So, you’ve decided to do this! You are going to learn to ride a motorcycle. Or perhaps you’re just moto curious. What should you expect? What challenges are you going to face? What are some of the things I wish I knew
before I learned to ride? Stick around! This entire video is dedicated to you, the
new rider! Hi, I'm Dave with CanyonChasers! First I’m stoked that you are here! Learning to ride a motorcycle is an enormous
challenge and it might seem a bit overwhelming... but riding is also one of the most rewarding
things in the world. For me, from as early as I can remember, I’ve
loved motorcycles, no strike that, I’ve been obsessed with motorcycles. Motorcycles have taken me around the world,
over awe inspiring mountain passes, across face-meltingly hot dusty deserts, suffered
through insane rains and hail, tip-toed through the mountains in the snow - sharing the road
with snowmobiles, no really - it was that bad. My best vacations, my greatest adventures
and all of my closest and dearest friends have all come through motorcycles. Even my
wife of more than 20 years. Our first date consisted of riding around
all night until the sun came up again. Motorcycles have given me so much, but they’ve
taken from me as well. I’ve lost friends and some have
suffered injuries they’ve never recovered from. That is all to say for all the joy and excitement
and fun… motorcycling cannot be done safely, All we can really do is identify the risks
and then make choices to reduce those risks. As a new rider starting out on your great
motorcycle adventure I ask that you recognize and accept that it can all go pear shaped
at any moment, even if you are doing everything right. So with that said here are some of the things
I wish I’d known as I started out and some free advice that is probably worth every penny
you are paying for it. This seems to be the hardest lesson for so
many riders. Tires are the most important part of your
bike. Don’t waste money on blingy farkles and
loud exhaust pipes and chromey do-dads and who-ha’s. Spend that money on tires. Replace them in sets, buy the good ones and
replace them before you think you need to. Motorcycle tires don’t last very long. Car tires come with a 80k km warranty
- I’ve never had a tire last longer than 9k kms, and I've seen an astounding number
of motorcycles with dry rotted tires riding around with “plenty of life” left on them
based on tread depth. for love of all things two wheeled, check your tire pressure and
check it often and set it according to the owner's manual not the stamp on the sidewall. A helmet is not adequate to protect your hearing,
open-face helmets cause even more noise. The wind noise and highway noise will permanently
damage your ears and it doesn’t take long at all. I wish someone would have told me this when
I first started riding. Wear earplugs! When it comes to your first bike; you’ll
learn more, faster on a small bike. And by small we mean weight and horsepower. A Sportster may be a small bike by cruiser
standards, but it’s a freaking heavy bike. An R6 may only be 600cc’s but it makes 130
horsepower. That's a crap-ton of power. Learning on a big or powerful bike is like
trying to learn how to fly by starting in a fighter jet or a 747. There’s a reason why pilots all start out
on Cessna’s or smaller trainers and have to qualify on larger and heavier aircraft. Oh, and don’t spend every last penny on
that new bike with nothing left over for riding kit. Which brings me to riding kit. A full-face helmet with a tinted visor looks
totally badass no matter what kind of bike you’re on. It's also the safest and most comfortable
helmet option. But seriously, it looks legit. Get a full-face helmet with a tinted visor
for double-cool points. Buy Armored Gear that fits. Most new riders, left to their own devices,
tend to buy gear, including helmets, one size too big for comfort. But remember, your riding kit needs to stay
put at, basically, hurricane force winds. It should be snug. Any good motorcycle shop worth its salt will
have someone on hand who can help you figure things out and good shops will also have someone
who has been trained to fit your head properly for a helmet. And finally, just because it comes from a
motorcycle shop, doesn’t mean it’s motorcycle gear (I’m looking at you Harley-Davidson). It’s not a motorcycle jacket unless it has
armor in the elbows shoulders and back, otherwise it's just a fashion jacket. Same goes with boots and gloves. As far as you're concerned; no armor means
no good. So, when you learn to ride a bike, or how
to operate a motorcycle, it feels like a lot. But when we break it down, it’s only four
things. Starting, Stopping, Turning and Shifting. At first, getting the bike rolling is going
to be a big challenge and then most of us get really worked up about shifting - don’t
worry you’ll get those. Turning will become a life-long pursuit as
we all strive for that perfect corner. But the most important skill that you
need to develop is stopping. You need to learn how to become comfortable
with your brakes more than any other control at your fingertips. Your brakes are the most powerful tool in
your arsenal. The confidence of knowing you can slow or
stop the motorcycle, and what the brakes on your motorcycle are capable of, will be key
to your success. You can begin your journey towards becoming
a demon on the brakes just by pushing your bike around. Reach up and slowly squeeze the brakes to
bring the bike gently to a stop. Listen for the click of the brake light switch. Every time you squeeze the brakes do it like
this and learn how this feels. The key to stopping quickly is to square the
handlebars and then master slow, progressive, linear brake squeezing. Never grabbing, especially with the handlebars
turned. Learn to trust and rely on your brakes,
especially your front brake because as much as 85% of your stopping
power comes from the front. Go to the brakes when you are nervous, just
enough for that brake light switch to click on is all you need most of the time. Use that front brake to gently slow into corners
until you are comfortable with your speed and you can see your exit. Ignore anybody who recommends “no-brake
drills” or suggests not using the brakes on twisty roads. Riding without using your brakes doesn’t
teach you anything Your brakes are your best and most powerful
friend. Continually foster that relationship so they’ll
be there at the ready when you need them most. Cars are not out to get you - and what I mean
by that is it’s not personal. Sure, we should conduct ourselves and be prepared
for anything as though we are totally invisible, but If a car cuts you off, or violates your
right of way - it’s not personal. Do not lose your temper and go into a hulk
rage fit because you think you’ve had your rights violated. They weren't. That car driver isn’t paying attention,
nor should you have expected them to be paying attention. Give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe
they’re having a bad day, or they just found out their kid broke their arm and are rushing
to get home. It’s not personal. So stay cool. Leave the past behind you. You must learn to think like an Italian. - What is behind me is not important. - I’ve seen so many riders crash because they
are upset about how they messed up that last corner, or they are obsessing about that car
that almost pulled out in front of them - they focus about what happened to the point where
they lose sight of the moment. What's in front of you is a lot more important
than what's behind you. Same thing goes for any stress at work or
at home. Leave that baggage in the driveway and focus on
whats in front of you. Most advice is bad advice - This is especially
true if you are female. Almost every dude out there is going to try
to impress you with mountains of really crap information, mostly as a way to try to impress
you. Realize that the vast majority of riders are
going to tell you how they ride - and they probably ride like ass. Speed and skill are not the same thing, just
because someone is fast it doesn’t mean they know what they are doing. This goes for books, and yes, YouTube videos,
and even some riding schools out there. Do your own homework before taking advice
from anyone. The people you ride with matter and for that
fact, avoid group rides as much as possible. Some of the most violent crashes I’ve seen
have all happened on group rides. One bike falls or swerves, hits another bike… And suddenly nobody is having a good time. When it comes to group rides, only the guy
in front is riding the speed they want, everyone else is either going slower or faster than
they want to go. My best advice is to simply avoid group rides
altogether. And if you do end up in a group, remember
this: The golden rule of group riding is “Ride Your Ride.” Don’t let anybody goad you
into riding faster or wearing less gear than you are comfortable with. It’s your ass in the seat and is your ass
on the line. Fitness helps… a lot. So, I know I talk a lot about the soft-skills. The mental focus and mindsets that help us
be successful, but motorcycling is also physically challenging. Not so much about how strong you need to be
to pick the bike up off the sidestand or lift it onto the centerstand, but riding a motorcycle
is physically taxing in a way that driving a car can never be. You are exposed to a constant battering by
the wind, including turbulence from other traffic. The temperature, be it hot or cold, takes
its toll. The noise too. It exhausts you. Wearing earplugs helps a ton with this, but
noise is tiring. So, don’t underestimate the physical requirements
of riding a motorcycle. Stay hydrated, eat a little something during
fuel stops, stretch and, if you want to progress as a rider, enact some kind of regular physical
exercise. And the best exercise you can take up - ride
a bicycle… quickly. Or even better, get a mountain bike. Every professional motorcycle racer in the
world spends thousands of hours per year on a bicycle. Look, it’s still saddle time and all the
rules of motorcycling still apply. It leans the right way in corners, you need
to keep your eyes up, and you can practice all your riding techniques on your bicycle
and it translates right back to your motorcycle. Struggling with u-turns, go practice on your
bicycle. Struggling with braking smoothly, go practice
on your bicycle. Plus, all that exercise is going to give
you the strength and stamina to deal with the physical stresses of motorcycling. The only thing, depending on what part of
the world you live in, your bicycle brakes might be backwards. Swap your brakes so the front brake is in
the same place as on your motorcycle so you can build good muscle memory so we never hesitate that our right hand controls the front brake. Listen, as you embark on this amazing adventure, remember Riding well is a skill. Not a gift. It’s going to feel weird and you are not
going to be good at it, and you are not be good at it for a while. You are starting at the beginning, just like
we all did. You are going to struggle, especially in parking
lots. Again, like an airplane, motorcycles are more
stable if you are going a little quicker. Stall speed if you will. Below “stall speed” your motorcycle turns
into a 450 lb brick that tips over easily. As you are figuring this out you will probably
drop your bike trying to park or at a gas station, and I assure you, it’ll only happen
when you have an audience. Don’t let this deter you because it’s
happened to all of us. Hell, I once found myself in the middle of
a black-leather biker rally on my Pink and Blue FZR 600 (the 90’s were a different
time, don’t judge) and I promptly dropped my bike in the middle of them all. I carry those emotional scars
with me to this day. Not really. Seriously, it happens to all of us. Don’t let setbacks and failures deter you. It’s only a failure if you don’t learn
from it. We all need to be constantly practicing and
improving if we want to become, and if we want to remain, a good rider. A basic rider course is the first step, but
it’s not the only step. Every rider in the world has something they
can be working on, world champions simply spend the most time doing that. So, the whole reason behind CanyonChasers
is to help others reduce the risk of riding, make riding more enjoyable and to help all
of us become more proficient and precise riders. Hashtag CanyonChasers. I really hope to see you guys back here. Click like and subscribe and be sure to check
out our channel or our website for lots more content. In the description, we’ve linked to several
video’s where we’ve covered many of these topics in greater detail. Oh and one last thing, check your tire pressure. Thanks for watching and ride well.
This channel was advertised to me some days ago. I gave it a go even if I do not trust "motovloggers" to deliver good information. It was a pleasant surprise. Way more digest than Twist of the Wrist for newcomers (and people allergic to bad acting).
Earplugs and avoid group rides is awesome advice.
People tell me I'm weird for swapping the brake controls on my bicycles. Glad to see I'm not the only one.
Only thing I'd add is: get a bike with ABS brakes.
I just upgraded to a helmet with an inner dark visor. Too many times I’ve been caught by the sundown and then couldn’t see shit on the way home. Not anymore.
Tinted visor is a weird rec