Best YouTube Videos That Help Explain Motorcycle Riding
Areas of Focus
There are a few different aspects of the BASICS of riding I want to touch on;
- Layout of controls and how to use them
- Throttle Control
- Clutch engagement and disengagement when shifting gears
- Braking and Engine braking
- Steering/Counter Steering and leaning the motorcycle
- Situational Awareness
Throttle Control
Managing the bike’s throttle effectively can feel kind of like trying to take the cheese off a mousetrap without getting your finger snapped for many new riders.
It takes time and practice to develop a strong throttle hand able to keep you on the bike but not choking the throttle to the point that you are jerky when applying more power to the rear wheel.
The best way I can describe the technique I use is staying firm at the wrist while leaving your fingers somewhat relaxed.
What it comes down to is pure slow speed riding, over and over until you get good. YouTuber Dodge Rider shows a couple of good drills to do in this video to work on just that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIpbTLy7F4A
Clutch Control
Once you master engaging and disengaging the clutch things get a lot more fun because you won’t be stalling the bike so much when you pull away from a stop. You will at first, but it’s really no big deal so don’t get too frustrated with yourself.
Shifting Gears
Now that you better understand the controls and how to smoothly apply and take power away from the rear wheel, you’re ready to take a ride down the road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9XCCDQOgyQ
Braking
Steering Techniques
Counter Steering Explained
Counter Steering Fail
This next video is fairly graphic as it shows a rider crashing into an oncoming fire truck of all things! It clearly illustrates what happens when you don’t countersteer when travelling at speed. They actually put the video in slow motion to really show the bike standing up and veering the unwanted direction when the rider fails to counter steer.
Situational Awareness
My Dad taught me when I started riding on road the following:
- Assume no one around you knows you’re there at any time
- Stay back at least 3 car lengths from vehicles you’re following
- Always scan the road 10 to 20 seconds ahead of you for danger
- Constantly check your mirrors especially when stopped at traffic lights
- Never ride in a vehicle’s blind spot for long
- Have an escape plan in mind from where you’re riding or sitting at all times
That’s good advice and has saved me from trouble more than once because on a motorcycle you are much smaller, faster and maneuverable than the cars and trucks. Just when they think they know where we are we can just as easily zip out and pass them in the blink of an eye because bikes are high performance machines.
One video I watched recently showed a great technique for dealing with the problem of cars pulling out in front of oncoming bikes they “didn’t see”. Even with high visibility clothing and really bright LED headlights on motorcycles these days, car drivers have real trouble telling how fast a bike is moving while coming towards them.
Finally, here is a great video from DanDan the Fireman talking about a mile a minute covering all the tips I’ve mentioned so far and laying down some specifics for turning that I really like.
Source: best beginner motorcycle