I rode mini bikes that was taught by, here's the break here is how you shift (no clutch) and don't crash.
My first motorcycle my Dad taught me enough to get on the road and go for rides until I got into an MSF course. So I rode for like 3 months with my permit then took the MSF course.

 

Good Thread!
Started out in 1970 with a Yamaha 90, Moved to So Cal and raced a 125 Honda Elsinore at Saddleback, OCIR and Escape Country. Moved up to a 1974 Bultaco 250 then bought a 1978 Honda XR75 to play with (what a blast that was.) Met my wife and raised kids for the next 30 years (Didn't know her when I rode) Never rode or had much interest in street riding until all my buddies where getting into it and having fun. I always had the thought that maybe one day I'd be riding again. Then last summer I took the HD Riders edge course and jumped in with both feet and bought my new FLTRU in August. WOW! what a bike. Anyway, took the wife for her first ride and after literally TWO MINUTES! she says to me "This is so much fun, Why didn’t we do this a long time ago" which was music to my ears as she is having as much fun as I am. We are planning to do quite a bit of touring this year. I haven’t stopped grinning since I got the bike.

 

I learned on a minitrail 50 when I was 7 yrs old. My older brother was in to dirt bikes and got me hooked on his old mini. As for continuous improvement, I attend the local bike nights (think MC rodeo type events) and us MSF as a refresher ever other year.

 

I bought a Honda Super Hawk (305cc) in '66 and drove it from the dealer without ever having been on a bike before. Rode the he** out of that bike and sold it when I joined the Army in '67.

 

At 23 bought a sportster from a coworker he delivered it to my house I trucked it to a local school parking lot and a few hours there ..... and 1 spill I rode it home. Been riding ever since. Main lesson no matter what that throttle sounds like wide open DO NOT LET THE CLUTCH OUT WITH A SNAP.

Best advise I ever got was look where you want to go in a turn and the bike will follow.

 

After saving for 3 years working at the rifle range and odd jobs I bought a brand spankin new honda 90 in '68. Dad showed me how to work the controls and after a couple of fart n stalls I was off. Been thru 2 Nortons and 3 HD's since then. Never was idle for more than a year. Hope to ride til I can't see or stand anymore.

 

16yrs old. Me and my buddy rebuilt a trashed dirt bike and started riding down by the rail tracks. Parents never knew about it. Father wouldn't let me get a bike until I moved out or turned 21. On my 21st birthday, I went out and bought a Kawasaki 650. Rest is history.

 

When I bought my first bike (Ducati 160) in 1969, the seller took 5 minutes to show me the controls. I rode away and never looked back. It all seemed to come naturally and I knew immediately that motorcycling was the life for me!
However, in the years since then I've taken several MSF rider courses and recommend it to any new rider who wants to learn to ride safely.

 

Grandpa put me on a Harley M-50, one of those Italian made models and said, there's the lot, heres the throttle and brakes; go ride it! and Ive been hooked every since...43 yrs

 

12 years old on a Honda Mini Trail 50 in the woods.