Are You Making These Common Motorcycle Mistakes?

So, you’ve gone for your motorcycle lessons, you passed your test and now you out on the open road. Using the skills you learned to ride your ways through the streets and never have to sit in traffic. Congratulations. Especially for first-time riders, there are common mistakes that usually occur due to a lack of experience. It’s normal and we've all made these mistakes and more importantly, they made so we can learn from them and improve as riders. In our latest post, we are going to discuss 4 very common mistakes beginners make on a bike.

Stalling

As a beginner, it's difficult to avoid stalling simply because of the lack of experience you have. Just like driving a car, you will learn to understand your bike as you ride, and it will become second nature. Stalling is arguably the most common mistake, however, learning to avoid this is easy as you just have to master the clutch lever and this will come with experience.  

Stalling occurs when you pull the lever all the way in which causes you to be at full throttle. Ultimately, you need to develop a feel for your friction point. Once you have experience with this, stalling will become an amusing mishap.

Ignoring Your Fuel Range

Running out of fuel is not fun. You might think this will never happen to you, but everyone who has run out of fuel thought the exact same thing so be careful. This comes down to being aware of your bike and understanding how much fuel will be required for a certain range.

What makes things even more challenging for beginners, is that some motorcycles lack fuel gauges. Your fuel range depends on how you ride, so if you find yourself always running out of fuel quite quickly, you may want to make some minor adjustments to your riding style. Fortunately, finding a spot to fill up in an urban area is usually quite easy.

One thing you should do on a regular basis is insect the inside of your fuel tank to establish when you're getting close to empty. When doing this, make sure to always use disposable nitrile gloves to prevent your hands from becoming dirty.

Going for a joyride with Friends

For new riders, the thought of taking others on the bike with you is mind-boggling. You couldn’t think of anything better to do with your day. For seasoned, experienced riders, having someone jump on the back generally doesn’t make the day more exciting, at all.  This is only because we’ve felt the early rush you experiencing when you first start out riding.

This first thing to remember is that your passenger's safety is your responsibility, they trust that you know what you are doing and that you have done this before. The second thing to remember is that the handling and dynamics of a motorcycle are different when riding alone compared to when you’re with a passenger.

It’s best to make 100% sure that you are ready to take someone out for a ride. Driving alone for your first few months is advisable before having anyone join you.

Always Wanting to Ride

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to ride all the time. But what we as motorcyclists must remember is that our method of transport is not the safest. It’s not as safe as a car because of how exposed we are. The more often you are out there on the road, the higher the chance of something going wrong, and that’s just the truth. This applies to any rider. But why this particularly applies to new riders is because you have yet to master your bike, so by putting yourself out on the road all the time you are not giving yourself a chance to ease into it.

It’s almost the same as starting out in a gym lifting weights, you are not going to be at the gym all day lifting weights much heavier than what you can carry. You want to ease into this and work your way up to that level.

All these mistakes are common. We have all made them starting out and it’s important to accept that as a new rider you will make mistakes. But of all the things in this post remember this; an expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made.

Motorcycle Training Perth

Are you looking for motorcycle lessons in Perth? At MTWS, we provide 1-on-1 motorcycle training to ensure you have the required skills to excel in motorbike riding. Contact us today for more information or book a lesson now.