Riding a motorcycle is one of the most amazing experiences a person can have, however, you must be a confident rider in order to get the most out of your bike. Some people will have a go and perhaps, aren’t ready for what’s in store, sometimes giving up before they are able to enjoy a long ride to its fullest. As with anything worthwhile in life, if you aren’t a natural then you’ll need to have time and patience on your side, including a good understanding of how the bike works;
It’s all about balance and coordination
If you already drive a car, then you should understand the importance of braking before you enter a corner and then accelerate out of the corner. With a motorbike it’s even more important because you’re only on two wheels so you’ll also need to know how to ‘lean’ into corners properly, if you get the basics wrong or your coordination isn’t quite there then you might find your bike going one way whilst you go the other. With a car, at least you ‘should’ still be in the car regardless of whichever way you are facing!
Braking, more important than accelerating
If you order a motorcycle from wheelsmotorcycles.co.uk then ask them, they will be happy to confirm that, if you are riding in the rain then these factors become even more important. Knowing how to use your breaks in order to maintain your balance could well be a life saver. Even if you ABS brakes more so in the wet, you will need to ‘feather’ the brakes, this means to apply gentle, equal pressure to the brake levers rather than pulling them as hard as you can toward your handle bars. Doing the later will most definitely end up with your brakes locking up so it’s important to master this technique, starting off at a slow speed until you become more confident.
Knowing how to use your throttle
Clearly knowing how to set off is important, if you actually want to go anywhere, a little bit like riding an electric push bike this will all depend upon whether you are riding an automatic or a manual style motorcycle. With a manual you will have more to think about, because you have gears and a clutch, ‘usually’ the left, what you might think is the brake lever, until you pull it, of course.
Learning how to change gears at low revs will be safer, help you maintain balance and usually prevent the rear wheel from spinning. If you want to switch through the gears at high revs then you will accelerate faster, although you will need to be experienced in order to get this right, even in the low gears you could find your rear wheel spinning when you weren’t expecting it to!
Knowing when you’ve had enough
Riding a motorcycle takes more strength than most people realise so, if you start to feel tired it is imperative that you make your way to somewhere that you can rest for a while. Clearly there are similar safety concerns when it comes to tiredness with any motor vehicle, however, they are intensified much more from an all-over physical fatigue perspective. If you suddenly get a ‘dead leg’ or a ‘twitch’ because you haven’t stopped when you should have done, the risks are a lot greater than if you were driving something like a car.