Help a friend, before they ride

Chopperguy — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 14:27:41 GMT

I have many people say to me... "I want to get a bike". They then describe how they want a big Harley or a Honda 1800 or Valkyrie. I always try to convince them to start out small. I tell them that they need to take a few steps before getting their first bike.

Drive in your car for 3 months, looking out for everything around you, paying attention to only driving, and watch out for everything. Invision you are on a bike, and think about how you would react to every situation that arises around you.
Get on a bicycle and ride around in traffic. Put a small bell on the handlebars and use it when someone tries to run you over. Learn to react to the vehicles around you, espically the ones that disregard you.
Take a motorcycle safety course.
Go to a local dirt track and rent a dirtbike, and ride it around a while, trying to use everything you learned in the safety course.
Buy a reasonable bike, like a sportster 883 or any bike with under 1000cc's.
Ride the bike in empty parking lots, going in-between any tight obstical you can ride through, learn how to quick-stop and accelerate as if in any of the situations you found yourself in while driving.
NEVER DRIVE IMPAIRED! (DRUNK or STONED!)
Go on local runs, in a group, try to ride in the back of the pack, where you can hang back and not be a danger to others. Watch other ride and look for things they do correctly (and incorrectly). Learn from others as often as you can.
After at least 12 months of solid riding (not just owning a bike), move up to a bigger bike, or give it up all together.

Personally, I hate new riders. Not because they think they're big and bad, or they think they know everything. I hate them because they never know enough, espically when they need to know the most.

Enforcement (Social Factors)

Help a friend, before they ride