Veeky Forums, I just got a loan for a Honda cb300f. I have never driven a motorcycle before however...

I've never driven a manual car, hence my asking an apparently stupid question.
So slowing down you just hold the clutch, release the throttle and downshift a gear, then release the clutch and engage the throttle?

Engine braking is more pronounced on a motorcycle.
You can lock the rear wheel by being in the wrong gear.
Just keep your gear consistent with your speed unless you really need to stop in a hurry.

Try a manual car first.

Don't have one to practice on and I'm buying the motorcycle in a few weeks. I'd just like some pointers on effective riding techniques.

Then you need to find one or someone who will let you ride a dirt bike in a field. You will have enough to worry about staying up from a stop.

Well you wouldn't be engaging the throttle if you were slowing down would you..

there's no real "this then this then this"

you pulling the clutch in, kicking the gear down, and releasing the clutch is like a half a second operation, closer to one fluid operation. do that for every gear, both up and down.

the less time the clutch is pulled in the better.

but honestly, you going to have one hell of time if you've never even driven a manual car.

Thanks, that was what I wasn't sure about. And yeah, that's what I've heard. But I've gotta learn somewhere, right? Might as well be on a motorcycle.

R3 is a good option but it's put in the Sport (instead of sport touring) insurance group where I am. Bought CB500F instead. Only an extra couple hundred to purchase but it was about 1k less in insurance.

The Duke seems pretty good but again, high insurance, and it's also the most expensive 300cc class bike.

I don't know if I'd say might as well.. but, you should probably try to get a hold of a cheap dirtbike first. Like a clapped out CR80.

300 is a great size. I did my motorcycle course on a CBR125 and, while great for the course and to pass the test (easy to handle, good at low speeds) it's far too small for real use. I ended up buying a 650, and it's realistically more than I need. It was also hard to handle at first, even after the safety course.

The Honda 300s and 500s seem to be the best starter sport bikes. Slightly underpowered for their class but they're cheap and reliable, and handle the best.

Get someone who knows how to ride to give you some tips in a parking lot. Honestly, once you get the hang of slow speed cornering, starting from a stop, and coming to a stop, riding is pretty easy. It's the slow speed stuff when you'll drop the bike, so get some pointers before when you first learn. Higher speed stuff will take some getting used to to be confident, but it's the easiest part of riding.

Not OP, but how similar is riding a real bike compared to a dirt bike?
I mean, changing gears, and everything is all the same, right? Someone once told me, if you can ride a dirt bike, you know how to ride a motorcycle.

I was told that if the gear difference is too big - e.g. a complete stop from 4..5th gear, you might not be able to shift all the way to 1st.

Well at least not without the need to push your bike back and forth. Can be a dangerous thing when you need to must take off at green light in traffic.

Yea, dogboxes like to have torque on them or you miss gears.
You can see it in race cars when they clunk in low speed corners if they shift down too slow, it's sometimes hard to get it into a lower gear once it's moving too slow.

but it wont be an issue if you just do it the right way and go down through them quickly releasing the clutch every time. at least until you get to 2nd then you can put it in neutral if you want.

1. Take the MSF Course

2. For the first 2-3 days of riding, go out really early in the morning when no one is on the road around 5AM. This will help you familiarize yourself with the bike without worrying about idiots around you tailgating or getting mad

3. Find somewhere to practice right turns. Left turn are easy because you can go much wider but right turns are much tighter so it's difficult to get corrrect

Other than that, good luck

>Taking out a loan to buy a luxury item
>Buying a motorcycle new
>Never ridden before

It's like I'm really in a LPG thread.

Take the MSF course first.

Don't engage the throttle again unless you're stopped, that will just speed
you up
Truth behind this. Even going slow you can get it to lock, sure it's only a couple inches if you're slow, but it might scare you(good way to learn)

Get a decent everything, helmet, jacket, gloves, pants and boots.

Make sure your gloves have a decently thick amount of leather on the palms because if you come off the first thing you're gonna do is stick your hands out to cushion the blow.

Boots have saved my ankles three times now so don't skimp on them either. Ankle reconstruction is a fucking bitch and you don't want to have to go through it so get full length boots, not those "motorcycle sneaker" looking things.

>financing your first bike

Not recommended, but w/e.

Change down progressively as the speed drops.

You need to be in the correct gear for your speed (i.e. not coasting in fourth or fifth with the clutch in at ~20mph) because you need to have the option of darting forwards in any given situation. Plus motorcycle gearboxes don't like changing down all the gears at once and won't let you change down more than one or two gears if you're stopped anyway.

Coasting with the clutch in is poor riding technique honestly.

Ive been riding 5 years and never had a bike with ABS or felt like i needed it. Not saying its bad or i would prefer not to have it but to say a new rider must have it i feel is overkill. Every bike ive had stopped pretty damn well on its own.

The mechanics of it is pretty similar. I learned how to ride a dirt bike first. The biggest difference is riding on the street where everyone is playing with their phone or radio. You have to be a lot more alert and defensive because of all the soccer moms in their 3 ton Suburbans

I've been riding 15 and never had ABS, well I have, it's called experience and learning to control a lock up. I sometimes wonder how motorcyclists have coped for the last decade without it, including racers.

Also, fuck the usual 250/300 bullshit, OR the new bike crap.

Get a bike that has enough power to keep you interested for more than 2 months, but not so aggressive that you kill yourself in less than 1

Better to be a faggot than having your flesh smeared across the pavement because you thought you were too cool to wear leather.

you don't even need to clutch, just rev up and kick down

The sticky is shit on dbt.
They don't even have a decent list of bikes

>he needs a list of bikes
so who are you going to talk to after you get your magical cb300f?
get a 4banger or get fucked desu

Seconded on a 300 on this basis. I'm riding a 125 at the moment and I feel pretty vulnerable on it, it's just not fast enough for the manic traffic where I live. When I've ridden a 600 on a lesson, I felt much more confident.

My advice would be first of all to focus on gear. You want a full set of clothes and a good helmet.

The UK 'SHARP' rating is a good place to look at helmets because they are independently tested. The difference between a 1* (which is still legal) and a 5* is enormous, and could cost you your life. A decent lid should be your top priority.

As another user in the thread said, full size boots will save your ankles, and gloves will save the palms of your hands. As for jacket and pants, I'd recommend textile for your first set as they tend to be a bit more versatile.

Don't bother buying a new bike for your first one. You're going to drop it. Doesn't matter how careful you are, you WILL fuck up at some point and drop it. First time I dropped my bike was when I didn't put the side stand down all the way, and it folded in. Luckily got away with little more than a scuffed bar end, but the bike wasn't worth much to begin with.

You should probably start on a naked bike for similar reasons. If you drop a naked, you might ding a bar end or similar. If you drop a sports bike, you might crack a fairing. Plus, it's much easier to get into the basics when you're in a more comfortable position.

Fuck off squid

Why are you buying something you don't need with a loan, just work for it and wait.

RT

Why do you care? It's easier to pay something off than to save up the money ahead of time for me.