Motorcycle Riding Tips

No matter whether you’re a new rider or an experienced motorcyclist, there is always room for improvement in your riding skills. With some diligence and patience, you can improve your riding ability so that you’re more confident and comfortable on your road trips. We’ve provided the following motorcycle riding tips to help you brush up on your skills and improve your riding game.

Braking

It can be difficult to become accustomed to braking at high speeds while riding a motorcycle if you’re used to driving passenger cars. Motorcycles have two wheels, which becomes relevant in braking as most of your braking power is focused on the front wheel. You need to apply both sets of brakes simultaneously when you stop, but your front brake will do more of the work. If you’re just starting as a novice rider, you’ll want to get some practice in before you hit the highway. Practice riding on an empty road to get a feel for the brakes.

Passing

When you’re passing other traffic on a bike, you have more freedom than you do in a car. The on-demand acceleration allows you to speed down freeways with ease, but you shouldn’t abuse this power. Use best safety practices and keep your impulses in check. Often in tight situations, you’ll be able to pass other traffic, but you’ll need to maximize your visibility in advance to do so. Pass only when you can legally move into the next lane. Your state’s laws generally have guidelines about when it is safe and legal to pass, so brush up on them to avoid getting a ticket or getting into an accident.

Gear Shifting

Being able to ride your motorcycle smoothly involves having familiarity with how the clutch and the gears function. If you’ve driven a manual-shift car, you likely know how steep the learning curve can be for this process. Practice is the key here, so you may want to start slow to gain confidence in your gear-shifting abilities. Your gear shifting and clutch response will differ depending on the model of the bike, so becoming familiar with how your particular bike works is also important.

Just in case you haven’t found the bike of your dreams yet, you’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of great motorcycles for sale here at Kent's Harley-Davidson®. We are your local motorcycle dealer in Abilene, TX, and we also serve San Angelo and Brownwood.