New...again..

N

NiceNikki

Member
Going at this again; hope to be licensed by April and riding *something* of my own by June.

A reader, I do continue to review tips and blogs of first time motorcycle course experiences. If anyone wishes to share their insights, please do; my biggest fear is just not 'getting the hang of things' easily so the more I know going in, the more relaxed I hope to be.

Hope to be seeing some of you on the road at some point in the near future.

:cool:

Nikki
 
I too have signed up for a motorcycle course and I'm also feeling the same thing. Having no previous experience on a motorcycle I sure hope I get the hang of things also, but I can't wait to start!
 
I took my course with Learning Curves in The Beach. I thought that it was great. 1/3rd of the group failed - mostly because people may not have realized the difference between practice and the test. One person dropped the bike, the rest, just a bunch of small errors.

Have fun, listen to the feedback and be precise and you will have no problem.
 
Welcome!
Wheelie.gif
 
I did a course many moons ago and have arranged for private refresher lessons. I think this is a great way to practice under someone's watchful eye and get good feedback!


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There are a few things you can start doing to get ready for the course, even if you don't have a bike.

If you've never driven standard, try and find a friend with a car to take you out in a parking lot. It's beneficial to understand how a clutch and gears work, even if it's in a car. The controls are different but the application is identical.

You can also start building muscle memory by practicing air shifting and braking. I did this for a solid week before I took my course and I think it helped a lot. A few times a day, whenever you think about it, pretend you're on a bike and practice shifting up and down through the gears, and applying both brakes evenly. I know it sounds a little stupid, but by the time you get on the bike, you'll find the motions a lot more natural. You won't have to think about it as much.

Good luck!
 
You learn from practicing. You watch all this stuff you won't be remembering it while on your bike because you'll be preoccupied. Don't fill your head with non-sense. Wait for the instructors to teach you what you need to know.
 
Visualizing has been proven to help execution. When I did the course I was very comfortable with motorcycle controls even though I'd never sat on one before. I knew the shift pattern and where neutral was before anyone told me. It's not non-sense, it's stuff you'll need to know, and it doesn't hurt to get started now.

In my experience the people that struggled were the people who never got comfortable with the basics: starting and stopping. You could see by the look on their face, every single time they did anything they had to think about where the controls were and which ones to use. If you can get comfortable with where the controls are, it's one LESS thing going on in your head.
 
spray____ said:
Visualizing has been proven to help execution. When I did the course I was very comfortable with motorcycle controls even though I'd never sat on one before. I knew the shift pattern and where neutral was before anyone told me. It's not non-sense, it's stuff you'll need to know, and it doesn't hurt to get started now.

In my experience the people that struggled were the people who never got comfortable with the basics: starting and stopping. You could see by the look on their face, every single time they did anything they had to think about where the controls were and which ones to use. If you can get comfortable with where the controls are, it's one LESS thing going on in your head.
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I wasn't referring to that. Its more hand position, revving and shifting. Its easier for the instructors and students if you learn step by step instead of trying to just rush into stuff. Every year at the training its the people who have improperly learned the basics from following all available youtube videos that get bad habits into their head and it slows down their learning process and slows down the whole experience for the other riders. No need to be a burdon on everyone else and take time away from them one person has to unlearn a bad habit.
 
XenoVibe said:
I wasn't referring to that. Its more hand position, revving and shifting. Its easier for the instructors and students if you learn step by step instead of trying to just rush into stuff. Every year at the training its the people who have improperly learned the basics from following all available youtube videos that get bad habits into their head and it slows down their learning process and slows down the whole experience for the other riders. No need to be a burdon on everyone else and take time away from them one person has to unlearn a bad habit.
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The idea is to get a head start building muscle memory. I really can't see someone being a burden to their entire class because they developed bad habbits while pretending to ride a motorcycle.
 
Just remember, left is right and right is left, and you'll be fine. lol :D

But really.. push steering / counter steering is where it's at. Once you get the hang of that and then work on all of the other little things like staying relaxed and loose on the handles, learning to hold on with your legs and body.... it will come naturally... well it did for me anyway, I just started riding last year in September. Pick up a copy of "Twist of the Wrist 2" - it's an awesome book and you'll learn a lot from it.
 
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