Ok, as someone who’s been riding for 37 years I’ll chime in here. First off @Big Burk as a “New Rider” accept the fact that you are GOING to drop your bike! It’s one of the reasons I tell new riders NOT to buy a new bike, and when you do get one it should be one that you’re not going to be too upset about dropping. Also, the CC of the bike should be between 500cc and 750cc depending on your physical size. This will mean less weight for you to deal with when learning how to handle a bike.
You said you’ve been “riding for 6 months” if I’m correct, and it sounds like all your “drops” have occurred under similar situations. To me that indicates a rider skill deficiency. There is either a skill you haven’t developed (correctable) or a bad habit you’ve acquired such as “snatching” the front brake (still correctable).
As other experienced riders here have mentioned, anyone can point a bike down the road and go, but it is your slow speed handling which determines riding skill. That being said, it’s not about the size of your bike or the foot placement design of the bike or whether the bike has UBS (unified braking system) or not. It’s about your understanding of YOUR bike and your familiarity with them, and that only happens through practice. Practice is not going down the road because very few of the low speed handling skills come into play.
There are many great instruction videos on YouTube. One of the most well known and regarded is “MC Rider”. He covers beginning to advanced skills.
Let me ask this, HOW did you get your license? Did you take the DMV driving test or did you take the MSF Beginning Riders course, OR do you still just have your learners permit?
Whatever the case may be, you do need to find a large empty parking lot, bring a few cones and practice things such as emergency braking, baking in a turn, quick zig zag maneuvers, starting into a turn immediately after a stop, doing a u-turn from a stop, weaving in between 6ft distance cones in a line, and many others. When you can do all of that without putting your feet down then you’ve got a solid foundation to build on.
It is said “There are two types of riders. Those who HAVE taken a spill and those who WILL.” So then it all comes down to risk management. Your skills or lack thereof will determine whether you come out of a critical situation with just a scare or you become another statistic.
Take the MSF courses, which also include intermediate riders and advanced classes. Watch the YouTube tutorial videos and critically examine what you do vs what they say and then PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!
You said you’ve been “riding for 6 months” if I’m correct, and it sounds like all your “drops” have occurred under similar situations. To me that indicates a rider skill deficiency. There is either a skill you haven’t developed (correctable) or a bad habit you’ve acquired such as “snatching” the front brake (still correctable).
As other experienced riders here have mentioned, anyone can point a bike down the road and go, but it is your slow speed handling which determines riding skill. That being said, it’s not about the size of your bike or the foot placement design of the bike or whether the bike has UBS (unified braking system) or not. It’s about your understanding of YOUR bike and your familiarity with them, and that only happens through practice. Practice is not going down the road because very few of the low speed handling skills come into play.
There are many great instruction videos on YouTube. One of the most well known and regarded is “MC Rider”. He covers beginning to advanced skills.
Let me ask this, HOW did you get your license? Did you take the DMV driving test or did you take the MSF Beginning Riders course, OR do you still just have your learners permit?
Whatever the case may be, you do need to find a large empty parking lot, bring a few cones and practice things such as emergency braking, baking in a turn, quick zig zag maneuvers, starting into a turn immediately after a stop, doing a u-turn from a stop, weaving in between 6ft distance cones in a line, and many others. When you can do all of that without putting your feet down then you’ve got a solid foundation to build on.
It is said “There are two types of riders. Those who HAVE taken a spill and those who WILL.” So then it all comes down to risk management. Your skills or lack thereof will determine whether you come out of a critical situation with just a scare or you become another statistic.
Take the MSF courses, which also include intermediate riders and advanced classes. Watch the YouTube tutorial videos and critically examine what you do vs what they say and then PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!
