Reprinted from the January, 2007 BMW Owners News, with permission of the BMW MOA and Roger Wiles
by, Roger WilesYou’re a veteran rider, with many miles, many years and a great deal of practical riding experience. In the future, you may well have opportunity to shepherd and mentor a novice rider, perhaps a spouse or other significant person in your life. Maybe they have taken your state or province’s safety course, or undergone rider training from a commercial school. Maybe they rolled a motorcycle out into the parking lot at the local dealership and ‘taught themselves’ how to ride. Many of us ‘Boomers did just exactly that, and a good number of us survived and prospered – but an unacceptable percentage of us did not! So, now you’ve become mentor to a novice.
This article is designed to offer you a glimpse into the novice rider’s mind and learning-processes. However, this article is NOT a substitute, nor is it intended to be a substitute, for professional training for new motorcyclists.
Let’s begin with the matter of your influence upon a beginner. As an experienced rider, your words and actions have great weight. Therefore, your advice, example, comments, pointers, your every riding technique and maneuver, might be absorbed by the neophyte in sponge-like manner. As a committed motorcyclist, you are a de facto ambassador for motorcycling; consider your image and example, and choose your comments and advice carefully.
Perhaps the best initial advice is to begin with professional training, such as the Beginning Riders Course offered through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), and other courses. Student-riders in these courses learn the basics of motorcycle operation, such as starting smoothly with precise control, stopping, shifting and turning. These skills are taught in a progressive fashion, so that each part of a skill is learned in proper order. Students learn the basic hazard-avoidance maneuvers of emergency stopping and swerving during the range-riding part of the course, as well, and learn important mental strategies and checklists while in the classroom.
The Hurt Report found that fewer than 10% of riders received professional training; more than 90 % were self-taught, or learned how to ride from family or friends. Hurt Study data published in “Proficient Motorcycling” (David Hough) indicates that new riders who are self-taught are two times more likely to suffer a crash, compared to professionally-trained novices, and those who have learned to ride from family-members or friends are nearly three times more likely to crash. Resist the temptation – resist the appeals from the new rider - to ‘teach me how to ride a motorcycle!’ Use your influence to firmly steer them to an appropriate professional training site first.
Selecting a Motorcycle
Perhaps be new rider already owns a motorcycle. If you are in a position to influence them in the selection of their first motorcycle, there are a few items you may wish to think about: Style, size and fit, power output and characteristics. Let’s begin with style.
The basic motorcycle styles could be considered; Cruiser, Sport-bike, Touring, Sport-touring, Standard, and Dual-sport. Style is an area where you, as mentor, may have little or no influence. The style of motorcycle, particularly to a novice, is often such an emotionally-held choice that your advice may fall on deaf ears. The beginner’s style-choice may be one that is less than ideal for a new rider – they are more likely to select one of the two polar opposites – cruisers or sport-bikes – categories with some built-in impediments to learning for the novice rider.
A benefit to the cruisers might be the lower seat-height. However, this style often features foot-forward footrests (or floorboards), and are frequently equipped with pull-back ‘buckhorn’ (think wheelbarrow) style handlebars, features that can make lower-speed maneuvers difficult for your novice, and can hinder the novice’s understanding of the crucial skill of counter steering. Feet-forward controls can be awkward for a beginner. Operation of foot controls from a floorboard position, rather than footpegs, requires slightly different motor-skills, and can develop slightly inappropriate muscle-memory movements for your apprentice. The increased rake of the front-forks make slow-speed, parking-lot maneuvers more difficult, since the forks and handlebars tend to ‘flop’ to one side or the other at lower speeds, making transiting loose surfaces, such as sand or gravel, more intimidating for a beginner.
They may be attracted to sport-bikes. These motorcycles can feature a fairly extreme ‘lean-forward’ riding position and generally high engine-power-output. These features can also hinder a new rider’s learning during the crucial first riding season. The riding position can make it difficult for them to use the rear-view mirrors, and to check the blind-spot when making lane-changes and managing traffic. The increased weight on the forearms and wrists can fatigue a new rider quickly, making it more difficult to operate the motorcycle smoothly and precisely.
To the extent you have some influence with regard to style of motorcycle a standard configuration might be the best choice. Standard-style characteristics include an upright riding position, handlebars which are near-perpendicular to the fore-aft line of the bike (helping the novice better learn counter steering), and footpegs situated nearly underneath the rider’s seat. Engine-power characteristics, of course, can vary widely. Surprisingly, the ‘dual-sport’ style category is often an excellent choice for a learner, too; they are light, forgiving, drop-able with little or no damage, easy to pick up, and highly maneuverable.
Next, consider size and fit. A bike should fit the rider well. The weight of the bike is a major consideration here, as is the center-of-gravity. The novice should be able to lean the bike from side to side somewhat, and still feel confident they can control the bike’s weight. Seat-height should be low enough so that the novice can reach the ground comfortably, with confidence. The rider’s arms should be able to reach the handlebars without extreme reaching, and the controls should be suitable to the hand-size and hand-strength of the novice. Motorcycles with adjustable ergonomics – seat-height, handlebar position, front-brake and clutch levers – can make the first riding season much more comfortable and profitable. What about engine size?
The important considerations are engine-power output, and the power-delivery characteristics. The novice’s first street motorcycle may feature an engine with sufficient power for use on Interstate highways, once their skills have developed to the point where they should be on such roadways, but an initial bike with less-than-Interstate power could be an excellent choice. Consider a power-output range of perhaps 25hp-50hp as a broad guideline.
Don’t get caught up in the CCs debate. Focus on the actual power output, and the delivery characteristics; a newer rider will benefit from an engine with a broad power-band, one which has a majority of the rated torque-output available from lower engine speeds. Try to steer a trainee away from engines that produce high peak horsepower, albeit it within a narrow RPM band which is usually near the engine’s red-line. For the beginner, a torque-biased engine is much easier to operate, and more forgiving than a horsepower-biased performance engine.
More than a few new riders are prone to select, as their first motorcycle, one with, frankly, too much engine and too much weight. Overly-powerful, heavy bikes hinder the novice’s learning. They are likely to learn faster when they are able to confidently explore the greater part of their new bike’s capabilities.
Another mechanical consideration is the ease of operation of the clutch; they should be able to easily deal with the clutch ‘pull,’ and the clutch should feature a broad, soft, easy-to-modulate friction-zone (the area of travel in the clutch-lever where the engine’s power is partially connected to the rear-wheel). Machines whose clutch operation more closely resembles a light-switch should be avoided!
Preparing To Mentor
If your new motorcycle buddy has completed professional new-rider motorcycle training, become familiar with the material yourself. Learn the specific and precise vocabulary used by the instructors to most effectively and efficiently convey the proper physical movements and actions. These students have learned to “squeeze” the front brake, (NEVER use the word ‘Grab’) to “press” on the rear-brake, to “lift” or “press” on the gearshift lever, and to “ease” the clutch-lever. They have learned to “press” on the handle grip on the side of the intended direction of travel to make the motorcycle lean, and therefore, turn in the intended direction. They’ve learned to look all the way through the intended direction of travel. Learn and use these particular words when discussing motorcycle operation. Review, if you are able, the textbook they brought home from the motorcycle class. Be prepared to deflate a common “motorcycle mumpsimus” (mumpsimus: a persistent belief in a mistaken idea, i.e. the moon is made of green cheese) that using or over-using the friction-zone is tantamount to ‘riding the clutch,’ and will prematurely wear the clutch out. Not so! Motorcycle clutches, both wet and dry, are designed to be slipped and ‘ridden,’ and are meant to be used to properly and precisely control the motorcycle at low speeds. Premature wear is simply not an issue. Additionally, review the steps in shifting gears, in using the brakes, and the proper turning sequence so that your advice is consistent.
The BMW MOA Foundation’s MotoSafe is intended to present responsible viewpoints on thoughtful and safe motorcycling skills and practices; the authors, the Foundation, the BMW MOA and the Owners News do not guarantee readers’ personal safety, and can take no responsibility for readers’ application of this material.
BMW MOA members who are professional motorcycle safety trainers are invited to submit articles for inclusion in MotoSafe Please contact Roger Wiles (roger@rogerwiles.com or 9223 Hill St, Blairsville, GA 30512) for submission guidelines and instructions.
The BMW MOA Foundation is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt Public Educational Foundation dedicated to increasing and promoting the safe and enjoyable sport of motorcycling to all members of the moto-community. Tax-exempt donations to the Foundation will provide funding for current and new Foundation Projects & Programs. Contact Foundation Headquarters at: PO Box 3982, Ballwin, MO 63022 - (636) 394-7277 - for further information.