Riding tips for someone starting out

[jeanied1]

Hi All,

So I just had my first motorbike lesson last week - yeeha! -and now have renewed respect for motorcycle riders: it's not as easy as it looks, eh guys?!!

I wasn't a "natural" (whatever that means!) on the bike, and the biggest challenge for me was throttle control. Sometimes I mastered it - more by luck than judgement - but other times I found myself kangaroo-ing along, really jerky, unable to keep a smooth pace. So does anyone have any advice on how to master the art of smooth throttle control??

Thanks guys,

Jeanie

[TravellingStrom]

It is not the throttle you have to learn but the use of the clutch.

Learn to pull the clutch in and release it slowly, bunny hops are caused by too little power and letting the clutch out to far and too fast.

Practice practice practice is the only thing to get over that hump and do it in a safe place away from traffic.

Good luck
TS

[PocketHead]

Do you drive a manual car? In my opinion it's very similar so you can apply the same techniques, especially with the clutch as Travellingstrom has mentioned.

[jeanied1]

Thanks guys, all noted.

I know how to drive a manual car but have been driving automatics in recent years, so the whole clutch control thing is a skill I need to re-learn, clearly! For some reason, things seem to go pear-shaped either going into or coming out of corners. Any tips on how to navigate bends smoothly? My temptation is to head into bends slowing right down using the throttle (should I be using the rear brake??) and then open up the throttle as I come out of the bend. But this technique doesn't seem to be working!

Oh to be past the learning stage and out there off-roading with the best of 'em! At the moment, I wouldn't make it to the shops, let alone across Africa!!

Jeanie

[markharf]

Just relax and be patient (and forgiving) with yourself. As adults we don't often learn totally new skills, so we've largely forgotten how difficult it is and how long it takes to master them. Kids understand this, and will work for days, weeks, months, even years to learn something they enjoy--swimming, riding a bike, shooting a basketball. But as adults we get pissed off if it doesn't come almost instantly. It doesn't. That's fine.

Hope that helps.

Mark

[jeanied1]

Hey Mark, actually your words are a HUGE encouragement - thank you! I was feeling a bit of an idiot at not being able to master the bike after just a couple of hours - especially as it's been a dream of mine to learn for SO long! But as you rightly say, we adults forget that it takes time and practice to get good at things - so that's exactly what I intend to do!

Thank goodness for the Hubb too - so many nice people sharing their expertise, good humour and adventurous spirit. I always thought that bikers seemed like a good bunch - now I absolutely know it's true!

Meantime, practise, practise, practise...

Jeanie

[*Touring Ted*]

I was lucky, I learnt when I was 18....

Stick at though dudette, soon you will be asking yourself what the fuss was all about.. It really isn't difficult. I think it's way easier than learning to drive a car. So if you can do that, you'l have no problem.

Just enjoy it. Remember, you're doing this for fun right !!

[henryuk]

Second Teds point about focusing on the clutch. It's easier to pull away with a lot of revs and gently ease the clutch out. This will knacker your clutch in the long run but you will get better at judging the balance and approaching from a 'high revs, lots of time on the clutch' will be less demoralising than working towards the right point wih not enough revs - you will have to keep restarting the bike. I remember the 'clicking point' for me was when I started giving it loads of welly.

Luckily on a 125 too many revs is unlikely to send your front wheel skyward (not something to worry about). At first the idea of giving the throttle a lot of wrist action seems daunting, but very soon you will know you can fully abuse a 125.

Welcome to the HU and very well done on realising that a BMW would not be the bike for Africa!

[jeanied1]

Hey, thanks Touring Ted and henryuk!

I wish I'd learnt when I was 18 like you Ted - bet it would have been heaps easier (or maybe not...).

And yes, henryuk, in my next training session this week I'm going to focus on clutch/throttle technique and see what happens if I give the throttle "a bit more welly" on take-off! I'm desperately waiting for that "clicking point" you mention when it all just kinda falls into place: I remember having that moment when I was learning to drive a car and it's a brilliant feeling!

Jeanie

[markharf]

Hey, I learned at age 51. Now, at 54, my first bike has 83,000 miles on it. If I can do it, just about anyone can (and at any age).

[Gipper]

Hi Jeanie,

Keep at it !!!

So what bike are you riding ? on or off road ?

On Road :

You say you are kangarooing through bends, if you are on a smaller bike, you will have less power/torque and you will have to have the engine revs higher for the same speed as a bigger bike or car - so try a gear lower, this will keep the revs up and keep the bikes engine in its power band.

Also you want to finish your gear changes and braking before you enter the bend, and be in the 'best' gear all the way through the bend with gentle throttle applied - so you are not slowing or accelerating.

The 'best' gear is one that will give you instant acceleration if you open the throttle - or engine braking (slow you down) if you close the throttle.

This could easily be 1st gear on a tight slow bend - at which point you may have to slip the clutch as the guys say if you need to go slower.

The engine revs should be up - but it should not be screaming !!!

Any braking that you HAVE to do mid bend should be done by gently closing the throttle firstly (engine braking) - and/or using the rear brake secondly ( if required - smoothly and progressively)

If the road is wet and/or theres oil/diesel on it, you have to avoid any sudden engine braking/rear brake which could cause you to lose the back end - in that case enter the bend a little more cautiously.

So a good habit to get into as you enter the bend, is to cover the rear brake with your foot just in case.


Try to get into this habit as you release the clutch lever:

Firstly as the guys say - keep those revs up !!!

As the clutch bites and the engine revs drop slightly, (and you start to move forward) hold the clutch still for a moment before releasing it completely(smoothly) - this is how I teach people to drive Land Rovers off road - it allows the clutch plates to syncronise speeds briefly before the full weight of the vehicle/bike is put on the engine.

As you get more experienced, (and familiar with the bike) you will naturally reduce the amount of time you will 'pause' on the clutch, until eventally it will be super smooth. This will also help reduce wear on the clutch long term.

Get your instructor to help you with this - he should be straight onto this and be setting you right with explanation, demonstration, imitation and practice - if he isnt then give him a kick in the butt and take your money elsewhere !!!

Let us know if you need any more info

[jeanied1]

Wow Gipper, thanks for your very detailed and informative reply! I'm gonna try applying those techniques to my very next training session this Friday.

I'm learning "on-road" at present - well, on a flat bit of land by an airstrip, to be precise! After a first lesson with five other people, I requested individual training so the instructor can focus just on my needs/difficulties at this point. So I will certainly be getting him to put me right, as I'm paying him good money to do just that!

As a novice, the hardest thing is simply CO-ORDINATION - getting all the different parts of my body to co-ordinate at the right time with the different parts of the bike! When that "clicks", I think I will have turned a corner (metaphorically, if not literally, hahaha!).

Jeanie

[garmei]

First time on a bike (a 125cc) I wheelied 10metres down the car park. 2nd time I wheelied for 5 metres. 3rd time I stalled the bloody thing!

That was two years ago and I havent been able to wheelie since, no matter how hard I try!

I passed first time, but it took me til the end of the third lesson to get anywhere near smooth riding and two years down the line I'm still improving. Dont stress over it and think of the throttle as a precision instrument.

Good luck with the U-turns (yup, I dropped the bike when I was learning...)

I had a blast learning to ride, hope you do to.

[grizzly7]

I had a little sports car once that being light and powerful meant lurching launches were common! As soon as you got the clutch out and power on it wooshed off, meaning my foot came off the throttle a bit, so it slowed down instantly, then more throttle and bounce off again! Not cool. The secret I discovered was keeping my foot against the bulkhead/dashboard while it was on the throttle, so partially using the friction of my shoe to keep my foot in place, but it also became a reference helping me realise what my foot was actually doing. A similar thing on a bike that I also do is just open my hand a little so my right thumb just brushes the inside of the handgrip/handlebar to help me judge what my hand is doing, otherwise its all a bit vague sometimes while accelerating/holding on/steering even just while keeping a constant throttle!

Maybe you could also consider how much weight you are transferring to your hands? Any Motocross rider will say if they don't stay loose they'll get forearm cramps, and keeping weight off your hands is the main way to do that IMHO!
To do that, and give you sooooooooooooooo much more delicate control of the bars, is to sit a little closer to the tank than you may otherwise have done, and grip with the inside of your thighs and knees. Not too hard or that'll start aching instead! But it stabilises your upper body so that your grip on the controls can become much lighter, allowing you much more feel as to what the front end is doing. It also makes it easier to keep a finger or two on the levers the whole time.

[jeanied1]

Thanks for your hilarious post, garmei! I laughed out loud reading about your learner wheelies and stalling... I haven't managed a wheelie yet, but know all too well how to stall the engine, hahaha!

And grizzly7, thanks for that tip about not putting too much weight on your arms/hands - at the moment, I definitely feel like I'm leaning into my wrists quite heavily when I'm riding, which must be making it hard to control the throttle smoothly. That really resonates and I'll see if I can address that by altering my riding position, as you suggest.

Jeanie