Advice for getting on the road first time

[Cgurl]

Hi all, i am a new rider and new to the site. I just got my learners and brought my first bike (Suzuki Intruder). I have only ridden when i did my basic handling. Im a little nervous getting out on the road. Any tips or advice please? My plan was just to try get the feel of the bike by going around my local neighborhood. Im more scared of rolling back and what foot holds you up when your stopped but need to get into gear if that makes sense. Basically if your on a hill and your stopped. Your right foot holds u up while u get into gear, and then youd be using the front brake and switching to back once in gear??hope that makes sense. I feel like theres a lot going on. Thank you all in advance.

[caseye]

Hi all, i am a new rider and new to the site. I just got my learners and brought my first bike (Suzuki Intruder). I have only ridden when i did my basic handling. Im a little nervous getting out on the road. Any tips or advice please? My plan was just to try get the feel of the bike by going around my local neighborhood. Im more scared of rolling back and what foot holds you up when your stopped but need to get into gear if that makes sense. Basically if your on a hill and your stopped. Your right foot holds u up while u get into gear, and then youd be using the front brake and switching to back once in gear??hope that makes sense. I feel like theres a lot going on. Thank you all in advance.

You are basically right, take your time, sit on the bike and talk yourself through it, when you are sure it'll work , mkae it happen, repeat, rinse, repeat. don't be scared, but do have a healthy respect for what can happen if you cock up, other people out there too aye.
Quiet car park somewhere, get to know how to take off, flat and on a hill, find out how hard you can brake, without going over the handle bars, those sorts of things help to make you a safer rider.
Enjoy that intruder, my wife rides an M50, she loves it.

[Katman]

Work out a quiet route to the nearest big empty carpark and spend some time getting familiar with the bike. In the early stages don't worry if you put both feet down when you come to a stop.

[nerrrd]

You've got it sussed from that description, as you practice more it'll start to happen automatically.

I'd recommend Parrs Park as a practice venue if you're near that out west, two largish carparks linked by a low speed road and one of them has a gentle slope on it for practising hill starts.

Was starting to get a bit busy again this weekend with sport resuming but otherwise it's pretty quiet when I've been there.

My nephew started learning there on his Intruder before venturing out onto the roads.

[Bonez]

Hi all, i am a new rider and new to the site. I just got my learners and brought my first bike (Suzuki Intruder). I have only ridden when i did my basic handling. Im a little nervous getting out on the road. Any tips or advice please? My plan was just to try get the feel of the bike by going around my local neighborhood. Im more scared of rolling back and what foot holds you up when your stopped but need to get into gear if that makes sense. Basically if your on a hill and your stopped. Your right foot holds u up while u get into gear, and then youd be using the front brake and switching to back once in gear??hope that makes sense. I feel like theres a lot going on. Thank you all in advance.

Makes perfect sense. Welcome to KB. Just take your time. Do you know some one who has been riding a number of years who can help you along and give a bit of encouragement?

[Savamerci]

A good habit to get into is to downshift to first and pull in the clutch just before the bike comes to a stop and use the rear brake for the last 1 to 2 meters (non emergency braking). This way, your bike will stop smoothly without risk of the front washing out. Also, your left foot will rest on the brake, your right foot will hold the bike up and you will be ready to go as soon as you want. Makes you ready to get out of the way of someone getting ready to rear end you. Just requires a bit of practice.

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[HenryDorsetCase]

Also, your left foot will rest on the brake, your right foot will hold the bike up and you will be ready to go as

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You mean right foot, correct? unless you're on some old Pommy thing in which case you have bigger problems.

[Jeeper]

You mean right foot, correct? unless you're on some old Pommy thing in which case you have bigger problems.

I hope he meant left foot on the ground.

[Blackbird]

The other thing to consider is some professional support to build your confidence. Philip McDaid who runs Riderskills training (http://www.riderskills.co.nz/) operates out west and he's the best of the best. Have a look at his website. He'll also tailor training to suit the individual although Ride Forever Bronze might hit the spot in the near future. He's a brilliant trainer and has outstanding people skills.

[nzspokes]

The other thing to consider is some professional support to build your confidence. Philip McDaid who runs Riderskills training (http://www.riderskills.co.nz/) operates out west and he's the best of the best. Have a look at his website. He'll also tailor training to suit the individual although Ride Forever Bronze might hit the spot in the near future. He's a brilliant trainer and has outstanding people skills.

Agree with this 100% and was about to suggest the same. Bet me too it.

[release_the_bees]

The other thing to consider is some professional support to build your confidence. Philip McDaid who runs Riderskills training (http://www.riderskills.co.nz/) operates out west and he's the best of the best. Have a look at his website. He'll also tailor training to suit the individual although Ride Forever Bronze might hit the spot in the near future. He's a brilliant trainer and has outstanding people skills.

Great suggestion. Also, it's far better to get the techniques correct from the beginning, rather than having to unlearn bad techniques and bad habits later. They'll also help you to more safely practice essential skills like emergency braking.

If I could make one suggestion: spend as much time as you can practicing your slow speed skills in an empty carpark or other safe environment. It'll really help to improve your balance, and throttle, brake and clutch control.

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[Savamerci]

That's embarrassing. Of course, I meant right foot on the brake.

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[GazzaH]

'Embarrassing' that slip may be ... but it's a clue about the conceptual process we go through when learning new skills.

At first,we have to think carefully about what we're doing and how we're doing it. The thinking process is deliberate, considered, slow and limited. We read and listen to instructions and guidance, then consciously try to do stuff. "Pull in the clutch, then click the foot pedal UP to go UP a gear, while tilting your other wrist FORWARD to reduce the throttle ...". It's all confusing and tricky (for those of us who aren't "gifted" anyway). All the while, we're learning.

Gradually, the learning accumulates and some of what we're doing becomes 'automatic' as the subconscious brain gradually takes over, releasing the conscious brain for "other stuff" ... which is quite a lot really.

When I think back to my time as a learner biker in South London, I was concentrating on changing gear, balancing, keeping the bike under control and getting to wherever I was going, intact, yet largely oblivious to the significant hazards around me. Trial by fire! Sarff London is, by NZ standards, ridiculously busy, chaotic and plain dangerous.

Fast forward [many] [many] years, and now I even have to think about "UP" and "FORWARD". The basics of riding have become so autonomous, so subconscious, that I'm not even entirely sure what I'm doing. If for some reason I had to think about it on the bike, it would be distracting.

"Counter steering" is a crackin' example for me. I do it naturally, and have done it entirely subconsciously for a long [long] time - otherwise I simply could not have navigated all those corners. Reading about it and doing it consciously, deliberately, now is a real effort, to the point that it's safer for me to just let it happen. It's so counter-intuitive to me that my shrinking brain can't cope comfortably with that AND all the other stuff I'm thinking about.

So, circling back to the OP's question, I'd say: take it easy, take your time, practice as much as you can and may your mistakes be little survivable ones. It will gradually all make sense and flow. Enjoy the ride. I still do and I'm still learning.

[Bonez]

'Embarrassing' that slip may be ... but it's a clue about the conceptual process we go through when learning new skills.

At first,we have to think carefully about what we're doing and how we're doing it. The thinking process is deliberate, considered, slow and limited. We read and listen to instructions and guidance, then consciously try to do stuff. "Pull in the clutch, then click the foot pedal UP to go UP a gear, while tilting your other wrist FORWARD to reduce the throttle ...". It's all confusing and tricky (for those of us who aren't "gifted" anyway). All the while, we're learning.

Gradually, the learning accumulates and some of what we're doing becomes 'automatic' as the subconscious brain gradually takes over, releasing the conscious brain for "other stuff" ... which is quite a lot really.

When I think back to my time as a learner biker in South London, I was concentrating on changing gear, balancing, keeping the bike under control and getting to wherever I was going, intact, yet largely oblivious to the significant hazards around me. Trial by fire! Sarff London is, by NZ standards, ridiculously busy, chaotic and plain dangerous.

Fast forward [many] [many] years, and now I even have to think about "UP" and "FORWARD". The basics of riding have become so autonomous, so subconscious, that I'm not even entirely sure what I'm doing. If for some reason I had to think about it on the bike, it would be distracting.

"Counter steering" is a crackin' example for me. I do it naturally, and have done it entirely subconsciously for a long [long] time - otherwise I simply could not have navigated all those corners. Reading about it and doing it consciously, deliberately, now is a real effort, to the point that it's safer for me to just let it happen. It's so counter-intuitive to me that my shrinking brain can't cope comfortably with that AND all the other stuff I'm thinking about.

So, circling back to the OP's question, I'd say: take it easy, take your time, practice as much as you can and may your mistakes be little survivable ones. It will gradually all make sense and flow. Enjoy the ride. I still do and I'm still learning.

Yip. When I first got my first road bike I did about a months riding around the Benhiem/Woodbourne area roads with a mate on his GT250. On my first real road trip a month later I had to go from Woodbourne-Picton, across the ferry to Wellington, Wellington to Havelock North then a week later from Havelock to Hobsonville. I learn a hell of a lot on that trip in a very short time. Dealing with motorway traffic in torrential rain in Wellington, riding on slippery road surface going over the Rimatukas, night riding, slow speed riding in Auckland rush hour traffic and many other skills. All I did prior was ride ride with a mate for a bit and read as much information as I could get my hands on. Some here may remember books.

[Navy Boy]

Yip. When I first got my first road bike I did about a months riding around the Benhiem/Woodbourne area roads with a mate on his GT250. On my first real road trip a month later I had to go from Woodbourne-Picton, across the ferry to Wellington, Wellington to Havelock North then a week later from Havelock to Hobsonville. I learn a hell of a lot on that trip in a very short time. Dealing with motorway traffic in torrential rain in Wellington, riding on slippery road surface going over the Rimatukas, night riding, slow speed riding in Auckland rush hour traffic and many other skills. All I did prior was ride ride with a mate for a bit and read as much information as I could get my hands on. Some here may remember books.

The golden rule I tried to stick to when doing my Advanced Test, as well as when I was helping others with their Advanced test prep some years back, was to give yourself no more than 1-2 things to think about/practice per ride. Any more and you lose the enjoyment because you're having to think about it which then gets in the way of your ride flowing like it should.

Counter steering is a classic example of this - Having said that it's worth sticking to it as it works ruddy well when riding an unfamiliar road. I guess the best advice is to simply go out and enjoy it. Getting to know and refine your skills out there beats sitting in a classroom talking about it any day of the week.