Many beginner riders have this common question in their minds when they are about to purchase their first motorcycle. The question is, can they teach themselves how to ride a motorcycle, all on their own?
It is very much possible for beginner riders to learn how to ride a motorcycle on their own. In fact, there are a lot of experienced riders who have learned the skill of riding a motorcycle, on their own and without taking any riding lessons. Whilst saying that having a motorcycling mentor will help you develop your skills even faster!
There are many places where the law of the land does not require one to take a mandatory training course and pass it, in order to become eligible for riding a bike. But still, to be on the safer side, we recommend that before you trust your skillset completely, you take help from a mentor or enrol yourself in one of the riding classes to be absolutely sure of all the nitty-gritty of riding a bike on a public road.
A basic rider course is essential for riders own safety. Learn about all the gears and on the first bike and practice shifting gears frequently for better preparation. A lighter motorcycle offers better safety. Ride a motorcycle with safety gear. The difference between an experienced rider and can be determined through motorcycle riding. A new rider should always wear protective gear while riding motorcycles. There are different riding courses to certify riding abilities to ride a motorcycle.
It is essential to learn all the gear functions and apply clutch lever and rear brake for safe riding. Front and rear brake applications at the right time help a rider to become a professional. Ride a motorcycle frequently to get adept. Practice riding whenever there is a chance or free time. Always ride safely to ensure the overall safety of yourself and others. A drive fast racing course is a great place to practice msf course. Bike operators know that a motorcycle operates when start riding, learn about gear shifter, apply the front brake and shift gear timely.
Here are a few tips to get you started on your dream of teaching yourself to ride a motorcycle on your own:
Tips to teach yourself how to ride a motorcycle
1) First, get Insurance and a Learner’s Permit or a License
2) Get a Beginner Friendly Motorcycle
3) Get Proper Protective Gear
4) Practice, Practice, & Practice
5) Gradually Improve your Riding Skills
6) Read Books or Watch Training Videos Online
First, Get an Insurance and a Learner’s Permit or a License
The first thing you need to do, prior to learning how to ride a bike on your own is getting an insurance and learner’s permit.
For instance, in the state of California – USA, one might not even be eligible for applying for the motorcycle license, if they did not take any official training course or pass a mandatory exam by any licensed company or organization.
Even though there are many places where the law does not mandate taking a lesson from a professional trainer before being allowed to hit the road, it still makes sense that you take one just so that you’d have a fallback plan in case something goes wrong. You may find these options useful – DMV- ‘s list of officially recognized providers who can train you and help you pass the classroom exam.
Get a Beginner Friendly Motorcycle
The next step requires you to buy a motorcycle that is highly suitable for beginners, who have no prior experience of riding.
The reason why we recommend buying a bike with the most beginner-friendly features such as low profile, wide tires, and footrests, is because these bikes would give you more stability and control over the two wheels than high-performance machines which require riders to be extra conscious all the time about speed and acceleration. A motorcycle safety course helps to ride a motorcycle cautiously and maintain an overall motorcycle safely on and off-road.
When it comes to selecting a beginner-friendly bike, there are certain things that one needs to keep in mind: first of all, look for ergonomics; make sure your seat height matches your waist size; check if there’s a sufficient amount of space between your feet and the ground; find out if the bike has enough suspension travel to absorb the bumps easily.
Usually, bikes with lower CC are smaller, lighter, and more suitable as well as forgiving to beginner riders. What I mean by forgiving is that these bikes do not require a high maintenance cost and therefore, as a beginner when chances are you will fall off the bike a lot in trying to balance it properly, it won’t burn a hole in your pocket in terms of repairing work on your bike. Other things include motorcycle controls gears and clutch lever. There are different ways to ride a motorcycle and dirt bikes.
Get Proper Protective Gear
The law of the land in a number of countries around the world requires all motorcycle riders and passengers to wear a helmet while riding on the road, while some other states have no such laws but still recommend wearing one for safety purposes.
Apart from helmets, you also need to get yourself a pair of gloves that offer proper grip, knee pads that offer maximum protection during falls, and boots that are sturdy enough to prevent your ankle from breaking or twisting when you lose control over the bike. This complete gear should be worn at all times when you’re on two wheels.
Always remember nothing is more important than your safety; not even the bike that you purchased a few days back. Your life is precious and will always be over a piece of machine.
In the early days of riding when you will fall a lot, you do not want to get seriously injured so that you have to give up on your riding life, even before it took off. Even a split second makes a world of difference. So, buy quality protective gear that will protect your skin, joints, and most importantly your head, at the time of a fall. Do not neglect this.
Practice, Practice, & Practice
There is no shortcut for learning how to ride a motorcycle. No matter if you have purchased the best motorcycle, all the gears, and other accessories – you will not be able to master riding a two-wheeler unless you practice and practice more.
Learn what it feels like to be in control of the bike; learn how to handle bumps, potholes, sudden jams on roads, etc., which can easily catch one off guard as a newbie. And that’s where the best training courses come into play.
You may think that taking your class five times or practicing at home is enough – but trust me it isn’t! Only after practice will you know what the real deal is and only then you’ll start gaining control over your bike.
When you practice, make sure to follow these tips: avoid the highest speed your bike can take; even if it’s a low-performance bike, try not to ride at full throttle (it will train you for balance and speed simultaneously); do not rush when riding over bumps or on slippery roads; slow down and stay alert of other vehicles on the road while making turns.
Practice at home too – ride in the spacious lanes and then move onto tighter and smaller lanes (if possible) until you feel like there’s no way you would lose control over your bike even if the walls get narrower and narrower. That’s called confidence building.
Practice at open places also, including open parking lot, quiet neighbourhoods, empty stretches of roads, etc. The more you practice, the more quickly you will pick up the skills.
Gradually Improve your Riding Skills
When you just begin to ride, chances are you will not be able to do everything on your bike like a professional can. You may also make mistakes while riding and it’s okay; we all make them when we start out. So, what matters is how quickly you can improve after making those errors – this improvement is known as learning.
Practice and Learn from your mistakes: It’s the combination of these two that will help you learn faster and better! Do not give up until you feel like you’ve learned all there is to know about the basic riding skills required for motorcycle riders.
The more you practice, the better rider you will become; it’s inevitable. And in no time, your confidence level will go high enough so that when an accident happens, you will not freak out and only focus on the situation at hand rather than panicking over what needs to be done.
Read Books or Watch Training Videos Online
It is my personal opinion that training books are the best source of information if you want to learn how to ride a motorcycle on your own. If you put in the effort, there’s no doubt about it!
When I was still learning how to ride a bike myself, I always went for online video tutorials or watched some YouTube videos on my mobile phone. It helped me understand why one should do such and such while riding and also provided me with an insight into the things that can go wrong during riding and how to avoid them. There’s so much content online which you could benefit from – read and watch as much as possible; it won’t hurt!
Remember, there is a lot to a motorcycle than just hopping on it and going on full throttle. There are gear functions, clutch control, maneuvering techniques, basic controls, acceleration, front and rear braking, and many, many more!
So, don’t get super confident with little knowledge and practice. It’s better to practice with the right information and proper guidance that is available to you if you are looking to learn how to ride a bike all on your own. Don’t ever settle for shortcuts.
Conclusion
Frankly speaking, training courses and exams are phenomenons of today. In the past, almost all motorcyclists that you see today, have learned to ride a bike, completely on their own, simply because they didn’t have any alternatives. Bike operators should follow safe riding techniques and maintain a straight line during motorcycle riding on all types of terrain. Front and rear brakes, rear tire, rear wheel, front brake and other components of a dirt bike are different from a sport or casual motorcycle. Drive slowly and ride defensively and maintain a slow speed.
A lot of riders are still picking the skills of riding a bike all by themselves, without any mentor or teacher. Learning to ride a motorcycle on your own has never been and will never be a rare occurrence. So, if they can, co can you.
However, as we spoke before, whenever you are in doubt or if you do not find the same level of confidence in yourself, after getting a bike that you can master the two-wheeler on your own, just get enrolled in a training course. A good learning course will definitely help you expand your knowledge and will provide you with information and tips that will further develop and benefit your riding skills.
