First ride

[chasaduc]

I would say I did very very well considering all the factors. It's going to take a pro to ride this bike. I'm not a pro. So basically I give up for now. I am going to focus my attention back on the suzuki and make it legal and sell it and take that money to buy another bike to learn on.

So let me explain. The clutch. it's nothing then a little and then all out. I played a lot with the clutch to try to get a feel for it. Probably wore it out doing all I did anyway at idle and hitting the one slight first soft spot it will move and then wants to die if you do it too long. So giving it a little gas? That helps. But fully letting off the clutch? It wants more gas. I got down the clutch and the rpms to get going. Here are my thoughts. Ahh yeah I am going! hit the clutch! so I can coast. Yay that worked. oh no i am slowing down i'll hit the brake. Yay! I stopped! and when I said to do it as opposed to the wheel locking when the engine died and making me stop and look like a retard. Ok so next try I get it going and add another set of balls and give it more gas to keep it going. It spun the tire in the alley. I really didnt like that.

I dont really like trying to play in gravel either. I need room and a parking lot. I also need an experienced rider to try the bike out to make sure it is in proper working order.

Imagine when you were 16 driving a car for the first time. Did you really want to go from 0-100 on your first try?

Ok yeah so i did. That's why i want a motorcycle. But I cant really do that. Imagine being on a race track. Yeah lots of fast there. But you also have to get from the garage and go through all the go carts and spectators to get to the race track.

So anyway does anyone want to buy a GSX-R race bike? It now has a head light to make it a street bike. I want to sel tha that for profit and to get another bike to learn on.

[nnnnnnorman]

get outta that alley and off that gravel into a big empty parking lot with a slight slope so you can perfect your clutch control slightly down hill then slightly uphill. getting an experienced rider to help is a great idea as is getting an easier bike to start with. good luck and keep trying!

[duc907]

It sounds to me like the clutch needs bleed. My 907 did the same thing till I bleed the clutch.

[angelix]

I dont understand if you are trying to learn to ride a BIKE starting with the PASO or you already know how to use a bike and you want to learn how to ride a PASO.

either way, it sounds like your clutch is not perfect maybe need adjustment (if the bike is NOT a PASO).

Instead, if the bike is a PASO, then i have the feeling you need to replace the idraulic oil in the Clutch master cylinder (actually the whole circuit) making sure that there are no bubbles or the clutch will be very temperamental and difficult to use.


In case you dont know how to ride a bike, i would advice you to get yourself a nice 80-125CC enduro to learn and only after becoming well acquainted with the controls then to pass to a bigger bike.

The Paso is a very easy bike if you know what you are doing, I wouldnt advice to learn to ride on it tho'.

[streetsurfer]

I also suspect a functional issue with the clutch. I don't recall if I posted this in your other thread but installing heavier springs helped my clutch action. I installed them upon my dealers advice, when the bike was fairly new after I had to deal with leaking clutch fluid issue. I'd say within the first year to two contaminants in the clutch fluid caused corrosion to the bore in the clutch cover. Seal was damaged, fluid leaked (and air entered, ie needing constant bleeding) penetrated the throwout bearing and thinning it's grease to the point of disintegration of the bearing. During this time the clutch behaviour was erratic, either grabby or slipping, often jumping from one to the other mid start, making starts difficult. I suspect it also caused the early demise of the plates due to the slippage.
Check the small vent hole at the bottom of your clutch cover. Do you see an excessive amount of clutch dust? Do you see wetness from leaking clutch fluid, paint peeled as a result of leaked fluid?
A slight glaze on the plates, I believe, if that's what might be causing this can be removed. I used a method to burnish off the glaze, that worked to improve clutch feel, but I figure it also shortened the clutch life.
Give the clutch a good bleed. I agree with stay out of the gravel for now, as mentioned. You could always walk the bike to clear pavement if you have to exit through the alley. Not just because of the poor tire traction but you may not be able to prevent a fall if you have poor footing and need to put a foot down quickly for support. Oh, check for proper chain tension and suspension set up as well.

I applaud your desire to learn on a lesser bike if it is basic clutching skills you need. In the meantime go over the ducati clutch system. You'll get it. Don't rush yourself. You have years of enjoyable riding ahead of you.

[nnnnnnorman]

what bikes did we all learn to ride on? see my other posting to get this thread started. its LEARNING TO RIDE ON A PASO in 750 PASO DISCUSSION

[chasaduc]

Im glad I got to stir up some good conversation. I also seemed to have resparked an old thread about first bikes. So I will fill in some questions.

The fist bike I rode was a schwin. Then a BMX race bike and I graduated to a 12 speed. Yeah I skipped the 10 speed. My first motorized bike was a moped. It went slower than my 12 speed manual pedal bike. I did try my luck on an early 80's dirt bike out in a field. Also came across a new 450 dirtbike and also a banshee 4 wheeler in the early 90's. In a field. To be honest riding those dirt bikes is how I feel riding my paso in a stone and dust covered alley. Give it hell get going and give it more hell. However the paso and the alley? Yeah I cant do that.

I really dont feel comfortable going 30 mph just to keep it going in a short alley.

My first street bike? It was a honda cb 450. I fixed it and I was pretty unsure of the brakes. I wasnt about to try it on the road and no one else would do it either. So the first motorcycle I have ever actually attempted to become on the road was the paso.

I have since then aquired a 2000 GSX-R 750 race bike. It's ported and all the goodies. Everything is wired in for racing. 650 miles on it actually. Still has racing fuel in it. It has a salvage title and all it needed was a headlight and an inspection to become legalized for the road. Oh and a kick stand. So I added the kick stand and got a headlight and drilled the racing body for the headlight. Thats all I did while waiting for parts for the paso.

So I am going to finish making the gixxer road legal and then sell it. I will use that money to buy a more sensible bike for a beginer to learn on. Then I will get back to the Paso.

If you or anyone you know wants to buy a Suzuki GSXR 750 with all of the racing modifications done and the engine modifications done and almost ready to be legalized for the street let me know. Like I said 650 miles on it. Title says unknown miles but there is a long story and i have the documents showing that is true miles. It also has a power commander and an Akropovic exhaust.

So yeah this is the real deal. Again not even going to try to take that thing out as a beginer.

I cant sell the Paso unless the price is right. Im not sure why the rest of the world does not view this bike as valuable and beautiful. But we all know this bike is special. Not only in looks but also in rarity and what should be a valuable piece of Ducati history.