how do i teach a noob rider to run the clutch?
 

one of my friends bought her first bike yesterday, and we were out riding today. she spent almost a half hour trying to get the bike to go forward, rider error where when the clutch starts go engage, she drops it and it kills. its a kx100 btw. i tried to explain the balance between throttle and clutch, but im looking for a better way to show her. she puts the throttle at one speed and hopes it will get her through. i think she is also a bit throttle shy, because i moved her from next to the garage to out in the middle of the yard, and she got going long enough to keep it alive for a field road run. so is there any way i can help her to learn that balance between the clutch and throttle so she doesnt get so frustrated and quit?

I've heard that you can put the front tire against a wall and have her start practicing slipping the clutch and throttle control.

Never tried it but it makes sense.

my 6 year old had similar problems. she was throttle shy, not clutch issues. i taught: keep foot on rear brake, pull clutch in, slowly turn throttle and let clutch out till you feel the engine pull, don't let it stall, just let it drag down the motor a bit....then pull clutch in and do it again. and don't let go of rear brake (or use a wall/side of building). they get a feel for when the clutch engages, and how much throttle is needed to accelerate.. then i had her drag her feet and hold throttle steady at about 1/8 and let clutch in and out slowly to accelerate/decelerate. new riders generally don't understand how smooth you need to be on the throttle - they either just wack it, or never open it up. also on a 2t you need to explain that high revs are good. most are so used to a car/4 stroke that they don't realize a 2 stroke thrives at the top of the rev range..they think they will damage the motor revving it out.. noobies instantly think they are hurting the motor revving the shit out of it which is of course not the case on a 2t.. so many of them shift WAY too early..

hehe yea, im kindof one of them who shift too early, but i have that stupid slide problem or that would not be the case. it runs like garbage up top or i would be up there in a heart beat. i like what shane watts teaches, where you ride slow circles and figure 8s and such, but the biggest problem she has is that she cant balance clutch and throttle to get the bike moving in the first place. i think ill give that wall trick a try and see how that goes. thanks!

My suggestion would be the same way I teach people how to drive a standard car.

Put her on a flat surface, tell her not to move the throttle at all and try to get the bike to move with just the clutch only. This will get her used to the release point and how to ease into moving th bike forward.