riding tips

[gus83]

Figured I'd put it in here instead of the misc. It's an outdoor thing, and probably a lot of you ride.

I'm just getting into riding (crotch rocket). I've only ridden a couple times now, and later this afternoon I'll be on some bigger roads.

I was a cyclist for years, so I know general rules about safety and visibility and everything. I've been run off the rode, hit by a car, etc.

Motorcycle is slightly different though, since with a pedal bike, it's 0-20 in about 10 seconds. Motorcycle is much faster .

The thing that is hardest getting used to is the gearing being 1, N, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Any tips on shifting, the clutch, turns, etc?

Edit: I've driven manual cars. I know how to shift and everything. But going through N, and the throttle being very easy to get high RPMs is a little different.

Thanks

[lost1700]

shift down through all the gears when braking, your front brake is 70% of your braking power so USE IT. Wear you gear. Don't lean to turn, if you want to turn left you need to turn the bars to the right, it's called counter steering.

Just remember, when a car pulls out in front of you your f*cked. My best friend died a few months ago when some bitch pulled out in front of him. He was and experienced rider and was wearing all his gear, it can happen to anyone.

[Engineer2283]

#1 tip would be to enroll in an MSF rider course. They're tremendous.

[Emoore]

Take the MSF course ASAP. ALWAYS look where you want to go and NEVER look where you don't want to go. If you look at a pothole or rock in the road, you will hit it. If you're going thru a turn and look at the oncoming car in the next lane, guess where you're going to go? Always look though your intended path.

If you go into a corner too fast and you start to feel afraid, don't panic. You don't say what kind of sportbike you've got, but most of them will go through corners faster than you think you can. Force yourself to keep your head turned looking through the turn, push on the inside clip-on, and just keep leaning. Even if the worst should happen, better a lowside than a highside because you hit the brakes in a turn. I've seen a lot of newbies go into a turn faster than they were comfortable with, or go into a decreasing-radius turn, and either hit the brakes and highside or run off the road, when in fact their bike could have made the turn with ease.

Wear your gear and check your tires.

Don't feel like you have to keep up with your riding buddies if you're not comfortable with their speed. If they're any kind of friends, they'll approve of you riding your own ride.

[Geno]

MSF basic course, ride for two months then msf basic course again then msf advanced course.

[judokamatt]

Originally Posted by Emoore

Take the MSF course ASAP. ALWAYS look where you want to go and NEVER look where you don't want to go. If you look at a pothole or rock in the road, you will hit it. If you're going thru a turn and look at the oncoming car in the next lane, guess where you're going to go? Always look though your intended path.

If you go into a corner too fast and you start to feel afraid, don't panic. You don't say what kind of sportbike you've got, but most of them will go through corners faster than you think you can. Force yourself to keep your head turned looking through the turn, push on the inside clip-on, and just keep leaning. Even if the worst should happen, better a lowside than a highside because you hit the brakes in a turn. I've seen a lot of newbies go into a turn faster than they were comfortable with, or go into a decreasing-radius turn, and either hit the brakes and highside or run off the road, when in fact their bike could have made the turn with ease.

Wear your gear and check your tires.

Don't feel like you have to keep up with your riding buddies if you're not comfortable with their speed. If they're any kind of friends, they'll approve of you riding your own ride.

most important words of the entire thread right there, this mentallity gets more people hurt then you could imagine.

as for shifting through the gears just make sure that you solidly shift from 1st to 2nd, i havent ridden a bike yet that has a firm shift to neutral its more of a soft or half shift that you kinda have to work to get into rather then it just being there like all the other gears.

my tip would be learn to ride well before going out and doing any thing crazy (running twistys at high rates of speed) or drag racin in town<----crazy bitches pull out in front of you, all you can do is pray.

well thats it from me

[Wompinblazer]

I know it sounds ridiculous but-
If you do not wash your bike (someone else does, like at work or something) MAKE DAMN SURE THEY DO NOT AMORALL THE TIRES!!!

Happened to a friend of mine, and he literally had to ride like he was on a Vespa for a few weeks.

[Geno]

Originally Posted by Wompinblazer

I know it sounds ridiculous but-
If you do not wash your bike (someone else does, like at work or something) MAKE DAMN SURE THEY DO NOT AMORALL THE TIRES!!!

Happened to a friend of mine, and he literally had to ride like he was on a Vespa for a few weeks.

Oh god I laughed so hard. You wouldn't beleive how many people put new tires on a bike and think they should go straight out and rub the chicken strips off only to drop it at the end of the block due to the mold release agent.

[Wompinblazer]

Originally Posted by Geno

Oh god I laughed so hard. You wouldn't beleive how many people put new tires on a bike and think they should go straight out and rub the chicken strips off only to drop it at the end of the block due to the mold release agent.

Sad but true...

Take care of your bike. Do pre ride inspections, all of it. Check that over like a fighter pilot does a preflight check...

[Emoore]

Originally Posted by Wompinblazer

I know it sounds ridiculous but-
If you do not wash your bike (someone else does, like at work or something) MAKE DAMN SURE THEY DO NOT AMORALL THE TIRES!!!

LOL when I bought my R6 the idiot I bought it from had armoralled the tires. I live near a dirt road so I just rode it up and down the dirt a few times.

[Fryphax]

loud pipes save lives.

[KIDRR]

Originally Posted by Emoore

LOL when I bought my R6 the idiot I bought it from had armoralled the tires. I live near a dirt road so I just rode it up and down the dirt a few times.

Need pics of you on the bike ASAP

[v4lu3s]

MSF basic rider course is the single best thing you can do. It does amazing things to your confidence levels since it teaches you so many basic things, and makes you aware of so much more. It cannot be replaced even with experience.

[gameplan007]

KEY MESSAGES: by MSF
1. Get trained and licensed
2. Wear protective gear -- all the gear, all the time -- including a helmet manufactured to the standards set by the DOT
3. Ride unimpaired by alcohol or other drugs
4. Ride within your own skill limits
5. Be a lifelong learner by taking refresher rider courses

[gus83]

Thanks for all the tips here. I am going to do the MSF course. Looks like it will be incredibly helpful.

I've decided to stick to smaller roads until I finish the MSF course, just to play it safe.

It's so tragic what some of you have had friends go through. I was a cyclist for a lot of years and saw a lot of my friends get hit by cars, and friends of friends even killed. One was killed when a bus driver thought it would be funny to hit him with the mirror of his bus.

Reps to everyone when not on recharge.

[alottaboost]

Originally Posted by lost1700

Don't lean to turn, if you want to turn left you need to turn the bars to the right, it's called counter steering.

ummm... what? you WANT to lean to turn unless you're under 15 or so mph. plus you never counter-steer on a motorcycle... you only "counter-lean" at slow speeds to keep the bike from tipping over to the side you're turning on. oh, and as said... take the MSF course. best damn decision of my life!

my only other comment is to be EXTREMELY defensive and never ride at an excessive speed unless you're on a closed course. (i'll admit, i broke this rule a few times...)

[lost1700]

Originally Posted by alottaboost

ummm... what? you WANT to lean to turn unless you're under 15 or so mph. plus you never counter-steer on a motorcycle... you only "counter-lean" at slow speeds to keep the bike from tipping over to the side you're turning on. oh, and as said... take the MSF course. best damn decision of my life!

my only other comment is to be EXTREMELY defensive and never ride at an excessive speed unless you're on a closed course. (i'll admit, i broke this rule a few times...)

You have no idea what you are talking about. Counter steering is how to turn the bike. Body lean and posture is used in addition to counter steering to help keep the bike down in the turn because the bike naturally wants to come back up. Body lean is not really necessary unless you are hitting some turns pretty hard and fast.

"The argument has raged since the days of the earliest motorcycles: What technique actually steers a motorcycle?body lean or turning the handlebars? This is no light matter. Investigations, in which accidents were reconstructed, found that in the vast majority of rider versus obstacle conflicts, the rider does not even attempt an evasive steering action that could save him. Much of this inaction can be blamed on conflicting information about how the motorcycle steering function works, which can lead to rider panic and uncertainty in emergency situations.
Keith Code, a leading motorcycle riding instructor and founder of the noted California Superbike School, has put a cap on this controversy with his new No Body Steering Bike (No B.S. Bike). This specially designed motorcycle proves that only steering, and not body steering/leaning, turns a bike.

After researching the fundamentals of counter steering?covering the gamut from the Wright brothers and their studies of counter steering and tandem-wheel vehicles, to studies done by Honda Motor Co. in the '70s?Code built the No B.S. Bike, a midsize ZX 6R Kawasaki. Code added an extra set of handlebars, solidly mounted to the frame above the standard bars. Then he added a second, functional throttle to the extra bar assembly so riders could maintain speed while grasping the bars.

More than 100 riders have tested their body steering/leaning methods on the No B.S. Bike, and all have come away with the irrefutable conclusion: Body steering and leaning does not steer a motorcycle. Steering alone turns a bike."
http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...s/1268501.html

[lost1700]

[QUOTE=alottaboost;234545541]you only "counter-lean" at slow speeds to keep the bike from tipping over to the side you're turning on[QUOTE]

You are clueless. You lean into a turn not opposite of the turn. The bike is not going to tip over at any point, it might lowside but that is not really tipping over. Anyways, I hope you don't ride.

[alottaboost]

[QUOTE=lost1700;234551271][QUOTE=alottaboost;234545541]you only "counter-lean" at slow speeds to keep the bike from tipping over to the side you're turning on

You are clueless. You lean into a turn not opposite of the turn. The bike is not going to tip over at any point, it might lowside but that is not really tipping over. Anyways, I hope you don't ride.

if you turn the handlebars at a very slow speed and you're in a neutral riding position... the bike will tip over unless you lean against the turn... and now i know what you mean about countersteering. i was really confused with how you explained it in your first post. it just made no sense to me. now that i read a few articles on it, it sounds completely different and i didn't even realize i use it in my everyday riding.

[lost1700]

[QUOTE=alottaboost;234554151][QUOTE=lost1700;234551271]

Originally Posted by alottaboost

you only "counter-lean" at slow speeds to keep the bike from tipping over to the side you're turning on

you're making no sense... if you turn the handlebars at a very slow speed and you're neutral... the bike will tip over unless you lean against the turn... and what do you mean by countersteer? i take that as leaning into a turn by pressing on the clipon and turning the handlebars the opposite direction? how does that work? and yes, i've been riding for years and took the msf course. nowhere do they mention countersteering... just counter-leaning as i mentioned.

I was just trying to let the OP know that you can't steer the bike by leaning. Leaning is a part of turning, but the turn is initiated with the handlebars. I used the word counter steering to explain how steering is opposite as it would be in a car. The OP said they were a beginner, I was just letting him know that you cant go right by steering right.

[alottaboost]

[QUOTE=lost1700;234566001][QUOTE=alottaboost;234554151]

Originally Posted by lost1700

I was just trying to let the OP know that you can't steer the bike by leaning. Leaning is a part of turning, but the turn is initiated with the handlebars. I used the word counter steering to explain how steering is opposite as it would be in a car. The OP said they were a beginner, I was just letting him know that you cant go right by steering right.

well. repped for good advice. didn't mean to sound like i was putting down your advice...

[Wompinblazer]

Well, until this is solved, all of you should just get in a car.

[Emoore]

Originally Posted by KIDRR

Need pics of you on the bike ASAP

[judokamatt]

Originally Posted by Fryphax

loud pipes save lives.

never really thought of it this way but i can see the reasoning for it although i dont like loud pipes

[alottaboost]

Originally Posted by Wompinblazer

Well, until this is solved, all of you should just get in a car.

HAHA!

[jkarvakko]

Originally Posted by lost1700

shift down through all the gears when braking, your front brake is 70% of your braking power so USE IT. Wear you gear. Don't lean to turn, if you want to turn left you need to turn the bars to the right, it's called counter steering.

Just remember, when a car pulls out in front of you your f*cked. My best friend died a few months ago when some bitch pulled out in front of him. He was and experienced rider and was wearing all his gear, it can happen to anyone.

I'm sorry to hear about your friend, that's terrible. I had an accident a few years back when a deer jumped out of a ditch about 10 feet in front of me.

My advice for braking is learn to use both brakes simultaneously. Before my accident I always used just the front brake because it is 70% (or more?) of a motorcycles stopping power. But, using the front brake alone causes the front shocks to "squat" and you could lose control of your rear end (this happened to me).

I was pretty lucky - I walked away with some decent road rash and a broken wrist, but still alive. I learned my lesson and I try to always use both brakes (on sand and gravel I use only the back brake). Hope this helps.

[lost1700]

Originally Posted by jkarvakko

I'm sorry to hear about your friend, that's terrible. I had an accident a few years back when a deer jumped out of a ditch about 10 feet in front of me.

My advice for braking is learn to use both brakes simultaneously. Before my accident I always used just the front brake because it is 70% (or more?) of a motorcycles stopping power. But, using the front brake alone causes the front shocks to "squat" and you could lose control of your rear end (this happened to me).

I was pretty lucky - I walked away with some decent road rash and a broken wrist, but still alive. I learned my lesson and I try to always use both brakes (on sand and gravel I use only the back brake). Hope this helps.

Good info, I should have clarified to use BOTH brakes not just the front, but don't be scared to use the front.

Thanks for the kind words.