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How do you handle changing between bikes?

Timing is everything. I have always been an one bike guy until the last two weeks. I am in the honeymoon phase with my GSXR so the Triumph had been gathering dust until last night, when I was forced to ride it because the GSXR came without a passenger seat/pegs. The Triple immediately felt small, twitchy and the front end light. But as others have said it comes back after a few miles.

I think the worst I experienced was when I test road 2000 Aprilia RSV Mille that had been ridden hard. It was an immediate hate of the bike (the shifter was stiff as hell, neutral impossible to find, and the clutch felt like it had rocks in it).
 
I ride them both enough (mine) and have been riding so long that I can swing my leg over pretty much anything and be comfortable very quickly.
 
I've also owned an SV650 and an Intruder 800 at the same time for a few months and that was weird [could never find the footpegs on either bike] And an R6 and the SV at the same time.
But the worst was between my R6 daily transportation and my 929RR race bike.
The Honda felt like a tank for the first few laps every time I rode it.
 
For me, I usually have the levers and shifter/footbrake set at a particular angle for my seating position regardless of the bike.

example - arms/hands/fingers are in a straight line, whether I am sitting on my YZ, FZ, of YZF race bike. Foot lever is set a certain angle that I like to let me upshift or downshift and foot brake, gets to a certain degree before the rear brakes start engaging.

In this manner, all operations are pretty much the same, just the seating position is different. Body positions, riding methods may change a bit, (example road race to flat track), but the controls are very familiar feeling.

Hope this makes sense to you all?
 
you get used to it fast. I also used to drive between my 500hp M5, and my minivan on the same day. Got used it.
 
After I bought my DRZ Supermoto my YZF600 felt like a pig (the YZF had made my ZRX1200 feel like pig). I tried adapting to the two different bikes but eventually I just quit riding the YZF. The DRZ, though miserable for long freeway rides, was so much more fun at everything else.

Thats how I handled changing between bikes. :laughing
 
Can't believe no one has said this yet:

You learn to switch between bikes by switching between more bikes. Right now you're going between an upright standard and a sumo, and that's the extremes of what you're comfortable with. Go ride a cruiser, go ride an RS125, go ride a big trailie, go ride a WR250X, go ride a Goldwing, ride something vintage, something brand new, a big twin, small 4, big 4, middleweight triple, giant twin, on, and on, and on.

When the range of the bikes you've put some decent time on is everything from a tiny RS125 to a R1200GS, the difference between a DRZ and an SV doesn't seem all that significant. It's all about perspective, maaaaaaan.


Comedy answer: Hop on the new bike, do a wheelie and a stoppie and then back it in and you'll know exactly how the bike handles. :laughing

DucatiHoney said:
I don't know what to tell you (helpful, right?) but I've had the same question in my head for years. My husband and I have exactly the same street bike, but his is terrible for me to ride--it's set up really differently. I really struggled to learn my 748 (set up for me) and FZR400 (set up for me) and never got it right. Jumped on the R6 and that felt really natural (it was set up for my husband). His Superhawk--so-so. Borrowed some guy's little 400 somethingorother at the track and put down one of my better times the first lap out. It makes no sense. The thing that the "good rides" have in common is that I forget about the bike being under me. I don't know what makes that happen though.
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I'd start by looking at the similarities between the bikes you felt natural on - seat position, weight distribution, suspension spring rates, engine power delivery and braking characteristics. I've learned that on the track I like a seating position that isn't available in any modern supersport, it's pretty much a normal standard seating position canted forward about 20 degrees. So handlebars and custom rearsets are the order of the day for me. My preferred suspension setup is closer to Ducati than R6 - a little effort to turn is fine, I want the bike to naturally feel stable. Other folks prefer a bike that turns "telepathically", and is on it's side when you start thinking about the turn. It's just about identifying the consistent bits that make up "natural" for you.
 
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What Z3n said—ride as more bikes and it gets easier. There's no better way to find out which of your riding habits are bike-specific vs general than riding as many bikes as you can possibly borrow.

I've got a pretty broad set of bikes at the moment, but each one is great at something different. As long as I pick the right bike for the ride, the transition is easy and the rider happy.

Nowadays my problems switching between bikes is mostly centered around the Sportster being right-hand shift ('72) and the Tuono having its turn signal and horn controls reversed from normal. Usually I don't jam the brake or honk at myself more than once per bike switch though.
 
My buddy's MV Dragster has the turn signal switch and horn reversed and every time I hop on the bike I try and cancel the turn signals with the horn. Makes me jump and crack up every time. :laughing
 
numist said:
Usually I don't jam the brake or honk at myself more than once per bike switch though.
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Z3n said:
My buddy's MV Dragster has the turn signal switch and horn reversed and every time I hop on the bike I try and cancel the turn signals with the horn. Makes me jump and crack up every time. :laughing
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I end up cancelling the turn signals two or three times when I want to honk at somebody instead. :laughing
 
If I rode my other bikes like I do my motard, I would be arrested fairly quickly.
 
What Z3n said! :thumbup
 
russ69 said:
After you have owned a bazillion bikes you adapt pretty quick.
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A lot of truth to this. :thumbup

I recently sold my '13 ZX14r, but had that, and I still have a 690 SMC, a Goldwing and a Ural. All, very different.

I do notice that if I've been on a particular bike a lot and not riding the others that when I do switch, it takes a few moments to adapt.

One thing I do, as much as possible, all my bikes are set up in a similar fashion.
 
Usually not a problem. I go from SV standard shift to GSXR GP shift at the track with zero problems. When I first started racing I had left and right hand shift bikes, and that made for a bit of excitement.
 
afm199 said:
Usually not a problem. I go from SV standard shift to GSXR GP shift at the track with zero problems. When I first started racing I had left and right hand shift bikes, and that made for a bit of excitement.
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When you first started racing the wooden tires and chickens on the track were even more so. :twofinger
 
I rode my ZX-10R to Santa Cruz to test ride an R1150GS; the differences in agility and power were jarring. My first impression of the GS was very poor, but overtime I've learned to like it.

It's about having enough familiarity or the lack of it. I've had a number of different types of bikes which I'm comfortable switching back-to-back, but I haven't had a cruiser yet. When I looked at a coworker's Shadow 750, its wide-girth and low ground clearance made me nervous, since it's unclear how it would handle tight turns at speed.
 
Switch between bikes more frequently. I commute on a Multi 1100S and run shorter errands on a DRZ-SM. They're both upright bikes but feel very different, and switching isn't much of a problem. I just notice their different advantages when I switch - way more power on the Multi and way better handling of bumpy streets on the SM.

The more you get used to one bike, the harder it seems to switch. Wen I got my first DRZ (it was an S model) and switched from a 955i Daytona, it felt like I was riding a tractor. So switch frequently.
 
No problem once used to the bike.
I am still learning the old Kawi. 1975 triple.

But as said it feels fine jumping from one to another on the other 3.
They are different and require a bit of a different method, but I love them all.

Tomorrow the multi. Saturday the Kawi. Etc. :banana
 
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