Teaching to ride

[04fizzer]

So my wife has decided she wants to learn to ride a motorcycle, and to get her license. I'm looking for advice on how to teach someone to ride.

I know, my gut reaction is "DON'T" as well, but that's not an option at this point. The MSF course around here runs just shy of $300 that we don't have. I've been riding for about 10 years, and have ridden all sorts of toys off-road for another 10 years. My problem is that I "know" how to ride, but not enough to actually spell it out to someone in order to teach them.

I've got a line on a loaner bike from a guy here at work. It's an old 73 DT 2-smoke ~200. I'm drawing a blank on the exact details right now. He's offered it up for her to learn on a few times, and it looks like we're going to take him up on it this time around.

So, with that mumbo jumbo out of the way, any advice?

 

[fureinku]

start with explaining controls, once she proves she knows them,

move onto the clutch as they do in the MSF, start with just getting to bike to move by releasing the clutch gently, do this several times, until shes not stalling it

then with slight throttle rolling on, clutch release and braking...

when she starts to be able to actually ride it, i recommend having her shift up a few gears right away, its less likely shell over accelerate and flip outta control if shes going 20 mph in 4th gear

make sure she understands what pushing down on the handle bar means for leaning/swerving.. instead of pulling up on the bars opposite of the direction of your turn, push down on the handle bar on the same side as your turn, and that the slower the speed, the more independant your body lean is from the bike lean (counter weight the bike in low speed maneuvering)

 

[Motogiro]

My personal opinion is there the 300 bucks is not to much to give for what she will gain from an accredited safety course as well as getting some familiarity with riding. Add your experience and it should be a rewarding experience for you and her. Keep in mind this is your wife and not knowing how your relationship works, explain that any criticism is out of love.

My wife is interested but we don't have the finances at present, but if we did! :rockon: She sat on a new Ninja 250 this weekend.

 

[Ransom]

I would wait till you can send her through the MSF course. The peace of mind that the basics of safety have been explained and shown to her will out weight the cost. If she waited this long a little lo ger won't hurt. Just my 2 cents

 

[Gothenburg]

I would wait till you can send her through the MSF course. The peace of mind that the basics of safety have been explained and shown to her will out weight the cost. If she waited this long a little lo ger won't hurt. Just my 2 cents

Agreed.

At least have her read through this about five times:

http://msf-usa.org/CurriculumMaterials/BRCHandbook2009.pdf

This too, it's a review quiz:

CourseReview

I'd just have her go through the site pretty thoroughly. There is a fun quiz about testing your awareness too:

Rider Perception

EVERYONE SHOULD LOOK AT THIS LAST LINK. For one it's a blast to do, two, it could save you in many situations!

My last bit of advice would be to pick up some more documentation at your local DMV.

 

[FinalImpact]

My personal opinion is there the 300 bucks is not to much to give for what she will gain from an accredited safety course as well as getting some familiarity with riding. Add your experience and it should be a rewarding experience for you and her. Keep in mind this is your wife and not knowing how your relationship works, explain that any criticism is out of love.

My wife is interested but we don't have the finances at present, but if we did! :rockon: She sat on a new Ninja 250 this weekend.

^ +1 Ditto!

Q? Can she ride a pedal bike with complete control?

Just my 2 cents, falling in the dirt/open field is far less painful than the street. Grab a 125 dirt bike (4stroke) and do all that stuff up there if the course is not possible. Some are naturals, others are not. my Ex is of the "not" category! Thus, some things will be tuff!

 

[aziebell]

My opinion would be to wait until you can get her into a MSF course. In my area, it cost 75 dollars for the course. It really is a great course and I learned a ton. I have customers at work that started to figure out that the FZ6 out in the parking lot is mine, since it is always there I mean, I only have a years worth of experience, and whenever they tell me they are thinking about getting a bike, I always tell them about the MSF course. Just think of it like drivers ed. Pretty much everyone goes to that to learn how to drive. Makes sense to take a course to learn to ride safely.

 

[Lowe]

Don't mean to jack your post but is that $300 normal? Here in Chicago our state one is only $20.

And I highly recommend the course to build that solid foundation. WOrth the investment!

 

[shuckle]

What I'm doing with my daughter, and likely my wife after, is teaching her how to ride in a parking lot. She'll know how the controls work and how to turn and putt around. But before she gets on the road she'll have to take the MSF course. It's over $300 here so I want her to concentrate on learning the safety and the techniques rather than the basics of the clutch, gears, brakes etc.

 

[dean owens]

i know statistics aren't liked by many people. having said that, statistically she has a better chance of staying out of an accident by teaching herself. i remember learning that in my riding class. maybe kenny can shed some light on that.

 

[chuckfz6ryder]

Assuming she can drive a manual transmission car (to understand what the clutch does) and can ride a bike with hand brakes, I would do what shuckle is doing. The $300 would be well worth it, if not for the experienced instructors, then for the saving of a marriage. :BLAA:

My wife has been riding for years and enjoys it. Start on a small bike and she'll be fine with enough practice.

 

[mrphotoman]

Look online (youtube, etc) for any how to vids that may be posted.

Make sure she understands the "friction zone" on the clutch, not to use her front brake excessively in a parking lot with gravel (happened to my gf a few times before I could tell her lol) and plenty of practice in a parking lot.

The MF course in WV is a little over $100 btw, we had to travel almost 3 hours to get there (only location that was scheduled on a saturday) and rent a room but it was worth it to make sure she had some training.

Get her some gear so she does not get scraped up practicing in a parking lot.

I would just save up and do it right and send her to the course. So many things can go wrong for a new rider with no training. It is dangerous enough if you are an experienced rider lol.

Go to the DMV to see if they have any booklets, etc for free.

 

[04fizzer]

Look online (youtube, etc) for any how to vids that may be posted.

Make sure she understands the "friction zone" on the clutch, not to use her front brake excessively in a parking lot with gravel (happened to my gf a few times before I could tell her lol) and plenty of practice in a parking lot.

The MF course in WV is a little over $100 btw, we had to travel almost 3 hours to get there (only location that was scheduled on a saturday) and rent a room but it was worth it to make sure she had some training.

Get her some gear so she does not get scraped up practicing in a parking lot.

I would just save up and do it right and send her to the course. So many things can go wrong for a new rider with no training. It is dangerous enough if you are an experienced rider lol.

Go to the DMV to see if they have any booklets, etc for free.

She already has gear, as I required her to have it before she rode with me.

 

[04fizzer]

Agreed.

At least have her read through this about five times:

http://msf-usa.org/CurriculumMaterials/BRCHandbook2009.pdf

This too, it's a review quiz:

CourseReview

I'd just have her go through the site pretty thoroughly. There is a fun quiz about testing your awareness too:

Rider Perception

EVERYONE SHOULD LOOK AT THIS LAST LINK. For one it's a blast to do, two, it could save you in many situations!

My last bit of advice would be to pick up some more documentation at your local DMV.

Those links are great. See, this is the type of information I was looking for. I can essentially go by the MSF training course without having to pay for it. Yes, I know it's not the same, but it'll work. She'll just have to actually take the road test through the DMV.

 

[lytehouse]

Well at least she rides on the back with you so she has an idea of what to do & how things kinda work. I rode with my husband for a year before taking the course. But before I did, he had me reading....these 2 books from Davind Hough are a good start:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Proficient-Motorcycling-Ultimate-Guide-Riding/dp/1889540536]Amazon.com: Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well (0731360405364): David L. Hough: Books[/ame]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/More-Proficient-Motorcycling-Mastering-Ride/dp/1931993033/ref=pd_sim_b_2]Amazon.com: More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride (9781931993036): David L. Hough: Books[/ame]

Try your local library for them.

I did learn from John just from riding behind him for awhile....kinda a "monkey see" thing, you know? But if she really likes riding, the $300 is gonna be chump change in comparrison to all the stuff that goes with it!
I have an FZ6, felt like I needed a little more umph....bought an FZ1....and yes, I DO have my eye on yet another bike! So...be prepared for the monster that this might create! :rockon:


http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~john/vfr/hurt.html
please note #22 on the list

 

[04fizzer]

Well at least she rides on the back with you so she has an idea of what to do & how things kinda work. I rode with my husband for a year before taking the course. But before I did, he had me reading....these 2 books from Davind Hough are a good start:

Amazon.com: Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well (0731360405364): David L. Hough: Books

Amazon.com: More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride (9781931993036): David L. Hough: Books

Try your local library for them.

I did learn from John just from riding behind him for awhile....kinda a "monkey see" thing, you know? But if she really likes riding, the $300 is gonna be chump change in comparrison to all the stuff that goes with it!
I have an FZ6, felt like I needed a little more umph....bought an FZ1....and yes, I DO have my eye on yet another bike! So...be prepared for the monster that this might create! :rockon:


VFR Safety Info
please note #22 on the list

I've actually got a copy of Proficient Motorcycling, and just dug it out when I got home tonight.

She won't be riding my FZ6. Her legs are so short that she can't even get it off the side stand. I'm afraid she's going to be relegated to cruiser riding for the majority of her career.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

You will get your money back through your insurance, as most insurance companies will offer a 10-30% discount for taking the safety course. Add another 15% discount you will receive getting safety gear from Cycle Gear.

RiderCourse Locations - New York State Motorcyclist Safety Program - NYSMSP - Motorcycle - Training

Riding a motorcycle is 90% mental, you learn how to anticipate factors before it developes. You have to know how, where and what to look for. Safe riding is a skill of the eyes and mind. This is why so many people end up crashing. Eight hours of the BRC is dedicated inside the classroom.

As far as learning the physical skills, you have to be careful since you might be introducing a technique that might be considered wrong or a bad habit which you may not even be aware of. Put it this way, you would want to learn how to golf from a professional. Once you develope a bad golf swing, it's pretty tough to correct it. But the difference here is you can get yourself hurt or even killed a lot easier riding a motorcycle, than playing golf.

We focus a lot on countersteering, pressing, cornering, swerving vs emergency braking, as anyone can ride in a straight line. I notice very poor cornering techniques from the riders who have learned how to ride from others who thought they could help. They are not looking through the turn, they are not physically turning their head in the direction they need to go. Or they have poor throttle control, choppy or decelleration through the corner, etc.

The training bikes are small and light in weight, easy to ride. If she crashes or drops the bike, that's okay. They have endured plenty of battle scars. I see it just about every week.

What I encourage you to do is definately have her put some time in as a passenger if she hasn't done so already. Teaching somebody how to lean the motorcycle going around a corner with proper throttle is probably the hardest thing for us to teach. At least for me, because they are afraid.

In general, passengers make great operators!

 

[QwickFliCk]

Please becareful!! take care of both ur wife and your bike...when i was 12 i saw some guy trying to teach some girl how to ride his cruiser and boy was that a mistake!!this was in a huge parking lot in orchard beach ny n i saw her a the bike tumbling to the ground for a while:spank:... i say take the MSS course and wear some gear!!

 

[The Dude]

If you don't have $300 for the course, you don't have $300 for basic gear. If she is serious about this, I would make her wait and save until you can afford both. I would never let someone I cared about get into riding without both taking the MSF course and having adequate protective gear (and healthcare coverage). We're lucky the course is free in PA. Gear and healthcare are still expensive. Have her ride pillion while you're saving and that may at least give her a "feel" for riding.

 

[Kazza]

Prebstar taught me to ride, then insisted I took lessons with a riding school as well.

As much as I listen to my husband sometimes, hearing it from someone who you won't get angry/****ty with, ie: instructor, really helped.

I think it's fine to teach your wife to ride, just ensure someone professional takes over. That way she doesn't pick up any bad habits you may have (I'm sure you don't have any....)