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While a very rare few of us are born with natural ability on a motorcycle, the majority of riders learn by doing. We try to avoid mistakes, especially painful ones, keep our eyes and ears open, and become mature in our abilities. Even the best of us can make mistakes, or have bad luck, no matter how long we’ve been riding. Nevertheless, how did we evolve from that timid newbie, cautiously releasing the clutch so as not to stall the bike AGAIN, into the motorcyclists we are now (or who we want to be), brimming with confidence? Here are a few of the things we learned along our journey about how to become a confident motorcyclist: Ride In All Sorts of Weather Conditions Get out and ride in the wet, the cold, at night, in the fog, in the blazing heat. Learn how to deal with these conditions before you’re on a quiet ride and get caught out. Riding in challenging conditions requires specialized skills that can only really be learned via experience. How will the bike react to hard braking in the wet? How much traction do you have when your tires are cold? How do extreme temperatures effect your attention and physical ability? Gain this knowledge and you will be confident no matter what the weather does The Day You Stop Riding Is The Day You Stop Learning No matter how many miles you’ve done, no matter how old you are, you can learn something valuable every time you strap your helmet on. But you have to be receptive to the lessons – after you hit a certain skill level as a rider, it’s easy to start thinking you’ve got it nailed. But we can always improve, whether it’s body positioning, smoothness, balance, etc. Approach your ride with intent; know what you’d like to improve and commit to working on it while you ride. Of course, the road can always throw lessons your way when you least expect it, so being truly present on the bike is essential. Ride Offroad Riding in the dirt teaches you how to deal with variable traction, obstacles, and requires you to be physical on the bike. You might not need these skills every time you ride on the street, but eventually a situation will arise when you will. Riding off road will program these skills into your brain, and they become an automatic response. It’s simple: if you know how to control a bike that’s lost traction off road, then if it happens to you on road, you won’t freak out: you’ll apply those skills, without thinking about it. All the top guys in MotoGP train on off road motorcycles, and those guys are the best in the world. Learn How To Perform Basic Maintenance On Your Bike Basic maintenance on your bike is not tremendously difficult to learn. Changing the oil, checking tire pressures, lubricating the chain and keeping everything clean is something every motorcyclist could and should do. If you know how your bike is supposed to look, sound, and perform, then if a problem develops you will notice it sooner. In fact, it is important to go over your bike before every ride to ensure everything is working properly. Absorb Good Advice, Ignore Bad Advice Riders are friends with other riders. Just because someone has been riding longer than you does not automatically mean they are more skilled, or have good habits on the bike. Use common sense – watch how your friends ride, and emulate the ones see who ride smoothly, and safely. There is always time to go faster, but what is most important is to have a good foundation of skills on the bike and be steady. Author’s Bio Benson Munroe in this article educates his reader how to be confident when riding their motorbike. He further explored the importance of bike maintenance.
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