Riding a motorcycle is much more complex than driving a car. A rider must be very carefull to their surroundings and must have a level of physical coordination that is not required by a car. That being said, riding is a very enjoyable and adventurous experience that I hope more people will discover. You will discover a sense of freedom when riding a motorcycle that a car, even a convertible, cannot offer. If you have ever ridden a jet ski, a motorcycle is almost like a jet ski on land.
These instructions aim to give you a step by step guide on how to ride a motorcycle. While riding a motorcycle is a skill that is continually developed and takes months to years to master, this instructable should have you familiar with a motorcycle in about an hour or two.
I also recommend that you learn to ride in a safe and open area such as a isolated roads or country side roads. Don't take to the roads or highways until you have gotten license.
1.Gear Up with quality
Riding a motorcycle can be extremely dangerous. When on a motorcycle you are completely unprotected, you aren't surrounded by a steel cage or air bags. Failure to wear proper safety equipment can result in extreme personal injury and death.
You should drive motorcyle wearing following safty equipment:
1.Helmet
2.Gloves
3.Boots
4.Jacket
5.Pants
No matter what your age or level of experience, whenever you ride a bike, in-line skate, ski, or engage in other activities during which your head is vulnerable to injury, a helmet should be worn. In fact, many states now have laws that require helmet use.
Wearing a bike helmet reduces the risk of serious head and brain injury by 85%. Helmets should be worn during every ride, no matter how short. Many accidents happen near home.
Children younger than 12 years should also wear helmets when sledding.
Motorcycle jackets differ from regular jackets as they are padded to protect against impact and abrasion. A typical leather jacket will provide fair abrasion resistance, but without any pads or cushions your body will feel the full force of the impact should you crash. Motorcycle jackets will have pads (armor) in the back/spine, shoulders, elbows, and forearms. Quality jackets will have CE certified armor.
Motorcycle jackets fall under three categories, leather, textile, and mesh.
Leather jackets offer the most protection from abrasion but are typically the hottest and least comfortable.
Mesh jackets offer the least protection, are the coolest, and often the most comfortable.
Textile jackets fall in between.
What jacket to wear depends on your riding style, personal preference, and the weather conditions of your area. Often times jackets will be a combination, with some textile or leather parts and some mesh or perforated parts.
2.Know Your Motorcycle
Motorcycles have the following controls:
Clutch Lever - Engages/disengages power from the rear wheel.
Gear Shifter - Shifts between gears, moving 1 gear up or 1 gear down at a time.
High/Low Beam Switch - Toggles the high-beam headlight.
Hazard Lights - Toggles the hazard lights/flashers.
Turn Signals - Toggles the left and right turn signals.
Horn - Sounds the horn.
Front Brake Lever - Controls the front brake.
Rear Brake Pedal - Controls the rear brake.
Throttle - Controls the throttle.
Engine Kill Switch - Cuts the engine off. Useful for emergencies.
Ignition Switch - Starts the motorcycle.
Kick Stand - Holds the bike up when not being ridden.
The left side of the motorcycle is to control gears. The right side of the motorcycle is to control acceleration and braking.
The best way to gain an understanding of the controls is to sit on the motorcycle and try them out. Getting on a motorcycle is easiest if done from the left side as it is then leaning towards you. When you are sitting on a motorcycle you should straddle the low point of the gas tank.
1. Face the motorcycle from the left side.
2. Swing your right leg over the seat.
3. Plant both feet firmly on the ground.
4. Pull in the front brake to help stabilize the motorcycle.
5. Pull the motorcycle off its kickstand.
6. Sit down on the seat.
7. Put the key into the ignition and turn it to the on position.
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8. Inspect the handlebars and the foot pegs, make sure everything is within reach.
9. Without starting the motorcycle, locate, identify and operate every component in the pictures on your motorcycle until you are comfortable with their location and use.
3.Start it
1. Flip the engine kill-switch to the 'on' position.
Note: The symbol for the 'on' position will be a circle with a small cutout without an X over it.
2. Kick the kickstand up with your left foot.
3. Press and hold the ignition switch.
Note: If your motorcycle is carbureted, you may need to adjust the choke and give it extra gas when starting.
Note: Some motorcycles require you to pull in the clutch when starting, even when in neutral.
4. Release the ignition switch once the motorcycle has started.
4.Practice Turning
Now that you are comfortable with where the motorcycle starts to move you should now practice turning. Motorcycles turn much differently when they are moving slowly than when they are moving quickly. Under 10 miles per hour (or so) motorcycles use conventional turning. If you want to go right you turn the handlebars right, if you want to go left you turn the handlebars left. A trick to turning with motorcycles is to always look through your turn. That means that you are looking at where you want to go the entire time you are turning, not in front of you. Again, the motorcycle wants to go where your head is looking.
5.Accelerating And Deaccelerating.
One of the joys of a motorcycle is that the only difficult gear is first. Once the bike is moving shifting is much easier. When to shift is entirely dependent on your motorcycle, your riding situation, and your riding style. Generally speaking, a sportier riding style favors shifting later, while a fuel efficient style favors shifting earlier.
A rough idea of the gear to be in is:
0-15 MPH - 1st
15 - 30 MPH - 2nd
30 - 45 MPH - 3rd
45 - 55 MPH - 4th
55 - 65 MPH - 5th
65+ MPH - 6th
Emphasis on rough idea. A 1000cc sport bike could go 70 MPH in 2nd gear if you wanted to (not that I'd recommend that).
While accelerating, when you feel like you want to up shift there is a procedure:
1. Pull in the clutch and release the throttle.
2. Kick the gear shifter up and return to the original position.
3. Roll on the throttle as you release the clutch.
When you need to decelerate on a motorcycle there is one key thing to remember, the vast majority (70% or more) of your stopping power comes from your front brake. When you want to decelerate there are two main ways, engine braking and conventional braking.
Engine braking is using the natural resistance of the engine to slow the motorcycle. This is done by releasing the clutch and allowing the engine's RPM to drop and by potentially downshifting. Be sure not to stall the motorcycle when doing this.
Conventional braking is simply using the disc brakes like on a car. Simply pull the front brake and press the rear brake simultaneously.
If you feel that you have slowed down enough that you should downshift, the procedure is very similar to up shifting.
1. Pull in the clutch and release the throttle.
2. Kick the gear shifter down and return it to its original position.
3. Roll on the throttle as you release the clutch.
If you are coming to a complete stop, be sure to pull the clutch in so you do not stall the bike. When you are about to stop moving, place your left foot on the ground (the right foot should still be braking). Once you come to a stop, place your right foot on the ground as well.
If while braking you lock up a tire and it starts skidding, what you do depends on the tire. If it is the rear tire, your best bet is to keep the tire locked until you are moving in a straight line again or stopped. If you release the rear brake while skidding or drifting it can cause the rear of the bike to essentially snap back into place which can cause you to fly off the bike. If you lock the front brake immediately release it and slowly reapply it. Locking the front brake can be dangerous as you can be sent over the handlebars or the front wheel my cut (sharply turn to one side).
6.Breaking And Stopping.
The front brake is the most effective, giving between 60 & 80% of the bike's stopping power in hard stops, depending upon surface conditions. This is because most of the weight of the bike and rider transfers forward onto the front wheel when the brakes are applied.
A common example of weight transfer is when you trip on a gutter - your feet stop but momentum keeps the top of you going and you fall flat on your face. The weight transfer that takes place under braking on a motorcycle pushes the front wheel onto the ground and makes it grip very well.The front wheel is likely to skid uncontrollably and bring you down only if you jam the front brake on hard. If you apply the front brake in a staged (progressive) process, the front wheel may skid but that skid is normally quite controllable.
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