Okay, my wife is itching, drooling and yearning for her very own scooter. She has never operated a motorcycle. She has signed up for the Riders Edge course next month and she seems extremely confident except for one thing – clutch operation. She has never driven an automobile with a manual transmission. She seems to be in the first stages of clutch-o-phobia.

She did inform the instructor over the phone that she had never driven anything that “shifted gears”. His reply: “Well that’s great lady, I’d rather teach someone with zero experience than someone with a little experience that has developed bad habits. You should make my job easier by being a better listener and thus, a better student”.

How many of you had never used a clutch before you operated a motorcycle for the first time?

Needless to say, Mrs. Night Crawler will find all of your replies very interesting. Many thanks in advance.


When the 6 is lit, all's right with the world !

 

I agree with the instructor.
My dad always said "a little knowledge is a dangerouse thing".
If she know"s a little. Tell her to forget it.
This gives them a clean slate to start with.
Good luck

 

I'm an MSF (andRider's Edge) Instructor here in the Houston area.The course curriculum is designed with some early exercises that allow a new student to practice finding the friction zone(i.e., easing the clutch lever out slightly until the bike starts to move, then pulling it back in while rocking back and forth on your heels). The important thing is that she will be in a safe, controlled environment. She'smaking the right decision to take the class.

 

There were a few people in my Rider's Edge course that may have never even ridden a bicycle...no joke. The instructors go over all the basics in excruciating detail. One of the first exercises on the bike is learning how to work the clutch and finding the point where the clutch "catches". It's helpful to have worked a clutch before but like I said they go into detail and repetition with the exercises so she shouldn't have any issues.

 

The rider safty course I went through, started at the very beggining of the skills level. She will learn how to find the gears, and use the friction zone to "power-WALK" the bike, befor she ever has to lift up her feet.

As a side note, if the "phobia" get's to hard a grip on her, they also offered a "Kick-start" class, that goes over the bike, and it's operation, from a -those who have never even seen a bike - level of skills. From what I understand, it start at the "super-very-basic-beginner level, and may be worth looking into just for a confidence builder.

 

My first vehicle was a motorcycle. I had no previous experience at all. Didn't seem to be a problem.

 

A hand clutch is totally different than a foot clutch anyway. Learning a clutch in a car takes refinement of the small muscles around the ankle. Until you drive a clutch, you probably never used those muscles that way. Your hands, though, have been trained in fine motor control for years. Allshe hasto learn is to do a slow, steadyrelease and she's there. There's a lot of refinement afterward, but generally it only takes hours -- by the end of the rider's course she'll be fine.

 

That's exactly how the Army Air Corps instructors felt training pilots for flight during World War 2. Civilian pilots learned one way, the Army had another. Flight Cadets with zero experience usually made better students. Your Lady will do fine. Most important thing is not to takethings too seriously and just have fun learning. Ya gotta walk before ya can run.

 

She'll do fine. They practice finding the "friction zone" until it becomes second nature. It will also get her into the habit of finding the friction zone before she rides any bike. It's a great class.

 

Get her in the dirt,,,,,dirtbike is more forgiving......