How difficult is it to learn to ride a motorcycle if I never learned to ride a bicycle?

Question

I'm 46 years old and would love to ride a motorcycle. The first time I got on my neighbors 500cc Honda Silverwing, I was wobbling all over the lot.

Answer 1

Learn to ride a bike.
You need to know how to balance before you take on something heavy like a motorcycle...It can end in an accident.

Answer 2

You don't have to be able to ride a bicycle to learn how to ride a motorcycle.There are some things that you do with a bicycle that if you applied the same thing to riding a motorcyle you will wreck. Forget learning to ride a bicycle first. Here in PA they offer free motorcycle safety course and provide motorcycles for the course, They are 250's and most of them are Honda Shadows. These are good training cycles and are not very expensive. They start out teaching you the trip precheck through to avoiding hazzards on the road. We had 5 people in our class who have never driven a motorcycle, one of which never even been on a motorcycle before. Everybody passed the four day class and received their license. If you were wobbling it was probably your nervousness more than anything else. Try a smaller bike and work your way up until you become more experienced. However, if this will be your first bike buy used and pay cash, get the experience of riding before moving up to bigger and more expensive bikes. I have had friends who bought big bikes like Goldwings and rode only a few times then selling them at a loss because they weren't ready for a big bike. Nothing wrong with starting small and working up to bigger later on. In fact the smaller bike will normally sell quicker when you are ready to move up, then use the money for your next bike.

Source(s):

25 years motorcycling, owner of Goldwing and Harley Sportster, member of "HOG" and Christian Motorcyclist Association.

Answer 3

A dirt bike is a great way to learn how to ride. Just get an old 70 or 80's style bike. You'll learn a lot. Plus the ground hurts a lot less than the road. A bicycle isn't the same, maybe it won't hurt to learn, but you need to try something with a throttle. Ride it in the mud to practice conditions where you are out of control. When i was taking my MC driving test the instructor told me that they can tell a difference in the people that had a dirt bike and that didn't. I've been riding since i was 16 and see a lot of people get hurt because they don't know what they're doing. Good luck

Answer 4

The Honda Silverwing is an outdated 2 cylinder V engine motorcycle. Very top heavy and hard to control for a first time rider. I suggest you learn how to ride on a lightweight motorcycle first. Take the MSF ( motorcycle safety foundation) course, or look in the phone book under motorcycle driver training. Either one will teach you how to ride a tiny bike, until you know what you're doing.

Answer 5

thats a pretty good bike to learn on....mabye a cx500 would be better(a silverwing w/out the bags and stuff)if your scared and shaking the bars and stuff,youll have to get over that first...dont go with a bike bigger than that to start...i owned a moped(indian)at 14,a 1975 honda cl-360 at 15,also a 2 cycle yamaha rd350,and a 1974 honda CB750 4 cyl when i was 17,then a harley sportster(1979)when i turned 18...now 25yrs later, a kawasaki mean streak 1500..start small and work your way up...no matter your age,you had better know what your doin'before you go out on a 500lb bike(mines over 600)....take your time...and ride safe.

Answer 6

in most of the states you have to go through a course in-order to get a license. it is a very good start for beginners. they teach you everything from the basics. and of the 4th day you will be riding up and down ur street. i would get a used 250cc or 500cc bike not a sports bike a ride every day at least for riding miles before hitting the bigger streets and interstate. Ride around your neighborhood first then bigger streets. Do not forget your helmet.

Answer 7

My friend 26 and his brother 48 (I know big difference of age) he has a nephew who is also 26...well, the point is that both of them had never ride a motorcycle and took a 2 weekend(added up to 20 hours) class and learned, the following week they took the test and passed it, he said is not hard, so go for it it will not be hard you'll see, I know you can do it!

Answer 8

I don't know anyone on a motorcycle who hasn't learned first on a bicycle.

Seeing as you could get a used bicycle for about 25 bucks, why don't you do that first, learn the basics of how to deal with two wheels, and then move up?

You could even sell that bicycle for the same you pay for it. No need for anything fancy, just something with two wheels, steering handles, and brakes.

Answer 9

Pretty hard but not impossible I suppose. I'd think mastering a bicycle would be a great benefit before trying a motorcycle, and bicycles (usually) cost way less than a bicycle. OK, OK, I'm sure there are some bicycles that cost more than a custom Harley, but you can also buy a new $100 bicycle at KMart too......

Answer 10

A few minutes. Just takes a minute to get your balance right and the bike just about stands up by itself. Lean mostly with very little turning and read up on counter steering. Take it easy and learn to go through the gears. Take it slow and be safe. This is not a hard thing to do. The hard part is learning to do things that you should not do. I was 18 when I took a rider safety course that was required for me to get my liesen and was surprised how much I learned.