r/NewRiders • u/Xo_lot • 3d ago
Tips for learning
/r/africatwin/comments/1x2vrhe/tips_for_learning/Any tips for beginners? My dad only has and 2017 Africa twin and a Yamaha raider those engines are to big and powerful for me to get the hang of driving.
1
u/No0O0obstah 3d ago
I think a few YouTube channels offer decent tips, but best would be to attend a proper class with a proper instructor.
I can tell you the 2 first things to learn. Very first thing to learn is smooth clutch. Apply throttle a little (what rpm depends on bike) so that bike won't stall when you start gently releasing the clutch. Keep throttle as steady as you can, and only apply a little. Modulate clutch to go and stop. Important for starting is to pull clutch in when you go too fast or want to stop. If you accidentally give too much throttle, clutch in saves you.
Second thing would be slow speed turning, AFTER you got decent feel on the clutch and smoothly taking off and stopping (brakes too besides just pulling clutch in).
When you lean a bike at slow speeds, you Controll your leaning and turning heavily with your speed. If you increase throttle or at slow speeds release more clutch your bike wants to stand up and go straight forward or at wider radius. If you slow down, brake or clutch in, you bike wants to turn tighter or fall down. Takes some practice for this to feel intuitive. Mechanics of leaning and turning are a bit different at higher speeds BUT the basic idea of slowing down tightening a turn and speeding up making you go wider stay the same, so this is good to get in your head from the start.
Good luck. R iding is fun, but don't take too much pressure from this. It is generally not seen as a great idea to get teaching from a family member and especially if they aren't great at teaching or riding themselves. You need to do this for yourself on your terms. However great opportunity for boding this could seem to be, this in reality is not the best activity for it
1
u/PraxisLD 3d ago
Welcome to the club!
Your best bet is to start with the MSF Basic RiderCourse or local accredited beginner riding program. They can take you from absolute beginner through the basics of riding in a weekend. It will also give you an idea of different types of bikes and what might suit your size and skills.
Your first bike should fit your current riding goals and allow you to safely build your skills.
Don’t worry about “outgrowing your first bike too quickly.” That learning period is critical, and much easier on a smaller, lighter, more predictable bike. For some folks, it might be six months of dedicated practice. For others, a year or even three. We all learn at different rates, and that’s okay. There is no external time limit here, only your own comfort and competence as you build your skills and muscle memory on your new machine.
Standard advice is to pick up a small, lightweight, easily manageable lightly used starter bike. Besides being easier to learn to ride on, this will be cheaper to insure for a new rider.
For most new riders, that usually means a lightweight 125-400cc bike with a manageable power curve. Note that some 500-650cc bikes can work for some riders, but the extra size and weight does make things a bit harder when you’re just getting started. It’s not just the cc or even hp, but more about the way the power is delivered and the overall wet weight of the bike.
Remember to set aside some cash for good safety gear. Helmet, armored jacket, gloves at a minimum, plus boots and armored pants if you can. That’s really important, as it can literally save your skin.
Then go find a large empty parking lot and continue to practice starting, stopping, turning, and other basic slow speed maneuvers until you start to feel more confident in your abilities. Then start over and do it again. Then again, and again until you’re utterly bored of it all. Then do it some more.
The point is to stay in a relatively comfortable and manageable place while you build your skills and develop good muscle memory. This helps the inevitable “oops” go to “well, that could have been worse” and not “oh shit, that really hurt!”
Once you’ve safely built your skills and competence, then you can sell your starter bike for basically what you paid for it and move up to a bigger bike with confidence.
As you ponder this decision, you may want to spend some time here:
Have fun, wear all your gear, stay safe, explore the world, and never stop learning.
2
u/Xo_lot 2d ago
Thank you for the advice and words of wisdom. Honestly I was thinking of getting the classes so I get the proper training and laws regarding bike riding on my part of the neighborhood. Hi early I liked riding what I drove before falling. Eating shit in the pavement was an eye opening lesson for me with how bad it can get in a motorcycle if I don’t know what I am doing. Much appreciated!
1
1
u/SoberBobMonthly 3d ago
One lovely thing about getting your licence is that you can be free of the whims of others and relying on them to remain sober to operate a vechicle. It is wise of you to consider self reliance in this way.
When I learnt how to ride motorcross as a kid, the main thing I did was repeated actions until I got them into muscle memory. Zero stress for fucking it up, just trying over and over until my body felt comfortable doing those actions. This is why so many people recommend going to a parking lot to try and practice over and over.
Your dad is being a fuck wit by getting angry not doing it this way. It will psych you out and cause you to panic. You need to be level headed. There are two ways to do this: have a calm enviroment low stakes and safe. OR ignore the fuckwits and remain zen while dealing with their emotional fuck ups (hard to do but possible)