How to make a silky smooth launch on the AE

[Silver Penguin]

The trick is to avoid riding in the center of your lane where the "high spot" is. It's a bad idea anyway since that is where all the oil drippings are, especially at intersections where the cars and trucks have been sitting in one place for a while. Instead get your wheels down in the rut where the trucks have compressed the roadbed. It will bring the road up to you some.
Of course all of this is conjecture on my part because at 6'2" I have no problem flat footing even if I am sitting on the crown.

The tall guy speaks the truth. Us ultra-short riders know, when stopping, to plant the wheels in the lowest parts of the road and let the tippy toes touch the higher parts. Just remember those oil, coolant etc drippings though. They're not good for feet or tires.

Steeply cambered freeway on-ramps can be a challenge, when traffic is backed up. There are times when I can flat foot ONE side of my bike with a bent knee. What a novelty! but if the bike were to lean in the opposite direction, I'd be down in a heartbeat.

Jill

 

[kindofblue]

I would be very interested in knowing what they changed.

+1. Please ask them if there's a technical service bulleting (TSB) about it. Thanks!

 

[2006FJR]

You described the way I always start my bike from a light. I also use the rear brake in tight turns and it works like a charm. I think it is the best replacement I have found for not having a friction zone (old style hand clutch).

Same here. Other than the cold "shudder" the first time I take off on it, mine has always been very smooth.

I have a 2006 AE

Yesterday I brought it in for the 10KM pit stop at the dealer. I had already notified him to check with Yamaha for the no-sweep-on-power-on dash problem, and the cold start shuddering of the clutch.

Now they did install a new dash under warranty (no cost) meaning my odometer is back to zero. But they also got the instruction from Yamaha to change some clutch computer setting.

Now the take off is much smoother with a cold bike, the shudder almost completely dissappeared. Also I noticed the clutch engages smoother and LATER after shifting. So its not the RPM clutch value which is changed by I guess something like the clutch action speed time.

I will ask the dealer mechanic asap what exactly the parameter is they have changed for me.

It was getting used to for a few minutes but I really love the handling now.

Take care,

-Flere.

I would really like to know more about this if you get a moment.

 

[Flyguy]

This discussion is great for fine tuning your AE riding style but it underlines why the magazine reviewers are so lukewarm on it. First we have the ever present "macho" issue with them but also they have been fine tuning their clutch techniques for years and are loathe to give up that investment and don't have the AE long enough to aquire the best approach or a true appreciation. They are getting more like movie reviewers all the time. People read the reviews and say "must be good - the reviewers don't like it !" They need to reasses their responsibility to the riding public and have a bit more personal objectivity. It seems to me they get so bord riding everything under the sun that unless it gives you a leading edge adreneline rush, it isn't worth colume space. Forget that the only way to get the rush is on a track or terrorizing the roads. Solidity, longetivity, reliability - boring.

Hmmmm, Need a new thread about this . . .

 

[Captain B]

Interesting input form the Netherlands. Will be interested to see if the support they get is different from what we'll be told in the good ol' US of A.

To belabor this thread even more - my experience has been - I gather rather universal - when at a complete stop, if I roll on the throttle to take up the slack and continue to roll slightly I can feel the shaft engage, and I get a nice smooth take-off. If I try to "jump" the start I get a definite clunk at take-off. It's even harder to control if I come to a slow down, engage 1st, and then try to accelerate. Has to be done slowly if it is going to be smooth - not always an option - and certainly not as much "fun" if you're trying to smoke someone or just want to get some jollies.

Will try the foot brake thingy. Mecahnically it sounds like it should work just fine.

Really interested - like everyone else - in whether Yam has some sort of official adjustment doc out that I can refer to when I take mine in.

 

[Flere-Imsaho]

This discussion is great for fine tuning your AE riding style but it underlines why the magazine reviewers are so lukewarm on it.

[SIZE=10pt]The way I see it, it is not so much tuning your AE riding style, but getting the kinks out of the system. The parameter changes are a work around for the real improvement which has to be made. This is probably Yamaha's first commercial attempt at an auto-clutch for motorcycles. They did a great job, but it can still be improved.[/SIZE]

I will not give up my AE for another bike because I like the YCCS too much.

But I have the following issues with the YCCS in its current engineering stage.

1. The auto clutch should take the oil temp into account to prevent take off shuddering when the bike is cold.

When standing still and taking off the auto clutch should first remove the free play in the shaft drive and gearbox before going for the full engage.
The revs during shifting should be limited to prevent engine surging during shift so I do not have to close the throttle while accelerating and shifting up. Especially since closing the throttle is difficult to synchronize with the automatic clutch behavior in the lower gears.
When I ride in first gear and slow down to make a U turn and let the bike pull through the rear brake, and then the clutch should not disengage from all to nothing just because the revs go below the threshold. In this case the clutch should go from all to feathering to keep the bike pulling. Now I first have to stop until the clutch is disengaged, and then start riding with the rear brake on so the clutch does not get the chance to engage fully.
I think the YCCS ECU already has the necessary sensor information, so probably all this could be fixed with software modifications, if the ECU processor controlling the stuff is powerful enough. And that is just a matter of money and development time.

-Flere

 

[Rickster]

[SIZE=10pt][/SIZE]

1. When I ride in first gear and slow down to make a U turn and let the bike pull through the rear brake, and then the clutch should not disengage from all to nothing just because the revs go below the threshold. In this case the clutch should go from all to feathering to keep the bike pulling. Now I first have to stop until the clutch is disengaged, and then start riding with the rear brake on so the clutch does not get the chance to engage fully

This may be from your throttle input.

If your throttle input is precisely controlled, (I like how the G2 Ergo Throttle Cam helps with this) the ECU will keep the clutch partially engaged/feathered.

Do you know what was 'adjusted' on your clutch/YCCS? The engagement point for starts in first gear can be adjsted in the ECU (there's a post I did on that somewhere.)

EDIT: Here's the link on the adjustment Clicky found it in the bin

 

[Flere-Imsaho]

[SIZE=10pt][/SIZE]

1. When I ride in first gear and slow down to make a U turn and let the bike pull through the rear brake, and then the clutch should not disengage from all to nothing just because the revs go below the threshold. In this case the clutch should go from all to feathering to keep the bike pulling. Now I first have to stop until the clutch is disengaged, and then start riding with the rear brake on so the clutch does not get the chance to engage fully

This may be from your throttle input.

If your throttle input is precisely controlled, (I like how the G2 Ergo Throttle Cam helps with this) the ECU will keep the clutch partially engaged/feathered.

EDIT: Here's the link on the adjustment Clicky found it in the bin

Thanks for the pointer. I had read this before. But this is about when the clutch engages.

The issue I have is that if the clutch is fully engaged and then you keep the engine pulling while slowing the bike more and more by pressing harder on the rear brake, then the revs will go down (since the clutch is fully engaged) until the revs drop below the treshhold and then the clutch disengages completely. So the engine pulling dissappears and since I'm pressing on the rear brake the bike will stop moving and since this mostly happens when I'm at the steepest lean angle in a sharp U turn, the bike almost trips. And that an andrealine level increaser!.

Please try it, you do not have to make a U turn to experience this. Just ride in first gear at say 2500 rpm and then hold the throttle steady and start increasing pressure on the rear brake. The bike will slow more and more and then suddenly the clutch will completely disengage before enganging again and start feathering. This moment of complete disengagement is very scary in the middle of a sharp U turn.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong here, but I try to do the same as with the normal clutch FJR, but then I can control the clutch myself.

Do you know what was 'adjusted' on your clutch/YCCS? The engagement point for starts in first gear can be adjsted in the ECU (there's a post I did on that somewhere.)

I couldn't reach the mechanic today, so I will ask what they changed next week.

Thanks,

Flere.

 

[Malve]

I have found that if you roll on the throttle smoothly, you take off smoothly it's that simple. No clutch or brake required!!

Perhaps I have the only AE out there that does what it is supposed to.

 

[DaSpyda]

I have found that if you roll on the throttle smoothly, you take off smoothly it's that simple. No clutch or brake required!!
Perhaps I have the only AE out there that does what it is supposed to.

Concur...

 

[V GER]

I have found that if you roll on the throttle smoothly, you take off smoothly it's that simple. No clutch or brake required!!
Perhaps I have the only AE out there that does what it is supposed to.

+2

Though I do like practicing low speed maneuvers with the right foot feathering technique.

I am able to keep both feet on much longer keeping revs up and brake on.