Learning to Ride a Motorcycle
A practical outline to get your motorcycle endorsement...
If you or someone you know might be interested in motorcycle riding, here are some general guidelines to accomplish that goal. For the following steps, you will need to borrow or purchase a helmet (that fits correctly) and some gloves; and you'll need to wear a jacket, pants, and sturdy ankle-high shoes.
1. If you have never been on a motorcycle before (or if it's been a really long time), find a good rider that you trust, and ride on the back of their bike as a passenger. This way you can find out if motorcycle riding is something you are interested in pursuing further.
2. Next, borrow a small motorcycle and find a big parking lot, and find someone who will teach you how the motorcycle controls work and how to operate the bike. In a couple of hours you should be somewhat functional riding around the parking lot.
3. If you're still interested in moving forward, practice for an hour or two for several days on that small motorcycle in a parking lot. Also practice "cone work" (i.e., performing turns, stops, etc.) around stationary orange safety cones in that parking lot. When you are able to steer, stop, start, maneuver, and shift the motorcycle comfortably, you are ready for the next step.
4. At this point, you are ready to go ride on the street, and you need to make the decision of financial and time investment.
It's time to purchase your own helmet and gloves (if you didn't already do that previously).
You will also need to go to your State's DMV and get a learner's permit. This will most likely require a vision test and a written / online test. Your State's DMV website will have a motorcycle handbook that you should study, and you can also find practice tests online.
In this step is the need for a motorcycle that you can ride on the street: borrowing one from someone you know, or even purchasing an older bike that you can re-sell later on.
Also included in this step is finding yourself a motorcycle mentor (or two): someone you trust and who is willing to ride with you on the street.
We suggest riding about 500 miles (at least) on the street with your permit before going through the endorsement process. This may seem like a lot, but riding 25 miles on some nice roads to lunch and riding back is 50 miles in a couple of hours... do this for two or three months (say, ten weekends), and you have 500 (fun!) miles. Go riding in both rural and urban areas. Put gas in your bike. Check the oil. Read the owner's manual. Stop by some motorcycle dealerships and shops. Meet LOTS of cool motorcyclists!
5. You are now ready for the endorsement testing process! And you generally have a couple of choices depending on which State you live in...
Set up an appointment with your State's DMV to perform a skills test in their parking lot with some safety cones. This is generally quite simple and very easy to complete. You can find videos on YouTube to see how these tests are performed. If you pass this test (and you easily will with the 500 miles of practice that you've done!), you will receive a motorcycle endorsement on your State driving license.
You can also sign up for a class with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (https://www.msf-usa.org/) or Riders Edge (through Harley Davidson). This will cost between $200 to $300, and will usually consist of 2.5 days of training. They provide a small motorcycle, some class instruction, a parking lot with LOTS of safety cone work, and then a final skills test with those same cones. If you pass their test (and you should with the 500 miles of previous practice and their instruction), you will receive a document to bring to your DMV to get your endorsement without having to take the DMV's skill test.
While both of these approaches (DMV skills test or a training class) end with the same result of receiving a motorcycle endorsement, the class is actually additional training over-and-above what you need for an endorsement. The skills you learn in a training class will give you a significant amount of additional confidence in yourself and your bike.
6. So you've made it step 6! You have an endorsement... now what?! Purchase a motorcycle (if you haven't already), and go ride. Go find others to ride with - family, friends, co-workers, via social websites, etc.
7. Keep a mindset of learning... buy motorcycle magazines, do maintenance on your bike, go to advanced riding classes, etc.
We hope to see you soon on two wheels!
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact ShiftingGearsRaleigh@gmail.com