• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Learn bicycle before motorcycle?

vaara

vaara

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Location
SF
Moto(s)
2018 V-Strom 650
A housemate of mine is taking the MSF next month. However, he and some other folks here are a bit leery about this. Reason: he never learned how to ride a bicycle. He's 31, btw.

Some are insisting that he should learn how to ride a bicycle first, to become comfortable with balance and the whole idea of riding on two wheels. However, I think it's irrelevant, and might even be counterproductive, given the completely different nature of bicycle vs. m/c riding -- centers of gravity, hand controls, etc.

Like most people, I learned how to ride a bicycle in childhood, but somehow I don't think my motorcycle-learning experience would have been any different if I hadn't.

Thoughts?
 
You probably don't have to, but I do believe it would definitely be an advantage. To learn to trust a two wheeled vehicle to balance while in motion, the idea of leaning to turn, and not "turning the handlebars" to change direction. People are different, who knows?
 
might be better to post in the Training forum and see what Enchanter and others have to say, but in my own personal experience knowing how to ride a bike was an advantage. I think somewhere in the prep info the MSF also says something about knowing how to ride a bicycle is good...
 
ChuckBecker said:
You probably don't have to, but I do believe it would definitely be an advantage. To learn to trust a two wheeled vehicle to balance while in motion, the idea of leaning to turn, and not "turning the handlebars" to change direction. People are different, who knows?
Click to expand...

+1 Probably not mandatory, but would likely add to his comfort level while on a moto. Plus, just learn to ride a bike already! :twofinger You can find used bikes for next to no money, it shouldn't take long to learn (and if it does, motos prolly aren't the right move to make), and what are they going to do when their kids want to learn how to ride a bike? If you're concerned enough to make this post, I assume you care enough to teach him how to ride a bicycle without making fun of him in the process. Tell your housemate to learn how just for General Purpose.
 
his daddy never loved him :(
 
Yup, he should at least try to ride a bike. That way he'll not only learn how to balance, lean and turn the front wheel, but he'll also eliminate the possibility he has an equilibrium problem (for example, Ménière's syndrome).
 
It will hurt a lot less when he falls of the bike than a motorcycle.. no matter how slow or how light is motorcycle is going to be... Can you do an MSF beginners course without knowing how to ride a bicycle??
 
Sportbiker said:
It will hurt a lot less when he falls of the bike than a motorcycle.. no matter how slow or how light is motorcycle is going to be... Can you do an MSF beginners course without knowing how to ride a bicycle??
Click to expand...

My MSF instructors said they had a few trainees who had no bicycle riding experience. Some passed, some didn't.
 
however, trying to do the duckwalk on a bicycle is really hard :D
 
Has he ever ridden a rental scooter while on vacation somewhere? If he has, that may ease his anxiety.
 
Riding a bicycle can help you with riding a motorcycle but only with things that they have in common. Riding a bicycle can teach you how to stay balanced on two wheels, how to shift your weight on the bike, how to turn at low speeds, and even how to control a slide. It cannot teach you anything about the operation of the throttle, clutch, gear shifting, or counter-steering, and many bicycles don't even have a front brake. To take away further from its usefulness, a motorcycle is much heavier, goes faster, and has wider tires, making steering and balancing and braking feel completely different.
 
ex911 said:
might be better to post in the Training forum and see what Enchanter and others have to say, but in my own personal experience knowing how to ride a bike was an advantage. I think somewhere in the prep info the MSF also says something about knowing how to ride a bicycle is good...
Click to expand...

It's been discussed before. I found this after a quick search:

Enchanter said:
I've been teaching the MSF curriculum for over 15years now. I've had people in the class that have NEVER ridden a bicycle before. I do not recall any of them passing. Most of them fell multiple times in the class before quitting or being asked to leave.

Get a bicycle and ride it for a few months before going to the class.
Click to expand...
 
seriously... the dood can't ride a bicycle and you think it'll be OK to just throw him at a motorcycle?

I suppose people are different... but a 50 dollar bicycle is a cheap start into the 2 wheeled life.

I'd even conisder renting a 125 dirtbike... and having some fun.
 
RhythmRider said:
Riding a bicycle can help you with riding a motorcycle but only with things that they have in common. Riding a bicycle can teach you how to stay balanced on two wheels, how to shift your weight on the bike, how to turn at low speeds, and even how to control a slide. It cannot teach you anything about the operation of the throttle, clutch, gear shifting, or counter-steering, and many bicycles don't even have a front brake. To take away further from its usefulness, a motorcycle is much heavier, goes faster, and has wider tires, making steering and balancing and braking feel completely different.
Click to expand...

Woah, you can definitely counter-steer a bicycle, with absurdly high levels of accuracy and response. Back in college I'd tear across a ped filled campus and walkway around 15-20mph on my mountainbike, never hit anyone but plenty of shit-yourself counter-steer induced flick turns. That said I don't expect things to transfer, but when you first learn to countersteer its scary because you're "falling" into a turn instead of slowly leaning... that will transfer over, the confidence.
 
the first two questions i ask someone when they express interest in learning to ride a motorcycle are:

a. can you ride a bicycle?

b. can you drive a stick shift car?

If you can't do both, you are not ready for a motorcycle. Period.
 
well damn, I'm not ready. Anyone want 400$ [invested] worth of motorcycle gear?
 
of course you are always entitled to think you're ready...
 
Not necessary to know how to ride a bike before taking the MSF, but it would make it easier for him. Riding a moutain bike is also a good way to learn wheelies on before trying it out on the dirt and/or streetbikes.
 
Beyond the technical aspect, knowing how to ride a bicycle in city traffic provided a good foundation to learn how to ride with other people on the road. Bicycling teaches you how to read and react to conditons, perhaps even better than a motorcycle because you do not have the liberty of a throttle to get you out of harm's way. I leaned how to read and anticipate what drivers around me are going on a bicycle, as well as gain an intimate knowledge of changing road conditions transform how your nike handles and thus how you ride (a wet crosswalk is one thing with a six-inch wide tire, it is quite another with a one-inch wide tire.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top