New Rider

[Jrod]

Hey all, just got my first bike yesterday and I absolutely love it. Getting a feel for it was interesting, considering I've never been in the driver seat of a bike... needless to say, I laid it down 3 times or so. Luckily enough, I was in my yard and no harm done. Anyways, my main problem is taking off. Working the clutch is just something that one learns after a while I suppose. Also taking a safety and training course coming up here in May. Any tips for a riding noob would be much appreciated!

[JWR]

Yes on tips.

Read the owners manual a few times.

Sit on the bike with it in first gear and running, let out on the clutch until you feel the bike move, then pull the clutch back in.
Do this until you know when it will start moving, then give just a little gas and ease out on the clutch.
Do this until you can take off every time.

That is probably enough till you take the training.

[Jrod]

sounds like a plan. thank you very much sir

[Water Warrior 2]

Jrod,glad to have you join us. Rider training is the only way to go. Also pick up a copy of Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough. You will learn things that you never thought possible. Most rider training programs are based on David's writings.

[blaine]

Welcome to the forum.Go slow and get familiar with bike until you take your course.Good Luck.
:cool:

[alanmcorcoran]

Bikes are harder to ride in the yard than they are on the street - although if you fall I guess the penalties are less severe. In the class they have the newbs duck walk the bike a bit before they use first. Just take it slow - you're probably already a lot better. You don't need to twist the throttle much (or at all) to get going. Let the clutch out slowly and learn to get a "feel" for the engagement of the plates. Don't use the front brake if you aren't going straight.

Have fun and stay off the ground.

[5th_bike]

Also, try to drive real slow, slower than idle speed, by pulling in the clutch, and making tight turns while going real slow.
That is part of the training too.

[Jrod]

thanks for all the advice guys, yeah im pretty stoked about the training class. cant wait to get out on the road.

[tjvk]

new here as well....I found just going up and down the street for an hour the day we got it the right amount of time. practice starting and stopping, move up to the gears, and downshifting....Both the wife and I grew up knowing how to drive stickshift, she finds it easy to get up and down through the gears based on the sound and feel of the engine. The second time out, we both ended up driving around the subdivision (stop signs) nice curves and turns....Yesterday, I must have put my set of extra balls on..I ventured out on the main road out of town and ended up throwing about 35km on it...The key is practice doing the things you will need to do all the time...stopping and starting, with confidence.....as you gain confidence try something new.

[mrlmd1]

Read all you can and take a MSF course as soon as you can. There is nothing like learning it right the first time instead of trial and error, and, as I keep saying on here, it's much harder to unlearn bad habits than to learn them correctly the first time. There are many things you will not know or realize about how the bike works and handles, like if you apply the front brake with the bars turned to the side, you WILL GO DOWN. There is a reason you laid it down 3 times already, and you probably have no idea why that happened or how to prevent it next time.There is no rush for safety, May is only another week or two away 'till you take the course. You will have plenty of time to ride, not so much if you or the bike gets hurt. Just my opinion.
And get some gear while you are waiting - like above ankle boots, armored jacket, full face helmet, protective gloves.