Stalling the engine

[davcro]

Hi, I have just one small question that is bothers me.
I'm a fresh driver and I occassionaly stall the engine by releasing the clutch too soon. Does it do any damage to the engine. The bike just stops without any jumping (Rodeo )
pls rply

 

[Jedi]

Nope, no damage at all. Just fire it up again and let the clutch out slowly, these bikes do have a bit of an on-off clutch movement especially when new.

 

[necrotimus]

Stalling the engine alot can result in a dead battery though. If you are puttering around a parking lot practicing for a day and keep stalling you could ultimately find you have a dead battery the next day. I believe the standard belief is the battery will start recharging best above 4k rpms.

 

[davcro]

I was wondering because it has happened to me more than 10 times( I've stopped counting ). So you say no damage, great, I've started to worry that I had damaged the engine and I hate that feeling of doing something wrong especially to my Fazer.

When I divide it with the mileage it it comes out that I stall it approximately once every 100-120 miles. Nothing to worry??

 

[blitzcraig]

i did the same thing plenty of times when i first got my bike. the problem was i was not rolling on the throttle when engaging the clutch, and sometimes i was in second gear.

 

[dako81]

You should be fine, but you should really go to a parking lot and practice some clutch control.

You can do this by going to one end and stopping. Then, start riding as slowly as you possibly can to the other side of the parking lot without using the brakes. This will require you to slip the clutch to make the bike move a little bit, and then pull it back in so you don't fully engage it. You want to be going slower than the bike would be going with the clutch fully released at idle in first gear. If this is too slow and you cannot keep your balance, try starting in second gear (allowing you to go a little faster without fully engaging the clutch) until you get the hang of it a little bit.

Again, the point of this exercise is to go as slow as you possibly can without using the brakes, just the clutch. After a while of this your left forearm will get sore, but since clutch control seems to be an issue with you, should should do this several times a week until you have mastered the friction zone. Also, if you were to get a different bike after getting experience, I would recommend you to do this a couple of times on the new bike to become accustomed to that system as well.

Doing this will help your clutch control which will make your take offs smooth as can be.

Good luck!

Oh, also the parking lot should be flat, and if it isn't you should do this going up the hill. Doing this going down the hill is cheating.

 

[DaveOTZ]

I dont know what your roads are like around there... but Im in New York City traffic which has taught me clutch control way too quickly... Nothing like a cabbie honking after you stall to completely question why you shouldnt be on a vespa...

The friciton zone feels almost as if it grows as you get used to this bike... WHich I love its like a new bike every week... I really do enjoy this bike more than the standards and cruisers Ive been on...

 

[CanadianFZ6]

I was wondering because it has happened to me more than 10 times( I've stopped counting ). So you say no damage, great, I've started to worry that I had damaged the engine and I hate that feeling of doing something wrong especially to my Fazer.

When I divide it with the mileage it it comes out that I stall it approximately once every 100-120 miles. Nothing to worry??

That's because you are not adding enough throttle... Give it more gas and you won't stall anymore. You won't damage the engine... cars stall all the time...

 

[madmanmaigret]

Another thing to check....where is your idle set? Mine stalled alot after I broke it in because the idle was too low. You should be 1250-1350 rpm (if I recall correctly)

 

[dako81]

That's because you are not adding enough throttle... Give it more gas and you won't stall anymore. You won't damage the engine... cars stall all the time...

The issue of lack of clutch control will only be compounded by throttle. You have to learn clutch control first, then learn to use it with throttle.

+1 on your idle speed as well.

 

[DefyInertia]

The issue of lack of clutch control will only be compounded by throttle. You have to learn clutch control first, then learn to use it with throttle.

+1 on your idle speed as well.

+1 and +2 :thumbup:

throttle w/ no clutch control sounds like an accident waiting to happen. I would practice rolling away from a complete stop on flat ground with zero throttle for a while until 2-finger clutch control become second nature....this should be extremely easy to do with idle at 1,300 RPM.

 

[Gilo-FZ6]

as others have said practice makes perfect..also do you have any freinds with dirt bikes..once you can master the narrow biting point of a 2 stroke MX clutch ,the FZ will be a breeze

 

[SovietRobot]

I stalled the bike probably 100 times in the first two weeks. It was my first time on any motorcycle. Once you get the hang of it and build up the proper muscles and clutch/throttle control, it will stop happening.

I remember after the first week of riding I could barely use my hands.

 

[Botch]

I had a huge problem stalling the engine that first summer; chin up, it does get better! When I took the MSF course, I rode a Kawi dual-sport, and didn't stall the engine ONCE all weekend! That sensitive Yamaha clutch becomes a great Allie when you're riding fast, just snick-snick-snick-woohoo! :rockon:

 

[DefyInertia]

Since we're sharing stalling stories.....first time I "rode" a street bike I stalled three times in the driveway without getting more than a few feet. my now father-in-law said, "ok, you're too nervous, we'll try again next year". So I had to wait until the spring as it was late fall at the time....that was dissapointing but I barely knew him and had only started dating his daughter a couple months earlier.

I learned to drive in a manual (3-speed on the column) '78 Chevy pickup and took my driver's test in a manual transmission car. The skills cross over to an extent, but IMO the bikes require a slightly different touch.

 

[wrightme43]

Practice the hell out of it man, like everyone has said. It comes in really really handy when you need it. the ability to slip but not totally release or ingage the clutch can come in very handy in parking lots around stupid cagers with cell phones, huge sunglasses, and the IQ of turtle that huffs gas and mothballs.

 

[Shinn]

I remember the clutch on my SV and the day I got the FZ. Never stalled it but almost wiped by giving it way to much gas before the friction point.

Best test is to sit in first in a parking lot and very gently let the clutch out till you can feel the bike just start to move, then pull the clutch back in. Keep repeating till you have it trained to muscle memory then try it out on the street. Worked great for me on every bike so far.

 

[crabby117]

I'm a pretty new rider and I've stalled a handful of times in my first few months of riding. More often than not, though, my problem wasn't letting the clutch out too fast, it's because I was in second, not first gear. You CAN take off from a stop in second gear, just like in a car, but it'll be more sluggish and requires even more finesse on the clutch and more throttle. Once I feel the drag, I KNOW I'm in the wrong gear and it's easier and quicker (much quicker than stalling!) to just reclutch and tap that left foot. Might want to make sure that's not your problem as well.

 

[PAULED]

Hi

As still being a new rider myself, I still, if I can, avoid routes that have "Hill Starts". Bloody hate them at the moment, sometimes I get them and sometimes stall.

So I think that also needs practice aswell.

Cheers

 

[KensFz6]

Since we're sharing stalling stories...

The first time I stalled on the street, I was just a few blocks from where I bought the bike (XT250) and was first in line at a red light. I kept restarting and trying to get it going till finally I had to waddle out of the way to let the 18-wheeler that was right behind me get by

After another minute or so, I figured out that I was in second gear.

Other than draining the battery, there's no real harm with stalling the engine. I tend to be more worried about what harm I'm doing trying to prevent it like coasting 500 feet with the clutch out and shifting down from 4th to first all in one clutch pull... then nervously tapping the shifter while waiting at the light to make sure it's in first etc...