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Newbie question - not about what bike to buy

2.4K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  primalmu  
#1 ·
I am scheduled for the Motorcycle safety course on July 25. Since 250 cc bikes are going like hot cakes I purchased a Yamaha Virago 250. I have read multiple books, purchased both "Learn to Drive the Easy Way by (Dont do it) Motorman Palladino and read How to ride a Motorcycle by Pat Hahn multiple times. I live in a gated community with minimal trafficic and a 20 mph speed limit. Being a TYPE A individual and not wanting to embarrass myself during the course, I observed the course and felt i could at least attempt to ride slowly in my neighborhood following the instructions from all the information available to me. I have observed a concerning mistake I am making. I am a true left handed person and I find that when I lose concentration or something begins to concern me I have a tendency to roll on the throttle rather than roll off. I am strong enough to right my reactions but am concerned that my brain seems to reflexively do this. Is this a common mistake? If so how does one attempt to avoid this? If its not I have a great deal on a 2008 virago 250.:eek:


I realize I have not been a safety fundamentalist by not waiting to take the MSF course, but I am not sorry I have done this since it has decreased my anxiety about taking the course (type A problem) and I certainly have operated in a safe environment.
 
#2 ·
It may simply be due to the fact that you are learning and trying to concentrate on several things at once. I know that I was a bit overwhelmed on the first day of my MSF class trying to concentrate on the clutch, brake, shift lever, rear brake, steering, etc. Once you get more comfortable on a bike you will probably find that you can dedicate more of your concentration on the road and the throttle. I don't think being left-handed is the issue, because even right-handed people have more control over their left hand than they realize. Guitar players especially understand this.
 
#3 ·
Hi Landsman! I think it's a question of practice; the MSF course will help. I remember all the things I had trouble with at the beginning and now it is all second nature !!

Keep it up! <and welcome>:)
 
#5 ·
FIRST: it's a BASIC motorcycle course. Designed for people who have NEVER ridden before. In other words: You! Practicing beforehand and worrying about how well you will do is counterproductive!

Who's coaching you? Are you creating bad habits?

Did I mention it's a BASIC class and designed for people with ZERO experience? Yeah, I did I guess.

SO DON'T SWEAT IT! Go to the class, get the basics and THEN go practice!

Sorry if I sound harsh but people seem to think the BASIC class isn't. Does that make sense? Go, learn, ride! HAVE FUN!

*(Drink lots of water, get plenty of sleep and don't eat a triple patty cheeseburger on lunch break)

(Thumps chest) PEACE OUT!
 
#6 ·
Are you going backwards with momentum and pulling on more gas? :confused:
 
#7 ·
About the throttle. One of the things you will be taught in class is to grab the throttle with your wrist straight and low. This way your wrist has to bend a good bit to crank the throttle on. You can't twist very far, if you have a mental error.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the advice

All good points, I think I am going to wait on further riding until my course. I feel confident I can control my bike at low speeds but I do not want to develop habits "teaching myself" that would be difficult to break.
I wish I could convince myself that people who never have ridden a motorcycle will feel at the MSF course. I observed the course in the parking lot and noticed a great many "quick learners", so quick that I sincerely doubt they had never been on a bike. This presents a problem where those that pick up the skills quickly (especially if they have riding experience) force a quicker tempo to the sessions. That is what concerned me while I was observing the sessions. I wonder if they break up the sessions into those with riding experience and those that have not ridden.

Adult learning is complex whether it’s riding a motorcycle or learning basic life support, the older the learner the bigger difference in learning styles. In addition, most motivated adults are sneak studiers. We have not made it in life this long without knowing that what is advertised and what is actual are 2different issues. Most of us know the fear of embarrassment and will always attempt to avoid situations that make us vulnerable.

That said I am excited about the course and have a new respect for the things I will learn. I have a much greater understanding of the dangers inherent in riding a bike, But I have also learned from this board and the people who have come up to me at work after they heard I am taking the course that there are a lot of great people willing to mentor me. I can’t wait to begin.
 
#11 ·
This presents a problem where those that pick up the skills quickly (especially if they have riding experience) force a quicker tempo to the sessions. That is what concerned me while I was observing the sessions. I wonder if they break up the sessions into those with riding experience and those that have not ridden.
At my course, and every one is different I suppose, we didn't have a problem with quick learners rushing the sessions. It was the other way around -- riding around the parking lot, the slow people set the pace. I know, because I was a fast learner, and I always got caught behind the slow ones. I really wish they had broken it up, but they didn't. Another thing I noticed was that when I compared the experienced riders (we had two veterans in our class) and the fast learners, there wasn't really much of a difference. The way the exercises are designed really doesn't give the experienced riders any advantage as far as the setting the tempo of the exercises.
 
#12 ·
Both my son and I took this course. He had zero riding time. I had some, but not recent. The course has a set progression that is pretty strictly adhered to. They used a ringed set of cards to explain every exercise and do it. That means that there isn't a way to hurry the course because you have to do certain things and the time it takes is budgeted for with new learners in mind. There is enough time that I did not feel left behind. The skills are slowly mastered as you progress. One thing builds on the next. The instructors make sure that you are able to do what you need to as you go.
Our group had several people with no time, most had some time and one guy had 20 yrs. but no license. The experienced people seemed to lack low speed skills so when push came to shove, they were not any better than anyone else.
So, relax and resolve to have fun. Those little 250's are a blast to ride.
You won't regret having taken the class.
Rocksolid
 
#13 ·
Listen I went through that class about 3 weeks ago and I was nervous... I thought about the test the whole weekend and honestly, there were 14 new riders in the two classes that weekend out of 24...

Guess what, none of us dropped the bike and none of us looked like bigger fools than the others! :D We were all equally foolish!

The key is to just go into the class and have fun, they'll work out all the bad habits you have and by the time you've spent 14 to 15 hours riding you'll be rolling off the clutch and onto the brake like a seasoned pro! :D Well, at the very least, like a more experienced rider. ;)
 
#14 ·
I took the course about a month ago. I had never been on a MC before except as a rider for a few minutes many years ago. Most of the others in the class had never been on a bike before either and some had. The range in age was like mid 20's to a couple of guys in there 50's.

The pace is pretty much set by the slower riders. I picked it up pretty quick, and got caught behind the slower riders all the time I would just slow up a bit so that I could go through the course at a higher speed. There was another guy that had never ridden before that caught on pretty fast also.

When it came time to make the turns in the box there were 3 of us that when went through the exersize 2 times without an issue, and then the instruction said chanllenge yourself and only use 1/2 of the box to make the turns in. I thought that he was crazy, but I was able to do that with out much trouble. There were other times that the instructor would alter the exersize for the ones that were doing really good so that we could get a little more challenge and build on the learned skill while the others were still learning the basic skill.


There were 2 ladies in the class, one of them had a heck of a time getting the skills. In the box test during practice she could not keep the bike in the box. She tired and tried and would always come out of the box even if it was just a little, or she would put her foot down. Come time for the test she was right ahead of me into the box. I said a little prayer for her to just keep it in the box and not put a foot down. and it was her best of the day keep it in the box and did not put her foot down.


When it was said and done everyone passed the test.
 
#15 ·
I'm glad I found this forum. I've got my motorcycle safety course scheduled for this next weekend and it's got me very, very nervous. I got my automobile driver's license back in '69 but I've only driven cars, never even thought about a motorcycle. My hubby of 12 years suddenly said we should get bikes! It sounded good to me (only sat on a bike once or twice back during the '70s). I like freedom and every time I see a bike on the road I get a little envious. I bought a used Suzuki Intruder 800 ('98), per a girlfriend’s suggestion as I’ll be using it mostly for weekend fun, but she said not to try to practice on the bike until after I had taken the course. I see now why it was a good suggestion. She had another suggestion that after I’ve taken the course, we go out to a large church parking lot, that is when they aren’t having services, and practice there. She also said that it would be best if I didn't use the bike I just bought for the course, instead use the 250's provided at the class as they were lighter and easier to handle.

All I can say is that even though it's been a long, long time since I got my first driver's license, the paranoid feeling I am having right now is probably worse than back then! I'm 55 years old and worry that I don't have the coordination it takes to work all the "gadgets" that you use to drive the thing!

Anyone new to bikes and getting ready to take the safety course, you're not alone if you're getting nervous! But like all the ones that seem to have taken it say “not to worry, just enjoy”, it’s not that easy to do.
 
#16 ·
I was as nervous a a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs in the week leading up to the MSF course.

The Instructor i had was actually doing this class because they did not have enought rider coaches. He normally trains the rider coaches. Well he was really great, he kept the mood lite, to ease the nerves and it mostly worked.

I did feel like forest gump and I did not want to disapoint Lt dan.

I made some mistakes during the practice like covering the clutch and front break when we were not suppose to ( in the swerve practice) I think that covering the levers came from 12 years of riding a pedal mountain bike almost every day. and I had to break that habit.
 
#17 ·
I made some mistakes during the practice like covering the clutch and front break when we were not suppose to ( in the swerve practice) I think that covering the levers came from 12 years of riding a pedal mountain bike almost every day. and I had to break that habit.
At my course they actually told us to cover the clutch at all times in case the bike got away from us. That way we could either kill the engine or pull the clutch to cut power to the rear wheel. In contrast, despite the what exercises said, we were told NOT to cover our brake. Not for any safety reason... they just wanted to make sure we were using our brake when we were supposed to (its easier to see someone reach for the brake lever than distinguish between someone squeezing the lever vs just covering it).