Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Another Reason for MSF

Learning to Ride

HAHA!!!

now they look like dumb Brit kids.......!!!!!!! lol

yeah, i'm laughing cause i've never done that. well, not the last part anyway, well, not on a motorcycle anyway.

I thought the same thing was going to happen when I let my brother-in-law 'TRY' to ride an old Honda CB650 I had. He asks me one day if I would show him how to ride since he was thinking about getting a bike. "Sure", I say and we head out to the garage.
I just don't understand how some folks don't get or understand the concept of a clutch. Anyway, I explained the concept to him and he seemed to understand(or so I thought) since he said he knew how to drive a stick shift. I then took him for a ride in the neighborhood and had him watch while I explained everything.
So now it's time. "OK, you ready?". "Sure", he says. Thankfully, I was not struck with the dumb idea to get on the back of the bike. I stood right next to him, clutch side, and instructed him again with a brief review.
In an instant he was across the street where he nearly took out my neighbors mailbox. I'm yelling, "PULL IT IN...PULL IT IN". What does that mean? Now, what I meant to hollar was, "Squeeze the clutch" but I just couldn't get it out in my state of panic with the one million scenarios playing in my head. 2-3 seconds later...At this time, he's about 40-50 yards down the street and he weaved back and forth, out of control like a mad man the whole way down. Next,I think he thought he was going to just U turn the bike back on a narrow street because the next thing I see he's dropping the thing in the middle of another neighbors yard. Luckily, the ground was extremely soft that day and the ole bike just kinda sunk into the ground like landing on a nice pillow. That bike is history now and so is the probability of me ever showing anybody how to ride on any bike of mine!

I don't think it's the clutch as much as the throttle. I always thought that from the first day I got on a motorcycle it went the wrong way. It would be more natural to push forward to go than to pull back to go. Hence the novas, who starts to engage the clutch and inevitably not having the feel for it, lets go too much. Then he is thrust rearward from inertia and he tries to hold on. Holding on tight to the throttle and going rearward, he inadvertently pulls the throttle rearward and the problem is compounded. The bike accelerates harder and he hangs on harder and it continues to get worse. Now the front wheel starts to come up and he's sliding off the seat and manages to wind the throttle to wide open and there is no way at this point he could close the throttle without letting go, which is the last thing he'd consider in this situation, so now he looks like Evil Kaneeval as the bike is climbing the neighbor's car like a ramp. You can get the idea.
I've seen this happen and the guy, who's name I wont mention to protect the guilty, said, "I couldn't let go"!
Now being the seasoned vets that we all are, we know which way to twist the "go" handle, and it feels natural, but a newbee wouldn't. Plus panic wipes out all rational thought, so why did they design it to twist backward??? Maybe it was to keep the inept in their cages.