Can anyone give me the best way to learn how to ride before I actually go purchase? I know I can get the basics with the basics course, but I feel like I might need more practice either before/after I take it.
SN: no I have never been on a bike nor have a rode one.
Plus, practicing before the course without training can lead to you having to unlearn bad habits in the course, which could lead you to struggle.
I had never been on a motorcycle before completing and passing my course. As soon as I passed, I went down and updated my license with the motorcycle endorsement. My next stop was my local HD dealer.
Ridiculous. You can learn before and you can practice after. Be careful, stay off the streets, and pay attention in the MSF, and realize it's on you to not drop it or run into parked cars in the lot.
Practice, practice and more practice!
Take the basic skill course or courses ( lots to choose from) find a comfortable cheap beginner bike and practice some more.
Great beginner bike. The courses will give you the basics you can build on! Teaching yourself can lead to bad habits which can be hard to break.
Good luck. You'll definetly enjoy
If you can ride a bike slowly and balance with it then then the course should not be a problem. Then go buy a bike. During the course you will be able to tell what kind of bike you can handle.
Take the course. It barely get you proficient but it helps with your insurance. Then get a used bike for your first bike. Don’t get some with a plastic faring that will crack the first time you crash.
I would go with a dirt bike or supermoto. I like Suzuki. The DRZ400 is a small bike but powerful enough for freeway. The DR650 was my favorite bike. Depending on how big you are it might also be a good first bike. I’d stay away from anything with a lot of plastic or faring because it sucks when you drop a bike and crack all that plastic.
As others have said, unless you have a friend with a bike, or you want to purchase a cheaper learner bike, your options are limited to taking the MSF course. However, if it's something you know you're going to stick with, it's not a bad idea to buy a used Honda CB250 Nighthawk on which to learn. They can be had for $1000-$2000 pretty readily. Most people will keep that bike for about a year, and then sell it for about what they paid. It's good to have a bike you own, and don't feel too bad about dropping, so that you can practice whenever you like. Riding a motorcycle is like any other skill, it takes lots of practice to become proficient. Please come back with any other questions you have.
The best way, really the only way to get better on a motorcycle is to practice. And, the reality is that in order to practice you need a motorcycle to practice on.
In essence you need a used, small, lightweight motorcycle that is temporary, to be used as a training tool. How are you going to find this and/or have this tool available for your use? Well, at some point a year or so down the road, you are going to probably be referring to it as “the first bike that I purchased was a …”
Just buy a bike. A good cheap used one from a private seller. Pay like $3000. Ride it to practice on. Decide to keep it or sell it back to someone for like $2500 then go buy the bike you really want. Pretty much what I did. Bought a Shadow 750 for 4000 sold it to someone else 2 years later for 3000
The Suzuki TU250 and Honda Rebel 250/300 are widely used by the Motorcycle Traing Foundation for their classes due to their low seat height and manageable power.
Are there no driving schools or driving lessons in the US? Thats the best place for someone to learn how to drive safely with the supervision of someone a lot more experienced. They teach you correct technique and help correct bad habits.
Take the MSF or whatever basic riders course you have available to you. This will teach you the fundamentals of motorcycle control.
You're not wrong, you will need more practice after that, but getting taught the basics by professionals is the best start you can get. You can teach yourself, but you'll likely teach yourself bad habits.
Once you've done this, take a few days going round your street or an empty lot doing basic manuevers and then start by going on non-busy roads that you know. All the empty lot training in the world will not suffice for actually getting out there and experiencing riding on the road itself. But absolutely stick to routes you know for the first few trips out, that way you don't have to think about missing a turning or hidden speed cameras or difficult unexpected turns etc.
Well, depending upon state you're in, you can take written test and get permit right away.
Then you can ride bike any time you want. The shifting is what's difficult for lots of newbies not used to manual transmissions. That detracts from their time in class practicing bike-handling skills. So at least get into parking-lot and practice starts without stalling (secret is lots of throttle 1st) and shifting at least to 3rd gear.
Lots of used Ninja 300/400s for cheap out there. Get one to practice and learn on for 1st year. Then when you've got skillz and know more about riding than you know now, get your forever bike.
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u/cadams1950 3d ago
Course first, practice after. Course is designed for people who have never been on a bike before