow down enough. If you let off the throttle, hit the brakes (no clutch) ur gonna stall...

 

[slackjaw]

They (MSF instructors) expect that when an unexperienced rider gets scared, the rider will react with a "death grip". The death grip typically results in revving the engine. If you are covering the clutch, it also results in pulling the clutch and just revving the shit out of the engine while it free-wheels. If you are not covering the clutch, then the bike takes off, you grip harder, apply more throttle, etc., etc.

 

[RydTher]

cause grabbing a handfull of clutch just stops power to the rear wheel. A hand full of brakes can spit you over the bars on to your face, or otherwise cause a 'bad thing'

panic reaction is to tense up, if covering the brakes, this might cause an unplanned stoppie

 

[HondaFreak]

When you cover the bakes you also have the throttle open....NOT GOOD.
HondaFreak

 

[DucatiHoney]

That's why it makes sense to cover both clutch and brake--but why just the clutch? If I grab the brakes I instinctively grab the clutch, too... It's just something that happens. I don't need to cover the clutch because I might grab the brakes and forget about being in gear. Is that not true of most people. I have to concentrate NOT to pull in the clutch immediately upon braking.

 

[TylerW]

My mSF instructors made it pretty clear to me:

They wanted us only covering the clutch on the riding range. What we did in real life was up to how we wanted to ride. But o the training range, we're likely to get scared by something and apply a control in a paniced fashion.

No one has ever dumped their bike (directly) by panicing and grabbing a fistful of clutch. They figured that was safer than a paniced throttle or brake input.

 

[Valgar]

Oh, wups I misread the question...

I didn't realize you were talking about covering the clutch, and not the brakes...

 

[TylerW]

That's why it makes sense to cover both clutch and brake--but why just the clutch? If I grab the brakes I instinctively grab the clutch, too... It's just something that happens. I don't need to cover the clutch because I might grab the brakes and forget about being in gear. Is that not true of most people. I have to concentrate NOT to pull in the clutch immediately upon braking.

I've not ridden the m900, but I've ridden plenty of other v-twins that aren't endowed with a slipper clutch, and I'll say this - by pulling in the clutch, you're missing out on a massive amount of engine braking. That can gelp you get yourself stopped.

But, braking in that fashion ain't for everybody.

 

[fubar929]

I think the MSF's recommendation to cover the clutch and not the front brake exists solely for the safety of students and instructors...during the MSF course.

People do lots of stupid things when they panic. In particular, I've heard that they occasionally forget to close the throttle during a panic situation. A buddy of mine says he's actually seen people in class stomping on the rear brake with the throttle still open!

Think about the consequences of grabbing the wrong lever in a crisis: if you're an MSF newbie and you grab a big handful of front brake, what happens? You lock the wheel and (most likely) go down. If you grab the clutch, on the other hand, you remove drive from the rear wheel (which is probably the source of your panic in the first place) and potentially bang the bike off the rev limiter. Which sounds like the safer option for someone who has never been on a bike before?

 

[DucatiHoney]

I'm just trying to justify not covering the clutch anymore. I don't like doing it. It doesn't make sense to me. I'd rather have my hands fully on the bars to maneuver out of the way in panic situations... If I do grab the brakes hard I always go for the clutch too--just like in a car. I don't hover over the clutch when I'm driving.

 

[budbandit]

Forgetting things that may be useful in preventing the worst of a group of panic stricken newbies from wadding in a parkinglot, about the only use I could see for covering the clutch would be when also covering the brakes. Hard braking without pulling in the clutch can result in rear wheel chatter and/or stalling the bike, which could make continued evasion more of a challenge than many would care for.

 

[DucatiHoney]

I've not ridden the m900, but I've ridden plenty of other v-twins that aren't endowed with a slipper clutch, and I'll say this - by pulling in the clutch, you're missing out on a massive amount of engine braking. That can gelp you get yourself stopped.

But, braking in that fashion ain't for everybody.

I'm speaking in general terms, but yes, the Monster stops pretty darned quick if I just chop the throttle. I can think of many times when I could have really used a slipper. I have lost the rear tire so many times on that bike... :laughing I almost enjoy it at this point. I don't do it very often...anymore. :blush

 

[dRaGoNbOi]

I think it's like everyone said, basically it's for the MSF course. It's like when i teach someone how to drive stick in a car, i tell them if the car starts bogging, your revving to high, the car starts bucking, whatever, hit the clutch all the way down. Same thing on a bike, when you first start you aren't to great with whole clutch thing and revving using your hand so if anything goes wrong, they already have their hand on the clutch to pull in. it's for the panic situations.

as for the road, i don't think it helps much to cover the clutch if you have throttle control down.

 

[spideyfive-o]

in the MSF class, covering the clutch was a safety issue. i think the instructors feared that some students might stop without disengaging the clutch, usually followed with a nice jolt, then bam... a bike on ground or a bike hitting another bike. also, covering the clutch is another way to cut off the throttle.

why not cover the brake also? well, when a person panics, they tend to freeze up. grabbing a fistful of brakes will/may accidentally perform a stoppie/locked wheels.

personally when i ride on my morning commute, i use two fingers to cover the brake. but then again, to make a complete stop, i've already instinctively pull the clutch, downshift and brake all at the same time.

spidey

 

[SilverBird]

One of the added benefits of covering the clutch/brake lever is, in case of a crash, you may not get your fingers 'pinched' by the levers. Got this tip from a cop friend who attended many crashes where fingers were severed by the levers.


Hugo

 

[Sidewalk]

I always cover both levers. You can easily manuever the bike with only two fingers on the bar. It just feels odd until you get used to it.