Who taught you?
 

So who taught you how to ride?

Taught myself. Was a total squid.

Then I discovered some local forums, started riding with peeps, and learned to not be a squid.

Yay.

Started on my Honda 50, and I'd say really no one taught me, I knew where all the controls were and gear pattern etc... I grew up around bikes to that point, dad brought it home, I let my older cousin ride it first. Then I jumped on it and the rest was history.

How or who told you were the controls were?

Taught myself for the most part. My dad helped as well.

I wanted a motorcycle as far back as I can remember, I had brochures that I slept with, looked at, drooled over, would pretend that I was riding my father or uncles bike all the time would sit on them and blast away in my own imagination.

A friend down the street had his before I had mine so maybe I picked something up from his as well, I was 7 or 8 when I got mine.

first MSF.
then, seat time.
now, still learning.

My dad and then my husband....and then MSF.

My buddy howie showed me how to ride on his (very old) Goldwing started out with just going straight then moved up to turns, I had ridden dirt bikes and quads so there wasnt much for me to learn

My father..........23 years ago....the rest is history. :rockwoot:

Taught myself. I literally got on my bike and took off as if I was riding a bicycle. I wasn't sitting there for 30 minutes like you see people on youtube doing trying to figure out what is what. My dad yelled out to wait for him but I was already heading down the road.

I don't know. I just didnt have any of the unbalance or stumbling as most folks do. My father can vouch for me on this.

Dad. I was 10. A chain linked fence was my first set of brakes.

Taught myself.

Bought my bike in Orlando, FL. Learned how to use the clutch, the shifter and the brakes on Orange Blossom Trail, a 20 mile stretch of road that runs from Kissimmee, FL to north of Orlando, FL. I think every half mile is a stop light, so 2 trips up and down that road pretty well cemented my control use.

Amazing, isn't it? It was one of the few things in my life that came naturally.

No one in the family rides and no friends ride. It was MSF for me.

my dad showed me where the controls were and the rest was history.

Ex boyfriend who was an MSF instructor.

I've always been good at not falling down. Yea, sounds funny. I guess after many many years of riding a bicycle, watching my bro ride his dirt bike (years before me riding), and watching tons of youtube vids, my brain just took over. Plus, it was a ninja 250. Haha

So you got what you needed out of him?

I learned from this guy sadly...
(Video shot before I owned a motorcycle)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_vMhyaZwU0

Then here is me a month after I got my first motorcycle...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl1d8hH5gYA

And I believe a couple weeks into riding...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1VCVN4UZ30

But I learned more stuff (and safety) from many of the people on here from TWF which has helped me a ton.

My dad. when i was a kid.

If you mean a love of motorcycles then yes I did. :D

We were broken up before I got into bikes. :wink:

I bought my own Honda 50 when I was about 9 or 10 from a neighborhood kid for $30 when he couldn't get it to crank. I pushed it home, put a new plug in it and took off. I knew what the controls were, don't remember how, and pretty much taught myself. After that my dad got a Suzuki dualsport 400, don't remember the model, and I could ride it when I could barely touch the pegs. I'd kickstart it on the side stand and ride it off, to stop I had to come to a stop and slide off the seat to touch the ground on one side. Then I started riding on the street in 98 or 99. I was way rusty, it was easier when I was 10 :lol: It didn't take me long to get the basics back but it was a good 2-3 years before I'd say I was "good" again.

To ride? A friend who took the MSF 2 weeks earlier...

To RIDE?! www.elitetrackdays.com

I did. MSF came later.

My dad bought me a Yamaha MX80G in 1981....one of the dozen or so times in my life I can remember him doing anything or wanting to see me.

Been riding ever since.

Brian (RIP) and Clay taught me how to ride FAST

My dad taught me how to ride on a Honda XR70 when I was probably 7. Sold that a couple years later and bought a buell blast when i turned 18. :TWF: taught me a ton when I was first starting to look at bikes. The first guy who taught me how to actually be fast was named Pete. He's 55 or so and is one of the faster guys I know. The guy who has been helping me improve since then is named Steve and is in the top 3 fastest riders I have ever met.

Msf

msf

rode to msf class sun. w/ my new bike that i had bought that sat. night.

rode to work mon. in heavy houston traffic, home in same traffic inthe rain.........lol

I was fortunate enough to learn from good friends. They had already been riding a few years when I got my first bike. They coached me very well.

Took the MSF course, learned a lot but learned even more by reading message boards and going on small group rides geared towards beginners.

One buddy and I spent an entire day doing panic breaking in a church parking lot after reading a write up another rider did on the topic.

Read, then put into pratice and pratice, pratice, pratice.

It didn't hurt that I also grew up riding dirt.

MSF

I never let my ex show me a thing which worked out well. After I learned how to ride I realized how bad a rider he is. :lol:

Was taught how to operate a clutch on a kx 80 at 6 or so.

I've been riding various mini bikes since I was 4. So, I was taught by my dad as a child.

I taught myself how to ride on the street through trial and error and reading the net.

A & M Motorcycle Safety. :dthumb:

Chris wasn't yet a coach at that time, and he REFUSED to teach me; MADE me take the class. :)

Myself...my parents didn't ride and didn't like motorcycles.

Back when I bought my first bike...a 1988 Kaw Ninja 600R I didn't even know if I'd make it home alive since it was 5:00 pm in rush hour traffic when I picked it up. I got it home just fine and then wrecked it 4 days later after locking up the front brake and collecting some asphalt rash. :wtfru:

I finally got the hang of it and have now owned probably 10 bikes and have been riding on and off for 20 years or so.

My older brother taught himself as well and several years later after joining the police department he ended up as a motorcycle cop so he did have to get actual training there.

After a few years of this he got promoted and was in charge of the motorcycle squad for the Raleigh, NC police dept. for a few years. He's now retired.

Wanted a bike
Friend new someone who was selling a 83 CB750
Showed up with cash
Knew the "high level" how to change gears stuff from reading magazines
Guy says "go ahead take it around the block"

So I did,
That was my fist lesson.

Friend rode it to my house for me...seeing that I had exactly 1 minute experience riding motorcycles.
After that it was all cake.

Nobody.

No one. I was born with super awesomely bad ass riding skill right out of the womb.

MSF then lots of seat time. I also pay close attention to other's lines, body position etc.

Myself, then the MSF. The kickstand got me at first, had to call a friend since it wouldnt start. :lol: Since then, if I see an awesomely good rider, I follow them around like a puppy, picking their brain, watching, learning what I need/like, and tossing what I dont. Some of my best friends are racers so I got lucky in that aspect, the rest of my good friends are all track day junkies with me and taught me alot.

Yeah, riding with great, skilled, experienced riders helped me develop a LOT. I still find myself learning from riders that I look up to.

read the state manual twice, former roomate taught me the gearbox on his ancient trials bike and picked everything else up following my friend kevin (rip) around through south jersey on my hurricane 600

Louie - sort of. We borrowed a friend's TTR125 and ewnt out to a friend's house - he showed me the controls and set me loose. He caught me pulling wheelies and came back out of the house. Then I took MSF and practiced on my own....then I hit the track and Novice school with about 100 street miles under my belt

Unofficially? Me - I stole my brothers CT70 one weekend and crashed into my dads boat trailer, the shed, and the fence.

Officially, my brothers and my dad all had a hand in teaching me how to ride.

Myself and comon sense, backed with a child hood of riding ATCs.

My dad showed me where the controls were(he taught me how to drive a manual car when I was 8), and sent me on my way when I was 12.
No gear, no helmet, just a borrowed exciter 250 and some enthusiasm.

This reminded me of my cousin. When he was about 10 he would ride my husband’s dirt bike around our property. He was just tall enough to reach the pegs. He had a milk crate to get on it with and he would have to yell for someone to “catch” him when he was ready to get off. :lol:

My husband taught me how to ride dirt. When I went to street riding I took the MSF class.

it wasnt necessarily motorcycles, we had a bunch of different toys around the house when I was growing up. Sleds, ATV's, my first bike was a pw50 and then a little cr ( i believe 80 or 85cc), but I was never allowed to have one after that, so it was quads and sleds till I was old enough to buy my rc51 (oddly enough, after forbidding me from having a bike for years, he cosigned for a race-bred steetbike???), the rest is history.

:lmao:

I really don't remember who taught me. I am pretty sure it was on a 4-wheel that required shifting and stuff, but no idea when or how.

One Thanksgiving I jumped on my brothers KX100 and off I went riding around Grandma's yard. I failed to remember where the rear brake was at (to use with the front) and grabbed a handful of front. I ended up crashing in the middle of the yard, but got up and continued on my way. He never lets me live that down.

my dad taught me on a honda trail 90 then a ttr 125 then a bit on a rm250 was a blast learning especially since he went riding with me when i got the basics down.

Shit I still need that for dirtbikes.

Ex taught me basics on his '88 dirt bike something or other. I took the msf a couple months later, and am pretty sure I would outride him today even if I'm not the best out there. I soak in as much as I can from others, I am fortunate to know many very experienced riders. Can't wait to get back on the track.

I taught myself... obsessed about motorcycles long before I was financialy able to buy one... and just did my research... then when time came... jumped on and took it slow.

that being said... the MSF course I took two years later, taught me a lot (only rode about 2 months of that two years as it was when I moved to AK)

Now that you mention that my neighbor when I was 12 (in 1996) who is now a good friend of mine got a CBR600 F2 (Red and White and beautiful). At 12 I thought it was the coolest thing ever and obsessed with street bikes while friends wanted dirt bikes (I got a Snapper lawnmower instead). He taught me early on about safety, gear, and how you use a lot of front brake vs rear brake.

Msf.

I gotta question for ya'll.

Has anyone here that didn't take the MSF when they started riding wish they had?

After 8 years and 60,000 I feel that a MSF course would do me no good, even the ERC.

Am I wrong? Should I save up the $200 and take it some day?

I just took the ERC on the 19th... I thought it'd be a good refresh... but to be honest... with as often as I ride... none of it was far out of memory. I didn't read the little book they gave us but could still answer every question no problem. now I had gone through the BRC back in 06... in AK...

but I think to be honest... you should save yourself the $200... fine a local MSF course (where they've painted the lines down) and practice on your own... shit I'll send you my BRC MSF booklet if ya want.

the only thing I saw new with the ERC was the one handed weave.

they're probably not going to teach you anything you don't already know, it's gonna just provide you someone to watch you practice.

I didn't really get anything out of the MSF. Spend it on a trackday or a riders' school.

That's kinda what I thought.

I can balance for almost 6 seconds when I come to a stop, so I got the slow part down. :lol:

But I discovered 5 roundabouts in a mile section, so when I go to work at 5am, it will make good practice. :D

My old man... 4yrs old or something... Clutchless 2-speed Yamaha Zinger... I figured out how to take the throttle stop screw out real quick. Then a few years later, learned the magic of the clutch on an XR 75 with my old man screaming at me the whole time :lol:... so wheelies were fun... whatever.

I will say that I've learned more about riding street on the old TWF though... Brought me in from squidville and pointed me towards excellent reference material and more competent riders.

I took it a while back to get my endorsement. I learned how to use the back brake to help my low speed maneuvering. It's the only real thing I took away from the course.

I personally don't think so, just me.....

Me too.

Thanks for the props. :)