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Improving my geared-bike riding skills: Scooter rider gets a BMW 310R

Would like to know some common bad practices to avoid and also some good practices to pick up.

BHPian ExplorerBaba recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hi I'm new to the forum and hope this is the ride place to post this.

I've been riding a scooter (Hero Maestro) for the past 6 years and manage it pretty well. I've even ridden it from Mumbai to Pune many times and am very confident with it.

However, I lack practice on geared bikes. I learned it in college (around 15 years back) but haven't ridden one since then. I do have theoretical knowledge though.

I hope I'm not judged much on this, but i recently got a great deal on a BMW 310R, it worked out to be cheaper than the Apache 310RTR. I'm a short rider and the lower seat height + kerb weight made it feel like the perfect fit. I was thinking of going for a 150-180cc bike, but given I'm considering longer distance riding, I felt a 300cc+ could be a better option, and I'll manage learning along the way.

Given I knew some basics + my experience with the scooter, I felt I'll mange riding it low speeds at least from the showroom to home.

I wasn't wrong, I mean, I managed riding it from Thane to Mumbai, but it also showed me how inexperienced I was. I stalled it multiple times and felt a little scared around selecting the wrong gear. I'm pretty sure I under / over revved the engine through most of my journey.

My biggest challenges so far were,

  1. Starting from a stand still. I'm able to get it rolling with the "half clutch" technique, but feel the need to wait till it's at about 9KMs before I start revving, else I end up stalling it. Not sure if that's also causing unnecessary wear on the clutch. I can't "get it to speed" right away. I also still end up stalling it sometimes.
  2. Downshifting. Upshifting did not feel as difficult, however I sucked at downshifting. There were times when I'm at say 24KMPH and I'm not sure if I should be on the 3rd or if it's time to move to 2nd. Often leading to either a bit of a jerk or engine breaking me down to 18KMPH or so. I worry about sudden engine breaking while having a vehicle close behind me. I'm also constantly worried about stalling my bike. As a result I stuck to 2nd gear most of the time and rarely went to 3rd.
  3. Upshifting. This isn't as bad as the downshifting issue, but could definitely be smoother.
  4. Clutch / Rear Break muscle memory. On the scooter, the left lever was the left break. Not often, but a couple of times I felt like pressing the clutch instead of the rear break just because of this. In fact, I did not use the rare break at all though my journey.
  5. Uphill / downhill. Again, managing riding both ways without stalling the bike.
  6. Overall Handling, I'm still getting a hand of tighter turns, sudden breaking etc. I also had a tendency of slowing and downshifting well in advance if I saw some traffic / signal ahead which I don't thing other vehicles expected.
  7. Managing slow speeds. Similar to starting from standstill, I was able to manage riding it in slow moving traffic (1-5KMPH). I was doing this my managing the break and clutch levers, but am not sure if I was doing the right thing. Here too, there were a couple of times it would stall.

The advice I need

Now, that I've got it home, I'm planning on practicing on an empty road before hitting a main road / highway. However, I want to be sure I'm practicing the right things. As in, I don't build bad habits into my muscle memory. Would like to know some common bad practices to avoid and also some good practices to pick up.

I also would like to hear from the community on any great exercises that would help improve the above areas. For e.g. (I'm making these up), riding at a constant speed while changing gears, managing low speeds with just the clutch (if that's even advisable), going down from 30-10 and then back up to 30 while moving from gear 2-3 etc.

Feel free to also call out any blind spots I'm missing.

Here's what BHPian greyhound82 had to share regarding this topic:

I recently got my first bike, a KTM 250, just a month ago. Even though I work from home, I usually train for about an hour at a nearby ground, focusing on motorcycle Gymkhana sessions. The resources I follow include MotorControl, MotoJitsu, Jerry Palladino, and FortNine.

1. Based on what I’ve learned from these trainers, riding in the friction zone (half clutch) is perfectly fine. I’ve practiced using the friction zone for over 30 hours, and it’s still working great.

2. Practice, practice, and practice. When downshifting, it’s better to slightly blip the throttle before releasing the clutch.

3. Practice slow-speed maneuvers using the friction zone and rear brakes. Try using the rear brake during slow-speed U-turns. Personally, I always rely on the rear brake for slow-speed riding.

For me, slow-speed Gymkhana exercises have been incredibly helpful. They’ve helped me overcome the fear of leaning, taught me the importance of proper braking, and improved my throttle control and power delivery to the rear wheel. These sessions really help you become familiar and comfortable with your bike.

Meanwhile, here's what BHPian AlphaLamb recommended:

I would recommend < Moto Control - @MotoControlEn > on YouTube as a very good resource not just for beginners but also for advanced riding skills on two wheelers, just have to get used to the mild accent of the presenter.

Incidentally there is a brand new video which might help,
"How To Ride a Motorcycle: First Video You Need to Watch!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW65n_-eog4

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

 
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