"Taming the Beast"

[cybrnathan]

Ok, I just got my 98 Kat 750 and though it looks and sounds great, it's a "Heavy Beast" when it comes to backing-up and very slow movement. Any tips from you "Kat Masters" out there on how to "Tame the Beast" in these types of maneuvers so I don't spend a lot of time finding-out just how heavy it is by picking it up 100 times off the deck? I'm about 5'8" and can touch the ground on the bike with the balls of my feet (short inseam), so I don't really want to lower it even though I found a lot of info on this site on how to do so.

[yellowK]

Take a course, take your time, take extreme care.

Gut instincts and common sense... Never leave home without them.

[MMCdude]

Take a course, take your time, take extreme care.

Gut instincts and common sense... Never leave home without them.

[cybrnathan]

Luckily my MSF course is this weekend

[depths_of_mind]

They will teach you about counter-balancing during slow turns and such. IMHO that course is WELL worth the price!

[ATOMonkey]

Lower the bike so you can touch flat footed. It really helps backing up if you can actually get some leverage on the bike instead of just tip toeing it. On your '98, lowering links aren't expensive at all, and only takes a couple hours to complete. On a 0 to 5 hardness scale, I'd give it a 2 since it involves lining stuff up and needing a helper or a way to raise and lower the rear wheel by yourself.

You can also get a corbin saddle custom made to lower yourself, which is just a bit spendy, or order lower profile tires the next time you need them. You can also shave foam out of the stock seat, but I would give that a 4, since it requires a good eye and an intuition on how much foam to remove.

The bike feels much better when you can flat foot it.

[DreKat]

find and empty parking lot and pratice your slow turns

[bigrepp61]

you guys should move to PA... the MSF courses are free here...

[DumbLuck]

once you take the MSF course find a empty parking lot and just start doin slow circles, figgure 8's and such. practice practice practice. Also find an empty stretch you can accelorate a little and practice braking hard. any idiot can twist a throttle, but if you cant stop quick safely, you're dead meat. Someone here has the line (paraphrased) zero to 60 time dont matter, it's 60 to zero that does. I put my 2 cents in about lowering on your seat shaving question post.

[GSXF]

you guys should move to PA... the MSF courses are free here...

Is that for real? It's $350 in my neck of the wood for the MSF Basic Rider course!

[cybrnathan]

Is that for real? It's $350 in my neck of the wood for the MSF Basic Rider course!

As low as $90 in VA, but there's a wait of about 5-6 mths depending on the city

[Zepp]

Lower the bike so that you can be flat footed. Either that or back up the bike by getting off the bike. Otherwise, you will eventually drop the bike when your foot slips. The bike is top heavy and you really should have good footing when moving it around

[kat6hundo]

grrr

Is that for real? It's $350 in my neck of the wood for the MSF Basic Rider course!

I'm in Idaho and they don't even have a MSF course here, so i'm learning everything the old fashioned way. I really wish they had one here.

[MMCdude]

you guys should move to PA... the MSF courses are free here...

As long as you have a PA driver's license... Otherwise it's $250, and they don't even cut any slack for active duty military.

[hardlydangerous]

Ok, I just got my 98 Kat 750 and though it looks and sounds great, it's a "Heavy Beast" when it comes to backing-up and very slow movement. Any tips from you "Kat Masters" out there on how to "Tame the Beast" in these types of maneuvers so I don't spend a lot of time finding-out just how heavy it is by picking it up 100 times off the deck? I'm about 5'8" and can touch the ground on the bike with the balls of my feet (short inseam), so I don't really want to lower it even though I found a lot of info on this site on how to do so.

lean the bike way over, dump the clutch and spin it around in a donut, just be sure to feather the clutch before you let off or the bike may hook up and take off on you. well thats how i do it anyway