Anyone here use their FZ6 for Moto Gymkhana?

[nitroheadz28]

Just curious, I've been practicing with some locals here in NYC. The guys who participate ride as follows:

FZ-09
Gen II SV650
EX500
KTM 450? (Not sure, its a single cylinder and looks dirtbike-ish haha)

The Fizzer is definitely the heavyweight of the bunch. The last time I was riding with them we had a pretty big course set up, I was getting up to 30mph before braking. I feel like the suspension was less damped than I'd like, I also slid the rear end at the beginning of the apex a couple times.

So far I've just lowered my rear brake a few mm and set my preload on #4 (I'm 180lbs geared up). I haven't had a chance to try any other courses since, but for regular riding the rear feels more planted.

Considering that you get down to under 5mph on some of the tight corners, the jerky throttle at those speeds makes it a little hard to be smooth. Otherwise its a lot of fun, that is before my wrists start killing me from wrestling this beast around (I have weak wrists in general, trying my best to stay light on the bars and let them do their thing).

I'm also nervous about dropping the bike even though I have frame sliders. I wish there were some kind of race rails available but I haven't found any. I've been pushing the bike pretty hard lately so I feel that its only a matter of time :spank:. The Fizzer is definitely not the best tool for the job but its such a great all purpose bike that I have no intention of ever letting it go.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I do. I subscribe to the Motogymkhana FB group page of NY. I've only tried a couple of the courses. The GP8 once, which my initial time was an embarrassing 43 seconds, got it down to 41 after a few more tries. And the Hitch.

 

[ChanceCoats123]

With regards to the jerky throttle at lower speeds, I remember reading someone else who did gymkhana that raised their idle (by quite a bit) and just worked the clutch more. That might help with the snatchiness of the throttle.

 

[nitroheadz28]

I do. I subscribe to the Motogymkhana FB group page of NY. I've only tried a couple of the courses. The GP8 once, which my initial time was an embarrassing 43 seconds, got it down to 41 after a few more tries. And the Hitch.

Ha sweet, I'm on that same page and those are the guys I'm talking about. I haven't been timed on any of the courses yet cause I only tried on 3 occasions so far, but I've learned a lot already :thumbup:

Chance- Heh I'm not that dedicated, I guess I'll just clutch more when I need to- which is what I've been doing all along. Sometimes you get that perfect clutch release and sometimes its still jerky when you're accelerating hard.

 

[Wildcat_drvr]

I read some where(Right Here!-expatmanxman- http://www.600riders.com/forum/uk/53315-fz6-moto-gymkhana.html?highlight=moto+Gymkhana and else where)about some rider, on a Fz6,
That had his idle set at 3,000 RPM IIRC.
Also had a heat sink on his rear brake.
Talked about having forks at full lock
And controlling lean angle-radius of turn with the throttle.
Speed controlled with clutch and rear brake while maneuvering.
Said heat sink was more for practice.
I like to play in empty lots doing spirals in and out,
Figure 8s and squares with loops at the corners.
And tight and loose slalom run of course!
Lots of fun,not that any other riders that watch try.
Probably think I'm some newb hoping to learn how to ride!
Not that you can't learn something new every day,
I try to!
If I were to try this with other riders I'd have to wear my dark shield on my Corsair V.
So I didn't blind/burn anyone with my RED face! :Flash: LOL!

Rich

 

[FinalImpact]

I read some where(Right Here!-expatmanxman- http://www.600riders.com/forum/uk/53315-fz6-moto-gymkhana.html?highlight=moto+Gymkhana and else where)about some rider, on a Fz6,
That had his idle set at 3,000 RPM IIRC.
Also had a heat sink on his rear brake.
Talked about having forks at full lock
And controlling lean angle-radius of turn with the throttle.
Speed controlled with clutch and rear brake while maneuvering.
Said heat sink was more for practice.
I like to play in empty lots doing spirals in and out,
Figure 8s and squares with loops at the corners.
And tight and loose salmon run of course!
Lots of fun,not that any other riders that watch try.
Probably think I'm some newb hoping to learn how to ride!
Not that you can't learn something new every day,
I try to!
If I were to try this with other riders I'd have to wear my dark shield on my Corsair V.
So I didn't blind/burn anyone with my RED face! :Flash: LOL!

Rich

I do that! ^^ Its great practice!
How tight, how fast, how slow, how well can you perform in the parking lot.... IMO this helps the rider a great deal as it better prepares the reflexes training them to "correct for" whatever life throws at you! I'm guessing this "training" has saved a few times when one of those bugga moments almost put us on the ground!

If there were a MG course here, I'd do it! Looks like a blast!

 

[FinalImpact]

PS - Nitro, there is an inexpensive fix for the throttle chop... I started a thread on it.... --> Fixing Throttle Chop

 

[nitroheadz28]

Great info Wildcat, thanks for the link :thumbup:

 

[The_Paragon]

I always thought the FZ would make a pretty decent motogymkana bike... (even though I've never done it and have ZERO credibility on the matter.)

Its quite manuverable, and easy to control in tight slow corners. Its not that heavy (compare that to the HD cruisers and other large police bikes that they take through gymkana courses)

I've always wanted to do a motogymkana course. It looks like a blast!

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I'm no expert, but the techniques that I find that helps me is to have full handle bar lock and don't use the clutch but at my beginning stages of motogymkhana I have it covered just in case and use the throttle and rear brake to control my speed. I'm focusing on my cornering skills first rather than my speed to each end. The GP8 is similar to barrel racing in the rodeo. I need to tighten up my turns, we video taped our practice and that's what I noticed where I needed to improve most.

 

[nitroheadz28]

I need to tighten up my turns, we video taped our practice and that's what I noticed where I needed to improve most.

This is where I need the most work as well. Once I get warmed up after a couple of minutes I have no issues going from lock to lock on a GP8 type turns, but its those 270*+ turns where you need to rotate on a dime that still get me when you have very little momentum.

 

[expatmanxman]

Well our UK season has finished (my first season) and the FZ6 performed pretty well. I won a few novice medals and more to the point I have been promoted to the next rank (green bib) after getting four ranking points. That makes 7 green bibs in the UK, I'm the oldest one by a long way and the only one to get there in their first year, woo hoo.
For next year I'm going to fit some really high bars so I've got the bike right underneath me so I can just lay it on its side. Don't want the bars to be too wide though, something like renthals are so wide you can't reach far enough forward to get it on full lock. Will need new throttle and clutch cables, might see if something from another Yamaha might fit to save me having them made to measure. Will also have to extend all the wiring too but should be able to hide that behind the headlight. Some work to be done, better get my old KTM 620 Duke running and off the ramp so I can get on with it.