How Long Did It Take You To Learn How To Ride A Motorycle? | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

How Long Did It Take You To Learn How To Ride A Motorycle?

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43 years still learning. Was good to recover ( sort of ) some off road skills in Australia this year - sure glad I took the Burgman on some gravel from time to time. Helped transitioning to the KLR650 and dirt tracks.

I ride frequently and each time try to concentrate on improving one skill or another depending on where I am or conditions.

I do find it odd tho some sort of "unconscious" knowledge pops up from time to time as a I watch a new rider get into awkward positions on tilted pavement or pulling into traffic. Lot of the "skill set" I could not even articulate - only surfaces when you see someone put themselves in an risk situation and they are are not aware of it.

Embedded knowledge of some sort that just comes with saddle time in a variety of conditions - one reason I like the back roads and twisties most.

Y'know - smooth cornering one day, going in a bit faster another day for braking practice, smooth stops at intersections the next...learn all the time. Some dirt and gravel practice can really pay off.
 
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We need to set up an epic thread with Sausage vs. ITISWHATITIS moderated by a guest return of Turbodish.

I'd pay to see it. Seriously.
 
SkyRider said:
you never stop learning.
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this, hopped on a bike for the first time, never stalled it. within 10 minutes i was making smooth shifts and riding around the block. everytime i go out, i learn something new and hone my skill. getting a bike to move is easy, learning your limits, your bikes lmits and how to read raod conditions, traffic and ride safely takes time.
 
And to think I was inclined to listen to what you had to say.
You lost ALLcredibility with this statement.

I will no longer read your posts like I should actually give them a second thought.


Pegassus said:
Well if it's not mechanical I don't know what else I can learn, I rode in a 3rd-world country for 3 years that have more dangerous scenarios than Canada and rode in 2 canadian winters IN THE SNOW, gave up riding in the winter when I slid on 5 cm of snow and fell with a tractor trailer skidding and jacknifing trying to stop just 40-ft behind me.
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learning is one thing, mastering it is another...i learn how to ride a motorcycle in 2 days...mastering it would take me a life time long...
 
Exactly... takes NO time to learn how to make it go... but a lifetime to master how to make it truly dance...

Keith Code's A Twist of the Wrist and A Twist of the Wrist II really helped me to take it to the next level (with lots of practice testing new techniques and limits)...
 
Yukoner said:
Exactly... takes NO time to learn how to make it go... but a lifetime to master how to make it truly dance...

Keith Code's A Twist of the Wrist and A Twist of the Wrist II really helped me to take it to the next level (with lots of practice testing new techniques and limits)...
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One day, I will find whoever "borrowed" my Keith Code books.:cussing:
 
Like anything worthwhile, riding is "simple to learn, difficult to master". Sure, I like to THINK I'm a good rider, but a more accurate assessment would probably be: a rider who has met the minor standards of licensing. That and I know where all the speed traps are on Lakeshore Boulevard.
 
Just curious, what bikes have you owned?


Pegassus said:
I was 15 when I learnt and it took me only 30 minutes but I had one advantage: I already knew how to drive shift-stick vehicles all by myself in the backroads of Houston,Texas. My uncle taught me in a 1982 Kawasaki.

It amazed me that my brother-in-law, a kid of 13, learnt how to completely master a motorcycle without even knowing how to drive an automatic car and being clueless as to what a "clutch" or "gears" was. We started at 3:30pm and by 5:30pm he was already riding the motorcycle all by himself, making u-turns on the road, stopping, starting, slowing down, all of this without stalling the bike or crashing.

I also tried to teach my 9 and 11 year old nieces but their feet could not touch the brake/shift peg but I was riding behind them without interferring and they rode the motorcycle all over the place as long as I had placed the bike on 2nd gear for them, I know that they could have ridden it by themselves if they could only reach the pegs because I also taught them how to change gears and in theory they knew how to do it, this in just one afternoon.

This is why in Humber College I had not sympathy for full-grown adults who crashed the bikes several times during our M2 tests, c'mon are you kiding me, they have been practicing for days before they go to Humber haven't they?
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There will be no answer. I still can't tell if Saussage is a genius troll or not. Frankly, I don't care - he's always very entertaining.
 
The thing about learning how to ride a bike is it's not just the technical part of "press this lever, twist that grip", but also the mindset. Sure you can learn how to use the controls in minutes, and develop some degree of finesse in a few hours of repetition, but what causes crashes is more often what's going on in a rider's head. That's the part that takes longer to learn.

The people who crashed in that M2 test probably knew where to steer or which levers to pull, but their lack of self confidence caused them to panic and harmful instincts like target fixation and panic braking set in. IMHO being a good biker requires having the self confidence to continually push your abilities a little (and trust the ones you have), but not get so overconfident that you do not account for the unexpected events of street riding.

Younger people (and squids) generally have less problems with panic responses because they still haven't discovered they're not invincible, so they just go and do stuff whether it's a good idea or not. No doubt your brother in law's a sharp guy and a fast learner, but be careful letting him try too much too quickly or he'll end up the same way a lot of squids do, as a smear on the pavement.
 
<<yawn>>
 
I'm interested in learning more about this story...

Marcfolch said:
The people who crashed in that M2 test probably knew where to steer or which levers to pull, but their lack of self confidence caused them to panic and harmful instincts like target fixation and panic braking set in. .
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advanced training courses and track days...that made the diffy.

like said before, you take a licensing course, your "riding" in 4 hours...

lifetime for sure, there is no top mastery level.

but im pretty sure Lorenzo and Rossi are near that level...
 
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