Teaching the girlfriend to ride

[Degsy]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

if youre set on teaching her. the first thing you should teach her is how to stop. as in pull in the clutch and grab the brakes. that way if she gets the ole whiskey throttle she might have enough common sense to pull in the clutch at least.

Grab is not a word you should associate with brakes for a newbie rider.

[R1]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Here's some easy steps

1) find empty parking lot
2) bring bike to the center of the parking lot
3) place the bike facing any direction on its side stand
4) kick the bike over
5) have gf pick it back up
6) if she struggles do not help make sure she learns how to do it herself
7) once bike is back up place back on side stand
8) repeat steps 4-7
9) if she still wants to ride then start the bike and get comfortable a safe distance away.
10) pick up alcohol on your way home
11) ask yourself if you want to go through that again
12) if yes then take msf course and enjoy.
13) if no find new gf.

[DoubleRGirl]

^i've never been able to pick the bike up by myself, i wouldn't have gotten anywhere with this

[csmutty]

^i've never been able to pick the bike up by myself, i wouldn't have gotten anywhere with this

Have you been showed the proper method?

[DoubleRGirl]

yeah the backwards squat?

[R1]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

The proper method is shut the fuck up and let her figure it out.

If she is getting pissed and you try to show her something involving logic or common sense it's like poking a bees nest. Just let it happen naturally. If she doesn't figure it out she shouldn't be on a bike. Now as I said before if youdot mind picking the bike up while she is learning then you don't have any problems.

[nhbubba]

MSF still seems cheaper and easier.

[reiobard]

As someone who had a then-boyfriend teach her....have someone else do it. Granted we survived (and got married) but it was a challenge that ended in me taking the MSF class. Save yourself the trouble and arguments.

it wasn't that bad, we lived accross the street from a Wal-mart, so we went there late at night and she went for some rides around the lot, just encourage her to take it slow and be sure that she is on a bike that is forgiving of mistakes. Keira started off on a Ninja 250 (So did I) and it was very forgiving and a perfect bike to learn on.

[DoubleRGirl]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

The proper method is shut the fuck up and let her figure it out.

If she is getting pissed and you try to show her something involving logic or common sense it's like poking a bees nest. Just let it happen naturally. If she doesn't figure it out she shouldn't be on a bike. Now as I said before if youdot mind picking the bike up while she is learning then you don't have any problems.

i'm sure the relationship will survive this method

[GearHd6]

My girlfriend really had no motorcycle skills prior to me meeting her. She wanted to ride so she took the MSF course. She did know how to drive a standard in a car so that may have helped on the bike some but other than that she had no clue. I never even tried to teach her. We paid the $200 for the MSF course and she learned everything there. The instructors were great with her she said. She passed the first time. Now she rides a 94 Honda Shadow VLX. She's not a speed demon so that bike fits her perfectly.

[gregp]

Having personally been through this a couple of times, I can tell you that there are 2 *major* points to competent operation. The first is clutch usage (if the person is completely unfamiliar with clutch operation). The second is vehicle dynamics, as it applies to two wheelers. Most (but not all) people have *some* experience with this as they have learned to ride a bicycle.
I have found that it is best to separate these two points, and start from scratch. The best tool that I found for teaching effective clutch operation, believe it or not, was a bone stock Blaster ATV. They do not have to worry about falling over when they stall (and they will stall). Once you find that they are very competent with clutch operation, I recommend starting them off on an XR100. They are mostly unintimidating and usually easy to find or borrow.
Do not do what I did once, and start them off on a Beta REV3 270 trials bike. That was a *major* mistake.

[Krazy Again]

First post for me here...I have to say MSF all the way. $200 for her to ride THEIR bike (and likely drop it at least once) is cheaper than possible repairs to whatever bike you would be teaching her on. Not to mention that some insurance agencies give a discount for people that have taken the course.

Oh yeah, and do you really want to deal with the angry woman when you teach her something, she does something else, and then you get into an argument about it? :p

[SVRACER01]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)



Grab is not a word you should associate with brakes for a newbie rider.

true, but im not describing it to a newbie. if i were i would defiantly word it better

[Father Ribs]

MSF was only $160 in VT. You have to sign up early though, there aren't many classes and they fill fast.

Does she like to read? Proficient Motorcycling gives you a good basis for what you need to know outside of the basic functioning of the bike. Can read in small bites and not too dry, except for the first chapter about the ten million ways you die as per the Hurt report.