[Administrator]

How did you learn how to ride?

 

[Guest]

Bought a used BMW police bike and spent three months driving around Northern Europe: Munich, Vienna, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Berlin and Rotterdam. Rode a bike for three years in New York City and one year through the West, stopping in S. F. and living with a bike there. 35 years later I took a MSF course and learned what mistakes I'd learned from being self-tought.

 

[Guest]

During a bout of complete insanity, I bought a bike at 17 yrs old and learned to ride in San Diego. Amazingly enough, I lived through it. A few years later I took the MSF course. It is still too easy to get out on two wheels, more training should be required IMHO.

Rich

 

[knightslugger]

I started learning the day i rode the bike home, in the rain, without a full tank of gas.

took the MSF class later to teach me about low speed manuvering. i learned alot.

 

[HotRod]

For my 16th birthday present my Dad gave me a Honda 160. I lived in Southern California (Manhattan Beach) and have been riding for over 40 years since then. All self taught (they hadn't invented the MSF back then). Cold weather, hot weather, rain, snow. Oh, and of course all those perfect SoCal days too.

 

[fog]

I've told this story before but.... At seventeen (1955) I suckered my Mom into spotting me $250 to buy a 1949 BSA A7 500cc twin. After purchasing the bike the dealer showed me the gas,clutch,shifter, and the brake and said "have a nice trip". So I learned to ride on my way home from Downtown New Haven, CT . In city traffic. (not so bad in 1955).
35 years later I really learned to ride at the Penguin Racing School.

FOG

 

[ex_dsmr]

i learned in many ways. keep in mind i had never had any MC or DB experience..just bicycle. and even that has been a while.

first off, i read through many MC forums like crazy just to learn the basics. then i got my bike and practiced almost every day for over a month. started out just walking her around, all the way up to weaves, figure 8's, etc.i put 100 miles on my bike just driving around in the very large parking lot across from my apts. finally went and took the msf course, did very well, scored the highest out of everyone. got my licence on 9/16 and have been honing my skills on REAL road experience.

 

[OreoGaborio]

MSF (2001)
Tony's Trackdays @ NHIS (Aug 2004 - present. I've attended more than 10 of them and have guest instructed twice)
Cornerspeed Trackdays, two days @ VIR North (March 2005)
Cornerspeed Level 1 Race School @ VIR South, another trackday at VIR South and one more day at VIR North (March 2006)
1 year in the Loudon Road Racing Series so far.

..... Next year I'll be racing LRRS again and I'll probably attend either the Cornerspeed Level 2 School @ VIR or the Penguin Advanced School @ NHIS... hell, if I can afford it maybe I'll do both ;D

PS, I like this poll... if I were to change anything about it, I would rephrase the question to "How ARE you learning to ride?" as for most people, learning to ride never ending, or at least very LONG, process

 

[rainking1978]

Learned on a dirt bike. I think that is the easy way to do it.

 

[Janinja]

The first time i ever sat on a motorcycle was about 3 months before my MSF class. Granted it was snow on the ground i had about 3 weeks of acutal parking lot driving before the class......now its been 3 years of Seasonal Riding.

Janinja

 

[Oni]

Friend taught me on a dirt bike in my teens 25 years ago. Hadn't ever ridden a street bike and hadn't ridden any bikes in years, so I took the MSF in July of '03. Been riding as long as snow and ice aren't on the roads.

 

[PontiacJack]

The girlfriend was actually on a bike way before me, and after weeks of convincing her I was the prime candidate to lend a bike to (and teach) I was on her Ninja 250. The 2 year old Ninja with a glorious 80 miles turned me into a monster... Nearly on year later I'm still alive, own two bikes (third on its way) and do nothing but eat sleep and well you get the picture... motorcycles. I am actually completing my MSF next week. (Officer Dexthymere says so with his little fix it ticket.)

 

[jakew129]

I learned how to ride from my brother on my first bike, A Suzuki DR200SE, a dualsport motorcycle, we stuck to the back yard for a while until i got the grasp of shifting and leaning, what little i could do in a small backyard anyway...then moved up to a parking lot, then from there it was hour long rides...learning and taking the DMV test on a "dirtbike" or dualsport, is by far the best way to go

i kinda wish i had gotten a supermoto for my first bike... but hinde sight is 20/20 right...

 

[PontiacJack]

I learned at our local MSF classes . My father took the classes at the same time i did . He had been riding for 50+ years. He said that he learned as much or more from the classes as i did.Goes to show you that you can teach old dogs new tricks.

Right on dood. I have only been riding a year and have just now completed MSF I wish I did it WAY before! It's stupid crazy how much you learn. Its not like your ready for MotoGP but my confidence through the roof and I actually knew the right way to do things and wrong way... Now more need to try and mimic bone heads TRYING to carve the cayons. Much Props

 

[AntiAndy]

MSF all the way,
learn to ride and get licensed at the same time, you cant go wrong.

 

[Hunter4570]

my father had a yamaha xt 250, as i was growing up, he use to give me rides on it, once i turned 13, he started teaching me....so yea learned how to ride a motorcycle before i knew how to drive a car lol.

 

[Gunn]

MSF was the way for me, not only as how I lerned but the first time ever of riding a bike.

Sat on a few friends rides (Bandit, Harley, BMW) and got to learn on a Honda 250, nice but they had a Ninja 250 sat with everyone too scared to try it, needless to say by the end of the course I was grinning from ear to ear taking that sweet thing for a ride.

 

[SoarAndEnvision]

MSF was a big help of course because I had no idea what to do with a bike at first.

But really riding in LA and then up here in SF was really what did it. Implementing all the stuff you learn at MSF and read is all practice-driven, just like an instrument.

MSF was like learning how to read music basically.

 

[dragknee]

dirt bikes.

 

[hollywood]

Self taught. First bike was a 1982 Honda CB750 "nighthawk". Bought it from
a buddy who has a shop in Harlem, NY rode it home in NYC traffic 2005...
I think I must have stalled 1,000 times. I'll never forget that ride!

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