okay, so family and friends keep asking me to teach them to ride with gas prices up,. i'm skeptical on teaching someone to ride on my 600rr as it's obviously not beginner friendly. although i learned on a 636. i almost wrecked my friends when i first learned by panicking and grabbing a handful of throttle, as did my cousin this past weekend on my bike. taking off rapidly dragging his feet, nearly missing a parked suv til he came to a complete stop. needless to say no more test riding the 6.

basically my question is, a cheap beginner friendly bike that i can pick up for cheap? beater, that doesn't matter if it drops...any tips that worked for you on teaching a noob? do they sell anything for throttle control (regulator) like on 50's??another question is can i get in trouble for advertising i.e. craigslist for beginner lessons? certification needed? it's just a thought. easy money

 

and a huge liability...

from my own personal experience, I have a few simple rules when it comes to teaching and they have served me well all these years.

First of all, no one rides my bike... EVER! I don't care about riding experience or ability, I just don't do it. I have first hand experience where someone was killed after riding a friends bike. i wouldn't want a crashed motorcycle to come between me and my friends and I certainly do not want them to die on my bike. This rule is for experienced riders, I can not even conceive of letting a newbie ride my bike....

Secondly, I personally do not teach anyone to ride unless I think they have what it takes to pilot a motorcycle safely... this includes the correct physical ability and more importantly the correct mindset. I have had my share of friends and acquaintances ask me to help them... I won't do it if they are in anyway questionable behind the wheel when it comes to judgment and skill sets. if they want to go out and get there own teacher, more power to them, just don't ask to ride with me after your done. I know good riders... really good, that I will not ride with because of questionable judgment

biking has always yielded some great friendships and relationships that otherwise would have never existed, that is special to me. Friends in life do not equal friends on a motorcycle... they can... but more times than not, they don't.




Modified by MSchu at 11:02 AM 6/18/2008

 

yeah i wouldn't want the liability.

as far as teaching--i think a bike with low saddle ht helps. also, i was really down with the power walking drills at MSF. it's an easy way to teach clutch control and slipping.

whenever i give someone a lesson i basically go with my fav MSF drills. power walk, figure 8's, braking, etc.

 

I think the above two have said it...don't do it. I would if it was like my kid and it was a small dirt bike, but even then thats with full gear and Gerbers life insurance.

 

dont do it

i just had a friend try to teach someone and ended up crashing and doing 2g's in damage to his bike

msf! ftw

 

i might have to adapt that rule, no one rides my bike. no exceptions.. sometimes i just feel obligated when friends ask cuz i was the one asking a few years back and i prob wouldn't be riding today if they didn't trust me. but it could have got ugly if he wrecked my bike, parts aren't cheap.

 

Stop trying to be everyone's free, out-of-pocket MSF course.

Tell them to sign up, and have professionals teach them!

 

MSF course ftw!

 

so no ones ever taught anyone how to ride? or learned on a friends bike? everyone learned msf?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crxma22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so no ones ever taught anyone how to ride? or learned on a friends bike? everyone learned msf?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I learned on my own..with my dad pushing me around at 5 years old. I have never taken the MSF...but back home, you have to take a course.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GraphiteAccord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I learned on my own..with my dad pushing me around at 5 years old. I have never taken the MSF...but back home, you have to take a course.</TD></TR></TABLE>

that's what's up, my son rides a 50 with training wheels haha. but yea.. i'll figure something out.. i just think most people should walk into msf with atleast some knowledge of how to ride a bike.

 

I learned when I was 10 or 12 on a dirtbike which is probably the best way to learn. Light, cheap, relatively low on power, built to crash, no fairings.

It also helped me one night when cold tires got the best of me and had me drifting the bike about 50 feet with the handlebars near full lock. Soft sand fishtailing practice ftw.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by knockout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I learned when I was 10 or 12 on a dirtbike which is probably the best way to learn. Light, cheap, relatively low on power, built to crash, no fairings.

It also helped me one night when cold tires got the best of me and had me drifting the bike about 50 feet with the handlebars near full lock. Soft sand fishtailing practice ftw.</TD></TR></TABLE>

First thing a gentlemen told me when he found I have been racing MX my whole life..."So you're used to the rear end getting loose"


Let me say, cold tires are fun, and Tar snakes at 100 degrees make corners more fun to me...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crxma22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so no ones ever taught anyone how to ride? or learned on a friends bike? everyone learned msf?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i've taught a couple of friends in a parking lot. not enough to make em roadworthy though.

enough to get their feet wet and go sign up for the MSF though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i've taught a couple of friends in a parking lot. not enough to make em roadworthy though.

enough to get their feet wet and go sign up for the MSF though.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Do you have street plastics for the Gixxer?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GraphiteAccord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Do you have street plastics for the Gixxer?</TD></TR></TABLE>

nah i traded them for the race plastics.

 

As said before, cheap, small dirtbikes are great for learning on. I learned on an XR250 and found it very comfortable for a noob. It had enough power to lift the front wheel if you really got on it, but it wasn't so snappy that it scared me. I also learned in a field, rather than a parking lot, where I felt a lot better about dropping it (which of course, I did ). I moved onto gravel roads and so on from there, but getting that first drop down and over with helped a lot with my confidence. From other more experienced riders, I've heard that the Yamaha TW200 is another good beginner bike. Low seat, fat rear tire, nice and stable. Other than that, the XR100 or for a streetbike, Ninja 250 would also be good. LOW power, cheap, just what you're looking for. If, y'know, you actually want to teach people. Which is probably not a good idea