how to ride

[SLOWdelawareEG]

how did u guys learn to ride? i want a bike this summer, but have never ridden before. how did u guys initially learn to ride? im not the type of guy to just go out and buy the fastest newest flashiest bike i can find either. thats not what i want. im looking for the best ride with which to learn safety and technique first. my problem is, i dont even know anyone that has a bike. aside from one buddy of mine who got a gsxr1k as a first bike because "it was fast and looked cool" and nearly killed himself 3 weeks later. thats lame. i want to get started correctly? how do i go about doing that?

 

[neonmike]

take a motorcycle safety course. period bottom line. if you have never rode before it is the best bet to teach you to ride. plus it gives ya a break on your insurance. once you get your license go out and test ride alot of bikes beforew you settle on the one you want, i did and am happier i did it that way now i am not regretting my purchase cause i just jumped into a bike, plus are you looking for a sport bike, a cruiser, a motard? all things you need to know before you settle on the one you want.

 

[SLOWdelawareEG]

sport bike, definitely. .

 

[awptickes]

You're farely close to canada, so you may want to look into getting a bike from canananananada. They have a better selection, and since Honda of Canada took it upon themselves to get the CBR125r, you may want to take a look at it.

I'll throw in the manditory comment about a 250 as well. Also, I'll cover E's SuperMoto fetish. Let's just say a Kawasaki D-Tracker 250. And for the 250 street bike, Let's call it a Ninja 250.

You sound like you have NO bar-time at all, so I'd stick with a small bike at first. Srsly. Check around, and see if any of the collages in the area offer Basic Rider Courses. After you do one of those (and after your wallet is $250 lighter) then hit up some local motorcycle shops, and talk to the people. It's the same as driving a car, you want to start out with a pinto, then work up to a porsche.

Go in carefully, and watch the classifieds. For now I'll sit back until celerity chimes in.


EDIT: I learned to ride on dirt, with progressivily larger bikes. First a 50cc, then a 90cc, then a 125, then a 250, then a 400. On dirt you can afford to take a spill without killing yourself. Just do all of the courses you can. If a bike club is offering a free course, take it. Take all the free courses you possibly can, it can only make you a better rider.

 

[Briansol]

delaware is not close to canada... lol 12-14 hour drive to the border.

 

[awptickes]

delaware is not close to canada... lol 12-14 hour drive to the border.

You've got to be kidding me!


Oh, right. Stupid speed limits.....

 

[get_nick]

i learned on a dirtbike. and needless to say, you only learn how to throttle and shift. everything else is completely diffrent than a street bike.

take a motorcycle safety course. it's about $100 and you get to use somebody elses bike.

 

[Celerity]

It's not possible to describe "how to ride" in text. It doesn't make sense on paper.

for instance, to turn your bike Right, you must slightly turn the bars to the Left. See ? Makes no sense.


I can tell you, however, that riding a motorcycle is the most natural way to maneuver. You literally think of where you want to go. If you look at something, you'll go there. Just look and the bike seems to read your mind.


As far as first bike, there is no valid argument that anyone in the world can give you. I can tell you that you'll need to first go with what makes your heart sing. Go with what you think is sexy, and something you want to see everyday. Something that makes your pulse race. If you find that a Cruiser style bike does it for you, then try it. In your first few years of riding you'll try out many bikes and you'll have a good idea of what YOU want.

Don't ride because your friends do. And don't ride to save gas. Have a good reason to ride, and it sounds to me like you're on the right track. You don't need to go with a smaller displacement unless it really suits you. If you're a careful decision maker with a steady hand, don't panic in situations, and tend to have finesse on things (Can you ride a horse ? can you really ?) then you may be just fine with something larger than a 250.

Check out some of the dealers around you, and look at EVERYTHING. You will most likely not be allowed to ride whatever bike you want (You wouldn't let you on a bike either at this point) but make sure you sit on everything.

Now, I just got a page from a 19 year old hottie.

 

[SLOWdelawareEG]

cool. i think ill take a look around the local dealers AFTER a few courses are under my belt.

Now, I just got a page from a 19 year old hottie.

nice. hope i still have it at 31

 

[Celerity]

Oh no, don't wait. Look NOW. I went shopping every day. Sometimes the same shops. Have fun man, you can sit on any bike you want. Talk to the salesman. talk to the guys shopping. You don't need to wait to shop around.


And as an update: I'm 32 in a few weeks, and she just turned 19 3 weeks ago. I had to rub it in. I'm sure the men in this forum will forgive me.

 

[phyregod]

My first bike was a yamaha 650 special. Piece of shit bike that I bought for 150, dumped a few hundred into, then crashed because the brakes were shit (froze solid on me at 40mph). Not the route to go for sure.

Cel did it right. Go buy a new bike, one that has no hidden history to it. 250cc's or so. Ride it for a year, then get whatever the hell you want. You can pick up new 250cc bikes for around $4000 bucks. After a year, you can sell it or trade it in for most of what you paid for it. Think of it as "Extended rental" Yeah, you'll lose money doing it, but its way way cheaper than renting anything for a year.

Personally, I started at 650, then bought an 800cc harley (shit), but have ridden 600-1300cc sport bikes. Any of them can kill you. Just respect the bike, respect yourself, and take it easy.

 

[NissanNiNjA2nd]

Ride what you want to keep.... don't buy a 250 if you EVER plan to go fast.... you are just wasting time and money on it.

Buy a 600 and learn to turn

 

[|Chaz|]

I don't know if I agree with that advice, what happens if you get in a panic situation on the freeway, over-rev the bike, the rear end brakes loose, swaps from side to side, and then highsides on you while you're doing 65+ on the freeway? If you've never ridden a bike before a 600 is not the way to start out, at least in my opinion.

I don't have any seat time on a street bike, but I have many hours on dirt. Trust me it hurts just crashing on dirt, pavement isn't even a comparison to that though.

Like Cel said, go to a bike shop and sit on any bike there that appeals to you, even if it is probably out of your price range, just so you can get an idea of what you want.

 

[NissanNiNjA2nd]

You have no seat time on a street bike, yet you are giving advice....

My first road bike was a 1200..... learn to ride and not kill yourself and you will survive.... until the Yukon pulls out infront of you.

 

[Celerity]

I don't know if I agree with that advice, what happens if you get in a panic situation on the freeway, over-rev the bike, the rear end brakes loose, swaps from side to side, and then highsides on you while you're doing 65+ on the freeway?

This won't ever happen. From the panic down, over-revving the bike, since your clutch is a hand control, won't ever happen. The rear end will NEVER break loose, and you can't high-side going straight, unless your bike falls apart.

But, describing the situation without actually riding is like describing the color yellow to a blind person. You can't verbalize riding, it has to be experienced. A bike, literally, reads your mind. It's the most natural and easy way to move.