What helps you be a great rider

[activedirt_imp]

Well to start I ain't no great rider......however I hope to offer the following:

Prior to my first motor bike I rode Mountain Bikes and Road Bikes.I still do. In my view the time I spent on each helped in several ways when it came time to riding my Honda (my first motorcycle).

1. Among bicyclist there is a saying that if your butt hurts the solution is to just ride more. The goal is to strengthen the gluteal muscles. I rarely have soreness when motor biking because my muscles have been made strong already. Beside strengthening my rump muscles while biking I would exercise those muscles while I sat at dinner by pushing myself up while seated. However on my CB I do find that if my pants are to tight I still get that burning sensation.

2. Riding a Road Bike really gives you sense as to just how bad things are with motorist in general. People just don't want to be inconvenienced. They would rather drive to close to the rider than be held up until they could easily pass you and give more room. On a bicycle you are real close of the action. However it is more of a problem of getting hit from behind than it is of having someone pull out in front of you. I tend to ride my Road Bike with one eye on the rear view mirror.

3. Mountain biking gives you lots of experience in balancing a bike. It also helps in the area of dealing with close calls and having to brake hard to avoid and obstacle. There is, of course, a huge difference in weight so not everything carries over to motor bikes. On numerous occasions while Mountain Biking I have learned the value of a helmet. I don't care to enter the debate on helmets but my helmet saved my head on three occasions so for me they are worth the trouble.

My goal is not to say that bicycling is the "end all" as a preparation for your first motorcycle but just to say that it has helped me is several ways. It has made me a safer rider. I would appreciate any posts where other members gives details on what makes them a better rider.

Cheers!

[kmoney_imp]

I started on motorcycles in my early 20's after mountain biking since elementary school. I definetely agree that riding a bike gives you an edge when beginning on a motorcycle.

Even beyond traffic safety and awareness, I found that a lot of the movements, physics, and forces (e.g., countersteering in turns) transfered right over. I basically had to get used to the clutch and massive weight difference in slow speed maneuvers. I usually recommend for people who want to get into motorcycles from nothing, that they buy a peddle bike and ride the heck out of it.

[the Ferret]

First I don't claim to be a great rider, I think I'm a good safe rider that can ride smoothly and quickly if I choose to, but prefer to just ride at a comfortable pace. I do find riding a motorcycle safely a combination of defense and offense.

I rode street motorcycles for 9 years before taking up a motocross racing career that lasted 10 years (while still riding a street bike daily). I always felt riding the street bike made me a better motocross racer and the motocross racing made me a better street rider. I learned how to lean to both sides, how to brake softly or really really hard, how to control the bike if the back end drifts out, or the front end pushes, or if both happen at the same time, where to put my body on the motorcycle to effect changes in handling and to keep pressure on the tires, how to shift and use a clutch to my advantage, and to cover your clutch and brake levers to save precious time if either need to be used in an emergency and this is really important for riding a street motorcycle well, how to roll the throttle on and off rather than snapping and chopping.

Also street riding... a lot ... teaches you situational awareness, where to look, WHO to watch, how to observe out of your peripheral vision, and what you can expect other drivers around you to do. To survive you need to learn the street is not a racetrack and to leave yourself a cushion in case something unexpected does come up, to carry a speed thru a turn that will allow you to change it to an inside line, an outside line, a middle lane line or to be able to brake hard depending on what you find past where you can initially see in the curve... a pot hole, a dead critter, a muffler, a bicyclist a pedestrian, or a slow moving piece of farm equipment? You learn that outside deep apexes allow you to see deeper thru the turn which allows you to set up correctly for the turn.

There is no substitute or shortcut to surviving on the street on a motorcycle. It takes time and experience, and honestly, a bit of luck. But...spending time in the dirt will definitely make you a better street rider IMO if for no other reason that you don't panic and know what to do when the bike is not straight up and down in less than perfect conditions, and everyday you survive riding on the street provides more experience and knowledge which will help you ride safer tomorrow.

[Bheezy27403_imp]

I grew up on a farm in Ohio. I was constantly bicycling, 4 wheeling, and dirt biking.

I find that the time on dirt bikes taught me quite a bit. They are harder to ride than a street bike as they will toss you off in a second. They stand higher, and of course you have to constantly be scanning the upcoming terrain for obstacles. Not to mention learning how to fall/crash...because you WILL fall/crash.

People that talk to me about getting a motrcycle I always ask if they've ridden dirt bikes. Will be a prerequisite for my kid.

[Wisedrum]

There is much well written here about the question, how to become a greater rider.
I don't want to repeat it.

One aspect, that helps me, without knowing if I'm a great rider, is
the respect for the situation you find yourself in as a motorbiker
wherever you drive.

It can be compared to an experienced sailor, who knows much about
water, weather and the ocean, but never looses his respect for it.

This respect can prevent you from becoming hilarious, which may sometimes be the case in being overwhelmed by the might of your machine.

The great racer Agostini had another advice at hand, never underrate the
power of your motorcycle. I mostly keep this in mind....

Wisedrum

[Henrik_imp]

Dirt bike riding, or motorcross, is without a doubt a great way to improve your riding. Top MotoGP racers do it regularly, and not just for fun! As mentioned earlier, it allows you to learn how the bike reacts when it starts sliding, and you can then learn and understand what you need to do as a rider in such a situation with little danger to serious injury.

For me, track racing on two or four wheels has also helped a lot for a number of reasons. My focus in general has been considerably improved, but I think above all it is the possibility to be able to relax properly on the bike. I find that nothing messes up my riding more than being tense, and I think it is safe to say that every down I have had has been the result of getting tense on the bike. Being on a track taught me that I can actually carry considerably more sped through corners and I can also brake considerably harder. As a result, in difficult situations on the road now I can more easily keep my focus, not get all tense, and go about riding around the problem at hand. Add to that an increased awareness to the need for a safety margin when off the track (as well as being able to get rid of that speed demon on a track instead of on a public road), and for me the track has probably been the biggest benefit.

Well, that and experience too...

[the Ferret]

Henrik... I totally agree with you about tension. If you feel tense you will not ride as well as you can and mistakes will follow. I got back from a week long tour Sunday on my big touring bike with tires that were near the end of their life and getting misshapen. It took a lot of bar pressure to initiate turns and transitions. Monday I rolled out the CB with good tires and went for a ride. I found myself putting a lot of pressure on the bars and this bike reacted how a bike should with that much bar pressure, which made for too sharp of turns, scary actually, which tensed me up. Ended up only riding 28 miles because I knew it was better not to ride that tense. Another ride on the CB yesterday and I felt much better. Todays ride I trust will be better yet.

See if you agree with this. My issue with track days is that they ingrain in you the fastest way thru a turn or series of turns rather than the SAFEST way thru a turn or series of turns (which would be more valuable to a rider on the street). Cornering apexes on a track do not translate well to the street IMO, where you only have 1/2 of the width of the track (road) to use, where vehicles may be coming toward you crowding or crossing the centerline, where there are slick painted lines (particularly after a rain), or gravel or other objects we need to be able to see, understand and avoid safely.

There are a lot of things you can take away from a track day which are invaluable for the street rider, in particular throttle, clutch and transmission control and most importantly braking and body positioning exercises, plus riding a motorcycle fast in a safe environment lets you ride without tension, which is a great lesson in itself.

[4 Paws_imp]

We all know that as riders we have room for improvement, that helps a lot. As mentioned previously situational awareness is critical because some of the most dangerous obstacles are the other vehicles on the road - each of which outweighs us by tons and remember that mass x velocity = squished motorcycle - and frequently drivers are paying less than full attention.
I try and look ahead and am not afraid to slow down and let aggressive drivers pass me.
Look where you're going and go where your looking.

[Toddman_imp]

In the 60's I grew up with a section of land that the owner allowed us to ride on. It was covered in bike trails. We had Honda minitrails and just about every kind of dirtbike and minibike out there. Not to mention our bmx wanna be banana seat bicycles.

But I really learned how to ride at the road race track. There's a real nice 1.7 miler about 2 hours from my house that features motorcycle lapping days about twice a month. That allowed me to train and get a racing license. If you really want to learn, go to the track and commit. Street ride every day if you can.

[HikerToo_imp]

My fear of getting hurt.