Have never drove any car nor bike before. Working with a clutch was hell. Been able to start only after 5th try, and stalled a lot. But overall was fun, eager to get license.
Helmet ✅
Jacket ✅
Gloves ✅ Pads ✅
Rubber side down ✅Looks like you’re ready to me.
Can’t say for the shoes for sure.
A motorcycle friend of mine put it to me this way:
Dress for the slide, not for the ride.
Made perfect sense. I had a bicycle accident when I was a kid (14 I think) that I slid about 10 feet on sandy pavement. I still have the scar on my forearm over 40 years later.
Grown men will still say “jeans are fine” as if they didn’t shred them in 10mph bicycle accidents
All the gear all the time :) I was in a minor accident some years ago, and it was very nice to walk away with only a few bruises. Only addition I would recommend is pants and shoes, though some safety gear can look like normal clothes.
All the gear all the time :)
Cult
It’s propaganda from Big Gear. They would have you spend 1000s on something that you’ll only ever really use once, if ever.
They would have you believe that flip-flops, shorts, and a beater are inadequate attire for riding a Honda CBR1100 Blackbird, once the fastest production bike on earth, at 300km/h on suburban streets at 2am.
You’ve just proven my point
Hot take - attatt is overkill for almost all riders, almost all the time.
If I wanna jump on my bike to get a gallon of milk from the grocery store a mile away, I have to change pants and shoes, put on jacket, gloves, and helmet, get on bike, ride bike, remove helmet, gloves, jacket, store so they dont get stolen, buy milk, put on helmet, jacket, gloves, ride home, take off helmet, jacket, gloves, put milk in fridge, change pants and shoes. Which is a ridiculous inconvenience for a trip where I won’t break 30mph.
Attatt basically says “your motorcycle is not a tool, a legitimate form of transportation. It is a toy - something which is only useful when you have carved out sufficient time for its use.”
Is the road between your house and the store a magical place where accidents don’t happen?
Do whatever you want, but this is just choosing to not wear the appropriate equipment and increasing your likelihood of major injury.
Yes, the gear is super inconvenient. Motorcycles aren’t convenient and practical transportation in a lot of situations.
You do you, but what you’re describing is when the gear does the most. Most accidents are close to home. Gear does help in crazy accidents, but for a low speed collision its the difference between being sore and permenant life changing injury/brain damage.
There is no garuntee a crash kills you. It’s not death you need to worry about.
Are you able to pick the day of your next crash? The gear is dependent upon your speed. Sure, take it a mile at bicycle speed, not a big deal. A mile at highway speed is not the same casual experience
Why are you taking off the jacket and helmet at the store, just wear it in 😀.
My one and only crash in 20 years was a low side was about a mile from my house, kids had left pebbles on the corner of a side street. They rolled under the rear like marbles. Bike slide 10-20 feet on its frame sliders. I followed, but thankfully in full gear so not one scratch on me.
Get a pair of slip over pants, so you don’t change pants you just put on outerwear.
Excuse me, did you mean “All The Gear, All The Time”? I am not good at bike terminology yet.
I absolutely agree with your statement. I made a bit different conclusion. You will find motorcycle helpful or reasonable when total time spent is less than in other transport. And the time includes all the parking troubles, safety gears, and so on.
So I have like a table in my head, based on distance:
- 500 meters or less - walking
- 500 up to 2000 meters - cycling (because it is also requiring locking, helmet and so on)
- 2km and above is for motorcycle
I don’t have a car, but it wiil win a motorcycle in most cases I guess. Only fails to bike in rush hours. But that is a reasonable part, in reality bikes are also super fun and great toy. It’s okay its not reasonable for a mile trip, doesn’t mean atgatt is wrong, just means bike is not for that purpose.
Enjoy it! What really helps is reving a bit. The clutch catches on way easier then
Looking safe Amigo! Keep that up - that’s the most important part!
I did the same thing about half a year ago. No manual experience and had never operated a motorcycle or anything like it. I also stalled a bunch - so much so that I almost failed my class because of it.
But now, even though it hasn’t been that long, shit’s baby food. I’ve accidentally taken off in third gear without initially realizing it because my clutch/throttle coordination has just gotten that much better. You’ll get a feel for it for sure!
Watch this and treat it as church https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy1AIAc76Qo
I suggest you read the finding from the Hurt report and Proficient Motorcycling
Ride safe!
Hell yea
Yay!!! I got my license last summer. The clutch is the hardest part. The course bikes all have terrible and abused clutches so they’ll be even harder to use than your motorcycle you eventually buy.
At a certain point, it’s just going to click for you and you’ll rarely stall again. Keep at it! And remember to point your chin where you want to go. Your bike will go with you. You got this!
Hey I also got my license and a bike last summer! It’s been coming in clutch the way gas prices have been
Yeah just started riding only to no longer afford it 😭
Congrats! I fondly recall getting my motorcycle license (M1; California) many years ago, back when I didn’t even have experience with a manual transmission automobile yet. But years of prior experience with bicycles meant only the clutch had to be tamed.
It’s quite fun! And the motorbike still brings me joy even after using an ebike around town.
That said, for all prospective riders anywhere, be aware that while there are money savings (fuel, parking, maintenance) compared to an automobile, there’s also new costs (safety gear) and new risks that require you to be at the top of your game.
For Americans in particular, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) works with all 50 States to offer a comprehensive intro course that can be taken in-lieu of a DMV practical exam. At least in California, this is typically a two-day classroom+riding endeavor that covers far more real-world info than what the DMV is testing for. Nobody is doing 32-ft (10 meter) U-turns regularly, but riding defensively is a daily activity. I strongly recommend this route: it’s makes for better riders, skips the DMV examiners, and they provide the bikes.
My mother and I took the MSF course some years ago via the local community college (they also have a CDL program at the same lot). It crams a lot into just a few days but there’s no reason anyone who approaches it with a little respect and determination won’t come away competent enough to at least ride the side streets to their nearest parking lot to continue building confidence. I took a similar approach to longboarding, riding around a large local parking lot after hours until I felt in control enough to kick around town.
After completing the course we booked appointments at the MVA and had the motorcycle endorsement added to our licenses. A bonus in its own right, bypassing the MVA testing and waiting there all day. Most insurance providers will also cut a small break for having completed a safety course. I’d definitely recommend that route for anyone looking to ride. Or just for the experience, honestly. It made for a great memory. It’s inexpensive, relatively, and you can still say you’ve rode a bike - even if you have no desire to ever do it out on the roads with all the crazies.
Thank you!
Also found bicycle experience very helpful. But I feel that motorcycle requires a lot more work with your legs in comparison with bicycle. Even my thigh muscles hurts now. So it also will be tamed like a clutch.
Yes, that’s one of the differing characteristics: a bicycle requires legs pushing straight down, but a motorcycle requires legs that squeeze together to secure yourself and to lean the motorbike properly.
Are there motorcycles that are more laid back? Yes, but I believe they do so by putting the rider closer to the ground (to reduce the high center of gravity, which reduces the effort to lean), which then often requires elongating the wheelbase to accommodate the rider and engine. American-style cruisers are one such example.
Motorcycles are great. I’ve got a little Ninja 500 that I’ve kept alive far longer than it wants to. My best advice is just practice. Every clutch is different. I have to keep relearning my clutch every time I do maintenance on it. Oh, and carry a spare clutch cable. They’re pretty easy to swap out with the motorcycle’s included tool bag. I got stranded at work one evening because the cable snapped on my way to work.
I struggled my first time with a dirt bike too, not knowing anything about them and having about zero explanation about shifting. Plus I was drunk. Fun though.
