New to Sport bikes and this site

boyoboy said:
I would think there are some skills transferable from racing a bike downhill. Do downhill bikes have a front brake? I imagine racing down hill would require some good brake control skills, likewise reading lines and looking where you want to go. Also sliding, with or without the rear brake. Skills may not be a perfect fit for street riding, but they would be helpful. The OP has mentioned riding his friends motorcycle, so for a friend to offer up his bike, one would have to think the OP has some abilities like knowing how to shift. A MSF/NSF? street riding course is sound advice.
Click to expand...

you are right, there is more that's transferable, specifically as you mentioned viewing your lines and object avoidance

although what you do to setup, and how to react are quite different

I imagine if you're rolling down hill by force of gravity, although there likely is a front brake,
you're not gonna want to grab a handful of it, the rear brake would be in constant use for
controlling speed and direction, that braking habit and the sliding you mentioned are behaviors
that would make for some perilous riding on hardtop and would need to be un-learned
 
Last edited:
My issue with breaking and knowing when to break are not the real issue. The real problem with all my experience it the reversal of the front break and the clutch. That being said I have not found it an issue on my buddy's bikes. I am signed up for a coarse in April and plan to do more. As for breaks in constant use, racing you are on the breaks or off them. Trail breaking is counter productive in cycling 95% of the time. If you drag your breaks you waste the momentum you worked hard to build up. You need to find your breaking points and commit to them. Once in the turn you need to be off your breaks to give all you can to the turn, applying front at this point would put to much on the front causing it to slide. This is not a bad thing if the corner is banked but in a flat turn or reverse camber turn it will end your run. In DH you only get one run and you have to make it count 100%. I also grew up on a farm with dirt bikes and such and the breaking was never an issue. But I never had a car pull out while doing 80km/h so I cant say how I would react but muscles do have memory and they know left hand as front break more then right. Really appreciate the feed back. Please do not take any of this as me saying I know what I am doing. Was hit head on while on a training ride in 2005 and went under the car. Lucky to still be here and all my skills did nothing to help me avoid it so I fully get what you guys are saying.
 
sounds like you have the right approach, thinking and asking questions, you'll be fine

and don't sweat the lever changes, first few times you pull in the clutch to slow down,
then realize you're not slowing down, it will become intuitive to not do that again :)

the course will give you best ways to deal with emergency situations

best advice from an old guy: counter steer is real, and your tires will do better than you think they will
 
JavaFan said:
although what you do to setup, and how to react are quite different

I imagine if you're rolling down hill by force of gravity, although there likely is a front brake,
you're not gonna want to grab a handful of it, the rear brake would be in constant use for
controlling speed and direction, that braking habit and the sliding you mentioned are behaviors
that would make for some perilous riding on hardtop and would need to be un-learned

lmao, hope he doesn't brake slide around corners
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
lmao, hope he doesn't brake slide around corners



if he can get that worked out, and then a power drift past the apex he'd be the man
 
Don't under estimate the experience of cycling in general and how it transfers to motorcycling.

It certainly isn't going to make a new rider an amazing rider but, I'd say it does help.

There are some things that need to be unlearned and also a lot that needs to be learned.

Personally, one benefit I've experienced on a motorcycle, not to panic when a wheel breaks loose from acceleration or braking. Or when a road surface changes. A lot of new riders stiffen up or freeze.

In my opinion, the op needs to learn how to ride slow. Manage the weight of a motorcycle, develop a feel for clutch engagement/disengagement, steering input etc. A bicycle is much more forgiving.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
you may also want to look at larger bikes, more than 300cc to see if something you may want to consider
 
Took my M1X course at Durham Collage over the weekend, passed with a perfect score :) The handling of the bike was not an issue. It will be the learning to be aware of others around me and getting out of the mindset of a auto driver and into the mind set that everything could kill me. The OP above, 300cc is only back up if my insurance quotes fall through on my first choice. Most interesting thing I learned was that if a rider stands up on the foot pegs at any point while in motion its considered "Stunting". Turns out they wrote this law in to stop guys from setting cruise on their cars and getting out of the driver seat while vehicle is in motion and surfing on it. Its written so vague that some officers can use it to nail riders. My defense would be to refer to the MTO Motorcycle hand book stating "To stand on even or rough terrain".
 
Ethereal said:
Took my M1X course at Durham Collage over the weekend, passed with a perfect score :) The handling of the bike was not an issue. It will be the learning to be aware of others around me and getting out of the mindset of a auto driver and into the mind set that everything could kill me. The OP above, 300cc is only back up if my insurance quotes fall through on my first choice. Most interesting thing I learned was that if a rider stands up on the foot pegs at any point while in motion its considered "Stunting". Turns out they wrote this law in to stop guys from setting cruise on their cars and getting out of the driver seat while vehicle is in motion and surfing on it. Its written so vague that some officers can use it to nail riders. My defense would be to refer to the MTO Motorcycle hand book stating "To stand on even or rough terrain".
Click to expand...

I haven't had issues with cops when I stand up to avoid my balls getting smashed going over bumps but I have gotten very dirty looks from cops knee dragging out of a hwy exit or intersection (not speeding). Like you I'm somewhat paranoid that I'm gonna get a stunting ticket for either one day.

The HTA172 is written in such a way that even if you aren't convicted, you still get impounded/lose your license on the spot if the cop is having a bad day. Try not to think about it too much =(
 
UPDATE....Well I got my bike. Already put 200k on it and I have not even had it 18hrs we are on date and getting smoked ribs. She gets me.
6e5e3101781a49eca812c68940c49f82.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com mobile app
 
Nice bike, congrats on the purchase. Just enjoy and keep safe
 
You're married with children and have a clean driving record? You know once you taste the freedom of the open road.......well if all else fails there's always the mgtow brotherhood.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom