Have you ever taught someone to ride?

[ally99]

Anyone here ever teach someone to ride a bike? If so, how? What are some of the crucial things to include when teaching someone to ride? I'm thinking it would make sense to start by introducing the clutch/friction zone leading up to giving it just a little gas and puttering around in 1st while getting used to using the brakes. I would appreciate any tips!

[xSean13]

Taught my mom and my sister. I just basically went through the crap they did in the MSF and made them repeat it A LOT until it became 2nd nature. I'm not one to sugar-coat stuff, so if they did something wrong, I got on to them and told them exactly what's up.

Kind of went in this order: proper way to get on/off the bike, friction zone, duck walk with the friction zone (no throttle), showing them the right balance of throttle & clutch timing release, stop/start riding in a straight line, 1st gear only, etc...small progressions.

If they were still having the slightest issue with something, I wouldn't let them progress to the next "stage."

[GreenNinja]

I did and was successful. I made him sit on the bike for half an hour pressing the clutch and brake every time I said it. You want them to get used to which is which in an emergency. After that I walked next to him while the bike is in first gear and letting him slowly release the clutch until the bike moves. This creates muscle memory so he will know when the bike will start moving from a stand still. There was no throttle involved in this exercise. I did that for about another 30 to 60 minutes. Most of the time people want to just jump right into it but you have to remind them it is not a toy and a crash could be expensive. Either it is your way or nothing at all.
Pretty much for the first 4 hours, I had him going below 10 mph. 40 hours later(about two weeks), he went out and got his license with no issues. After getting his license, he was still practicing in the neighborhood to make sure he got the turns correctly and other basics correctly.
Oh yeah, the most important thing after he/she has learned how to ride past 10 mph is about rev matching. My buddy drove a sports car and he never had to rev match when he downshifts so it was something new to him. This isn't the entire training that I gave him but it is a good start. The MSF is probably the better class though.

[alex.s]

i've taught 6 people how to ride motorcycles. not a single one of them has crashed yet.

[lc86]

I've taught a couple people to ride. I did pretty much the same as the people before had said and what you mentioned and it seemed to work pretty good. Another thing I did before letting them actually start to "ride it" was to have them on the back while I rode them around while re-explaining everything so that they can see it in action. This is good because you can also explain what not to do or what to do in certain events.

The only problem I've ever seen was one girl who did great (and I was teaching her because she did so bad at the MSF that they kicked her out) and learned real quickly. She gained a lot of confidence quickly and in her final run she wanted to shift through a couple gears and go around the parking lot a couple times. It went great up until she was slowing down, she decided to shift it into first then completely let out the clutch which locked the tire a little and she went down. It was pretty non-eventful since she wasn't going very fast and the sliders prevented any real damage, but since then I always stress the difference in gear ratios, especially 1st.

She went back to the MSF and passed it without problem though, just keep in mind that things that are common sense to you may not be to them and be easy with them since people typically do worse when they lose their confidence, but keep them from being cocky.

[MistahT]

I'm a teacher and taught my wife and a few of my friends when they had their licenses, also coached a few friends post license.

TCLOCS, FINEC, and parts of the bike are the most important things at first. Get used to the friction zone, and practice braking. Once they start moving and getting some confidence, look where you want to do, crack the throttle open before entering a turn, etc.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by alex.s

i've taught 6 people how to ride motorcycles. not a single one of them has crashed yet.

You should have them teach you.

[krolinked]

B B B B B BbbbB bBbbB BURN.

[rojoracing53]

I taught Josh Herrin how to ride, as to how....well I don't care to recall those days let's just say we didn't think we'd even get that kid to ever shift into second gear one day to seized motors from first gear pinned

[Mawties]

Originally Posted by alex.s

i've taught 6 people how to ride motorcycles. not a single one of them has crashed yet.

Originally Posted by Alex

You should have them teach you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._United_States


But to contribute to the thread. I tried to teach my sister how to ride when she came into possession of a Harley 1200 but quickly figured out that I barely knew how to or wanted to ride that thing so abandoned it before even letting her on.

Tried to teach her on my bike but she wasn't tall enough.
When I learned (which wasn't very long ago) a lot of the stuff I had to teach to myself.

I started doing a lot of the things mentioned so far and eventually started setting up obstacles for myself to test balance and precision braking
For example cones for sharp turns and two spray painted parallel lines where my front wheel should stop after braking.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by ally99

Anyone here ever teach someone to ride a bike? If so, how? What are some of the crucial things to include when teaching someone to ride?..............I would appreciate any tips!

What is wrong with the MSF course method?
Did you take it?
Do you need to teach someone?

[csmith12]

Critical things;

Choose a location with plenty of open, clear and clean area.
Memorize the address of this location.
Have a first-aid kit.
Have a cell phone with good service.
Gear... duh
Keep it fun!

Good luck Ally, I hope you and the next future rider have a great time.

[ally99]

Originally Posted by Motofool

What is wrong with the MSF course method?
Did you take it?
Do you need to teach someone?

Yeah, I took the course but it was years ago. I'm teaching a friend to ride this weekend. I already have a nice, large, empty parking lot picked out.

Originally Posted by csmith12

Critical things;

Choose a location with plenty of open, clear and clean area.
Memorize the address of this location.
Have a first-aid kit.
Have a cell phone with good service.
Gear... duh
Keep it fun!

Good luck Ally, I hope you and the next future rider have a great time.

Thanks Chris! Check, check, guess I'm ready!

[ally99]

Originally Posted by Alex

You should have them teach you.

I'll teach you to ride, Alex.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by ally99

Yeah, I took the course but it was years ago. I'm teaching a friend to ride this weekend. I already have a nice, large, empty parking lot picked out.

Your friend will benefit from reading some of these articles:

http://msf-usa.org/index_new.cfm?spl...gename=Library

Being familiar with bicycles and balance is a great advantage.
If not, you will need to start with that and stick to related exercises for a while.

[alex.s]

i definitely need riding lessons.

[vman1313]

Great post question @ally99 - I too am teaching someone this weekend to ride BUT I am going to start her on my dirt bike on some dirt. Great stuff posted here. All probably stuff we know but until it is organized and written down, sometimes we forget. I am going to make myself a cheat sheet of the things to teach and in what order so I can just follow it and not try to just remember it all. Good luck and thanks

[ally99]

Originally Posted by alex.s

i definitely need riding lessons.

Lesson one. Keep the rubber side in. I mean, down.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by ally99

I'll teach you to ride, Alex.

but I thought you had a habit of crashing too?

Sounds like a solid plan to me. Nothing can possibly go wrong with this one

[alex.s]

so ally! when are you coming to cali? :P

[antiant]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Sounds like a solid plan to me. Nothing can possibly go wrong with this one

It's the ultimate trainwreck, I mean ride!

Link to original page on YouTube.

[ally99]

Ok, teaching someone who was so excited to ride a bike was friggin AWESOME! He went from knowing nothing whatsoever about bikes to doing wide figure 8s in a parking lot. And riding a dude on back of the bike was kick a$$! What a great day! Little Ninja was able to make it 90-95 MPH with a 180 pound passenger on back. My bike rocks!

[Alex]

[choneofakind]

I think it's good that both of you were excited for this. I like all the excited fbook posts.

[Mountain Dew]

Taught my friend how to ride on my Ninjette. Thank god for frame sliders. He was very unsure of himself and didn't take to learning right away, so it went down a couple times.

After several sessions of 2-4 hours each he was able to do most of the MSF stuff. He even took it around the block without issue. He went on to pass the MSF a month later with no issues. Too bad his bike is a bit too big (weight- and displacement-wise. It's a proper 650 inline twin, so it's pretty torquey at the low end) for him. He lost it on a right (US) turn partially due to poor clutch control (I wasn't there, but from how I've seen him ride).

But I feel that the practice we had prior helped him gain confidence for the MSF.

I don't really have any specific tips, just go through the MSF stuff, and be direct about mistakes and techniques, because that's no place to sugar-coat anything or be polite.

[ally99]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

I think it's good that both of you were excited for this. I like all the excited fbook posts.

LOL! Thanks. His excitement was really cool. Not only was it his first time learning to ride a bike, it was actually his first ever ride on one at all. So he was giddy. He called my girl fast. Hell yea.

Originally Posted by Mountain Dew

be direct about mistakes and techniques, because that's no place to sugar-coat anything or be polite.

I 100% totally agree with this. I stopped him several times when I saw him do things like look at the approaching curb. His turns, of course, widened. I'd stop him every time and remind him to look where he wanted to go, not where he was going. It clicked after a couple of reminders. But direct feedback and help is tremendously important.
Edit: It helps that I'm an elementary teacher. So I got this!

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by ally99

it was actually his first ever ride on one at all. So he was giddy. He called my girl fast. Hell yea.

Ahhhh novelty. Never overrated, so quickly lost on some.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by ally99

..........
Edit: It helps that I'm an elementary teacher. So I got this!

No wonder, since all grown up men act like little boys.

You did great, Allyson !!!