Learning To Ride Manual Motorcycle

[rudidep]

Learning how to shift gears really is the easy part. Learning how to handle and respect the power of a big bike is a different thing altogether

[trawler]

If you have a Honda Safety riding Center anywhere near you they teach basic motorbike riding skills up to advanced and you can start on 150's then 300's up to 650's.Also slow speed handling etc etc.Cheers

[action]

True story, I learned to drive a manual car in an arcade.  A lot of video games are pretty realistic this way.  There was a sit down driving game where you could choose manual transmission and after 2 or 3 games I learned how to ease out the clutch while applying gas and getting through the gears.  First time in a real car was no different. 
Haven't been to an arcade in ages but I assume you could find a sit down motorcycle game with a manual option.  

 

Edited April 25, 2020 by action

[Headgame]

I began on a Honda 150RR - light weight and quite easy to learn on.

As others have said, find a parking lot, after hours and begin by learning to start the bike and move off in first gear w/o stalling. 
Then you can do some figure eights and U turns and go on from there.

I found YouTube was very helpful.

 

You'll never stop learning and once you feel reasonably comfortable you can consider moving up from the 150cc bike.

 

In three years I want from the Honda 150cc to a Yamaha 300cc and then to my Triumph T100 900cc.

 

You only have to follow these two rules at all times:

1. Look where you want to go, and
2 NEVER take your eyes off the road.

 

Go for it and good luck.

[jvs]

20 hours ago, kekalot said:

not the smartest thing I have done but in about 2016 I went and got myself a CB500F from Surat Thani.

took the overnight train down from Hua Hin and landed there around 7am, gave the money to the chap after inspecting the bike for clear damage

when I then told him I had never driven one of those, he seemed concerned. lol

 

I had never driven manual big bike before but I had driven a Honda Wave extensively, it helped a little bit but also made me do mistakes

 

for example, with a Honda Wave you can stop at a light and be in 5th gear and no problem, can down shift after stopped.

well I wasn't aware that a manual bike would stall so.. at every single lights I stalled until I figured it out.

 

anyways, I had to get back to Phetchaburi before 3pm for an appointment so I drove the 500kms, a lot of it in the rain (on my first time on a manual bike)

coming from a Honda Wave, switching the gears was like 5% of it.. not stalling when leaving a light was 90%.

I was always scared of giving it too much RPM and going on a wheelie

 

would I suggest doing that on highways? no. but!

I made it alive and apart from looking like an idiot stalling at green (AND a few red lights) then I'm still alive

Many years ago a friend of mine bought a big bike,he and another guy.They both bought one and went to pick them up together.They never came home.

Edited April 25, 2020 by jvs

[holy cow cm]

19 hours ago, samisaurus said:

Near where I live there's a lesson service

 

http://fatboysmotorbikes.com/motorbike-driving-lessons/

 

Curious if U guys think it would be worth the money or it's a waste and I can just teach myself?

 

 

Do it that way then if you wreck it will be their bike and you will pay nothing extra as they will start you on an easy small bike. Popping the clutch is probably your biggest worry besides down shifting too fast and skidding out coming into a corner. Been riding since I was 6 years old.. 

[Nanaplaza666]

I don't know if you have a driving license if not get one first because you might cause an accident and will not be covered by insurance . Ofcourse i hope you will not be in an accident in anyway but better safe then sorry . Also my advice same as others , go into a empty parking lot somewhere and practice there , there will not be any traffic so don't need to worry about that part just focus on the driving .

[snowgard]

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+drive+a+motorcycle+with+clutch

 

[dennnis]

22 hours ago, samisaurus said:

Hahahah no a bad idea. Might do that. Rent one and go somewhere quiet. 

How will you get there?

[Moonlover]

5 hours ago, LawrenceN said:

Just don't buy an old British bike. Pre-1975 Triumphs had the hand (front) brake on the left hand, and the rear brake on the right foot. I  learned on Yamahas with both brakes on the right, clutch on the left hand. Nearly died the day a friend let me try his classic Triumph, and I never left the parking lot. 

I've ridden numerous makes of motorcycle down through the years, dating back to '60s and earlier. Most of them British, but also a few Japanese and one Czechoslovakian. Not a single one of them had the front brake lever on the left.

[Moonlover]

2 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

21 hours ago, samisaurus said:

Near where I live there's a lesson service

 

http://fatboysmotorbikes.com/motorbike-driving-lessons/

 

Curious if U guys think it would be worth the money or it's a waste and I can just teach myself?

 

2 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

Do it that way then if you wreck it will be their bike and you will pay nothing extra as they will start you on an easy small bike. Popping the clutch is probably your biggest worry besides down shifting too fast and skidding out coming into a corner. Been riding since I was 6 years old.. 

This is how my wife obtained her Thai licence, through a school in Udon Thani. Both she and I think it was of benefit even though she had been riding for some time in Egypt. She occasionally lectures me on safe riding now. ???? 

 

The school my wife went to offered a full service, including the final test. They have to be government accredited to do this. If you can find one in Bangkok that offers this service, so much the better,

[holy cow cm]

29 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

 

This is how my wife obtained her Thai licence, through a school in Udon Thani. Both she and I think it was of benefit even though she had been riding for some time in Egypt. She occasionally lectures me on safe riding now. ???? 

 

The school my wife went to offered a full service, including the final test. They have to be government accredited to do this. If you can find one in Bangkok that offers this service, so much the better,

To me it seems the way to go for the OP. Pay and then learn to get acquainted and then get your motorcycle license with an automatic, then go buy a manual and hone your riding skills. 

[Moonlover]

2 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

The school my wife went to offered a full service, including the final test. They have to be government accredited to do this. If you can find one in Bangkok that offers this service, so much the better,

 

3 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

To me it seems the way to go for the OP. Pay and then learn to get acquainted and then get your motorcycle license with an automatic, then go buy a manual and hone your riding skills. 

At the school attended by Madam Moon, they were all taught on semi-autos, so she's good to go on either.

[holy cow cm]

34 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

 

At the school attended by Madam Moon, they were all taught on semi-autos, so she's good to go on either.

a clutch bike is soooo much different than a semi gear bike.

[shy coconut]

23 hours ago, samisaurus said:

Near where I live there's a lesson service

 

http://fatboysmotorbikes.com/motorbike-driving-lessons/

 

Curious if U guys think it would be worth the money or it's a waste and I can just teach myself?

 

 

There it is ????????????

[mrfill]

Some simple rules

1 - Get used to the idea that you might fall off and it hurts

2 - Buy some protective gear for head, arms and legs

3 - Remember at all times that every other person on the road is trying to kill you.

 

These have proved quite helpful to me over the last 52 years of bike riding.

[sead]

Find any kid on the street and he would happily show you

[Moonlover]

1 hour ago, holy cow cm said:

2 hours ago, Moonlover said:

 

At the school attended by Madam Moon, they were all taught on semi-autos, so she's good to go on either.

 

1 hour ago, holy cow cm said:

a clutch bike is soooo much different than a semi gear bike.

They are a little bit different and neither are hard to learn. All of my motorcycles have had manual clutches and I've never had a problem operating them.

 

The web site I suggested to the O/P back in #17 gives a good guide to using a manual shift and there's been plenty of good advice on this thread.

 

https://www.wikihow.com/Shift-Gears-on-a-Motorcycle

 

 

[xtrnuno41]

ALways remember first gear is down from neutral and the rest up.

Be aware in first gear not to throttle to hard , otherwise you end up in a wheelie.

Find the balance where the bike stays on the ground. I ve seen people fly and tumble.

No matter how much power it has. it is try and error, getting the hang of it.

[CaptainCarrot]

I learned to ride a motorbike (manual) in my youth on the wet cobbles of the back streets of Birkenhead. In those days the tyre compounds weren't as forgiving as today either; there were three types of tyre: hard, very hard and "where am I nurse?"

Edited April 25, 2020 by CaptainCarrot

[holy cow cm]

44 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

 

They are a little bit different and neither are hard to learn. All of my motorcycles have had manual clutches and I've never had a problem operating them.

 

The web site I suggested to the O/P back in #17 gives a good guide to using a manual shift and there's been plenty of good advice on this thread.

 

https://www.wikihow.com/Shift-Gears-on-a-Motorcycle

 

 

Different gear pattern as well. But yeah if the OP is a little bit coordinated then should be no problem. 

[Mavideol]

On 4/24/2020 at 2:23 PM, samisaurus said:

Yes I can drive a car, but automatic lol 

oh boy oh boy.... good luck then

[ben2talk]

Don't over-think it, just do it! Find a few video's on Youtube to give you some ideas first.

 

I was broke when I got my first bike - a CM125 custom - so I just experimented until I could make it go. The basics are simple, you just need to practice until you can pull away without stalling and pull in the clutch before you stall when you stop.

 

Then you need to refine clutch control - I had a screeching back tyre on downchanges for a few days, it soon went away - then it wasn't so much rocket science as 'muscle memory'. A bit like steering - you don't think about it much, it just happens.

 

After about 5 years with bikes up to 250cc, I bought myself a CB500F (Four cylinder - big size) and was scared to death until I actually got on it. Then I realised how much more stable and safe it was compared to anything smaller...

 

40 years later I found it much much harder to learn to ride a scooter - initially it was so much less safe/stable and not able to 'go' when I needed to 'go' so that I had to learn a whole new level of control. It took me a good few months.

[IndyTourist]

This is a really good book on motorcycling, I'm not sure it will cover what you're interested in, but it's still a good read!

Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well

https://books.google.com/books/about/Proficient_Motorcycling.html?id=yeAIAIxS-cgC

[holy cow cm]

1 hour ago, ben2talk said:

Then I realised how much more stable and safe it was compared to anything smaller...

Huh? Smaller bikes are safer. 

[DJ54]

YouTube should have MC learning videos... when riding keep your eyes for open, pay attention looking to avoid an accident... dont

get jammed up between traffic... 

 

rain and oil are very slick try to avoid if possible... watch videos

of what to do if you have lay it down...

 

best of luck.... MC are awesome 

[Tropposurfer]

Honda run schools all over Thailand for folks who own their machines.

[samisaurus]

23 hours ago, shy coconut said:

There it is ????????????

Hahah i get what you're insinuating but not at all affiliated with these people by any means. Just wanted to see if people here thought it's worth the baht or not. Ideally, best case scenario would be to have a friend that can teach me over the course of a day. 

 

That being said, people's suggestions here have been awesome. I think I'll watch a video beginner videos and rent a bike myself and test it around and see what i struggle with and go from there. 

[samisaurus]

16 hours ago, DJ54 said:

YouTube should have MC learning videos... when riding keep your eyes for open, pay attention looking to avoid an accident... dont

get jammed up between traffic... 

 

rain and oil are very slick try to avoid if possible... watch videos

of what to do if you have lay it down...

 

best of luck.... MC are awesome 

Awesome, thank U , started watching the vids

[samisaurus]

17 hours ago, IndyTourist said:

This is a really good book on motorcycling, I'm not sure it will cover what you're interested in, but it's still a good read!

Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well

https://books.google.com/books/about/Proficient_Motorcycling.html?id=yeAIAIxS-cgC

Wow , this is awesome. Didn't expect a book recommendation. 

 

Awesome to see an active bike community on TV haha