Want to get confident about my riding skills before buying my first bike. How can I do that?

Indraneel Bhat · 15th September 2017, 14:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by golkante

I was just issued my learner's license btw. Any suggestions for me?

Just 3 pieces of humble advice my friend:

1. Keep yourself informed and keep learning

"Sport Riding Techniques: How to Develop Real World Skills for Speed, Safety, and Confidence on the Street and Track" by Nick Ienatsch is a must-buy, must-have book for all riding enthusiasts.

It's expensive, but worth every word. Initially you will not require more than the first 3 chapters. The application of those lessons to daily riding (not speeding) will increase your skills exponentially. I have tried it, and hence speak out of experience.

Later on you can refer to Keith Code's videos online to improve your knowledge further. Don't stop learning and improving.

2. Don't chase performance....Earn your cc

Buy a well-used but good quality, everyday bike like the Honda Unicorn for at least the first year of riding, don't chase performance. Earn your cc......This will be beneficial to you in the long run. The Honda Unicorn has been feted as one of the best learner bikes (for those interested in riding). It was my first bike and I still ride it regularly (She turned 11 years this August!!)

3. Safety Gear
As mentioned by other members in earlier posts, please invest in proper (not necessarily expensive) safety gear. You will find a lot of information on safety gear online.

Take care and ride safe!!!

Regards,
Indraneel

FasterSon · 21st September 2017, 18:54

Most of us would have started this process by kick starting a parked bike in front of the house! On centre stand

I remember revving up too high the first time I kick started a bike, as a wee little boy. Nice, those memories. The first gear skill was all that was there to learning bikes back then!

Then there were days when we were tested by stuck in 4th gear and had to manage the bike back home in that one gear!

Enough nostalgia though, I see you are already in your path, and there are excellent practical pointers and internet leads in the thread. I would just add my thoughts on the topic.

To improve on ones skill there is no substitute to spending time hands on. The real world situations are myriad and only exposure makes you ready for it. The good old go around your colony routine or to go to the local shop, will definitely build up confidence to enter traffic zones. To remember to do the things you learnt at the right moments. And then to react to sudden situations thrown at you, without much panic. The panic, medically speaking throws you into the realm of fight (sympathetic) or flight (parasympathetic) or stunned muted response, with some mixture of anger and fear. The reflexes are dictated by this response pattern which is individualised. If flight is your pattern, only practice and conscious alertness makes you take the right decisions at the right times.

The final couple of seconds extra gained by staying alert differentiates outcomes in situations, small or big.

Anticipation is a big part of safe riding. You should anticipate the kid on his bicycle peddling with his ass off the seat, meanwhile in a funny conversation with his mates, his front wheel going all over the place. You should see the Aunty hurrying past the road, thinking if she does not look up to see then she is safe to cross the road. You should see the milkman on his routine routes who thinks he has laid claim on the path. The wayward boy on his fast bike who has not yet experienced broken bones.

And these are 200 mtrs ahead and they have not yet come to your visual horizon yet!
Your peripheral vision should be as busy as the central, picking up suspicious movements like a detective. You memorise patterns of behaviours to anticipate their moves, with a bit of basic physics involved. Nothing fancy in any of this. These are routine routine things, to some mundane. And to some returning home from work an awesome video game session!

And all this chatter in the biking brain should be deeply embedded in the auto pilot, with things running through it in real time.

Frankly, I think any of the sub 250cc bikes out their would be a good bike to start with. That is considering you know to ride a cycle and have some scooter experience. Only your finances and taste dictating the choice. All are easy bikes which would take not much time getting used to. Reliability should be a prime concern too.
First bike should interest you. Something which you can keep for sometime. If you can buy it, you can definitely spend on its minor repairs. If you end up mashing up a motorcycle I really think it is not entirely the bike's fault!
Probably a friend who can be straight up with you can suggest on what bike you should be avoiding.

Also a first bike has to be sub 250cc. As mentioned earlier, the cc has to be earned! Else what fun in upgrading?

I think RX100 is one of the easiest and most exciting cool first bikes to ride on. Depends on your age and taste. It has character, but that's what makes the learning better! It's one of the most handleable bikes, because of the combination of light weight, great balance and power when required to ease past situations. A right combination of learning but not being spoon fed.

It is different from the new age Japaneses bikes and would give a different perspective to ones biking experience. Of course, not if there is longer travels involved on regular basis.

Note from Support: Dots removed, typos fixed. Post spaced for better readability.

gautam99 · 22nd September 2017, 01:11

I just learned to ride at 49 - one day on an activa, second day on an avenger - both through wicked ride in bangalore - they run a training program - some weeks on a Honda livo at an abandoned go kart track and immediately on the torquey, so easy to ride triumph street twin which I'm riding now. I found that a bike with easy torque is much easier to ride than one you have to keep in he high revs. Awesome hobby and sport.

golkante · 22nd September 2017, 01:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivtho

Buying the used bike has several advantages

Yeah, fair points.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhruvtanwar

To add to all the fantastic advice BHPians have already given you on this thread, do seek out more information online about motorcycling and educate yourself about safety, and of course, physics that applies to two wheels in motion.
Here are some Wikipedia article links I have found to be consistently useful:

Thank you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indraneel Bhat

Take care and ride safe!!!

Thank you for the advice, will keep in mind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FasterSon

Most of us would have started this process by kick starting a parked bike in front of the house ...

Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts, much appreciated!

Quote:

Originally Posted by gautam99

I just learned to ride at 49 - one day on an activa, second day on an avenger - both through wicked ride in bangalore - they run a training program

Nice, thanks for sharing! Can you please share some more information about the training program? I have a friend in Bangalore who'd like to join as well.

gautam99 · 22nd September 2017, 12:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by golkante

Yeah, fair points.

Thank you!

Thank you for the advice, will keep in mind.

Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts, much appreciated!

Nice, thanks for sharing! Can you please share some more information about the training program? I have a friend in Bangalore who'd like to join as well.

the address is ridingacademy@wickedride.com
the person I communicated with isWickedRide Adventure Services Pvt Ltd.

# 1705, East End A Main Road,
Jayanagar 9th Block,0
Bangalore - 560069

Mob: 09902788844
janavid@wickedride.com
www.wickedride.com

also Royal Enfield runs a course throughout the country as also eagle rider in delhi.

have fun.

golkante · 22nd September 2017, 23:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by gautam99

the address is ridingacademy@wickedride.com
the person I communicated with isWickedRide Adventure Services Pvt Ltd.

# 1705, East End A Main Road,
Jayanagar 9th Block,0
Bangalore - 560069

Mob: 09902788844
janavid@wickedride.com
www.wickedride.com

also Royal Enfield runs a course throughout the country as also eagle rider in delhi.

have fun.

Thank you, I have relayed the information along. He lives near Indiranagar IIRC.

Interestingly, he bought a Duke 390 without really having prior experience of biking. So I hope this ends well with him.

FasterSon · 23rd September 2017, 18:53

Surely rx100's cool first bike tag was long lost. That was an utterly outdated wishful advise from me then!

It is street twin or 390s now! Why not, I guess the excellent technology of controls of these modern bikes are rearranging our bike scene so very very fast, just in the past half dozen years.

This is nothing but excellent to the Indian bike scene. More and more manufactures will bring in good starter bikes and others will be forced to secure their fortunes by upgrading the existing products.

Just be very careful with your bikes guys. Of course none of you are as naive and the bikes are no more ordinary. Just well wishing because there are mad men (and women) out there.

PrasannaDhana · 23rd September 2017, 21:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by FasterSon

Surely rx100's cool first bike tag was long lost. That was an utterly outdated wishful advise from me then!

It is street twin or 390s now! Why not,.

390 as a first bike? A definite no-no in my books. That bike does a sub-6s to a ton! It would be a disaster when inexperience is coupled with a real fast bike like the 390.

If one is a sedate rider, he may manage with the 390 and stay safe. But if it is other way around, i would definitely suggest him to refrain from buying the 390.

Swarit19 · 24th September 2017, 03:32

Slightly off topic but I looked at OneMoto (Thanks GTO for the comment about them. Will probably go with them once I can figure this out) as I've also gotten interested in owning a bike recently. I've had a permanent license since february or so this year as I own a Fiesta 1.6s now but the issue is that I never gave a motorcyle test back then for it.

Since I don't have a motorcycle license how would I go about taking lessons for it? Would I need to apply for a new learner's license?

21st September 2017, 18:54	#47
FasterSon BHPian Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 41 Thanked: 78 Times	Re: Want to get confident about my riding skills before buying my first bike. How can I do that? Most of us would have started this process by kick starting a parked bike in front of the house! On centre stand I remember revving up too high the first time I kick started a bike, as a wee little boy. Nice, those memories. The first gear skill was all that was there to learning bikes back then! Then there were days when we were tested by stuck in 4th gear and had to manage the bike back home in that one gear! Enough nostalgia though, I see you are already in your path, and there are excellent practical pointers and internet leads in the thread. I would just add my thoughts on the topic. To improve on ones skill there is no substitute to spending time hands on. The real world situations are myriad and only exposure makes you ready for it. The good old go around your colony routine or to go to the local shop, will definitely build up confidence to enter traffic zones. To remember to do the things you learnt at the right moments. And then to react to sudden situations thrown at you, without much panic. The panic, medically speaking throws you into the realm of fight (sympathetic) or flight (parasympathetic) or stunned muted response, with some mixture of anger and fear. The reflexes are dictated by this response pattern which is individualised. If flight is your pattern, only practice and conscious alertness makes you take the right decisions at the right times. The final couple of seconds extra gained by staying alert differentiates outcomes in situations, small or big. Anticipation is a big part of safe riding. You should anticipate the kid on his bicycle peddling with his ass off the seat, meanwhile in a funny conversation with his mates, his front wheel going all over the place. You should see the Aunty hurrying past the road, thinking if she does not look up to see then she is safe to cross the road. You should see the milkman on his routine routes who thinks he has laid claim on the path. The wayward boy on his fast bike who has not yet experienced broken bones. And these are 200 mtrs ahead and they have not yet come to your visual horizon yet! Your peripheral vision should be as busy as the central, picking up suspicious movements like a detective. You memorise patterns of behaviours to anticipate their moves, with a bit of basic physics involved. Nothing fancy in any of this. These are routine routine things, to some mundane. And to some returning home from work an awesome video game session! And all this chatter in the biking brain should be deeply embedded in the auto pilot, with things running through it in real time. Frankly, I think any of the sub 250cc bikes out their would be a good bike to start with. That is considering you know to ride a cycle and have some scooter experience. Only your finances and taste dictating the choice. All are easy bikes which would take not much time getting used to. Reliability should be a prime concern too. First bike should interest you. Something which you can keep for sometime. If you can buy it, you can definitely spend on its minor repairs. If you end up mashing up a motorcycle I really think it is not entirely the bike's fault! Probably a friend who can be straight up with you can suggest on what bike you should be avoiding. Also a first bike has to be sub 250cc. As mentioned earlier, the cc has to be earned! Else what fun in upgrading? I think RX100 is one of the easiest and most exciting cool first bikes to ride on. Depends on your age and taste. It has character, but that's what makes the learning better! It's one of the most handleable bikes, because of the combination of light weight, great balance and power when required to ease past situations. A right combination of learning but not being spoon fed. It is different from the new age Japaneses bikes and would give a different perspective to ones biking experience. Of course, not if there is longer travels involved on regular basis. Note from Support: Dots removed, typos fixed. Post spaced for better readability.
	(1) Thanks

22nd September 2017, 01:11	#48
gautam99 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Bangalore Posts: 140 Thanked: 61 Times	Want to get confident about my riding skills before buying my first bike. How... I just learned to ride at 49 - one day on an activa, second day on an avenger - both through wicked ride in bangalore - they run a training program - some weeks on a Honda livo at an abandoned go kart track and immediately on the torquey, so easy to ride triumph street twin which I'm riding now. I found that a bike with easy torque is much easier to ride than one you have to keep in he high revs. Awesome hobby and sport.
	(1) Thanks

23rd September 2017, 18:53	#52
FasterSon BHPian Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 41 Thanked: 78 Times	Re: Want to get confident about my riding skills before buying my first bike. How can I do that? Surely rx100's cool first bike tag was long lost. That was an utterly outdated wishful advise from me then! It is street twin or 390s now! Why not, I guess the excellent technology of controls of these modern bikes are rearranging our bike scene so very very fast, just in the past half dozen years. This is nothing but excellent to the Indian bike scene. More and more manufactures will bring in good starter bikes and others will be forced to secure their fortunes by upgrading the existing products. Just be very careful with your bikes guys. Of course none of you are as naive and the bikes are no more ordinary. Just well wishing because there are mad men (and women) out there.
	(1) Thanks

24th September 2017, 03:32	#54
Swarit19 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: New Delhi Posts: 79 Thanked: 111 Times View My Garage	Re: Want to get confident about my riding skills before buying my first bike. How can I do that? Slightly off topic but I looked at OneMoto (Thanks GTO for the comment about them. Will probably go with them once I can figure this out) as I've also gotten interested in owning a bike recently. I've had a permanent license since february or so this year as I own a Fiesta 1.6s now but the issue is that I never gave a motorcyle test back then for it. Since I don't have a motorcycle license how would I go about taking lessons for it? Would I need to apply for a new learner's license? Last edited by Swarit19 : 24th September 2017 at 03:34.
	() Thanks