I want to wear gear but it's not practical for me as i have college everyday and it is a hassle to carry around the gear everywhere. Do fellow riders also always wear gear or just whenever possible?

Hi, it's me, the cautionary tale for why most dealerships won't let you test drive a bike. Ugh, I feel like such a doofus. I took a pre-owned Honda SCL500 on a short loop through the dealership parking lot and spilled my shit on a low-speed turn. Classic newbie situation - I applied brake during a turn. Just terrible judgment and lack of awareness (and experience). (I passed the MSF and got my endorsement last month.)

The sales guy rushed up and made sure I was OK. To his great credit, he kept repeating "The only thing that's important is that you're OK." I was fine - bruised foot and knee. Jacket and pads did their job. The bike's big ol' heat shield was scuffed. My dignity was in tatters though.

So here I am - I know what I did wrong, I know I just need some more experience, but my confidence is shot and I'm unsure of how to proceed. I want to regain my confidence and I think the only way to do so is to just get that used bike, put it in my garage, look at it every morning, and learn at my own (exceedingly slow) pace.

Anybody got a shot of reassurance for me? Or maybe your perspective is the opposite -- I need to stay off the bike, and think really hard about whether or not this is the hobby for me? 🙏

Hi all,

I'm a brand new rider (got my Ninja 300 ABS just 3 days ago!) and I'm trying to master 90-degree turns from a stop. I've watched tons of YouTube videos but I'm getting conflicting advice, especially about foot position and brake use.

Some YouTubers say to put your right foot down for right turns and not use rear brake, while others say to drag the rear brake and keeping left foot down. I'm confused about what's actually correct.

I've written down what I think is the right technique for left AND right turns- could experienced riders please confirm if this is correct or point out any mistakes?

Starting Setup:

1. Before Moving:

• Head turned to look where you want to go
• Handlebars slightly turned in direction of turn
• Left foot down for support
• Right foot on brake/peg
• In first gear

2. Control Position:

• Clutch pulled in
• Small throttle
• Light rear brake pressure ready

The Turn Sequence:

1. Starting Movement:

• Keep steady throttle
• Release clutch very slowly until friction point
• Feel bike want to move forward
• Keep eyes looking through turn

2. As You Begin Moving:

• Both feet up on pegs once rolling
• Keep throttle steady
• Stay in clutch friction zone
• Let bike lean naturally (keep body upright)
• Light rear brake for stability if needed

3. During Turn:

• Keep looking where you want to go
• Maintain steady throttle
• Use clutch like a dimmer switch for speed
• Let the bike lean while you stay straight
• Don't fight the bike's natural lean

4. Finishing Turn:

• Gradually straighten handlebars
• Slowly release clutch fully
• Keep steady throttle
• Look ahead to where you're going next

Any tips for building confidence with these turns?

For context: I'm practicing in empty parking lots and very conscious about not dropping the bike. Any advice for a complete beginner would be really appreciated!

Taking my msf course in 2 days, should I be as worried and nervous as I am? Tips and advice greatly appreciated

I feel like im gonna love riding these things for the rest of my life.

Hi all,

So I pulled the trigger and ordered a Squire Defiant disk lock. The thing is that I haven't received any confirmation (aside from payment confirmation) yet. Their email support is radio silent and so are their socials. Anyone ordered through them? How was the service?

Did you manage to get your product?

Best regards

I just got my self a yamaha vstar 1100cc, and love it. It's my first bike and I'm doing great on it. I've been doing research on bike locks and covers for it but it's hard to know what to trust. I use my bike to go to work and home and casual riding. My job doesn't have the most secure parking and my apartment is just a bit above that. I was hoping to get a few good suggestions anything helps thanks everyone.

So i currently ride a ninja 650r 06 i was gonna upgrade but i live in cali and its getting a lot of rain so i decided to get a car for when it rains but i do wanna use this time to learn about my bike more like changing breaks and tires , coolant i also want to know if theres a way to lower my handle bars to more of a sports bike way its currently higher like a sport touring bike so if anyone knows any youtubers or someone i can watch to learn how to do this stuff id be greatfull

Hello everyone, I am looking to buy a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, used like new with less than 150km, it's a good deal. Cause it's my first motorcycle ( I just had a 125 cc scooter) Do you think it's a good idea to buy now?( Winter it's coming and I will not use it until spring) Or it's a better idea to wait for better deals in spring? Also I red something about hymalayan 650 coming, that could be really a better option for me. Any suggestions for other models coming? If is not clear I would like to buy an adventure touring motorcycle

I know you ride where you watch like on the image below, and that target fixation is bad because of that. And it made me thinking. When a car comes from the corner, should i try to look "through" the car on the same spot or look little bit to the right and after the car passes, look back to the previous spot? Becasue if i will be looking at the car, than that would be target fixation and i would ride into the car right? I got my A2 licence 2 moths back, but i dont have motorcycle and its cold here so i have plenty of time to think about things and watch motorcycle videos. Any recomendations for new rider that will start riding in 4-5 months because of the winter? I know i want to start on parking lots because at the beginning of my course i was scared of figure 8s and tight turns that the bike will fall on me. Fortunately my insctuctor was really cool guy and we trained a lot on parking lots but because of that i was riding in traffic less, but i still have 1 year experience from car driving so there shouldnt be an issue with traffic that much.

https://preview.redd.it/zqduwbkcoo2e1.png?width=983&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c03f0d7259a3b9f9b67cb4f83a1a26460fcd83e

I’ve mostly been riding on local streets in NYC where the speed limit is 25mph and there is often traffic forcing you to go much slower than that. I generally stay in second gear and use the clutch to slow down and ease off of it when I need to speed up again. It’s a lot of stop and go traffic. I really only use the breaks when I’m coming to a full stop.

The last time I went out I felt like I could smell burning plastic or something as I was riding. When I was done and got off the bike and took off my helmet, I felt like it was louder than usual too. That made me think maybe I’m abusing the clutch. I was riding in heavy traffic that day. So am I destroying my bike? Is it ok to use the clutch like this? The MSF had us using the clutch like this for slow speed maneuvers so I figured it was fine. What’s the best way to handle stop and go traffic on a motorcycle?

If it’s relevant, this is a 2022 Honda Rebel 300 abs which I got used from a dealership a year ago and it has about 2000 miles (most by previous owner).

Is this possible? I still owe 5000 on my bike I just really am wanting an upgrade. Besides paying off my loan I'm sure there's nothing I'm able to do but If anybody has experience i'd love to hear it.

I picked her up yesterday from the dealer and now I need a name lol

Hi everyone new rider here I bought all my gear when I bought my bike and it seems like it is hard to switch gears with boots compared to normal shoes. Is there a certain type of boot that’s better than others so I can feel more of the gear lever and actually changing the gears.

In the third day of practicing I started feeling comfortable and getting up there in speed and shifting up but I don't know if I freak out or what but I can't seem to grasp how to shift down and if you guys have any advice that would be cool, I ride a ninja 650r if that matters

Hey,

Me again.

I went to a parking lot to practice emergency braking.

I noticed, I was kicking on my ABS when really digging into a short stop.

I'm just curious, while practicing emergency braking, should I practice both activating ABS and also avoiding ABS?

My thought here is that, if I get used to ABS being there, and then I ride a bike without it, I'll have a pretty bad and potentially dangerous habit built up from slamming the ABS on my current motorcycle.

What are your thoughts on this?

How do y’all manage riding in high wind/crosswind, this morning on my way home from work it was so windy I felt like the bike was gonna flip out from under me. It was crosswind. What do yall consider too much wind to ride in?

I just returned to riding after 30 yrs I have owned 2 street bikes way in the past, I took my MSF course and bought a ST900, do any of you returning riders have full confidence in the new tech and safety assist systems

I find myself think should I lean more or not, should I trust the bike will do what its supposed do, I ride pretty mellow not looking to go fast just at good speed and enjoy the twistties .

please let me know how you over came your doubts.

Thank you to everyone on this community

So I’m a new rider. And wanted to know if I was in the wrong or exactly what to do. I was on the freeway in the far left lane put in lane position one so close to the middle lane and a rider came up behind me and stayed about 30 to 40 feet away on my left side in lane position three still in the far left lane. We rode about 5 miles like that. I waved to him. He never waved back and then shot off to another freeway. Was I supposed to move over into the middle lane or move over to the far left side of my lane to let him pass they never really explained this in the MSF course. I hope I wasn’t holding him. I was going roughly 75 in a 70

Evening everyone I'm Greyson.
TL;DR Valve adjustments/major service are expensive and I wonder if I should postpone it for more immediate concerns like tires, air bags, other gear.

I own a 2021 Z400 with 23k miles on it, and I bought it at 18k. The previous owner took care of it via oil changes and stuff but sold it to me before the valve checks were up. This service is going to cost me 800 bucks or more and, while I can afford that, I was wondering if I should put that money into something more immediate, like new tires (the Michelin 5's on it are starting to flatten out, but the indicators aren't close to the surface yet), or other gear.

I am somewhat handy with a wrench, but at this time in my life I dont have a garage of proper tool setup or even space to work on my motorcycle. That and I dont want to mess up on something that is prone to killing me, anyways.

I hear so many people on youtube saying I need to get this service done, but I'm unsure .. why? It doesn't seem like valves are going to smash into the piston head (the stems just get shorter from wear), and as long as I keep oil in the thing I can't see it blowing up, either.

So, just to put it all in front again, the bike has gone about 25K without a major service. What exactly would happen if I just don't do it? At the moment the bike doesn't feel like 'junk', it's not rattling apart or feeling weird.

Thanks,

Greyson

Hey there,

Been riding for a bit now and getting pretty comfortable on my Trident 660.

I live in an area that has no shortage of long windy and twisty roads.

I've been feeling pretty comfy getting into corners and giving a little lean to the bike.

However, I'm have a bit of confusion on these curves which are kinda long and sweeping.

What I feel like is, I almost want to add a lot of throttle in my turns. However, I always hear the phrase "don't add throttle while you add lean". The thing is, the "feeling" is that I have so much room in this corner and I can definitely hit the throttle while I'm taking the long sweeping turn.

What I'm curious about is, maybe I'm not going into the corner fast enough? I don't want to push it, but I do almost feel a bit "bored" in the corner, I want a bit more excitement and lean in there, but I'm also kinda scared to go to hard and low side the bike.

Any ideas here? Maybe my idea of not adding throttle in the corner is incorrect? I mean, lets be real these corners are BIG and I'm not even close to getting a solid lean on. Am I expecting too much from local street riding? What do you think?

I've been watching some videos and maybe I notice that riders go a big faster into the corner and break later. I don't need to do this day 1 of course, but maybe I want to start working up to hitting corners a bit quicker?

After seeing the post below this about where to store your bike I had a similar question. I live in an apartment so my choices are limited to street parking or paying $100 to store it in the apartment garage. For context I live in Oregon and a relatively safe area. Is it worth the risk and a slightly less convenient situation or pay the extra fee for garage storage?

Hi folks. I’m contemplating my first motorcycle purchase, and wanted to poll the group about where to store my hypothetical new bike.

I’ve got two possible storage areas. Unfortunately, neither of them is a climate controlled attached garage, so I’ve got to select the least bad option.

Option #1 – Attached shed on the outside of my house. It’s small but I can easily make room to park a motorcycle. The shed opens directly onto the driveway for easy motoring. It has a wooden slat door that swings shut and locks with a padlock, so it’s very secure. It’s got a great roof as well, so it should be protected from the elements. But … the dryer vents into the shed through a port in the wall leading into the laundry room. So a few times per week, the shed gets a big blast of warm damp air during the dryer cycle. It’s drafty in the shed, and I’ve never noticed mold, but I do wonder how this periodic moisture would interact with a motorcycle parked a few feet away from the dyer vent.

Option #2 – Parked & tarped under an attached carport. No walls, just a sturdy roof over a concrete slab. There’s a good spot that seems to be protected from precipitation. It’s well lit, and right outside my back door. But … the bike would be essentially unsecured and highly visible to passersby on the sidewalk. There’s nothing to wrap a chain around. Best I can do would be to put a tarp over it and then position some trash cans around it to obscure it. I live in a low crime area, so I’m not terribly worried, but the other option above at least offers a gated storage area.

Your thoughts, people of r/NewRiders?

Just bought a fork stem quad lock mount for my 2017 r3 and realized after the fact that u need an adapter for it to fit. Is there another mount that I can put on that fits natively on the 2017 r3? Thanks!