unicykle

Im pretty competive or at least used to be and if i had rode with fast riders while trying to learn id be dead so be carefull who you ride with and dont try to keep up. Kieth code” A twist of the wrist “ is a good start.

Chrishil54

Things I'd add:

• Take an introductory course to see if you really want to ride.
• Take the basic rider safety course.
• Get good insurance and keep it current.
• Don't go for flashy/fad/high priced equipment to start with. Used clothing isn't bad.
• Don't get a used helmet. It's just not worth the potential problems.
• Get a full face helmet that fits properly for your head shape AND size.
• Get a pinlock equipped visor in your helmet.
• Get help with properly fitting a helmet.
• Get rain gear. You're going to hit rain during a ride at some point.
• Get a small, used bike to start with, then after your comfortable pushing the envelope with it, look at larger bikes.
• Start each ride with the mental attitude of "Who's going to try and run me over this time".
• Prepare yourself as you are going to go down at least once while riding.
• Get life flight insurance for your area. It's better to pay it and never use it than need it and not have it.

There are advantages of classes. If you pass the basic rider course, you get a card that waives the DOL testing for your endorsement. It also can get you lower insurance rates.

Sentinel

I don't know...

Classes are a thing.

I get that many guys are into the whole class thing.

But I never went to any classes other than the mandatory parking-lot-swervies class for the Navy that I skated through in 1981 so I can't say.

I don't feel like I missed anything.

I've crashed my ass off a few times, but I'got hundreds of thousands of miles of riding in me so it's probably inevitable, odds-wise.

Although, I can say from intimate experience that it was always my own riding, mostly speed, that got me crashed.

At least, it was always at least partly my fault. And mostly they have all been fault of judgement rather than skill. But when you find yourself over your head and headed to going on your ass on the street, mostly it happens like BLAM! You're fucked before you know it, which is weird to say because sometimes it happens in excruciatingly slow motion at the same time, like a weird two-speed time thing......

But if you ride sanely, and if you ride the normal speeds you'd drive a car at, it's a whole different experience and a whole lot safer than the Hooligan Way. You could go a long time without getting into trouble.

Texasl

Even, or perhaps especially, "senior" riders such as yourself can benefit from continuing training, refreshing the skills that may have depreciated and rewrapping your head around the fine points. Trust me, training has gotten exponentially better than the 1981 vintage one handed figure eights that we did under the old program.

Chrishil54

Here I thought it was squeeze the knees so you don't fall off the Dinosaur during sudden direction changes...

Suzuki Stevo

Oh helz yes!...there is nothing better than having Muscle Memory take over when both feet are on the pegs...in a full steering lock slide...and you didn't even have to think about it, that's just one of the things riding a dirt bike will do for you

Sentinel

Yeah, that's REALLY the trick. You learn most of your mechanical skills on a small dirt bike: what the different braking combinations do, traction and loss of traction, counter-steering, sliding without crashing, WHEELIES, jumps, how to power over shit and why its often better to go faster rather than slower in situations, how to manage power, turning without crashing, how there's a LOT of ways to ride a motorcycle.

so, yeah, what he said.

Texasl

Back in "the day" if you had the velociraptor properly trained you were directing the course changes, not anticipating them.