excellent question...welcome to the community....first, you have to pay attention much more on a bike than a car...never take it for granted...never trust the other people around you...even tho it'll haul ***, just be cool, there's a time and place for that...take a motorcycle safety course and learn on thier bikes...gaurd your driving record....while a bike is much more fun, it also is much less forgiving, DO NOT MAKE MISTAKES....start with the rear brake on stops, then apply the fronts, be careful of the front brake on slow turns or as you park...be careful of gravel and dirt on the road....once moving these bikes turn by leaning and body english...master your skills before giving someone else a ride, your ability and decisions could affect them all of thier life...dont buy a sportster cause its a beginner bike(if you buy an XL, its cause you want it), the NiteRod is just fine to learn on....seat of the pants means lots, riding will make you a better driver....learn the sounds, smells, and feel of the bike to determine if alls well on each ride...learn to wrench it yourself....do your own thing always, never let anyone coercse you into anything you aint comfortable with....even us old riders learn everytime we ride or wrench, its the joy we seek.....use your head and always enjoy the ride


oh, dont ever ride your dads RK, or you'll throw rocks at that NiteRod

 

wow, thanks everyone for all this. i know the biggest challenges when i start riding will be holding back my teenage temptation to go fast, handeling the bike all together, and most of all. everyone in a car next to me. i'm trying to build the mind set that people have been telling me, everyone in a car wants to kill you. if they are about to make a turn in front of you, they don't see you and expect them to pull out in front of you, stuff like that.
thanks again for all this, please keep posting. im reading everything you guys post and its helping a lot. most of this stuff i never even would of thought about.

 

"Logan9967"

“wow, thanks everyone for all this. i know the biggest challenges when i start riding will be holding back my teenage temptation to go fast, handeling the bike all together “

You won’t hold back, don’t kid yourself, lets hope you know when to do it, and when not too ! like on a road that your unfamiliar with, you would be surprise how many nebees do that stupid thing ! if you find yourself coming into say, wide left-hand turn, and your on the twist a bit too much and the lefty is now tighter that you first thought, now is not the time to think ? what is that counter-steering about ? most people who want to lean as in a curve or around something in the road just “lean” by throwing the a$$ weight around, (body weight : ) that dose work for the most part, but when, one is running out of “road width” real fast, say in a left hand bend going way too fast for it, that A$$ throwing isn’t going to make it, unless you really thow your butt over the left side of the bike (as do racers) but now is not the time to learn that.

It's called counter-steering is really a few definitions, here is my favorite one, if your in that left hand turn and your running out of road real fast and that guard rail on your right is coming up faster, than that last move you made on that last girl you met, buddy you need more left hand lean to get you around that bend, your hand’s now are most likely frozen in place on the grips, put them to use, lean down or push on the left grip (you can also lean on/push your left foot, on the tip of the left foot peg if you have mids, (forward controls aren’t made for this, but could add a bit a help, think mid low center of gravity) doing that gets you more road under you, but still maybe your too close to the right road gravel, you need more lean, in that case, you need a little more lean, using your right hand on the grip, “pull up” to add to the “downward pressure to the left grip”, the bike will lean buddy, and should cut you through that turn, never use your brakes in a turn ! the bike must be going straight in using brakes, better to brake hard (straight up) “before the entering the turn” than to tap your rear brake (in the turn) and high-side, skid off the road, with you going over the high-side.

I hope you got that, that has save my a$$, lets say more that a few times.

Don’t try this when you need it, practice before hand, you don’t have to be going fast in a corner, try it in a bend in the road (try it left first, everybody is braver in a left than a right turn : ) 40 or 50 whatever the bend will take safely, while going straight into the turn (right side of your lane) be a touch late in the way you lean, then gently (understand) lean or push a bit on the left hand grip (don’t do anything with the right grip, you don’t need it) see how the bike cuts left a little bit tighter than normal, cool huh ? try this on righties also, just do the opposite, push down on the right and in a bad situation pull up on the left.

[color=#0000cc]Don’t for

 

I spent four years on an 800-cc metric cruiser getting my sea legs back after a long time off. Just this week I put my order in for my HD. Trust me, you will probably drop your bike early on, and even a stupid little driveway drop can be ugly. Do yourself a favor and pick up something used and mid-sized to start with and learn on. Used mid-sized metrics can be had for a fraction of the cost of the bike you're looking at, and if you dump it, it won't hurt anywhere near as much.

 

Whenever I start skidding or washing out I always rely on my dirt bike upbringing.It's like yer back out on the track/paths whatever.Just comes back to you.I'd say practice skids, evasive manuevers off road.

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Here is the only piece of advice you will ever need.

Don't Wreck.

 

Look beyond the MSF course. You can purchase the "Ride Like a Pro" dvd which will help you with your slow speed (Gray Area Clutch control) manuevering. I took a course from a retired motorcycle cop that was amazing. He supplied the bikes (retired Police Kawasaki 1000's) and had designed a course the challenged usin many areas. The class was taught over four 10 hour days. Because we used his bikes, we pushed ourselves to the limit. I dropped my bike twice and took a fall at 30mph performing a counter steering manuever (never, ever touch the front brake while counter steering!!!). But by the end of the class, I was able to perform an emergency braking and escape move at 40mph. I also could do radical counter steering while staying at a consistent 30mph. Finally, all of us in the class completed a field course consisting of 12 different slow speed obstacles. I came away from this class with much more awareness and confidence.

Practice Head Eye (Look at where you want to go)
Practice emergency braking
Practice counter steering

When you are first starting to ride, try to practice these things everytime you go out. Let your muscle memory soak it up so it becomes instinctive.

Have fun and ride safe.

 

watch out for horse and buggys, horseshit and if you hit a deer it really hurts

 

DO NOT punch low flying birds....or KICK dogs that chase you [:-]

 

lol thanks guys, i doubt ill be punching birds or hitting dogs ^_^


slowdown, would it change which turns are easier because im left handed, would lefts be easier in a sense and right turns really the problem area?

and also do you mean like basically put all my weight on the left handle bar, and foot peg while shifting my body to the left.

i already do sort of stufflike that on bicycle and dirtbike. but its probably nothing compared to a 600lb harley going 40 on a turn