Teach me please?

[Kroze]

I want to learn how to ride a motorcycle. Could someone tell me how?

I'm pretty good at visualizing and practicing in my head 🙂 that's how i learn driving a stick. My first time ever doing it i only stalled 3 times and i learned how to drive.

Anyway,

On the bikes, where's the clutch? where's the shifter? is it the same as driving a car? you know, clutch in, shift, slowly let go of clutch and add gas?

 

[notfred]

You're gonna kill yourself if you try to learn to ride a motorcycle on the internet.

Clutch is the left hand lever. Shifter is the left foot lever. 1st is down from neutral. 2nd-6th is up from neutral.

The idea of how the clutch works is the same, except you use your hand.

 

[Kroze]

lol. well i'll keep that in mind.

So first gear is down? the rest is up?

So let's just say I'm on second gear, shift into 3rd, and then 4th gear.

All of the sudden i want to put the bike into neutral and stop. Do i push the clutch and press down 3 times?

wouldn't that put me back into 1st gear?

how do i put it into neutral?

 

[notfred]

Nuetral is between 1st and second, in kind f a half-gear position. There's a little lgiht that cames on by the guages when you're in neutral. Also, you typically downshift one gear at a time and use engine braking to slow the bike down, rather than coasting to a stop like in a car. If you're in fourth, you'll pull the clutch, push the shifter down, let out the clutch, then repeat for second and first, and then as you really slow down you'll pull the clutch in and bump the shifter up to neutral.

 

[Kroze]

what if you don't have enough time to shift from one gear to the next and need to stop sooner than that?

Like in a car, i just put it in neutral and coast/stop whenever.

So there's no way to go from 4th to neutral? only to 1st and then as you slow down, you can then put it to neutral?

 

[sygyzy]

You'd pull the clutch and hit the brakes. Same concept as a car. A car, you don't have to put it in neutral. You could just press clutch and brake if you wanted.

 

[Kroze]

alright let's say i pull the clutch and stop the bike while in 4th gear. once the bike has stopped, do i push down 3 times to put it back into first so i can go again?

or can i put it in neutral. and then first?

 

[Gravity]

You have a basic understanding, now go ride. Do it in a parking lot or safe place and practice.

BTW, I was leaving some office in Ocala last year and watched a parade of Police Cadets on their Police Harley's and about 5 of them got into a slow speed spill.

I guess in biking it's not IF you'll crash, but when.

Consider a helmut too.

 

[Xionide]

Unlike a car you are going to want to do a lot of slowing down with the engine.

-Xionide

 

[Whisper]

Yeah, as someone mentioned, you seem to have the basics down. You can't skip gears on a motorcycle; if you're in fourth and want to get down to neutral, the fastest way is to go through third, then second, and then try to half-shift down into neutral. However, it'd most likely be better to shift down into first and (as notfred said) use engine breaking, then go into neutral as you start going very slow.

It's pretty hard on a motorcycle's gearbox to go from being in neutral to a gear without being at a complete stop. While moving, a motorcycle wants to be in gear. If you're coasting in neutral for a bit, and then try to shift into second, you'll either hear a grind or a loud click. Basically, the longer you take to shift, the harder you're being on your gears. That's part of the premise behind going into neutral only when you'll be coming to a stop.

Also, motorcycle brakes--while strong--require replacement much sooner than car brakes. Motorcycle engines have much more pronounced engine braking as opposed to car engines, and so it makes sense to use the engine for this purpose. That's the other main reason behind engine braking on a bike.

Good luck, and like someone else said, practice in parking lots and (if it's enclosed) around your neighborhood first. It's much more dangerous to make a stupid mistake on a motorcycle while on a public road than in a car; try to avoid doing so as much as possible.

 

[Pliablemoose]

NO!<---For the love of god take a class😀

 

[Kroze]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
NO!<---For the love of god take a class😀

lol!

it's all booked in my area.


Oh yea another question,
what is the typical lifespan of a motorcycle engine?

is it like a car (150,000 miles?)

How often do you have to replace oil? 3000 miles? sparkplug, brakes, tires?

 

[imported_Cheeseburger]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
NO!<---For the love of god take a class😀

Yeah, what he said.

This thread is stupid. Take a course, and if they are all booked, wait and take a course later.

This is an example of when asking the internet is not a good idea.

 

[Kelemvor]

Go to your local Tech College and sign up for a Motorcycle Training Course. They usually last about 3 weekends and are pretty inexpensive. Best decision you will ever make. But sign up early.. like Right Now.

There are also some private companies that also teach Motorcycle Training. If the ones you found were booked, I'd call a local Motorcycle Shop and tlel them you are interested in buying a motorcycle but want to take a course first and ask for other places that might offer courses in the area.