two finger technique

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by alantf

& my little finger (pinkie?) seems too short to do anything anyhow.

Seems to me like a proper Englishman would have his pinkie raised......... :biggrin: :crackup

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

Seems to me like a proper Englishman would have his pinkie raised......... :biggrin: :crackup

Only if SHE is drinking tea I would imagine.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by Water Warrior

Only if SHE is drinking tea I would imagine.

You beat me to the punch! :2tup:

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by alantf

You beat me to the punch! :2tup:

Uh Uh, beat you to the tea. Lame response but I had to do it.

[Sarris]

With my two finger technique, you have to ride with no hands.

:fu: :facepalm: :fu:
The Two Finger Technique

Seriously, use ALL your fingers and pull it all the way to the bar. You'll have to do this on most larger bikes anyway, so you may as well be accustomed to it.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Sarris

With my two finger technique, you have to ride with no hands.

Sure, no problem. I found the proper size O-ring for my Kardasian (whatever) grips yesterday so my "cruise control" is working and I'm ready to go with whatever hand signals are needed !!! :neener:

P.S. Checked it out today and I use 3-1/2 fingers on both sides; the pinky is on there but it ain't doin' much.

[alanmcorcoran]

A number of people have commented on pulling the clutch all the way in, and Sarris mentioned this is even more necessary on bigger bikes.

On my GZ it's also important to make sure you are letting the clutch all the way OUT too. I haven't been riding it much lately but when I took it out the other day, I found I was not letting the clutch all the way out and losing power and acceleration (probably not helping the transmission much either.) I suspect it is because my other bike has less travel in the clutch, but I'm not sure why I was doing this. Might also be related to gauntlet gloves vs the thinner ones...

The bike will still ride somewhat normally with the clutch only partially released, but with less torque.

The "two-finger" business is a form of "covering." (Typically the brakes.) There is all sorts of debate of covering vs non covering that I don't really want to get into, (I "cover" approaching intersections and in parking lots.) I don't think it is ever recommended as the standard way to use the levers.

EDIT: I noticed yesterday that I "cover" with all four fingers. I have pretty chunky levers and it's best not to pussyfoot them - two fingers really wouldn't make any sense for me. When I'm on the freeway, I keep my fingers around the grips unless I'm splitting lanes at slow speed.

[adrianinflorida]

I find that 90% of the time I 'cover' the brake and clutch with at least a couple fingers, if not all of them, while riding. When I operate the clutch and brake, though, I use all fingers, it's just more comfortable to me, to each his own.

[BusyWeb]

Originally Posted by adrianinflorida

I find that 90% of the time I 'cover' the brake and clutch with at least a couple fingers, if not all of them, while riding. When I operate the clutch and brake, though, I use all fingers, it's just more comfortable to me, to each his own.

Hi, there.
Here is my experience about covering fingers....
I used to do same way like what you are doing >> 'cover' the brake and clutch with at least a couple fingers.
But now (I have not been riding almost over 20 years, ha ha ha), after MSF class, I try not to.
Whenever I recognize that I cover; especially on the clutch lever; with fingers,
I remove it intentionally if I'm not riding on the busy city commuting which requires frequent gear shifting.
The reason is that when riders met a Panic Situation,
riders tend to squeeze the clutch or brake lever without thinking (self-defense system on the brain).
And many cases with that makes bike down especially when turning or bike was leaned.
I also had similar situations and felt it's very dangerous.... (I might need better riding technique.. ha ha ha),
and bike losses power suddenly when clutch is out of the engin train when turning or riding down, and I had hard moments to control bike. >>> causes worse situations.
That's my experience for the covering fingers ...

And one thought about Two Finger Method.
I'm currently having just little bit shorter Clutch Lever. (don't ask me why ... ha ha ha, if you ask, I will answer why I have shorter clutch lever)
My clutch lever is just right size for my palm size; it just covers all my 4 fingers.
So, most time I'm using my 2-3 fingers without my intention, and felt very comfty.
And my last two fingers are very happy with it >> I can put on/off my all fingers very easily and faster than before....
It gives less fatigue on my left hands..... and gave me little better control on clutch >> I don't know why???
There might be some reasons(Physics) here >>> shorter >>> less movement requires on clutch actions
>> shorter >> requires just little more hand gripping power >>> but reduces time to find friction zone >>> shorter clutch engage time >>> etc...
Ha ha ha, I don't want to change my shorter clutch lever with Longer until I found some reason.

However, I like to use all my 4 fingers on the bike levers >> makes me more confidence on....

[primal]

I think the only time you should use two fingers is if your bike is suited for it. For instance, its a lot easier to use two fingers on a sport bike with dual front brakes than it is a big cruiser with a single disk in the front. Sport Riding Techniques by Nick Ienatsch which, despite the implications of the title, has a LOT of good information about riding on the street, recommends using two/three fingers for the clutch and brake. If your clutch is light enough and your brakes powerful enough (so you don't need to put that much effort into braking) then using two/three fingers is fine.

Use two fingers, the index and middle fingers, on the front brake lever. The old days of fading brakes pinching your fingers against the bar are long gone, and a wholehand grab is not only too much pressure for today's low-effort systems, but it also reduces your control of the throttle when blipping (revving) the engine on downshifts.

Now, granted, the GZ's brake system probably isn't considered "low-effort," so you probably wouldn't want to use this technique on this bike.