Can you teach yourself to ride a manual motorbike?
disco_super_fly,
May 26, 2:52am
Or is it highly advantageous to get a lesson or two! I can drive a manual car, so understand the fundamental basics. Have ridden plenty of scooters etc, but find them pretty boring and am wanting to get a learners bike :)
40wav,
May 26, 2:53am
Get something like an XL 250 or similar and find a big paddock to practice in. Someone to show you the basics would be good but after that its really just practice. Good luck.
disco_super_fly,
May 26, 2:56am
Cheers, at this point I'm looking at a Suzuki gn250. Is riding a manual scooter exactly the same as a manual bike! Am in Thailand and was thinking of hiring one for a few days.
motorboy2011,
May 26, 3:06am
most in Thailand dont have a clutch and the gears are usually all up or all down so are easier to ride, though some do have a clutch and gears just like a normal manual bike. as long as you know where the gears are on the bike, all up, all down, 1 down and 4 or 5 up its easy.
40wav,
May 26, 3:06am
Possibly the same. Differences could be that the scooter may have the rear brake on the left handle, the bike will have the rear brake on the right foot due to the left handle being used for the clutch. If you're pretty happy on a scooter it will only be distractions of changing gears up and down and possibly the different brakes. Both should be front brake on right handle and throttle on right handle. GN 250 will be a good learner bike, just find a large area to practice like a quiet car park.
disco_super_fly,
May 26, 3:12am
Ahhh awesome, I will needa do some research into how the gears work first I suppose. It's probably a great idea to hire one without a clutch for now so I can get the hang of changing gears with my foot before moving onto something with a clutch. Woohoo I'm excited! Thank you for the advice!
40wav,
May 26, 3:19am
A GN250 will be pretty standard so will be (from neutral) one click down for first, then upwads clicks for second, third, fourth and fifth. Just click down to change back down. To get neutral just click right down to first (keep tapping the gear lever with your foot) then give a very gentle 'half click' up. Some bikes can be really hard to find neutral on but after owning for a bit you'll do it without even thinking.
kazbanz,
May 26, 5:03am
A GN250 has a normal clutch and normal gears-1 down and four up. Incidently-left foot is the gears.left hand works the clutch, right hand is throttle and front brakes like a scooter right foot is back brakes If ever there was a road bike thats easy to ride the GN has to be it. Personally I'd see if I could get an old school 100-125cc trail bike and have a play in a feild for awhile, Something small enough that you can step off the back if you muck it up.
disco_super_fly,
May 26, 5:48am
Can you explain what you mean by '1down and 4 up'! The gears are controlled with both the heel and the toe, am I right! I assumed toe would be up and heel would be down, or have I got it completely wrong!
petemun,
May 26, 6:17am
no just the front half of ya foot. click pedal all the way down = 1st gear. half click up is neutral but full click is 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th> you don't have to stop in neutral going from 1st to 2nd just click all the way up. so to go down gears yo put foot on top of pedal and push down. to go up put foot under pedal and push up, heel stays on foot peg usually depending on bike style
hydraline,
May 26, 6:26am
No sweat! You will figure it out easy as. Just practise a bit in a parking lot or paddock. Straight men and most women don't have a problem, driving a manual anything
disco_super_fly,
May 26, 6:29am
How the heck do you 'click the pedal up' if your foot sits on the pedal!
edit; woopsies just read your post properly. Thankkkyou so much! Sounds a little confuzzling to me right now, but then again, I found driving a manual car super confusing for the first couple of days, then it just magically clicked :) So i'm sure this will be the same.
petemun,
May 26, 6:32am
you have a foot peg and a gear pedal/lever by the tip of you toes.
40wav,
May 26, 6:48am
You put the toe end of your foot under the gear lever and lift it up a click.
kazbanz,
May 26, 8:23am
Whish is why you don't wanna be trying to figure it out in the middle of a busy asian intersection. go get a lil trailee and work it out
xxsaffyxx,
May 26, 9:11am
I taught myself. tested out a brand new bank around a warehouse where I worked, then drove it home, Friday 5 pm!But, wasn't a big town.Had only ridden one of those tiny baby hondas before round a river bank, and I think that just had two gears, no clutch.Think I took the long quiet way home lol.Had the bike for several years and it was very handy for me.
main things is dont panic as it starts to take off, practice a stopping technique over & over with the bike not moving first, so many people get moving, cant stop & end up going faster & faster until they hit something. & the controls are 'delicate' if you wrench the throttle, grab the brake etc etc youll end up on the floor fast so practice gentle control too
flybye_in_a_rx7,
May 26, 8:22pm
should be easy enough to teach yourself in a day or so. i found learning manual gears on a motorbike easier as you can hear the engine more and feel what the bike is doing.
morrisjvan,
May 27, 9:24am
I taught myself to ride,handy hint that I figured out- ,keep your thumb on the killswitch !
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