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Help Riding a postie

Discussion in 'The Pub' started by Gizziracer, Mar 25, 2020.

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  1. Gizziracer

    Gizziracer Well-Known Member Contributing Member

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    A friend has acquired a postie for his son. He’s asked me to give his son some riding tips/lessons. No biggie really, after teaching in a south west Sydney high school for 30 years shouldn’t be a problem. So upon taking the mighty 110 for a spin some weeks ago I discovered I have absolutely no $&@ idea how to correctly use the gearbox.. after a short blast I discovered that trying to do smooth down shifts with no clutch seems nigh on impossible. Manual says drop the revs when changing gears but doing this while changing down creates huge amounts of strain on the motor/drive system.. and really rough gear changes. What technique do owners of these amazing little beasts use when changing gears..
     
    Gizziracer, Mar 25, 2020
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  2. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    My postie just stomps his size 11's on the lever as he jumps off the gutter. :lolsign:
     
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    Murdo, Mar 25, 2020
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  3. jmw76

    jmw76 Well-Known Member

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    Be kind to it and just use the clutch on down and upshifts. When you are familiar with it that you may be able to match the revs beautifully without the clutch. It just requires lots of time on the machine. Using the clutch will never hurt it.
     
    jmw76, Mar 25, 2020
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  4. Gizziracer

    Gizziracer Well-Known Member Contributing Member

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    Yep, that would work beautifully, if it had a clutch!!:) these things are a different breed of bike,, that’s why , after using clutches for 50 years,, I’m somewhat challenged by the lack of one:)
     
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    Gizziracer, Mar 25, 2020
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  5. Gizziracer

    Gizziracer Well-Known Member Contributing Member

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    And also extremely hesitant to try to teach someone to ride something I can’t master myself.
     
    Gizziracer, Mar 25, 2020
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  6. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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    Ive ridden alot of step thrus in Asia and they are usually very poorly maintained or thrashed , but gear changing was easy

    Anything bent at the gear peddle or is the oil ok/correct ?
     
    GreyImport, Mar 25, 2020
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  7. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    They can be a bit savage but mostly ease off the throttle till the speed drops and then click it down a gear..
    The trick is to get the engine revs low enough for the clutch to work.
    Shouldnt be too much trouble as they dont go very fast anyway :)
    Or do as Murdo suggested.. these things are pretty hardy and you would be hard pressed to lock a rear wheel dropping down the gears.
    Once you get the hang of them they are pretty smooth to run around on.
    You will also find that when you click it into first... if you hold down with your heel you can rev her up... depending on how far back you are on the seat you can even get the front wheel up in the air...lol
     
    Andych, Mar 25, 2020
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  8. my67xr

    my67xr Bike Enthusiast Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member

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    my67xr, Mar 25, 2020
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  9. Gizziracer

    Gizziracer Well-Known Member Contributing Member

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    Gearbox is working perfectly.. I was simply hoping there was a technique for totally smooth downshifting like I can achieve on pretty much any clutch assisted gearbox within minutes of operation. I’ve raced bikes with some of the most agricultural gear boxes in existence( the mighty 70s Guzzi), I was just taken aback at my inability to master these lil bikes in seconds.. I have only ridden it around the block so far. looking at the “weightless dog” site with great interest. Thanks for all the suggestions.
     
    Gizziracer, Mar 25, 2020
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  10. Allan

    Allan Well-Known Member

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    My recollection of riding pushrod Honda 50 quite some time ago is that it is possible to achieve smooth gear changes, both up and down.
    Since the gear lever mechanism disengages the clutch when it is pressed in either direction, they aren't really clutchless changes.
    The purpose of closing the throttle when changing down is to contribute to a smooth change. That doesn't happen if you completely close the throttle and hesitate during the gear change.
    The ideal is to close the throttle enough to take the load off the transmission, but not enough so that the engine will be idling when you select the lower gear. In a perfect world, the engine would be doing close to the revs it will be doing when you lift your foot off the gear change and the clutch re-engages.
    If you are being tentative about the change down, you will be making it harder to achieve a smooth change. If you don't hesitate, then the revs have just enough time to drop to more or less the correct speed without any effort on your part.

    Disclaimer: All this depends on the accuracy of my memory of riding a Honda 50 in about 1970.
    Further disclaimer: If the 110 has a different transmission from the old 50, then none of this is relevant.
     
    Allan, Mar 25, 2020
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  11. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Not sure on the similarity of the clutches between the 50cc and the 110... the 110 and the 90 are both a Centrifugal clutch so will be dependant on the engine speed as well as the condition of the plates and the oil as well..
    My memory from my 90 stepthrough days.. (vague at best now) was for down changes you eased off the throttle.. engine revs didnt die because the transmission is still active and then you just dropped it down a gear.. never really needed to go under 3rd much but by the time you were slow enough for 2nd it changed down easy..
    The main difference I found after getting onto a bike with a clutch was I tended to use the brakes less and the gears more for slowing down for corners etc.. brakes were sort of right at the end... where on the CT your brakes are used to bring your speed down to the point where you change gears... the speedo has the gearchange points on most of them.. be well under that for the gear you are changing down to and all should be sweet.
     
    Andych, Mar 25, 2020
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  12. Allan

    Allan Well-Known Member

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    The 50 was a centrifugal clutch that was also disengaged manually by pressing on the gear lever.
     
    Allan, Mar 25, 2020
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  13. Linkin

    Linkin The Mechanic Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Does it have a clutch lever? All the scoots in Thailand appear to have a centrifugal clutch. Upshifts are easy, when downshifting use the gear lever like a clutch lever. Throttle closed and release slowly after selecting the gear. They also go from 4th back to 1st if you shift up again, good at traffic lights.
     
    Linkin, Mar 25, 2020
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  14. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Umm nope... no clutch lever at all.. centrifugal clutch only and as Allan mentioned above, when you push down on the gearshift (to change down) it will engage the clutch to a certain extent.
    From neutral it is only 4 up or 4 down, so from neutral step on the rear of the gearshift and that is first... then either continue that way or lift your foot up as per normal to go up in the gears... changing down is press down on the front of the gearshift.
     
    Andych, Mar 25, 2020
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  15. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    This is from the Owners Manual
    Postie bike gears.jpeg
     
    Andych, Mar 25, 2020
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  16. Oigy

    Oigy Owner of many bikes, keeper of few :(

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    They used to do lovely wheel stands if you held you foot down on the rear pedal, revved the crap out of it and then lifted your foot , we did some silly things when we were young and knew everything :)
     
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    Oigy, Mar 25, 2020
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  17. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Yep... listed that particular activity a number of posts above :)
    Too old, smart and fat to do it now though
     
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    Andych, Mar 25, 2020
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  18. jmw76

    jmw76 Well-Known Member

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    My bad guys. Forgot that those things don't have clutches as such. It's been a long time since I have ridden one. 45 years ago in fact.
     
    jmw76, Mar 25, 2020
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  19. Allan

    Allan Well-Known Member

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    I know what you meant, but a better way to explain it is that it has no hand clutch lever and the clutch is engaged by centrifugal force and is disengaged by pressing on the foot gear lever.
     
    Allan, Mar 25, 2020
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  20. ruckusman

    ruckusman White Mans Magic Master Premium Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    OK, I have to ask, this postie, is she good looking?
     
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    ruckusman, Mar 25, 2020
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