#NewRider

When it comes to motorcycles, sharing life’s experiences is truly magical. Whether that’s hitting the highway for an extended tour, a night ride into the country, learning to do it in the dirt, or just a Saturday morning java run, it’s always better with buddies.

If you want to play an instrument well, how do you go about it? Focused academic study perhaps, or take lessons, join a band, watch YouTube, connect with friends – or maybe just muck about until something clicks. Well, the same might be said for learning to ride well. Some of the best racers and riders in history were essentially self-taught… especially prior to the industry becoming so specialized. But really, the best way isn’t through such trial and error – it’s formal training.

The United States is a big place with tons of states, but fortunately, the motorcycle licensing rules and requirements are similar in many of them. This can be true even from largest to smallest bike states. For instance, with nearly 1 million registrations, New York tops the list for “active” motorcycles, followed closely by California and then Florida in third. On the flip side, little Delaware and Rhode Island have only about 25,000 registrations apiece. Now, among these states, in California, fledgling riders can get a “learners” permit at age 15 ½, but in Delaware the rule is 17 years old. Other states may further differ, but likely not by much.

When learning to handle boats, bikes, and boa constrictors, as a universal truth it’s better to start off small and work up from there. That’s because skills build over time, and at first, smaller and lighter means easier to handle. Fortunately, in the case of motorcycles, there’s a lot to love in the small-displacement ranks. The ride experience is enchanting, and some models even share technology with image-leading flagships, including electric starting and fuel injection, liquid-cooling, and disc brakes with ABS.

The marriage of the early 20th Century “safety bicycle” and a simple engine created the motorcycle template as we now know it. As such, at their design core, motorcycles are simple, efficient devices, a trait they’ve possessed for over 120 years. But it takes more than efficiency to ensure the survival and evolution of any consumer product. The secret other ingredient is that motorcycles feed us on some essential levels, from the joy of being in motion, to rewarding us for problem solving, to promoting social interactions, to building a skillset that “normal” folks don’t possess. Read on for seven reasons you might want to ride a motorcycle.

Every motorcycling parent dreams of their child expressing interest in the sport. For me it started with a request to be taken for rides on the back of my bike, but then one magnificent day, she asked, “Can I learn to ride?” I’ve always wanted my kids to be interested in riding, but I was not going to pressure them. I’ve supported them in their interests (from ballet for my oldest to competitive gymnastics for my youngest) and tried to avoid pushing them into mine. So, when my 13 year old asked me, I sprung into action. What I didn’t know is that I would end up learning almost as much about myself and my daughter as she did about riding motorcycles. 

My daughter had Monday off from school, and she spent a good portion of the day learning how to draw hair curls. Periodically, she’d express frustration, as only an eleven-year-old can, with her inability to make her ringlets as good as those in the instructional video, and I’d have to remind her that the artist had probably performed this task many, many times, and these were only her first few attempts. 

Picture it: you’re cruising along without a care in the world. The weather is beautiful, the roads are perfect, and your motorcycle is singing its lovely tune. Off in the distance you see a grade along the path – an incline known to make motorists struggle in their cars. It doesn’t faze you, though – you’re on a motorcycle, one easily capable of powering up the hill without a problem. Then it happens: you get caught at a red light right as you’re in the middle of climbing the grade.

Welcome to motorcycling! Maybe you just bought your first bike or are about to do it. Either way, you’ve probably realized that you’ll need to buy more than just a motorcycle. Motorcycle gear can get really expensive really quickly, but you don’t need to spend a fortune (which you probably don’t have since you just bought your first bike) to keep yourself comfortable while riding or protect yourself in a mishap. While all motorcycle safety gear is important, there is a hierarchy of necessity. Since the assumption of this article is that you’re short on cash, we’ll work our way down the list.

What’s the best first bike?

Riders entering the ranks of motorcyclists often face a bewildering cascade of unique terms – and that’s before we consider the alphabet soup of motorcycle names. Perhaps no motorcycling descriptor confuses neophytes more than “friction zone.” However, new riders will never be able to smoothly pull away from a stop without a proper understanding of what the friction zone represents and how to use it correctly.

At Motorcycle.com, we care deeply about all aspects of motorcycling, and one of the most important issues facing our recreation and transportation is how to reach the next generation of riders. Our love for motorcycling is hard-wired into our beings, so it’s vexing for us to imagine fun-loving youth not being enthralled by the thrills and benefits of riding on two wheels. And yet we’re seeing troubling statistics that point to a disinterest in motor vehicles, an issue I highlighted in an editorial a couple of years ago.

Your friendly Motorcycle.com staff has been there. Really. We all remember that moment when we decided we wanted to become motorcyclists. We will also never forget the day we threw a leg over our first street motorcycle. No moment in life – with the possible exception of parenthood – has so many hopes and fears associated with it.

We’ve all been there. Really. We were new riders once. We understand where you’re at: You’ve just bought your first motorcycle. You’re all excited to be riding your new (or new-to-you) bike home, you park your bike and stand back to admire it – and then it hits you: Now what do I do?