Most Important Things to Know For a Motorcycling n00b.

going from a KX125 to a TT600 is a BAD idea. You should probably stair step your way up... especially if you are 15! Yes I had been riding bikes and ATVs for over 10 years by that point, BUT it still was a bad idea. But the 600 was free The PO was slightly scared of it.

Not a bad bike the TT600, had one years ago, '86 it was, i think.

Did I say too much?

I started riding about 2 years ago, and something that really helped me out was someone who told me not to buy a fast bike for the first one, haha. I started on a CM400 Honda, which had enough power to be fun to wind out, but not enough that you could really get yourself into trouble without realizing it. It was also light enough to pick up on my own which was nice, though I only dropped it once.

Also, practice riding on loose stuff. I know it's been said here, but it's much easier to deal with in a sudden situation if that's not the first time you've slid a bike around or locked up a wheel.

Yeah, I work for an import/export logistics company. We load/ unload plastics and sand into 18 wheelers all day... The whole lot is full of soft dirt and sand... When its slow I go slide my back end around to test the limits of the bike, I have yet to drop it.. but plan on doing so just to see what my limits are.

What I try to pass on is that a motorcycle is not a car. That normal things you do in a car in traffic can get you into trouble on a bike. I see guys do it on my commute all the time, tailgating, swerving around trucks not knowing what's behind them, trusting turn signals, riding in blind spots. After driving cars for a a few years you develop certain habits that you have to abandon when you start riding a motorcycle. Unfortunately a lot of guys perpetuate car driving habits on a bike.

I always tell the story of the safety class I took years ago with my brother. We were learning about the importance of the front brake, 70% of the stopping power, etc. A woman in class who droned on and one about riding on the back of her husband's Harley said "oh, my husband never uses his front brake". Probably never took a class or picked up a book or learned from anyone and just perpetuated myths and bad habits.

None of those things are good habits for cars or motos. If you keep to good habits in a car, you don't have to change what you do on the moto.

Actually there's quite a bit of difference. You can get away with a lot more in a car due to decreased stopping distance and a lot of other factors. Point is they are survivable in a car and things almost everyone does (i.e. swinging around someone driving in front of you initiating a turn), not always so on a bike. Different animal entirely.

Using pressure on the pegs is a great skill but comes with experience, doesn't lower the center of gravity, just aids in initiating a turn and in relaxing your hands, which is a good thing.

If you're driving, for example, a Fit, and erroneously trust the turn signal of an SUV, you can easily end up just as dead as you might on a bike. Not to mention that in that particular circumstance, you might have better luck on the bike due to (possibly) better power to weight ratio and acceleration.

Either way, if you do a manuever that might be considered "bad practice", and there is no bent metal resulting, you got away with it. If you don't get away with it, the consequences might well be highly undesirable.
It all depends on how much you want to trust chance or luck.

That's precisely why you need to change your focus from driving a car to driving a motorcycle. Drive them the same you're gonna have problems. Stopping distance alone tells you that much. It's common sense, you leave more room on a bike than in a car, that was my point, braking in a curve is another example, so is lane position. Bad practice in a car gets you honked at, bad practice on a bike can get you killed. Different animals, different skill set, different situational awareness.

Good road driving skills are universal; they are not unique two wheels.
Bad road driving skills are universal; they are not unique four wheels.
It's not what you ride, it's how you ride.

Couldn't agree more.

+1

Good postings on the subject.
Reading about skills and such, honing the skills, great stuff!
we all know about those that text and use distractive activities in their driving repertoire.
Using mirrors and maintaining distances are some really important points to cover.
.
How many of you out there, having had to travel in traffic, maintaining the distances needed, have found someone up your proverbial backside? How many of us recognized it in time to avert disaster?

I (BMW K 1200 LT) had a friend out there following me one day ( HD) and yes it was a wee bit spirited. Saw the light up ahead and i slowed in to stop. As i was watching in the mirror, i noted my friend coming up way too fast and with too little land between us.. I immediately pulled right and towards the corner of the car in front of me.. I heard his tires on the verge of total skid...... screeeeeeeeee. If i had stayed where i was, i would have had milwalkee paint all over me.

Not everyone knows their limitations.. Even in a car...Think about it.. How many teenagers practice panic stops? How many drivers/riders are aware of their braking performance at speed? Those distances im talking about can close up in a heartbeat.
Situational awareness is a huge skill set that has to be honed every time your on the bike.

If it sounds like i feel that everyone is out there to get me.. Well, its kept me alive so far. I do enjoy the ride. I just dont trust the lot out there as far as i can toss them..

With all the technological advances out there you would think we would be safer out there. Actually, its the other way around in regards to decreasing the driver focus...

Rabid rant over..
Be safe..
Mikey

Good point! I never used to keep my bike in first gear when stopped at intersections without a vehicle lined up behind me, but then a girl on her phone almost hit me from behind. I panicked and slammed it into first and moved to the right just in time. That was not a fun feeling. She was coming up FAST!
I was ready to throw the finger, but she appologized and that kinda deterred me from doing so.. She was also pretty cute. I hope she now looks out for bikes on the road! Prolly not.

+1 Panic stops on a bike for a beginner can be messy.

Sometimes clarity is needed.

Sometimes you need to cut through the bullsh*t and get to the core of things.

So - while I'm not out to offend anyone, or diminish any of the wisdom that has gone before, here's one take on it:




Have Fun





Don't Die

^^ what he said.

ditto.

True stopping distance is good for another thread and while that may be true under ideal conditions we are talking about new riders. I doubt a noob can stop a bike as quickly and effectively without going down and may venture out leaving the same space he or she is used to in a car. So my advice is to leave more room than you would in a car, at least until your skills improve.