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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
   
3. Take a motorcycle safety course.
   
4. 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.
5. Buy a reasonable bike, like a sportster 883 or any bike with under 1000cc's.
   
6. 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.
7. NEVER DRIVE IMPAIRED! (DRUNK or STONED!)
8. 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.
   
9. 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.

---

Doing my part to save a Bikers life!
www.SaveABiker.com

And as the late LArry Grodsky wrote, sorta - not an exact quote: If you;re not going to ride 3000 miles per year, you won;t get any better, so find a different hobby.  This ain;t a diamond ring, something to show off on occasion, this is real world, get you killed, stuff here.  IF you;re going to ride, ride enough to stay proficient.

 Rando

Chopperguy:

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.

Yep. It's even worse in the sportbike world, where even small displacement bikes are packing upwards of a hundred ponies. Trying to convince a 21-year-old guy that he needs to start on an EX500 or GS500, rather than the current "hot" 600cc supersport is like talking to a wall, most of the time. Then they expect sympathy when they wreck it out and the insurance isn't enough to pay what they owe on it.

Chopperguy:

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.

I've never heard that, but I love it.

Chopperguy:

Buy a reasonable bike, like a sportster 883 or any bike with under 1000cc's. .

I know this works in the cruiser world, but be careful with this one. You may want to temper that displacement recommendation with a horsepower limit as well.

Chopperguy:

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.

I'm torn on this one. I was always taught to put newbs up near the front of a group so that you can watch them. Also, and again this probably applies to the sportbike crowd more than cruisers, but newbs at the back of a pack are prone to "try and keep up," rather than riding their own pace, which puts them at risk. Thoughts?

I'm torn with the "In the back, In the front" recommendations. I always say in the back so they can "watch and learn."

I do see what you're saying because of the stopping factor, but I've seen an inexperienced rider take someone out in the front, and that caused one hell of a mess. I'd rather have someone go down behind me, than in front of me, anyday!

 The bicycle idea is for many reasons... if you have the nerve to ride a bicycle in traffic, then you have the nerve for a motorcycle in traffic. It helps you be more aware of your surroundings and you tend to be more careful. It also shows you that most people don't give a rats ass about you, and you also realize how you have zero protection.

Horsepower should be the first consideration for sure, espically in the sportsbike world. Of course, the sportsbike world is totally different than mine. I go by size (and not just horsepower). All big bikes are too hard to handle, if you have no experience with any bike. More powerful bikes should only be offered to experienced riders, and that would be left up to responsible bike dealers, but that'll never happen, when it's all about the mighty dollar to most of them.

Just my 2 cents. 

---

Doing my part to save a Bikers life!
www.SaveABiker.com

Right on the money! Good post.

---

Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.
Biker and Motorcycle Lawyer Blog
www.bikerlawblog.com

Thank you. I only wish more people would take my advise.

---

Doing my part to save a Bikers life!
www.SaveABiker.com

jcloonan:

Yep. It's even worse in the sportbike world, where even small displacement bikes are packing upwards of a hundred ponies. Trying to convince a 21-year-old guy that he needs to start on an EX500 or GS500, rather than the current "hot" 600cc supersport is like talking to a wall, most of the time. Then they expect sympathy when they wreck it out and the insurance isn't enough to pay what they owe on it.

I agree with you there.  It's hard to convince someone to start out on a small bike when they all want the "cool factor" of a liter bike right from the start.  Either their friends all have bigger bikes or they saw the last AMA/Moto GP race and want to ride like their idol. 

I really wish dealerships had some accountablilty for helping people select a first bike.  I was at one of our local dealerships a few months ago and someone was in there looking at a Suzuki Hyabusa.  The salesman asked him if he had ridden before.  They guy said he had ridden a friends bike a few times, and wanted a bike of his own.  From the sounds of it, the guy had no riding experience at all, and the salesman never batted an eyelash. 

At that same dealership, my girlfriend was looking at new bikes.  She has been riding since the beginning of the year and has put over 6000 miles on her bike.  She has a 95 ZX-6R and wants something newer, but still a 600cc.  She was looking at SV-650's and the R6S.  Well the salesman there tried talking her into going with a 1000cc liter bike.  She even told him she wasn't ready and had no desire for a bigger bike.  Even after she said that, he still tried talking her into it. 

Big bike, small bike, doesn't really matter, it's all in the wrist when you get right down to it. It isn't the bike, it's the rider. An idiot is an idiot, and thay can do as much damage to themselves on a 250 Ninja as they can do on a 1500 whatever.  Them little tiddlers are pretty fast too when you twist the wick too far, and stoopid always hurts. The only place a bigger bike makes a real difference is at parking lot speeds. If it'll do 60, it can, and will hurt you if you get stoopid. There are just a lot more bigger bikes out there. That's why they show up in the numbers more. 

---

"DUCK" WV

Maybe in the cruiser bike world this is true, but once you get above a 500cc in the sportbike world, things change really rapidly. Throttles get a lot more touchy, and are far less forgiving of a newb getting too much throttle. They're at the very edge of handling, but that makes them more prone to a tankslapper from a newb mistake, unless they know about steering dampers.

Taking a rider class should be the first step. This is where many people find out that there is more to riding right than they thought. I wouldnt let new riders ride in the front or back of a group. They have no business in a group to begin with.

jcloonan:

Maybe in the cruiser bike world this is true, but once you get above a 500cc in the sportbike world, things change really rapidly. Throttles get a lot more touchy, and are far less forgiving of a newb getting too much throttle.

I agree with you 1000% there.  Yes it does eventually come down to the rider.  But there are so many instances where a new rider can make a mistake on a smaller bike and recover, where if they make that same mistake on a liter bike, they are screwed.  A friend summed it up like this once and it makes perfect sence.  A 600cc bike will try and kill you.  A liter bike wants to kill you

---

Chris Goldapple
Human Factors Moderator
ImplementNAMS.org

Chris I agree with what your friend said, You have to start small if you want to ride bigger and badder bikes. Take a ridding class, and get yourself familiar with the roads ,other riders and cars. Because on a bike there is alot of distractions and alot of desicions in a half a second>

---

Steven Asvazadourian
Social Factors Moderator
ImplementNAMS.org

Chris I agree with your friend. Start small and trainer yourself on that bike before you get bigger and badder. Take a riding class get yourself familiar with the road , the way the bike handles, other riders, and cars. A rider has a lot of split second desicions to make and new riders dont understand that. They need to train themselves and practice.

---

Steven Asvazadourian
Social Factors Moderator
ImplementNAMS.org