Gearing/cornering

Red7
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Red7
Edited Date/Time 5/3/2015 6:34pm
I have a stock 2013 Kx450f and I'm getting back into mx. I have a couple days on it at 2 tracks and I often feel that I'm wanting to be right in between 2nd and 3rd gear. It pulls strong out of the corners in 2nd but is winding out over some of the bigger jumps. 3rd feels better over the bigger jumps but it really lugs out of the corner in 3rd. I know I will get faster through the corners and better at shifting but some situations make it hard for me to shift out of the corner (afraid i could miss a shift shortly before takeoff) so being able to be in one gear thru the corner and still have more headroom over the jumps would be ideal. Would going from 13/50 to 13/51 help? Or should I just stay in 3rd and clutch it more with higher rpms through the corners? Either way I need to get more comfortable shifting but it's not easy when I have little time between the corner and bigger jump. Thanks!
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Grieby54
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Grieby54 5/1/2015 2:06pm
5/1/2015 2:06pm
I have a 2012 and felt the same way. I added a tooth to the rear and it felt much better.
Preston412
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Preston412 5/1/2015 6:44pm
5/1/2015 6:44pm Edited Date/Time 5/1/2015 6:50pm
If you find yourself using the clutch for most or all corners, you are starting to form a bad habit and with stock KX springs and clutch plates, you will be buying them often.
The 50 rear works well with the midrange powerband, especially in 3rd. Teach yourself to start braking early and roll into the corner and turning the throttle in mid corner(tight corners), if it is a wider apex turn then you should be throttling through the whole turn and I don't mean twisting it from 0 to full, roll the throttle so the motor pulls through the midrange.
The 51 rear will be ok but if you still find yourself using the clutch with 3rd gear in the corners then your entry speed is to slow
JW381
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JW381 5/1/2015 8:00pm
5/1/2015 8:00pm
I was under the impression you 450 dudes put it in 3rd and just leave it!
Red7
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Red7 5/2/2015 10:52am
5/2/2015 10:52am
Preston412 wrote:
If you find yourself using the clutch for most or all corners, you are starting to form a bad habit and with stock KX springs and...
If you find yourself using the clutch for most or all corners, you are starting to form a bad habit and with stock KX springs and clutch plates, you will be buying them often.
The 50 rear works well with the midrange powerband, especially in 3rd. Teach yourself to start braking early and roll into the corner and turning the throttle in mid corner(tight corners), if it is a wider apex turn then you should be throttling through the whole turn and I don't mean twisting it from 0 to full, roll the throttle so the motor pulls through the midrange.
The 51 rear will be ok but if you still find yourself using the clutch with 3rd gear in the corners then your entry speed is to slow
No doubt my entry speed is too slow as I'm still trying to get my confidence back since I only have a couple hours back on a bike after 7 years off. I'll try to resist the feeling of needing to over brake and give it some more time before changing gearing. At my current speed it really bogs if I don't pull clutch in a bit.

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AnimalHungry 5/2/2015 11:56am
5/2/2015 11:56am
JW381 wrote:
I was under the impression you 450 dudes put it in 3rd and just leave it!
Ha ha yeah! Try riding a 125 for a day - that'll lern ya how to shift :-)

Cheers
Simon
Paw Paw 271
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Paw Paw 271 5/2/2015 2:05pm
5/2/2015 2:05pm
You can always try a Rekluse EXP 3.0 clutch as it will then not make much difference what gear you are in, as it will pull hard.

Paw Paw
Preston412
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Preston412 5/3/2015 6:34pm
5/3/2015 6:34pm
Red7 wrote:
No doubt my entry speed is too slow as I'm still trying to get my confidence back since I only have a couple hours back on...
No doubt my entry speed is too slow as I'm still trying to get my confidence back since I only have a couple hours back on a bike after 7 years off. I'll try to resist the feeling of needing to over brake and give it some more time before changing gearing. At my current speed it really bogs if I don't pull clutch in a bit.
The bike pulls best in mid as stated, so just because the motor isn't screaming doesn't mean it's not pulling. Choose a couple corners and practice rolling into them in third and let off rear brake about 10 ft before turn, if you stall then you stall, just try again. Once you are exiting the turn, shift to 4th and the bike will continue to pull in the midrange.

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