. For the Newbie ..................... .................

.Getting Started

You want to learn how to ride?
First, ask yourself how badly you want to do this. Is it a burning desire? If so, then give it a go. If it's something you're vacillating on, why not lie down until the feeling passes? Motorcycling has its risks and those of us who ride know of a few dead or mangled people due to this pursuit. We've also had our own heart-stopping close calls or, worse, our own bad crashes. This world is not kind to bikers. People in cars don't see us and junk on the ground conspire to bring us down. If someone I loved wanted to ride, I'd try to talk them out of it. I ride because the desire burns in me like a herpes sore. I tried to quit riding once after hitting an oil patch and nearly braining myself on a telephone pole as a result, but I couldn't retire. I accept the fact I may be badly injured some day on my bike, and not necessarily due to operator error. So this is your downer moment. Still here? Ok, then read on... 

1. Get a motorcycle learning permit.
You need one if you live in California. The information on how to get a motorcycle learning permit for California is on this DMV page. Scroll down that page and you'll find the information for riders getting started.

2. Get a bike.
If you have a real nice friend, borrow his or her bike. But only borrow it if you can afford to pay any damage you to do it. An alternative is to find a cheap bike to learn on and buy it. In my case, a friend found a bike that he thought I could handle (the very vanilla Yamaha Radian) so I bought it and he rode it back to where I lived. Would I borrow a friend's bike to learn on? Only if it was ratty and he or she didn't mind if I dropped it; otherwise, no way.

3. Wear the right gear.
No need for a full leather suit if you're spending most of your time in gears 1 through 3. But you'd be wise not to practice in shorts and t-shirt. A very low speed tip over could leave you with some painful roadrash. I'd recommend at least jeans, boots that cover your ankles, a jacket and gloves. You've got no choice on the helmet but you do have a choice on the coverage and I wouldn't wear anything less than a full face helmet. If I were wearing anything less than that in my last crash, I would only have half a face right now. The helmet needs to be snug; if you can shake your head and the helmet shifts at all, it's too loose. You might feel claustrophobic if you've never worn a helmet before, but you'll get used to it unless you have a phobia of some sort. If that's the case, you might want to think about the billions of other things you can do to humor yourself other than having panic attacks on a motorcycle because you think your head is being squeezed like a capybara in a python's mouth.        

4. Figure out the basics.
Before you take a course, I'd recommend at least learning the very basic skill of letting the clutch out and moving/stopping the bike. I lived on a quiet street so I just took my bike up and down the block, repetitive as a metronome, learning to shift. If you don't live somewhere where you can practice, have a friend ride it to a peaceful location while you drive there. You can always practice on a busy street if you want, but that seems like asking for a stress overload. When I was learning, I dumped the clutch and fell over in an intersection. I was very embarrassed and wished I were in an abandoned lot out in the middle of the Mojave desert. Up to you if you want any witnesses should you slam into the steep side of the learning curve.    

5. Take a course.
Soon as you can competently start and stop the bike, take a motorcycle course. If you successfully complete at least the California Motorcyclist Safety Program course, you won't have to take the riding test on the bike. You can always not take a course, but odds are you'll end up developing some bad habits if you learn completely on your own. Here are two programs. You can always search for others on the internet.  
 
California Motorcyclist Safety Program: This is program is administered by the California Highway Patrol. You can get your M1 endorsement if you take this class. 

Motorcycle Safety Foundation: I took this course eons ago and it made clear some things I was doing wrong. I'm not positive, but this course might count as a class that lets you get your license without the road test. Check with them if it's your plan to use this course to get your M1 endorsement. 

Palomar College: If you're a San Diego area resident, Palomar College offers the basic rider course in the North County.

6. Find a mentor.
It really helps to have an experienced buddy who can talk to you about the finer points of riding. It's even better if this person is willing to go on rides with you and ride at a slow enough pace to help you develop. 
 
7. Ride. A lot.
If you want to get better the only way to do it is ride a lot. In my first decade of riding, I did it sporadically and I was a so-so rider. In the past five years I've been riding almost every weekend and I'm worlds better for it.

8. Get your motorcycle endorsement.
Why procrastinate? By now you should be able to handle the bike competently. If you've taken an approved course, you can get promoted from a permit to a permanent M1 endorsement. If you didn't take a course and you're going to do the cone test, here's a tip: borrow a small bike to test on. I took my test on a Ninja 250 and man was it easy navigating that silly little course on that tiny bike. Wouldn't want to do it on a big bike (if it's still the same road test I did), especially one that hits the steering locks quickly. Since we don't have any graduated testing for different sized bikes, you can test on a 250cc today and get on a 1000cc tomorrow. Many people I know let their permit lapse and then they have to redo the paperwork � why annoy yourself with this repeat? Also, once you have the full endorsement, you can ride at night, on the freeway and with a passenger (which you can't with just a permit).  
 
9. Try a track.
So now you're riding, gradually getting better and better. Why not try an open track day? I'm not saying go race; just sign up for some track time where it's safe to go as fast as you want. You'll learn more about what your bike can do and you'll probably come away with quite a bit of confidence. Track time is usually divided up into a few categories, and new street riders will likely be grouped together with restrictions such as no passing in the turns. It's not as if you're going to strafed by some guy with an AMA license so don't be intimidated by this prospect.
 
10. Avoid long lay-offs.
I know there's not much some of you can do in winter, but when the weather's good, keep riding. Try not to lose any gains you've made skillwise. Avoid riding a lot for a few weeks and then not doing anything for several weeks after that; you're just going to reintroduce the intimidation factor after a long layoff. 


Newbie Tips

�  Use your front brake. That's where the braking power is. If you must use the rear brake, use it along with the front. Just don't rely on the rear one as it has pitiful stopping abilities.

�  Ride your own ride. DO NOT feel compelled to keep up with anybody. This is the surest way to launch yourself over the canyon. You're learning; you don't get a prize for barely keeping up with the pack and scaring yourself shitless.  

�  Pull over if someone's on your ass. If there's a car tailgating because you're a slow rider, pull over. You don't need any added pressure to perform from someone inches off your backside. Let anybody behind you go by, pull back onto the road, and continue to go as slow as you need to. Aside from alleviating the pressure, it's just plain courteous if you're a road plug. Again, there's no prize for keeping everybody behind you.  

�  Keep an eye on the stoplights. I had huge problems with streetlights on highspeed boulevards when I first started out. It seemed like they'd suddenly turn and I'd be going fast enough that I'd have to hit the brakes really hard. One time I even fishtailed all the way into an intersection. Stupid (for both my bad timing and relying on my rear brake). Here's what you do: At some point as you approach the light you decide that if it turns yellow, you'll brake since you know you have enough room for a safe, controlled stopped. If it doesn't turn yellow at that point but does shortly after, don't argue with yourself about whether or not to stop: gas it and get through the intersection quickly. You just need to make sure that you won't be running a red light when you do this � the timing process comes soon enough with experience.

�  Be alert near offramps. Should you happen to be traveling in the slower lanes, assume a car is going to want to whip over to the offramp. For this very reason, I avoid positioning myself between a car and an offramp; I'm either a little ahead or behind the car. I've seen way too many cars make last-minute, near-catastrophic swerves for offramps. 

�  Don't ride in the fast lane if you don't want to. Everybody is going to tell you that when you're on the freeway, the fast lane is the safest. Sure, but it's also the fastest. When I was a new rider I had a hard time going faster than the speed limit. We're not all Ricky Racers and immediately embrace having the ground beneath us pass by at 80 mph. I kept to the slow lane and just stayed alert for stupidity; I never had any problems with this.   

�  Before changing lanes, look down the lane. Debris on the freeway often ends up laying between lanes after cars are done punting them around. If there's a lot of traffic and I can't see down the road, I always position myself at the edge of the car in front of me and I look down the lane between the cars to make sure there are no surprises waiting for me.     

�  When stopped, stay to the left or right of the car in front of you. This way if it doesn't look like someone's going to stop behind you, you can immediately pull forward next to the car in front of you and let the non-stopper hit the car instead of you. Bikes have a way of blending into the car in front of them. This is also why I always look in the rear view for cars coming up behind me. As they approach, I shift around so they see movement; I never sit completely still. At night, I flick my tail light so that gets their attention. I do whatever I can to improve my odds of not getting hit.  

�  Always know what's around you. This way if you have to make an evasive maneuver, you'll know if you have a clear side to do it. You need to be more attentive than cagers because your life depends on it; you don't have two tons of insulation. 

�  Don't ride behind open trailers, trucks, or semis on the freeway. I've seen huge pieces of garbage fly out of open trailers and trucks, big enough to easily bring down a biker. Semis will kick up things in the road and launch them like deadly projectiles. Once a semi kicked up a tire tread and it slammed full on into our van. It shattered the window, mangled the antenna, bent the bumper and dented the van, resulting in a couple thousand's dollar worth of damage. That same tread would've knocked me clean off my bike. Unless it's unavoidable, don't camp out behind any of these.

�  Ride like they're all going to hit you. Yup, it's too bad we have to be so defensive, but interpreting what the drivers all around you are doing may save your life. I always look at the drivers' heads (and eyes if I can see the rearview mirror) to see what they're doing. Do they look focused or distracted? Lots of drivers are extremely poor judges of closing speeds. Just because you wouldn't pull in front of somebody coming at a certain speed, don't expect others have the same capacity to assess the situation. No point in shaking your head over who they give licenses to; just learn to deal with it...and stay alive.       

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