Have you always wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle? You might be wondering how to get started.
The good news is that if you already know how to ride a bicycle, you’ve got a head start in terms of learning how to ride a motorcycle. You are already capable of balancing on two wheels, a basic skill needed for riding a motorcycle. From there, you’ll need to learn how to manage the gears and the speed, how to safely stop the bike, how to navigate turns and curves and some of the elements of safe motorcycle riding.
Here are a few steps you should follow when learning how to ride motorcycles:
- Get the gear you need: Before you hop on the bike, you should make sure you have all the gear you need to stay safe. No matter how experienced you are or how far or fast you intend to travel, you should wear a helmet, gloves, boots that cover the ankles, motorcycle pants and a motorcycle jacket. Seek out abrasion-resistant clothing and gear that will protect you if you must put your bike down.
- Consider the bike you’ll use: Make and model isn’t as important as the weight of the bike and the power ratio when you’re first getting started. When you’re first learning how to ride a motorcycle, it’s beneficial to have a lighter bike that’s easier to maneuver. You can always move up to something bigger, heavier and more powerful as you get more comfortable.
- Practice braking: It’s important to get the hang of braking early on as you’re learning how to ride a motorcycle, as this is a key component of safe riding. The pedal on the right side of the bike is the rear brake, and the lever on the right handlebar is the front brake. Use both brakes evenly to slow down or come to a complete stop. Press the brake and pull the lever gradually and gently, rather than wrenching or stomping. This will help you prevent the wheels from locking up and potentially throwing you off balance.
- Learn how to turn: It takes a lot of practice to get used to how to maneuver a motorcycle. Riding a bike in a straight line is, obviously, much easier than riding a bike around corners, turns and bends. You can’t just rely on the handlebars here—you will also need to lean with your bike to keep it balanced and steer in the proper direction.
- Get comfortable with the clutch and throttle: The thing that scares most new riders is learning how to shift gears. Most motorcycles have five gears and a neutral setting: down, then neutral, then second, third, fourth and fifth. Pull the clutch in, get it into first gear and then lightly roll the throttle and release the clutch simultaneously, just like in a manual transmission vehicle. When the bike begins to move, you can slowly let out the clutch while adding throttle. At higher RPM (revolutions per minute), you can pull in the clutch, back off the throttle and move up gears.
For more tips as you learn how to ride motorcycles, contact the team at Escape Eagles.