What is the hardest part of learning to ride a motorcycle?

Is riding a motorcycle hard? Learning to ride a motorcycle is not an all-smooth experience; as with learning all new tasks, folks often bounce from success to failure in their learning process. From mastering essential skills like shifting gears to navigating road hazards, you need patience and resilience to become a confident rider.
While all aspects of riding can seem challenging initially, three stand out as the most demanding for beginners who have passed through TEAM Arizona. The following are the most complex parts of driving a motorcycle for the first time.

1. Physical

Riding a motorcycle is energy intensive similar to a workout. This task demands that you engage your legs, hands, and core to achieve the combination of coordination, flexibility, and balance skills required to control and maneuver the motorcycle.

For this reason, when learning to ride a motorcycle, the muscles that help maintain balance and coordination will likely get sore. Fortunately, with some practice and daily use, your muscles will respond to the demands.

As we are not used to wearing a helmet in daily activities, initial helmet wearing may create soreness in the neck and shoulder muscles. Not to worry as your body will adapt quickly to the helmet’s weight and the benefits of wearing a helmet will far outweigh the initial soreness. Very soon the helmet will become non-existent to the wearer.

Our training courses are a great place to gain comfort with the physical aspects of riding without the added stress of being in traffic. The course will give you a great understanding of the physicality of motorcycling without being at risk around the motoring public.

2. Mental

Riding a motorcycle is a mentally demanding endeavor. You must maintain the highest level of focus and attention to navigate traffic, road hazards, and the unpredictable behavior of other road users.

Since you will be operating a vehicle that offers minimal protection, you must strike a delicate balance between caution and confidence. Negotiating this balance demands managing fear, maintaining a high sense of situational awareness, and exercising self-control. This is why we offer riding strategies to help riders prioritize their risks which increases rider safety.

3. Technical

Is driving a motorcycle hard? Mastering the technical aspects of riding a motorcycle is another challenge you shouldn’t ignore. The ability to overcome the complexity of these technicalities varies from person to person, with some finding certain aspects more challenging than others.

The top technical challenges that our RideCoaches have noticed from many learners riding a motorcycle for the first time include:

Learning the Clutch & Throttle

Many of our students riding a motorcycle for the first time find it hard to perfect use of the clutch and throttle; especially when taking off from a stop or during slow speed maneuvering. Mostly, new riders struggle to find the right balance between clutch engagement points we call the friction zone and throttle application points we call the throttle zone. Failure to manage these elements precisely leads to issues like jerky starts or unintentional acceleration.

Fortunately for our participants, our experienced RiderCoaches have many tools they can implement to help a new rider with coming to grips with learning the clutch and throttle. From practicing these controls with the engine off in a simulation, to providing a counting method, to performing rocking in place, we have the tools to help riders become comfortable with the clutch and throttle in a very short period of time.

Learning the Brakes

Modern motorcycles have incredible braking systems. Being able to maximize the benefit of these braking systems requires a systematic approach in a safe environment. More than just being able to squeeze the front brake lever or press the rear brake pedal, a motorcyclist needs to understand when and how these controls are best used. Also, when learning how to precisely use these controls, a rider will want to be in a safe, unfettered environment that offers immediate feedback from a trained professional.

The huge key to rider training is that we can help a rider understand the braking potential of their motorcycle or scooter. With this information a rider can better anticipate braking distances needed based upon road conditions, speed, and traffic dynamics. This information can help us with identifying appropriate following distances and lane positioning.

Switching Gears

Since manual cars are going the way of the Dodo bird, we see fewer participants with an understanding of how a clutch works. We also see fewer people who have practical experience driving a manual car. Therefore, switching gears is another challenge you will likely face when riding a motorcycle for the first time. Most novice riders struggle to learn complex issues like finding the right gear and avoiding rough gear shifts and unintended gear shifts. We have an extensive array of coaching tools that help make shifting easier.

Here again, in rider training, we use a systematic approach to make the complex simpler. We start with practicing shifting using imaginary handlebars in the classroom. We introduce a three-step shifting process in the safety of the classroom. From there we get on a motorcycle that is not running and practice the shifting process. Being able to practice shifting with the motorcycle off means a participant can learn the three-step process to shifting in a stress-free manner. From there we practice shifting in a straight light in a large, open area. At each point in the process, we maximize the ability for the participant to learn shifting in the safest manner possible.

Learning to Countersteer and Balance

Steering a motorcycle is a counterintuitive process. This is where rider training shines as we can introduce these topics in a safe manner. Mastering counter-steering and balancing will be difficult for a beginner learning to ride a motorcycle. Like many learners who have passed through our hands, you will likely face complexities balancing lean angle and countersteering, especially during high-speed cornering or evasive maneuvers.

We employ techniques, like Slow, Look, Press, and Roll to help riders understand the timing of how a corner can be safely navigated. We also avoid performing higher speed cornering until a rider demonstrates other initial competencies. Meaning, we don’t just throw our participants to the cornering wolves; we build riders up in a building block method that makes the complexities of motorcycling fun, safe, and enjoyable. We want riders to have a sense of accomplishment not failure.

Learn to Ride without Fear With TEAM Arizona’s Basic RiderCourse

Is riding a motorcycle hard? Although riding a motorcycle for the first time is hard, you can bypass all these complexities by training under experienced RideCoaches. These experts offer hands-on guidance to make you a confident rider.

Regarding motorcycle driving, TEAM Arizona is the premier service provider. Our course leaves no stone unturned, from mastering clutch and throttle control to perfecting braking techniques and cornering maneuvers.

Visit TEAM Arizona for more information or sign up for our Basic RiderCourse to get started.