Her dad is a good man
Just a few things to remember. Some of these things may seem to be obvious, but I tell them to everyone I know that gets on a bike for the first time. Unlike a car, on a bike you have nothing around you. Thats one of the beauties of riding! Its something that you truly experience and feel from head to toe. The flip side to that, is your protection from others, is what you are wearing and your ability to react to whats going on around you. Your attention has to be every where but on the bike. The more you ride, the more you will understand this. Your sense of touch and hearing, let them inform you of what the bike is doing. When you need to shift gears, let your ears tell you that the revs have climbed to a point that you need to shift. Your sight MUST always be on everything around you. Looking down at your bikes dash for anything, is more than enough time for something to happen. On a bike, you need every split second to react to whatever.
NEVER EVER ride in peoples blind spots. ALWAYS be in a place where drivers can see you. If you need to pass someone, pass them quickly. People nowadays are doing everything while driving. When I do street ride, which isnt too often these days, I pay attention to drivers' heads and not so much their cars. People's head movements will give you a good idea of what they are about to do, long before they actually do it. This will give you extra time to react if you need to.
Braking... 100% of your braking can and should be done with the front brake. Unlike on a bicycle, you dont want to use the rear brake. Locking up the rear can get you in more trouble than you want. Practice braking in an empty parking lot. You will be amazed at how quickly that single front disk can stop you. This is a homework assignment! We want a full report after your first parking lot session.
Steering...The complete opposite of riding a bicycle. To steer a motorcycle properly, you have to counter-steer. This is another parking lot assignment. Your input into the bars is actually opposite of the direction you want to go in. If you want to make a right hand turn, just give a slight pull towards you on the left handlebar. Your bike will gracefully start to bank into a right hand turn. The more you practice this, the better. I know of a few guys, that while trying to avoid hitting something, have steered right into it, because they didnt practice this technique.
Riding a motorcycle on roads today, is way more risky than it use to be. Operating a motorcycle today, has to be like breathing. How many times a day do you think about breathing??? You dont. Operating a motorcycle has to be like breathing, something thats second nature to you. Something you do without thinking about it, so your attention can be spent on everything around you.
Im going to bed now. Looking forward to hearing about your homework assignments!
