What tends to be the biggest problems for beginner bikers?

Answer 1

1. They think it's like driving a car. This leads to the panic stomp with the right foot onto the rear brake (aka "highside lever").

2. They fail to wear proper gear. How much of the rest of your body is that full face helmet really going to protect?

3. They get addicted to twisting the throttle. Anyone can go fast in a straight line, but it takes skill to stop quickly and turn correctly at speed.

4. They buy a bike they can "grow into" for their first one. All this does is allow them to get in WAY over their skill level, where they panic and freeze up instead of taking the correct actions to avoid crashing. You want your first bike, not your last (cliche, but true).

5. They don't take a beginner motorcycling course or jump in blindly without doing some research first. Over 85% of first year crashes are riders that have never had a formal training course. It's only about $250, will lower your insurance premiums, and could save your life. Perhaps this should have been #1.

Answer 2

I agree with all the above, but it depends on whether you mean a raw beginner, or someone who has just got his licence.

With a raw beginner, it tends to be the slow speed stuff - starting off (esp on hills), U-turns, avoiding obstacles, coming to a smooth stop. All these are covered in learner's courses, and it is almost imperative to do one (I think in most places, they are compulsory nowadays). These basic skills come with practice, and are not too difficult to learn. (Incidentally, that's why I think ALL learners should start on a 250 or something like that, where they can practice on a bike that's esy to handle.)

If you mean a 'beginner' who has his licence, and is starting to learn road skills at higher speeds, then there are two things:
- Stopping safely (riders will have learnt 'set up and squeeze' in their learners' course, and should pratice it at higher speeds). It's OK to ride at the legal limit of, say 100km/hr, but you MUST be confident at stopping from that speed.
- Cornering. Most bad accidents with newer riders are single riders on curves (ie they've gone in too fast for their ability, and not known what to do).
A previous ansswerer was right - it is IMPERATIVE to know that the bike goes where you look, and to go round a corner you must look round the corner - far much more deliberately than you would when driving a car. Many accidents are caused by 'target fixation' - if your eyes are fixed on the tree or ditch, that's where the bike will go. It sounds a bit daunting, but by taking it easy and concentrating, it soon becomes second nature.

Most newer riders I've known are concerned about learning 'counter steering'; when you push the bar to the left, in order to go right , but if you concentrate on looking where you want to go, counter steering comes naturally.

Answer 3

Without a doubt the biggest problem for beginners is lack of knowledge, which only comes with experience, The more miles you do the better rider you will become, simple as! :)

Answer 4

Riders looking straight at a corner vs through a corner. Or straight at the car in front of them vs. looking for a way around a potential accident. You go where you look. Proper training will get people the fundamentals, but only practice and time will get people to be good at it. Even me with 18 years of experience makes this mistake occasionally.

Answer 5

Balance and of course the weight of the bike. I changed from a bandit 600 to an xjr 1300 a few years ago and the weight difference took some getting used to.

Answer 6

# 1 STOPPING
65% of your braking ower comes from your front brake. Most new riders are afraid of the front brake. They are afraid the wheel will skid and dump them. Learn how to stop your bike quickly. Learn how to apply as much front brake as you can without skidding front tire. emergency stops MUST have a lot of front brake or you will hit the object that you are trying to avoid.

# 2 FOLLOWING TO CLOSE
Again, you will need to know the above if you make this mistake.
Another reason for NOT following the car ahead of you to closely, is, when you are (lets say) headed west, following a car too closely, the on coming traffic (headed east) will not see a bike in back of tha car you are following and may turn in front of you as soon as the car in front of you clears him. This has resulted in many deathsand orrible accidents.


Ride safe, I hope this helps


ME=Harley rider 40 yrs on a couple wheels

Answer 7

Learning how to take off. You get scared when you feel your bike start to move and let off the clutch a little too fast. That was my biggest problem. Now I own 3 motorcycles. All power to ya babe.

Answer 8

i agree with most of what the others are saying,,,however one thing alot of people overlook is.....knowing what gear the bike is in and knowing what gear the bike should be in......knowing how to read the sound of the engine and the pull of the bike takes practice to learn. when i first started riding,it took me a while to be able to judge what gear to shift to compared to the speed that i was traveling.

Answer 9

Stupidity. Lack of experience, not being constantly aware of their surroundings. Riding too much bike, more power than they can responsibly handle.

Answer 10

Stopping and steering ( plus not getting run over/falling off due to bad throttle/brake control)