Learning to Ride

[TwoDogs]

Hey, don't laff too hard. :flipoff2:
I wanna learn to ride a street bike. I'm definately not a rice rocket type of guy. Where do I start?? TIA.

[jeepn4evr]

Either with some good friends who have smaller (250, 600, 750) cruisers or dirtbikes that don't mind teaching you the basics on or pay for a class.

Personally I learned to ride a dirt bike at 14 or so & even though I only got to ride maybe 1x a year for like an hour at my uncles when I tried a friends road bike it was easy. I have taught my sisters, cousin & nephew to ride all on smaller dirtbikes. Course they would all need more seat time before they could ride on the street. Nephew is 8.5 so he needs a few more years to be legal too. Unfortunatly all my dirtbikes are broke right now & I haven't had the time to fix them. Thats what happens when they are over 30 years old.

[CLYDE]

MSF course, that will also get you thru getting your endorsement.

[CLYDE]

the community colleges usually have the msf courses, as do the bigger MC shops, like mile high/fay myers etc.

[Leon Phelps]

the community colleges usually have the msf courses, as do the bigger MC shops, like mile high/fay myers etc.

:thumbsup:

Thats what I did last year since I let the M lapse when I got a CO license, finally...

[pclements]

MSF = Motorcycle Safety Foundation

The best money you will ever spend. Learn to ride and protect yourself correctly. AND you get to use their motorcycles to learn on not your friends, family, etc.. IT really sucks to be learning on a friends or family bike and wreck it.

[JeepWheelin02]

MSF course, that will also get you thru getting your endorsement.

X2

MSF = Motorcycle Safety Foundation

The best money you will ever spend. Learn to ride and protect yourself correctly. AND you get to use their motorcycles to learn on not your friends, family, etc.. IT really sucks to be learning on a friends or family bike and wreck it.

This is exactly how I got my endorsement years ago.

[ZappBranigan]

MSF course, that will also get you thru getting your endorsement.

Yup. I know they do them just about every weekend at Arapahoe Community College, I see them out there in the parking lot.

Courses are often booked months in advance but here's a secret: Sign up for whatever course you can get, even if it's in September, then show up at the next class. Sometimes they'll have somebody signed up who doesn't show and you can slide into their place.

[Jeffro600]

MSF course, that will also get you thru getting your endorsement.

Xwhatever number were on...

Dont rely on a "friend" to teach you...bad habits are picked up that way and are hard to break once you start.

[kmon35]

I wish I would have taken the class.

I had ridden about once a year as a kid, and thought that was enough. I borrowed a friends bike 400 or so Kawasaki. I rode it around for about a week and was thinking, This is harder than I remember. I had a hard time with corners. One day I am visiting a friend while sitting on the bike. He says, That back tire looks flat.

It got a lot easier with air in it. Couple of weeks later my bike came in and I religiously check tire pressure.

No great advice here, just some comic relief at my own expense.

[TwoDogs]

Thanks all. I'll be taking a class.

[Chad P]

After a class, go and buy a cheap bike. You will drop it at least once, usually in a parking lot cuz you forget to put the kick stand down:D

I have been riding since I was about 5 so I never took a class but I know a few people who have and they learn alot.

[jwjeep1]

I've been riding since I was a kid on dirtbikes and stuff. When it came time to get my license, I went ahead and got my motorcycle license too. I took the class at a community college, mainly because the only other bike available to take the test on was my dad's old Yamaha 1100 with a full fairing and there's no way you could ride cones on that thing. Anyway, the class is a good refresher on safety, lane positioning, stuff like that. Like they said, it allows you to learn on their bikes, so if you drop it it's no big deal. It also takes the place of the riding part of the license exam (or it did when I took it), and by taking the course you get a break on your insurance. It's all around the best way to go.