Help: Doing Figure 8s

TMO82 · Post by **TMO82** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 7:19 pm

i woulda thought 2nd was harder as ur labouring the engine more.....

look where u wanna go, ride the rear brake, and use ur clutch...thats wot its there for...

Just easier for me personally then i guess.

Post by **Wattie** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 7:31 pm

Pabs wrote:http://www.bikepics.com/movies/000453/
Like this??

dont use this guy for help, he can't do 8s either, keeps going in circles...

RG · Post by RG » Sun Mar 12, 2006 7:34 pm

The more you do, the more you can do.

Damon Z1000 · Post by **Damon Z1000** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 7:40 pm

Ya could try the..........stand on the pegs, whilst holding the front brake on hard, drop the clutch, start smokin the rear wheel ease the brake off slightly and do ya figure 8 whilst doin the mother of all burnouts....problem is ya aint gonna pass.
Probably better, lookin fowards in first and just feathering the clutch for speed and control with minimal throttle action.
First option sounds better though

Glen · Post by **Glen** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:59 am

Not sure how your figure 8 goes in WA, but if it's a slow figure eight then plenty of throttle, clutch and rear brake so that your slipping the clutch and using the brake to regulate your speed. Turn your head over your shoulder in the direction you want to turn, lean the bike in so that your pushing it down while keeping your body dead upright. Don't look down at the ground or that's where you'll end up.

Practise this by doing tight circles in a car park ie do the above but just keep going around in circles trying to tighten it up as much as possible. Just start with a wide circle and gradually tighten it. In NSW you've got six metres to do a U turn in and this will get you through that pretty easily on just about any bike.

If it's a faster figure eight like we do in the P's course (not the test) then it's second gear,smooth throttle (this is half the battle), countersteer to get the bike to tip in and keep your head upright and turned in the direction you want to go.

Good luck with it.

Oh and if all of the above fails, just do what Damon said. Probably won't pass your test but you'll likely get your photot in a WA transport publication with the caption "If you see this person in a training centre then ring this no"

Cheers

Post by **icebreaker** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:28 am

Practice pottering along with the bike idling. You may have to up the idle a tad, but if you can get the bike to creep along with the clutch out in 1st and work on your balance it may make things a tad easier.

I know at HART in Melb the CB250's seem to idle a tad high and they get you so do alot of balance type stuff creeping along.. Also remember to look ahead not down.. That tip can do wonders...

Post by **Wattie** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 11:31 am

1st thing i was was taught when riding, where you look is where you go...
its amazing how many times this is true, i used to do a bit of off-road hill climbing, at Binnacrombie (if anyone heard of it) and the bike can be going all over the shop, as long as you keep feet on the pegs and look where you wanna be you'll end up there.

Neka79 · Post by **Neka79** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 11:53 am

Damon ZX9R wrote:Ya could try the..........stand on the pegs, whilst holding the front brake on hard, drop the clutch, start smokin the rear wheel ease the brake off slightly and do ya figure 8 whilst doin the mother of all burnouts....problem is ya aint gonna pass.
Probably better, lookin fowards in first and just feathering the clutch for speed and control with minimal throttle action.
First option sounds better though

NO...DONT drop the clutch..ease it out slowly or ull end up on ur ass!!

stevew_zzr · Post by **stevew_zzr** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 3:08 pm

Actually - how *do* you do a standing burnout thingo ???

(not going to try on a 250 though, probably just fall over)

Dark_Angel · Post by **Dark_Angel** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 6:24 pm

not exactly sure what u mean by figure 8s in ur riding test.. dont think we had to do that here in NSW... but if its any help... loosen up ur hips/waist area... and let that guide u into ur turn (if that makes sense).. dont be scared of a bit of lean in ur corners - and always look where u wanna go...

z900/zx9 · Post by **z900/zx9** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 6:38 pm

Sounds like the old test that ya had to do in bali

constapate,and use your crutch

(spelling errors)

Gosling1 · Post by **Gosling1** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:03 pm

Wattie wrote:....its amazing how many times this is true, i used to do a bit of off-road hill climbing, at Binnacrombie (if anyone heard of it) and the bike can be going all over the shop, as long as you keep feet on the pegs and look where you wanna be you'll end up there.

mmmmm chook chasers ......mmmm had to laugh mate, your comment about 'the bike going all over the shop' is so true, it looks pretty *ugly* from behind, but wtf, if it gets you up C*nt Hill (and every MX place has one of them

), then it doesn't matter at all.....

Ever done the *Flying W* ??

rtyuiop · Post by **rtyuiop** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:11 pm

I'll second what most of other QRide people have said - go second gear, and keep your head up!

Assuming you're doing 'fast' figure eights, that is. Being in 2nd makes the throttle much less touchy.

The other thing is to look a long way ahead of yourself in the figure 8. Don't look at the bit down by your feet, look way down the other end when you're coming down the middle section of the 8, and at the middle when you're coming around the top or bottom.

Danny

mattew · Post by **mattew** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 11:22 pm

Well its slow uturns now, 2 right uturns for a circle.
According to my instructer they have to be slow, apparantly you shouldnt use 2nd gear because ya cant use the clutch properly and using the back brake is cheating and the tester might fail you on that.
This is fucked up. I just want my god damn license.

Lainie · Post by **Lainie** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 4:54 am

Hey Matt, we have all confused ya I bet

Jsut keep at it mate and I am sure you will be fine