Any motorcycle drivers out there? I've been thinking about it long enough and this spring/summer I'll start working on getting my MC-license. Any pointers?
I'm not gonna get myself a japanese death machine, I'll be cruising in something comfortable.
Learn to ride a bike before that. Even better - ride a scooter.
Be cool. Remember left hand is clutch, right hand is front brake, left foot is gears, right foot is rear brake.
Mind the stand. Always check it before going, and after parking (before you stand up from the motor).
Always take care when driving a bike. Have a different set of reflexes and manners of driving (more room, slow down even more on curves, watch for sand on the road, dress better).
Always give way, there are people that don't see you. Stay away from parked cars.
Avoid driving in the city.
Don't drive at dark/night.
Most motor accidents happen 2-6km from your home. Don't let your guard down.
EASY ON THE BRAKES!!!!
Learn to counter-steer.
WEAR FUCKING PROTECTION. ALWAYS.
Before buying a bike, check how you sit in it. When sitting in 1 place, both feet should be firmly on the ground, not only your toes. If not check if the suspension is adjustable.
Put crash bars/cups on your bike.
When doing courses, make them teach you how to lift a fallen motor !!!
Thanks for the good advice StrEagle, when you say "scooter", what do you mean? In Sweden you need an MC license to drive anything above 49cc (25km/h). So learning how to ride a bike prior to getting a license is pretty much impossible unless you're willing to really shell out the cash and take private lessons inside a fenced area, plus the cost of buying the motor bike.
The MC license itself will cost me about €2000 probably all in all, plus the cost of the bike.
Been riding sport bikes for about 12 years, and dirt for much longer.
My last street bike was a 2004 CBR 1000RR, previously i rode a GSXR 750R
Common misconception though.
Sport bikes are actually safer than cruisers like Harley, etc . The inverted D frame is way more stable and agile that an inverted T frame. Sport bikes have superior braking to cruisers. Its all how you ride, and most younger people like the sport bikes.
So don't judge the bike, judge the rider!!
Few pointers
1. Ride like everyone on the road is going to kill you, be an owl and turn your head, make sure he came to a stop.
2. Its not if you go down, but when. Ride with gear. Buy a good helmet, mine cost 1k, but its my head its protecting. Good helmets fit better, are quieter etc.
3. Always leave your bike in gear at a light. Only every put one foot down. Why. If something happens and you need to get the fuck out of dodge, all you have to do is let out the clutch. And your foot not down should always be on your rear brake so drivers can see you.
4. Ride during the day with your high beams on. It wont bother people like it does at night, and makes you way more visible.
5. Either ride left of center of right of center. NOT IN THE MIDDLE. In north America lead rider always rides left of center, then the followers alternate. Riding left of center makes you more visible, gives you better outs in an emergency.
6. When coming to a stop, even if downshifting, tap your brake lights. Most drivers do not realize how fast you can decelerate with just down shifting.
Yeah alla that upthread - if I was starting out riding I'd get a small bike first ( many jap small bikes are affordable with a well disributed power band to get you outta strife quickly at low speeds). 350 may sound tiny but it is small enough to be controllable for those who haven't ridden before n large enough to give a good sense of what its gonna be like to ride a trumpet or a harley or a beamer or whatever you prefer.
My first bike was a tiny little bsa bantam it really helped with a lot of the issues I faced on my next bike (a single thumper AJS 500). I was only 15 n not particularly strong n quite frankly wouldn't have had the combination of skill n upper body strength required to control a heavy bike like the AJS if I hadn't spent a few valuable months on the bsa. ( a good test as to whether you a ready for a bike is if you can get it from horizontal on the road to vertical & ready to ride away just using your dominant arm altho bike shops aren't keen on seein their stock lyin on its side so mebbe check this out with an old dunga at a wreckers or some such)
All bikes are good fun. Me, I don't care where they come from.
Most amateur drivers (which is about 80% of the traffic in a city) won't see you cause they won't be looking for you.
As far as they care you stayin outta their way is your job not theirs, learning to handle that takes a while. At first it seems like they are deliberately tryin to kill you. While its true there are some assholes who delight in running bikers off the road, most drivers simply don't look for you don't see you (frequently completely missing out on registering the near miss as you swerve/accelerate/ slide outta their way) when they do see you the most common reaction is anger, cursing you out for coming outta nowhere when they pulled out in front of you.. In some weird way that russian roulette thing is part of the joy of riding. It's really not dangerous as long as you never give others the benefit of the doubt assume they haven't seen you - most of the time you'll be correct & all of the time you'll be safe.
If you stay awake n stick to the suggestions others posted above the odds switch back into your favour.
I used to think that the South East Asian road code as practised in Indonesia and Thailand before western governments started whining about too many dead back-packers, n the roads became so jammed u couldn't go fast enuff to get hurt, was more honest and representative of what really happens on roads everywhere.
There was no real road laws well not enforced ones anyhow, rule number one was 'might is right' the largest vehicle had the right of way no matter what the signs or the lines painted on the roads indicated. The only exception was army trucks -everyone had to give way to them including bigger trucks.
If you keep in your head that car drivers are blind n not to be trusted -ever- you will have a great time on yer bike.
Drivers are blind because of a psychological blindspot that has been scientifically proven. Have you ever seen those shows where they show how controlling your focus makes you miss something obvious in the background, like a man in a tiger suit walking behind a bunch of cheerleaders doing something?
When most car drivers look in the left mirror before a left turn they are specifically looking for a car and if there's a motorbike, the brain removes that image with it's "garbage collector" since it's not expecting a motorbike and they actually don't see the motorbike. That's where many many severe/deadly accidents come from.
This sort of demonstrates how focus can make us oblivious to otherwise obvious changes and things since we are not looking for them.
Thanks for the good advice StrEagle, when you say "scooter", what do you mean? In Sweden you need an MC license to drive anything above 49cc (25km/h). So learning how to ride a bike prior to getting a license is pretty much impossible unless you're willing to really shell out the cash and take private lessons inside a fenced area, plus the cost of buying the motor bike.
The MC license itself will cost me about €2000 probably all in all, plus the cost of the bike.
Yeah, rent a scooter 49cc and drive around in it. To feel what it is to give gas, break with the handle, come to a complete stop, turning and in general the mechanics of motor riding.
Also as a first bike I recommend something smaller than 500cc and from the Tourer (Standard) class, not the race bikes. My first one was 125cc YBR 125 11hp. Awesome handling bike for small roads.
125cc goes max ~110km/h and if you think it will be slow for you, you can go 250, 400cc. Max I'd recommend is 500cc ~50hp. Honda CB, Kawazaki ER5.. They are equal to a 100hp car, with max speed ~190km/h.
Also first bike should be second hand. It will fall a lot.
Another thing: you will learn to maintain it. Every 1000km or so - clean and lube the chain. Even smaller milage if you're riding in mud/sand. Check for elasticity. Change when needed. Tire pressure. etc. Buy a tire pressure-glue kit. A tire pressure check tool.
A pro tip - there are aftermarket automatic lube systems, that can be added to the bike to help a lot with maintenance. You just have to change the oil canister every 1-2k km.
Another thing: ALWAYS HAVE GOOD TIRES! 4yo tires are too old. Tools for checking tire pressure usually have a tire marker meter too. Below ~2mm is too low.
P.S: My bike certificate was 150eur xD My own Kawazaki ER5 750eur, maintenance 150eur. My gear 500eur.
Ahh, OK, I do have (and have driven) one of these 49cc things for some time (PGO T-Rex) so I'm used to that, but it has the front wheel break on the left, and rear wheel break on the right, plus it only runs on one gear and is an automatic, so I don't really get the full experience. It goes up to 35km/h at most.
I know how to maintain it decently (though it's different with the chain), change spark plugs, motor oil, etc. - I've been trying some counter-steering when I do my turns, and such, but I don't think I'll learn so much from driving this scooter.
I won't be getting a power monster of a MC, I want to keep inside the legal speed limits (110km/h) and am not interested in trick driving or playing fun with it. I want the bike to cruise and enjoy myself chilling on the highways and listening to music while going between destinations. For me safety is #1 so buying a better helmet, an as safe MC as possible and getting enough experience before I actually start driving for real are my current goals.
More good advice man, I'm not looking forward to falling off though. I fell off my scooter twice this winter (before I learned that breaking with the rear brake basically is a sure shot way to end up on the ground).
The cheaper ones tend to use the same outer shell for all sizes and just change the size of the inner shell.
I took a course to get my road license, even though i had experience with dirt. The course really really helped and taught me things i never thought of and i also realized i had some bad habits.
Counter steering starts to work really well after 40+km/h. Just get on a long straight with 50km/h and gently push the wheel one side from one of the handlebars, and the bike will lean on the that side and start gently turning to that side.
In an emergency turn, this is the way to do it. Otherwise you might go some other way than intended.
Well, I've looked up the places in town where I can take lessons, including bike rental 90 minutes is 160€ for a session. It says I need to bring my own protective suit (they won't let me test drive without one).
I wish I knew someone who drove an MC in town, would be a lot cheaper.
In my courses for 150eur, was included only ~14h of polygon driving of a 20yo bike with only a helmet.
First time i drove on the streets was a big shock. I hope your courses are better.
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