How to Reverse without the Reverse Gear?

[shocker]

Being a smaller rider, at 5'6" and 165 pound, I've found reversing the Empulse without a reverse gear is a chore.  So far, staying in the riding position while tippy toe peddling backward seems to be the safest.  I also tried to walk it like a bike, with my both hands on the handlebar and standing on the left side of the bike.  That does not work too well with the 470 pound Empulse, and I feel I could let the bike down any moment.   Maybe the best way is to not to get the bike into situation that needs to reversing back out, but I seem need to do that every time I park in a parking spot or even my own garage.

[Richard230]

I have this problem with my IC motorcycles.  Besides picking my parking spots as level as possible, before getting on the bike I will push it back into the travel lane or where ever I can turn around and get going forward in one movement.  What I do is put my left hand on the left bar and the right hand on the seat and push backward with the side stand down (just in case I slip), while steering with my left hand.  When I reach a spot that will allow me to ride off, I lean the bike on to its side stand and then climb on, retract the stand and take off.  It is probably better to do this with the ignition off until you get on the seat.

[Shinysideup]

One small tip: Putting the transmission into Neutral noticeably lessens the energy needed to wheel the Empulse around.

I'm on and off the Empulse all day long on my job in San Francisco. Part of my routine is NEVER to park where I need to back the bike up to resume travel. It's actually fairly easy to do, though it may require stopping in the street (uphill from the parking place!) and backing into the curb or slot. On our steep hills, it sometimes means that I must park on the opposite side of the street from my direction of travel.  I've gotten quite good at estimating the relationship between the a hill's angle of elevation, and the angle the kickstand allows the bike to rest on.

At home, I do head into my garage, because the driveway is slanted down away from the level garage pad, so backing up is easier on the way out again.

Granted, on level ground, you will still need to do some backing. I have long legs, so Richard's method may work better for you where there's no elevation change to allow gravity to help you roll it backwards.

+1 on not making the throttle "hot" until you're ready to drive off. Shortly after I got the Empulse, I was in a huge rush to get to an appointment and headed the bike into a diagonal parking place, without bothering to reverse in. After the appointment, I started up the bike, tried to ease the bike backwards, couldn't budge it up the incline of the street crown, jerked back on the handlebars, (head turned back to watch for traffic, NOT the green flashy lights!) thereby activating the throttle, which very promptly sent the front wheel up over the curb at a 45 degree angle, flipping the bike over on its side. NOT one of my coolest rider maneuvers! But it DID allow me to experience what 470 lbs feels like to get upright all by myself!

[flar]

Another voice for disabling the motor when backing it up.  Not too long after I got the bike I dropped it while backing into a (level) spot and had no idea what went wrong - I was backing it in and suddenly it was going over.  I thought maybe I was tired or was not yet completely over a recent cold or some other issue that was affecting my balance.

Since then I've noticed that if I'm backing it with the throttle active then I occasionally slightly blip the throttle (such a small blip that I don't necessarily notice the pull if I'm too focused on the backing procedure) and the mild and unexpected pull of the motor is enough to disrupt my balance if I'm not quick to notice it.  The first time I noticed it I thought that someone had decided to play a game with me and push on the back of the bike until I noticed there was nobody near me.  D'oh!  *BAD* right hand!

Since neutral or cutting off the bike leaves me with no convenient way to pull back out for a minor adjustment, I usually either just concentrate on keeping my right hand pegged forward, or I use the clutch so that a minor throttle input will not result in any creepy (pun intended) push.  This is about the only time I ever use the clutch...

[flar]

As for lifting 470 pounds?  I have had to right my 600 pound R1200RT by myself and that was a breeze compared to the Empulse.  Why?  Because the RT has huge side cases that never let it fall too far.  If I need to lift the RT then it's only about 60 degrees over and the standard "back into it in a crouch and use your legs" technique works wonders.  When I needed to lift the Empulse, though, it was nearly flat as a pancake and so some actual lifting is needed until you get enough height to employ the "reverse crouch"...

[implovator]

This is what I do...



For garage maneuvering:
1. Right hand on left rear grab handle. Left hand steering on the left side of the bar. Walk it back pushing mostly with legs and a mostly stiff right arm.
2. When you're in a tight spot. Walk around to the front of the bike while it's on the kickstand. Grab handlebars (left hand to right grip and right hand to left grip since you're facing it). Lift bike up and shove it back on the garage. You end up straddling the front wheel a little. Set it back on the kick stand

On the road or a parking lot:
3. Feet (toes) on the ground. Pull clutch in. Grab front brake. Throw your weight forward with stiff arms, compressing the fork. As the fork rebounds release front brake and push backwards with feet and don't pull up on the bars too much. Keep the clutch in. This technique helps you get started rolling, but more importantly it means that you don't have to push with your feet so hard to get it started. For us short dudes that tip-toe a lot, pushing with the feet and pulling on the bars too much will bring up the ride height which means we're on our toes even more.

I always park my bike going up hill. Often times I'll pull up to a spot, get off, and use technique #1 to push it back into the spot.

[Shinysideup]

When I needed to lift the Empulse, though, it was nearly flat as a pancake and so some actual lifting is needed until you get enough height to employ the "reverse crouch"...

Yes! When my front wheel was up on the sidewalk and the rest of the bike was, negativley, in the gutter, I had to develop new muscles, just to get the bike back to flat level, and THEN start lifting with all I had. These new muscles are called "hernias". 

Of course all this was just after I had egotistically refused assistance from a young dude walking by just after the dump. "No thanks. I got it," I said with a bravado of someone that I once was 40 years ago. After trying and failing a few times, with the good Samaritan long gone, I eagerly waited for another offer, only to stare in vain while a parade of little old ladies walked by looking at me quizzically and with those godawful smiles of motherly sympathy mixed with "Didn't your mother tell you not to do that?" 

Eventually, after shedding my, helmet, hot leather jacket and heavy back pack, with the cunning of an old man who is desperate, I prevailed.  Besides the damage to my ego, there was nothing else wrong that an Epsom salts soak wouldn't cure.

Let's hear it for the utility of side cases! (Hint, Brammo  )

[flar]

Someone actually stopped in the street and came running over to help lift mine.  Since I was already late for an appointment and given how much effort he put in I decided to let him help and he kind of picked the thing up single-handedly from the handlebars.

I took my ego home in a doggy bag that evening...

[Brammofan]

I decided to let him help

I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.

[protomech]

Seems relevant:



I've had to heft the Zero twice.. once when I missed some gravel in a corner and once when a friend backed into the bike. Definitely appreciate both the (relatively) light weight and that the motor doesn't freaking flood with gas when tipped over.

[Richard230]

I have seen that technique before and it works great with touring bikes that don't flop completely over.  My VFR once fell over when it rolled off its side stand while idling and landed with both wheels off the ground.  When I tried to pick it up using that technique, all it did was to slide along the ground on its $$$ fairing side.  Eventually, I had to find someone to help me hold the wheels on the ground so that they wouldn't slide around and I was then able to pick the bike up and put it on its side stand.  That was no fun, nor was buying a new fairing side panel.   

[Jeff]

Haha yeah.  At the 'fallen over' position, that bike is still at about a 45 degree angle.  When I had to pick my Empulse up, it took a LOT of leverage to get it back up from horizontal.

Also note:  if you have to pick up your Empulse, remember the damn killswitch!  It's easy to forget in the heat of the moment that the motor is still live.  The poor friendly taxi driver nearby who came over to help nearly jumped out of his skin when I grabbed the handlebar and the rear wheel all of sudden went WHEEEEEEEEE.

[7racer]

This is what I do...



For garage maneuvering:
1. Right hand on left rear grab handle. Left hand steering on the left side of the bar. Walk it back pushing mostly with legs and a mostly stiff right arm.
2. When you're in a tight spot. Walk around to the front of the bike while it's on the kickstand. Grab handlebars (left hand to right grip and right hand to left grip since you're facing it). Lift bike up and shove it back on the garage. You end up straddling the front wheel a little. Set it back on the kick stand

On the road or a parking lot:
3. Feet (toes) on the ground. Pull clutch in. Grab front brake. Throw your weight forward with stiff arms, compressing the fork. As the fork rebounds release front brake and push backwards with feet and don't pull up on the bars too much. Keep the clutch in. This technique helps you get started rolling, but more importantly it means that you don't have to push with your feet so hard to get it started. For us short dudes that tip-toe a lot, pushing with the feet and pulling on the bars too much will bring up the ride height which means we're on our toes even more.

I always park my bike going up hill. Often times I'll pull up to a spot, get off, and use technique #1 to push it back into the spot.

Thanks a bunch for this.  I am on my tip toes all the time and find myself having the hardest time maneuvering it at a stop