16 replies to this topic

[ancient]

russ i am a left hander start on right side have a poll see if its mandatory,!

[Russell Burrows]

russ i am a left hander start on right side have a poll see if its mandatory,!

Ah, my suspicions on this theory are mounting ;)

[Paul Collins]

russ i am a left hander start on right side have a poll see if its mandatory,!

Ditto, although at 6ft tall I could usually paddle the TZ350's away

[RC162]

Ditto, although at 6ft tall I could usually paddle the TZ350's away

A fellow member of the paddle club. Too tall for the bike really but the joys of a quick start. Happy days.

[ancient]

A fellow member of the paddle club. Too tall for the bike really but the joys of a quick start. Happy days.

also 6ft paddled the k4 away tried it on ian telfers 350 manx at brands big mistake finished 2nd ian not amused,

[ccmUS]

Hello Russell! Talked to Pat Hennen and inquired about his push starts, as he is a left hander. He said he started on the left. Sorry

[dixie]

Hello Russell! Talked to Pat Hennen and inquired about his push starts, as he is a left hander. He said he started on the left. Sorry

Tangled many a foot with lefties on the start line so it was always a free for all.

[Paul Collins]

As a left hander I also felt more natural and faster through left corners, bit of a shame considering almost all of our circuits run clockwise and so consist predominently of right hand corners!!

Any other left hookers out there who felt the same?

[RC162]

As a left hander I also felt more natural and faster through left corners, bit of a shame considering almost all of our circuits run clockwise and so consist predominently of right hand corners!!

Any other left hookers out there who felt the same?

Well I'm right handed and and I favour left handers. At places like Cadwell I loved the big uphill sweep into Charlie's and always gained a bit at Mansfield's at the bottom of the Gooseneck. At Snetterton the left hander going into the Esses's was a good overtaking place for me as well. My Son is left handed and so is my mum so maybe I'm an ' inbetweeny ' By the way Paul how is Hilary Musson doing now. I hope she has continued to improve and has she had the chance to ride again ?

[Russell Burrows]

Oh gawd, it's all getting confusing. Without discounting any of the contributions here, the notion in my head at least was this: do left handers, that is those who write and do most other things with their left hand, naturally push start from the right side of the bike (as per when sitting on it) ?

Hello Russell! Talked to Pat Hennen and inquired about his push starts, as he is a left hander. He said he started on the left. Sorry

Hi Claudia, thanks for that. So Pat's righthanded for most other things?

Edited by Russell Burrows, 08 December 2012 - 09:55.

[tonyed]

[quote name='Russell Burrows' date='Dec 8 2012, 09:52' post='6067203']
Oh gawd, it's all getting confusing. Without discounting any of the contributions here, the notion in my head at least was this: do left handers, that is those who write and do most other things with their left hand, naturally push start from the right side of the bike (as per when sitting on it) ?

The 'paddle brigade' of which I was one could be even worse when like Barry Needle and other tall guys the legs stuck out both sides.

The push, jump and then side saddle method could also have its' problems as some riders would slew to one side when mounting the bike at speed to engage second gear.

Much as I dislike clutch starts (it removes the quiet, tense atmosphere of the dead engine start) they are safer (in my opinion). Still can have problems with stalled engines and with a tail end charlie unsighted, but there is not the dense cloud of two stroke smoke engulfing the start anymore.

[RCH]

First of all I must confess to being an imposter here, I have never ridden a motorbike in my life, however I was attracted, being left handed, by the thread title.
I find that as a rule, anything done with one hand is done with my left hand; anything requiring two is done by what is conventionally regarded as right handed. I sometimes wonder why right handers get it wrong so often!

Imagining a run and bump start on a bike I would do it on the left side just as I used to try on a pushbike, trouble is then I always found myself pulling the handlebars to the left.

[picblanc]

Never raced, and as a right handed person I always always got on my road bike from left hand side, & prefered right hand corners.

Thinking about the mounting from the left side of bike probably was because the sidestand made the bike lower on left side!............

Edited by picblanc, 08 December 2012 - 13:02.

[Paul Collins]

Well I'm right handed and and I favour left handers. At places like Cadwell I loved the big uphill sweep into Charlie's and always gained a bit at Mansfield's at the bottom of the Gooseneck. At Snetterton the left hander going into the Esses's was a good overtaking place for me as well. My Son is left handed and so is my mum so maybe I'm an ' inbetweeny ' By the way Paul how is Hilary Musson doing now. I hope she has continued to improve and has she had the chance to ride again ?

Hilary is doing ok, I only see her and John a couple of times a year but she is certainly getting about and still keen on everything thats going on at TT & MGP, I dont think she's been able to ride a bike since she lost her leg though, I see their daughter Gail occasionally too as we are both into running and Gail is a keen runner.

Its funny you mention the above corners as those very spots were the one's where according to a couple of my rivals of the time I could always get away from them when being chased, it was only after one of them commented on it that I sat down and thought about it. and came to the conclusion that it must be down to my body's 'left bias'

When pushing a bike to start it, or even pushing it through the paddock, i'm most in control pushing from the right side, and certainly when hauling the big stuff around I have to be on the right hand side, and I only ever get to push em nowadays! although I did take my 500 for a very short run up and down recently, it hadnt been ridden since I restored it, and it was the first time i'd ridden it in 23 years so it all felt a bit alien!!

[khsuzukitr500]

First of all I must confess to being an imposter here, I have never ridden a motorbike in my life, however I was attracted, being left handed, by the thread title.
I find that as a rule, anything done with one hand is done with my left hand; anything requiring two is done by what is conventionally regarded as right handed. I sometimes wonder why right handers get it wrong so often!

Imagining a run and bump start on a bike I would do it on the left side just as I used to try on a pushbike, trouble is then I always found myself pulling the handlebars to the left.

similar situation as yours except that i am right handed play golf and cricket left handed.
perhaps that's why i wasn't any good at push starts.

[ccmUS]

Russell, Pat writes with his left hand and holds his fork (eats) with his left hand, but I'm not sure about sports, like batting in baseball. I'll do further study and get back to you!! When I inquired about his push starts he said "left side, like most". Wow, thinking about push starts, it MUST have been a tangle with all the various "methods". Total chaos!!

[rd500]

i was always on the left for push starts (right handed) but didnt mind which way the corners went, on one occasion my spirited leap to mount the machine ended up with my right boot getting caught on the tail peice which left me sort of hanging there until the failed attempt resulted in a pathetic 3mph crash in full view of everyone.

to make things worse the throttle cable had jumped out of the carb so the thing was revving its nut off, took a while to live that one down