Do you dream of saddling up on your motorcycle and hitting the open road? Well, you’re not the only one. There are currently more than 8 million registered motorbikes in America- a number that’s growing every year.
Hopping straight onto a brand new motorbike is asking for trouble though. After all, you’re driving around at high speed with no seat belts or reinforced chassis to protect you from harm. You need to know what you’re doing first if you’re going to avoid injuring yourself or others!
The best way to do it? Arrange and attend motorcycle classes from a certified professional. As experienced riders, these guys and gals will show you the ropes and teach you everything you need to know to stay safe on a motorcycle.
Want to learn more about what to expect in your lessons? Keep reading to discover 6 key teachings you’ll come across in motorcycle training.
- Basic Controls
One of the first parts of learning to ride a motorbike involves mastering the basic controls. For one thing (and it almost goes without saying), you have to know how to turn it off and on!
From there, it’s a matter of understanding key safety checks, how to bring the bike to a stop, shift gears, and so on. More to the point, you have to know how to do this without staring at them! By doing this ‘blind’, as it were, you’ll be able to perform these actions while watching the road.
These initial lessons are super simple- and they’re designed to be. What you learn in these initial stages will lay the foundation for future safety and success on the road. The more advanced stuff will come soon enough…
- The Importance of Attention
As we hinted at in our previous point, another vital lesson you get from motorcycle classes pertains to attention. This is the single most important element to staying safe on the back of a bike! You have to be vigilant at all times, aware of your surroundings, and attentive to potential hazards.
Why? Because there’s no shortage of possible problems you can encounter on the road.
From dodgy car drivers and traffic standstills to oil slicks and pedestrian crossings, there’s always something of which to be aware. These classes will hammer that idea home and teach you how to attend to the road as much as possible. Pay close attention and you should avoid the need to hire a motorcycle accident lawyer any time soon!
- The Safety Gear You need
Alas, even the most attentive riders can suffer accidents on the open road. Whether it’s their fault, someone else’s, or total bad luck, biking accidents happen all the time. The result?
You need to own all the gear to keep you safe if/when it happens.
We won’t go into the details here because your motorcycle classes are sure to cover it. Among others, you’ll learn what apparel to wear, how to choose the perfect helmets, boots, and whatever new technology will come in handy too.
Of course, there’s always the opportunity to ask questions about gear as well. As experienced riders, your teacher is sure to have suggestions about which models/brands are best.
- How to Handle the Bike
Handling is everything when it comes to motorcycle safety. You have to be adept at maneuvering the bike in any circumstance. Whether you’re dodging traffic on the highway, going at a snail’s pace in the city, or parking up at home, handling skills are all-important.
In fact, you have to get so good at this skill that it becomes second-nature! After all, there’s no time to think when a car pulls out in front of you, a child steps out into the road, or you notice black-ice on the street. You need to react instantly to avert danger while maintaining your balance.
Thankfully, it’s another lesson that you’ll be taught at the very start. By the end of your safety training classes, you should feel more than capable enough of handling a bike in real life.
- All About Braking & Accelerating
Let’s face it, you aren’t going anywhere fast (literally) if you don’t know how to accelerate properly. It sounds simple, and it soon will be, but it can take some getting used to as a newbie.
You might find yourself revving the engine too hard, struggling to shift gears as you go, and losing balance as you dawdle along at a snail’s pace. The good news is that it shouldn’t take long to get the hang of things! From there, it’s a matter of mastering the brakes.
Another fundamental component of riding a motorbike, you have to know how to slow your pace without braking too hard or slipping and sliding in wet weather. You’ll practice braking in a range of situations (such as rapid braking after left/right turns) until you’ve got it down.
- Riding at Different Speeds
In something of a paradox, riding a motorbike often gets easier as you go faster. You’ve got momentum on your side, which helps you stay balanced and on track.
Alas, day to day riding requires you to move at a range of speeds! That’s why you’ll spend time in class practicing how to do exactly that. You’ll be asked to ride at slow speeds without losing your balance, ride fast without losing control, and do everything in-between until you’re comfortable (and proficient) no matter the scenario.
Remember the Importance of Motorcycle Classes
Millions of people own a motorbike in American these days. However, there’s a big difference between owning one and knowing how to ride it in a safe manner.
That’s where taking motorcycle classes is so important. Given the dangers involved in riding on the open road, they’re a fundamental way to learn how to ride well and stay safe. We hope this post has revealed the nuances of what you’ll be taught along the way!
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