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Good beginner drills?

Lots of great advice above.

First and foremost is to take the beginner class.

Then ride for a bit.
Take the time to practice quick stops. Dedicate a couple of Saturdays to it. Get to where you can do quick stops on your bike from 40+ mph in 3rd or 4th gear. Keep your head and eyes at the horizon, your elbows bent, knees agsinst the tank, your abdominal and lower back muscles keeping your body from shifting forward.

Practice always looking where you want to go and specifically where you want to be in 5+ seconds, always scanning ahead and not allowing your eyes to pause in any one spot.

Aim your face in the direction you are turning, before you get to the turn.

Practice all of the above for a few weeks and then take the intermediate class to learn a few more skills and to correct any bad habits.

If you want to work on parking lot drills, let me know, and I can work with you.
 
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One other thing:

Read some good motorcycle skills books.

My favorites are:
Nick Ienatsch's book
Lee Parks Total Control
David Hough's Proficient Motorcycling
Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist
 
Man, the awesome keeps coming. I love it!

A few quick responses:
  • I took the BAMT course so I at least have the fundamentals down. I'd love to take Doc's classes but I'm in Concord so for now it's out of my range. I'm trying to find something out here. If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears.
  • I bought a 93 Nighthawk 750, so yeah — a bit heavy (460lbs). I may need to devise an intricate system of levers and pulleys to help pick it back up if need be.
  • I do have an experienced rider buddy I plan on riding with, so he'll be able to critique / advise as needed
  • Thanks for the book recs, motomania! Which would you suggest reading first?
 
Vagabond Vivant said:
Man, the awesome keeps coming. I love it!

A few quick responses:
  • I took the BAMT course so I at least have the fundamentals down. I'd love to take Doc's classes but I'm in Concord so for now it's out of my range. I'm trying to find something out here. If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears.
  • I bought a 93 Nighthawk 750, so yeah — a bit heavy (460lbs). I may need to devise an intricate system of levers and pulleys to help pick it back up if need be.
  • I do have an experienced rider buddy I plan on riding with, so he'll be able to critique / advise as needed
  • Thanks for the book recs, motomania! Which would you suggest reading first?
Click to expand...

Proficient Motorcycling first.
 
VV, you are lucky as you have many different media's available to better your motorcycling skills. I typically don't recommend one over the other as all are from a typical mindset of what's important to the author. My suggestion would be read them all in any order you want, but keep an open mind as all of them will have something that relates to you, your riding style, and what you can think about to make yourself a better rider.

Seat time is king, but having principals and theories in your head will help you assess what is happening, what will happen and what just happened.

:ride on good sir!
 
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DocWong said:
Great! Find a good safe spot to practice. I use our local college's parking lot for that. I'd say start practicing what you know and have been taught first.

Take it easy and progress as you feel comfortable. As soon as you have difficulty, cut it back and make it slightly easier. It's the fastest way to learn, go slow. ;-)
Click to expand...

:thumbup And... Your clinics... Face time with Street Pro's that know the "tricks" that don't make it to the books.

Like using those big heavy cars to run interference for you, etc.
 
Vagabond Vivant said:
Man, the awesome keeps coming. I love it!

A few quick responses:
  • I took the BAMT course so I at least have the fundamentals down. I'd love to take Doc's classes but I'm in Concord so for now it's out of my range. I'm trying to find something out here. If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears.
  • I bought a 93 Nighthawk 750, so yeah — a bit heavy (460lbs). I may need to devise an intricate system of levers and pulleys to help pick it back up if need be.
  • I do have an experienced rider buddy I plan on riding with, so he'll be able to critique / advise as needed
  • Thanks for the book recs, motomania! Which would you suggest reading first?
Click to expand...
You're off to a better start than most; the interwebz wasn't even around when I started riding.

I don't know your physical stature, build or capabilities but there are a few tutorials on how to properly pick up a downed moto; especially on hills or weird spots - don't ask me how I know

Remember to use your legs and the bike as a lever, not your back or just your arms. You can easily injure yourself and/or cause (more) damage to your bike.

Additionally, at 460lbs, it's not really THAT heavy but it is heavy enough to hurt; point is that if the bike is going down, don't try to save it by sticking a leg out to catch it. I've also learned the hard way that it's easier to replace parts on a bike than it is on your body. So goes without saying to get decent gear; the best you can afford and don't worry if it's used or free because sometimes the used gear is better than the new cheap gear.

Enjoy and happy riding!
 
Go to a parking lot and drag knee in circles ;)
 
I wonder if we can talk I_am_the_koi into starting up his cone practice sessions again.

I always stress hard braking, swerving, and as slow as you can go maneuvers. These are all things that come only with practice.

Something else I find useful is to push any bike you buy or are thinking of buying around. This will really give you a good idea about where the weight distribution is on the bike, its turning radius, and overall feel
 
I just realized I had posted this as part of a response in the welcome/newbie thread:
If you have open spaces available, I'd also consider working on low speed drills including panic stops, figure eights and various cone/turns. Every now and then, you'll see invitations for group rides focusing on these drills; even the most experienced riders will participate as these exercises are perishable skills.

Building off of thumpers suggestion; a few months ago a group of us gathered at a local college lot and set up cone patterns and drills. It was great practice and skill development.

I'm in the east bay and would love to do this again, soon. Nate and I were just texting about this earlier today and I'm sure there'd be quite a few attendees.

Of course, all skill levels welcome. You're never too old or too good a rider to learn new skills.
 
These are the drills that will save your life and turn a potential situation into nothing.
 
I'd be in for this! I get a lot chicken and a little shy (I know, I know, me? shy?) so having friendly, encouraging riders of all levels would/will be appreciated.
 
I just ordered a set of MSF cones so we'll have to have a Barf parking lot day soon!
 
This one is just an application in real world kind of thing. Many people who start riding have already been driving for a while and are used to scrubbing off speed during the middle of a a turn.

With a motorcycle on the street you shouldn't be doing this unless it's am emergency.

I had to retrain myself to get all my braking done in a straight line before the turn. Practicing this religiously while riding will get you to be a better judge of what the proper speed is for various road conditions and turn configurations.
 
Sorry I don't agree. I think it's a misnomer and a lack of either skill or education that one would never brake while turning unless it is an emergency. I do it all the time. Of course you shouldn't ham fist it while cranked over but plz don't tell people to not brake into a turn.

The details of how when why etc to do it are too much for me to type here and now but it is an integral part of riding. Knowing how to do so has saved my ass more than once and also helps me ride smoother and more rapidly while being relatively safe.
 
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I'd be in for a drills session, too.

In lieu of ordering official cones from wherever, you can just walk into any soccer shop and buy some cheap practice cones/markers.
 
I'm interested :teeth
 
aminalmutha said:
Sorry I don't agree. I think it's a misnomer and a lack of either skill or education that one would never brake while turning unless it is an emergency. I do it all the time. Of course you shouldn't ham fist it while cranked over but plz don't tell people to not brake into a turn.

The details of how when why etc to do it are too much for me to type here and now but it is an integral part of riding. Knowing how to do so has saved my ass more than once and also helps me ride smoother and more rapidly while being relatively safe.
Click to expand...

Its saved your ass.. Hmm sounds like an emergency situation. I'm not against doing it. It's just a bad habit to get into for non emergency situations. That said, beginners shouldn't be braking to turns in the first place.

Perhaps you missed the title of this thread where it says beginner drills. That's ok.

Beginner drills should teach proper technique not just emergency situations. Anyone who is trail braking on the street is asking for trouble in my opinion.

You're entitled to your own.
 
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