Why you do not teach your friend how to ride your motorcycle

video overview

In the below video we see a guy who is sitting on a high-powered sports bike who appears to have no idea what he is doing but is eager to learn how to ride a bike. His friend in the white shirt, who seems to be the owner of the bike, is instructing him on how to ride the bike. The camera man says a few words of peanut gallery material - but nothing resembling instruction.

the crash

The noob rider grabs the throttle and lets out the clutch fully - sending the bike to hurl forward, flying into the air, and throwing the rider off the bike.

the brief report

If you have read over our section on motorcycle training you will know that learning how to ride a motorcycle should be done via a motorcycle training course - not from your friend.

the detailed report

1 second

The rider is missing some key protective gear. Although he does get points for having a full-face helmet and what appear to be heavy-duty construction boots - a motorcycle jacket and gloves are missing. The rider is wearing pants - which are a step up from shorts. Whether his pants are thick stitched jeans that would provide some protection or cotton cargo pants that would tear easily - is too hard to tell in the video.

5 seconds

We see the rider sitting on the bike looking nervous. The camera man asks 'what's the matter?' and the rider replies that he's scared. If you are on a motionless bike and are scared - get off the bike (turn off the ignition and drop the kickstand first if not already done).

Being in a comfortable, rational, sober, state of mind is highly important when riding a motorcycle - lucky for you this is something you can control. You as a rider should feel as comfortable sitting on a bike you are about to ride as you would sitting in your favorite armchair in your living room. To get to that level you need to educate yourself on what you are getting into by knowing how to control the bike and be aware of and accept the risks of riding the bike.

This is not exclusively for first time riders either. Experienced riders who are trying a new bike for the first time, such as a larger sized engine bike that they are not used to must also take this to heart.

14 seconds

The noob rider shows obvious signs that he has no idea what to do. His friend has to help him find the kickstand, shift into gear (he does this with his hand instead of telling his friend how to shift gears), even press the ignition switch!

With this much lack of knowledge of the bike the noob rider is destined to fail - which he does.

46 seconds

The bike is now running and we can see the rider still has his right foot off of the foot peg and it is dangling over the side of the bike. You should always be able to balance the bike using your left foot only when the bike is not in motion and your right foot should remain on the right footpeg.

47 seconds

The rider grabs the throttle and lets out the clutch - which eventually sends him flying off the bike. Slowly twisting the throttle and gradually letting out the clutch is the correct way to set the bike in motion. The rider panicked and did not know what to do. If you find yourself in a panic - pull in the clutch, applied both the front and rear brake, and downshift gears to slow / stop the bike and regain control.

end

We can see that the area they are practicing in is empty - but it appears to be at the back of an industrial complex. This may not be the best place to be practicing in case a trunk coming into the lot to make a delivery whips around the corner while you are practicing a slow speed turn.