I am thinking about buying a bike but I don't know how to and have never riden one before. I heard it isn't the hardest thing to do but would I be able to figure it out on my own? I've also heard it helps if you know how to drive stick and ride a bicycle. I taught myself how to drive stick by talking to people and just going out one day and practicing, will it be the same on a bike? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

Save your own life and learn from these guys:

http://www.msf-usa.org/

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ReBornGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Save your own life and learn from these guys:

http://www.msf-usa.org/</TD></TR></TABLE>

golden words right there, no its not very hard you just shift with your left foot and clutch with your left hand instead of shift right your right hand and clutch with your left foot....hah. If you can drive stick you'll learn in no time but take the course!!

 

I had never ridden a bike until a got my Zx-6R. It's easy to learn the basics of riding but becoming a great rider takes lots of time. A good start is to get a 250cc bike and sign up for the course ASAP. If you just take the course and don't practice what you've learned; you'll lose the knowledge.

 

Great thread!

I am looking to get a bike and will be taking the class prior. Thanks guys!

Ride safe!

 

I have been riding for a year now, I just signed up for the msf class

 

Ride a dirtbike first to get basics down.

 

I've been riding my 250 for about 3 days. It doesn't seem very hard at all to learn, but I could see where it would be hard to be a really proficient rider. I've clocked about 120 miles on the bike this weekend tho, and I love every minute of it. I'm taking the MSF course my self in a few weekends.

 

The basics are pretty easy to pick up. Just take it easy and take the MSF course although I didn't get in until after I started riding.

 

Easy to learn, difficult to master. Youre right, if you know how to ride a bicycle and how to drive stick then you'll learn very fast. If you're short learn on a short bike. I was only 5'5'' when I first learned how to ride, so luckily I learned on a ex250. Its gonna suck when you stall and dropped the bike.

 

experience is the best teacher

 

You will learn probably half of what is to be known about how to ride after about 15 mins on the bike, after that it will take years and many near death expieriences to learn the rest...thats what I was told about 2 mins before riding my first bike!!!!

 

My first bike is a 03 954RR. Many would say that I am crazy for buying this bike with having no riding experience before. I was at first not sure what bike I wanted but I did know that a good school like MSF was a must. I bought my bike and took the class and I am happy that I did. Hondas Motorcycle club even rebated $75 back to me. I still have no crashs yet but I am sure that the training has kept me safe. I say buy the biggest bike you can and learn slow.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by spoonfed95 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I say buy the biggest bike you can and learn slow. </TD></TR></TABLE>


thats not very good advice, don't buy the biggest bike you can, bigger bikes are way easier to get into trouble with, for many many differnt reasons, i say buy any bike you want as your first as long as you are responsible and realize that by getting that much more power you can get hurt that much easier., and you also have to understand that buying a 1000cc streetbike (954) can be alot more dangerous for a beginner than for someone whos rode a bunch of smaller bikes....You learn to controll a small bike that weights 200-300 pounds with 60 hp instead of a brand new 450 pound bike with 130 hp....thats like buying a 16 year old kid a brand new BMW for his first car...

 

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


thats not very good advice, don't buy the biggest bike you can, bigger bikes are way easier to get into trouble with, for many many differnt reasons, i say buy any bike you want as your first as long as you are responsible and realize that by getting that much more power you can get hurt that much easier., and you also have to understand that buying a 1000cc streetbike (954) can be alot more dangerous for a beginner than for someone whos rode a bunch of smaller bikes....You learn to controll a small bike that weights 200-300 pounds with 60 hp instead of a brand new 450 pound bike with 130 hp....thats like buying a 16 year old kid a brand new BMW for his first car... </TD></TR></TABLE>

i totally agree...however i did start with a 600cc for my first...but i test rode it a couple of time before i purchased it and i had my endorsement before i bought my first bike...

 

I would definately have to agree that learning on a dirt bike is the best idea. That way you've got the whole left hand clutch, right hand throttle / finger front brake left foot shift, right foot brake nonsense figured out.

phew

After riding on a dirtbike, i think the chances of freaking out if the front tire lifts up and grabbin a fistful of throttle or the infamous grab the front brake and crack the thottle at the same time aren't gonna happen...

Well, **** still happens, but its waaaaaaaaaaaay less likely if you know what you're doing before you get into traffic. The last thing you wanna be doing is figuring out how to shift / how much throttle / brake lever feel while in traffic.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Devlins 91LS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would definately have to agree that learning on a dirt bike is the best idea. That way you've got the whole left hand clutch, right hand throttle / finger front brake left foot shift, right foot brake nonsense figured out.

phew

After riding on a dirtbike, i think the chances of freaking out if the front tire lifts up and grabbin a fistful of throttle or the infamous grab the front brake and crack the thottle at the same time aren't gonna happen...

Well, **** still happens, but its waaaaaaaaaaaay less likely if you know what you're doing before you get into traffic. The last thing you wanna be doing is figuring out how to shift / how much throttle / brake lever feel while in traffic. </TD></TR></TABLE>

yea I bought my 04 Zx-6R brand new and stuck too riding around my neighborhood for about 2 weeks. Only do what you feel comfortable with. Oh yeah..Forget trying to ride with anyone else, it'll only get you into trouble and something you're not ready for.

 

I guess I just was bless with self control. Some have it some don't.

 

i just rode my first dirt bike last week, i had a blast and i picked it up pretty quick, the hardest part is learing the shift pattern on the bike itself, it is real easy to miss a gear and it took a while for me to get it into nutral, after that was all taken care of it was getting easy to ride, now my other friend tried it as well, and ended up with cuts everywhere and a mouth full of dirt, so i guess everyone is different. good luck

 

Ride like everyone is trying to kill you, just suck it up and recognize the risks involved....

 

i would have to say that the dirtbike thing is not a good idea, there completely different machines that ride completely different

 

Riding and Riding well ... Two different things.

 

Be mature and take it one step at a time. MSF

I have never touched a dirt bike. The way they ride looks like the complete opposite to the way I ride. So unless you have access to a dirt bike to learn on, I dont see a reason why you should learn on a dirt bike rather than a standard bike.

 

learning to ride is the easy part.. learning to stay alive while on two wheels.. that's a different story.

 

i think these guys summed it up for you... dont just ride, ride safe