I just registered for a motorcycle course. Advice, anyone?

Not a rider, but perspective, and my first bike would probably be a (used) kawasaki ninja 250r. It's considered one of the best budget/beginner sportbikes; it's stylish and less prone to slamming new riders into magically-appearing trees.

I think the biggest risk is arrogance, and it seems like that won't be a problem for you judging by your description of your driving. Next to that, I think the biggest danger is other cars, and I would guess that most non risk/arrogance/drunk accidents are caused by other drivers doing something you didn't expect. So, like they say, expect the unexpected. Always anticipate that the car will change lanes, will pull out in front of you, will blow the red light, etc, and then if/when it does, you'll be ready for it. This is how I drive a car as well. I drive really fast on curvy roads where it's just me and the road and my own skill, but I don't trust other drivers even a little bit. I'm a race car driver on curvy roads, and I'm a grandma on the freeway.

I am a rider myself, and have a few tips to share:
* Always, I mean always, where suitable gear when riding (helmet, back protection, gloves, suit, and shoes).
* Do not push your own limits, or the bikes limits for that matter.
* Never trust anyone around you. Ride and behave like they do not see you, especially those driving cars.
* Make sure the motorcycle is in tip-top condition.

I have ridden two summers without a single accident, or really close calls, using those methods. 22,000km so far...
Best of luck with the lessons, and ride safely!

Something for the viewing pleasure: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f11/ro...-heavy-432738/

best advice

don't die

Wear a Helmut.

For a begginer rider, I can say don't be afraid of pushing the handlebars to the opposite direction to steer. It may save your life in emergency situations

Wear bright colors, don't get a bike more powerful then you can handle (stay away from the sport bikes (you can have one later once you've improved your skills (when your ready))) [400-650cc should be more then enough to learn with and enjoy fully] You'll suck for a while but you'll get better. You'll eventually do something stupid once or twice when your starting out (it's always at slow speeds) but don't let this discourage you. Don't give up no matter how bad you may feel at that moment (always 'get back on the horse'). Drinking and riding don't mix. Riding a bike is all about balance, and when you drink you lose your control of balance. If you have no balance you'll have a hard time riding (you'll probably fall over before you get going). A big cause of rider related error is due to failing to negotiating a curve (slow down). I highly encourage you and others to take the approved bike rider safety course in your area it may save your life one day. I'm a better rider because of it. (Even though I was dehydrated, sore, tired and completely dead by the end of each day I still recommend it).

P.S. When getting helmets only get Snell approved band new helmets (without any kind of damage or imperfections). Only helmets which receives Snell approval has been rigorously tested to a high standard and has been certified to be a safe helmet by design. DOT only helmets aren't tested. Long as it meets some very low standards it gets a DOT sticker.

Have fun!

Sounds like you've intellectually done all the right things. Ride. Ride responsibly. Expect other drivers to do the exact opposite of what you expect. Be visible ... both bike position in the lane and clothing/lighting.

It's always a thrill to ride. Feel that way every time I climb on.

That's great. FYI, my ER doc friends call bikers "walking organ donors"

My advice would be to wear a Kevlar suit to absorb the hit when you fall.

For those whom filled out their organ donor cards. For those who follow the rules, ride safe, and avoid all the idiots in cars, it should not come to that.

Kevlar is good and all but it can't beat leather to slide distance. Thick riding leather surprisingly lasts a lot longer before it wears a hole and you start to get road rash, and/or losing skin. Unless it's raining I always wear leather.

Riding leather -> Kevlar -> thick denim

Some background about myself.

I have taken the MSF BRC (beginner riding course) and ERC (experienced riding course) courses. With the BRC, I highly recommend that you not be affraid of trying things on the bike. This will be one of the few chances you'll get to ride a motorcycle which you don't care about as it's not yours in a controlled environment. Now, I'm not telling you to do something stupid. But during some of the drills, try adding more steering input and a bit more lean in some sections of the range. See what happens if you grab the front brakes a bit harder than normal. Work your way up to these things as you gain more confidence in your riding abilities and what the motorcycle can do.

The ERC is basically the same as the BRC except you use your own motorcycle. I had to do the class with my ZX-10R. It was an adventure in that any modern sports bike (especially a liter bike) don't really take well to continuous low speed maneuvers. I had to constantly feather the clutch as my bike kept wanting to jump out from underneath me. The instructor kept wanting me to get into second gear but my ZX-10 has a really tall first gear (104 MPH top end in first) which means second is set up accordingly. Well, I put my bike in second on the last riding test and had to lean the bike hard into the 135 degree corner as I was carrying some decent speed while in second to keep the bike from bogging down. Because I pitched the bike pretty far over, I was dragging my right foot across the parking lot. Impressed the instructor though.

I have also taken 3 consecutive years of the California Superbike School 2 day camp. If you really want to explore things on the edge in a safe environment, this is the venue. The training I have received from them has been invaluable. My riding is much smoother now and I have gained more confidence. Looking back at my old riding style, I was really rough. Many people say they need more power. They have out grown a 250, 500, 600, etc, etc. Yet, I bet on any given track, these people would be left in the dust by riders with better skills. There's a saying that speed on a bike is 80% rider and 20% bike. I fully believe this. Many people spend tons of money on power boosters or upgrading to the biggest/baddest bikes but don't invest any money in the most important mod....riding skills. The more training you get the better off you'll be.

Gear.....I'm a gear nazi like the other riders here. The gear you see me in in the picture is what I wear on the street.



Get quality gear as in the end, you're looking to protect your hide.

With regards to the Buell, I have heard they handle extremely well. Other bikes you should consider are the SV650, Ninja 500, and Ninja 250R. If you are dead set on getting a Buell, you should look to see what options are out there. I normally advocate getting a used bike for both monetary reasons and as a new rider dropping an old bike doesn't hurt as much. But because Harley shut down Buell, the bikes are now being sold at liquidation prices. You can get a 1125R for about $6000 OTD.

And one last thing, don't over use your rear brake. If anything, don't even use it. I've seen too many people get into trouble with the rear brake resulting in crashes. 70-80% of your braking power comes from the front brake. I only use the rear brake if I have to come to a stop in a short distance fast while going straight. On my new Ducati 848, I have only used my rear brake one or two times...just to confirm the thing works. Other than that I don't even remember it's there.

In the end, have fun and be smart. If you want to rail, save it for the track.

Best to use both brakes simultaneously, smoothly, and progressively. Most people are scared of the front brake and only use the rear break. Problems occur in rear brake use when the back wheel locks up, then they panic. If the rear wheel locks up DO NOT release the rear break. If you release the rear wheel you could possibly if not most likely lose control of the bike. The front break is a different story all together unless you release the front brake when the wheel locks up your bike will go down. To avoid braking problems while in a curve always do your braking/speed adjustments before you get into the curve.


True.


That's not always the best course of action. Your just as likely to have a crash related to poor braking skills with the front brake as you are with the rear brake, if not more so as the front brake has more power.


Bad habits are hard to break, best to take safety course as soon as possible to learn good habits.

Again, I totally disagree with your premise. On a group ride, a cruiser in front of me had to do a panic stop in a STRAIGHT line. He hit his rear brake too hard, the bike began to fish tail uncontrollably. He did not release his rear brake as evidenced by the long skid marks left by the locked up rear tire. He dumped his bike hard along with his passenger. I was behind him and saw the entire thing. Meanwhile, I was able to brake without any drama by using only my front brake. So here's a case where the rider used the advice you are pushing and got himself in trouble.

A buddy of mine wrecked while coming over to visit me. He called me to come help him. I rode out to where he was and checked to see he was ok. He said he didn't know what had happened. I asked if he used his rear brake. He asked how I knew. I pointed to the skid marks on the road. You talk to the majority of track riders out there and they'll all say don't use your rear brake.

As for using any braking in a corner, I agree with you for the most part about setting up your corner speed before going into the turn which means doing all your braking before entering the corner. But you soon learn from being on the track and riding around that you can't always do this. There are times, you might have to trail brake into a corner or utilize some slight front brake to help set up your line in the corner. I've done this a few times and heck, I had to use my front brake (harder than I wanted to) in a corner when the rider in front of me abruptly slowed. The bike did what I expected it to do which was stand right up off the lean. I kept my hang off the bike, allowed the bike to stand up instead of fighting it, when I slowed to the speed I needed to be to follow safely behind the rider in front of me, I proceeded to continue through the corner.

Some more experienced riders, use the rear brake in as subtle way to help turn the bike in on a corner. I have not learned this technique and unless I get professional instruction to do so, I won't.

The MSF class is great for people to get a good foundation. But I have found some of the things they teach are not gospel and can get some people in trouble...especially with sport bikes. The class tells you to use all four fingers on the front brake lever. Any one who has ridden sport bikes knows this is asking for trouble. Many times, you only need to use two fingers on the brake lever on a sport bike. And to follow up with the rear braking, someone on the sportbikes.net forum was telling us about his MSF class while he was going through it. He complained about the braking drill which he wasn't doing very well in. Said his stopping distances were not great and he felt totally out of control. Come to find out he was using too much rear brake. And get this. His MSF instructor told him to do it that way. The debate ensued about front vs rear brake. In the end, the poster took my and other's advice about only using the front brake. Guess what? He was able to stop shorter with more control. He was able to pass the braking test in the pratical exam with flying colors.

In addition, I have had some training on how to modulate with only the front brake in a panic stop. When I went to the Superbike School, they have this thing called the braking bike. It's a bike with out riggers to help prevent you from tipping the bike over on either side during the panic stop. It took me a while to get through my head to grab a fist full of front brake to practice. I was able to lock the front and get it under control where I could stop the bike gracefully. So I'm not just talking out my rear bung hole on this.

They tell you to use all 4 fingers while operating the brake levers for the main reason if the bike goes down and the brake lever gets ramed into the handle bars for some reason, you don't lose any fingers (I've met people which this has happened to [missing fingers]).


As for the other stuff I'm not going to get into a flame war with you but a difference of opinions and experiences leads to different conclusions. Still any time you have a passenger things get messy. But I'm sure they will do some tandem riding at the course.


This isn't track riding. What might be okay for the track may not be the right course of action elsewhere (something maybe transferable but other things might just be bad habits [like all skills]). Not trying to start a flame war but you wouldn't compare apples to pears [leave track riding to track].