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Different Riding experience: Is it the same?


Alpyne96

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I have an interesting question for everyone, so i'm slowly entering the world of motorcycle riding, because i'm looking for a more adventurous hobby to add to my every day life, I've been riding a Yamaha Raptor 350 for probably around 4 or 5 years at this point, and i'm going to be buying a MT-07 (or FZ, whichever you prefer) in February of next year and i was wondering, do the skills from riding an ATV contribute towards being able to ride a mt-07 or motorcycle in general?  Will the learning curve not be so steep since i already have a lot of experience with a manual ATV? and other things related to that question, i know i'm going from four wheels to two and that makes a big difference, but that's the gist of it. 

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I'd say it will help very little since two wheels require balance and lets not forget so much of riding in the street is about knowing the million different scenarios that can hurt you so you can avoid them, you don't learn that in the dirt.  I guess you'll have a feel for a hand operated clutch but that's where the similarities end.  On the bright side you're no worse off then 99% of people getting their first street bike. 

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I had a big break (50 years) before returning to biking.  It seemed perfectly natural for me to be back on a bike when I took some instruction (even though the gear and brake levers had swapped!) . I concluded that much about riding/driving is about roadcraft and I had of course practiced a lot of that in those 50 years. So if you have driven, that IMO would give a better launch pad than the ATV.  Either way, you will be on an utterly different carriage and that does take time to learn.  But I remember launching myself from my father's drive, without any formal instruction, aged 16 for the first time 'no probs'. Off I went (bike as avatar). Whilst writing, most of all, remember at ALL times your new-found vulnerability in these busy times. Finally, never do anything in haste, unless absolutely necessary, as it does not always go well. Sorry for the preach! Do enjoy your FZ/MT-07. It's fun.

Just do it! 

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I've seen people drop their bikes because they couldn't work a clutch and they took off like a bucking bronco and fell to one side so yes, clutch skills are a plus. They help so you go through the gears smoothly also. A lot of people complain that their shifting is jerky and that can be distracting. You don't need distractions on a bike. Anyone that's rode an ATV knows you have to shift your body around on the thing to keep your balance 'on it', not so much to keep 'it' balanced so that's a plus also, at least compared to a person that's never been on a bike.

 

I assume you know about safety gear already since you ride off-road and I'm going to assume you've also developed that 'awareness' of things around you that's so detrimental on the street. I can't think of anything else that relates much. GL and cheers to getting a speedy bike speedy! 🍻 BTW, put up pics when you do get it. 

Beemer

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Three things that aren't a street bike that require skills that'll keep a new rider on the street safe and give them a leg up on the rest.

 

Riding a two wheel dirt bike.  This will give you the clutch and throttle control needed to get you started as well as give you a sense of the required balance even if they are kind of opposite ends of body positions.  Also teaches you how quickly traction can change and effect who a bike operates.

 

Driving a car or truck.  This teaches you the rules of the rode and with enough years of doing so will show you just how stupid people can be and how much they themselves don't understand about how to drive on the roads.

 

Riding a bicycle on the roads.  This teaches you how people in cars don't ever see you when you're not in a car yourself and gives you a sense of vulnerability which is sorely lacking in most riders when they get that riders high of being able to accelerate like a million dollar super car. 

 

Most rider have the opinion that 90% of drivers don't belong on the roads.  What 90% of riders fail to realize is they themselves are no better qualified to be on the road then those drivers we criticize.  Set an example for the 90% by correctly learning to maintain your machine, learning how to exceedingly control your bike even in surprising conditions and for gods sake never set your mind on cruise control, always be alert, predicting the four different scenarios the cars around you can create at any moment.  Most peoples minds work like a single core or dual core computer processor, you need an 8 core processor to be prepared for things on the roads these days. 

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2 hours ago, Beemer said:

I've seen people drop their bikes because they couldn't work a clutch and they took off like a bucking bronco and fell to one side so yes, clutch skills are a plus. They help so you go through the gears smoothly also. A lot of people complain that their shifting is jerky and that can be distracting. You don't need distractions on a bike. Anyone that's rode an ATV knows you have to shift your body around on the thing to keep your balance 'on it', not so much to keep 'it' balanced so that's a plus also, at least compared to a person that's never been on a bike.

 

I assume you know about safety gear already since you ride off-road and I'm going to assume you've also developed that 'awareness' of things around you that's so detrimental on the street. I can't think of anything else that relates much. GL and cheers to getting a speedy bike speedy! 🍻 BTW, put up pics when you do get it. 

After riding as many years as i have, the clutch/shifting honestly isn't even a thought in my mind anymore, its just natural at this point, which makes things so much more fun, especially when you want to rev it up a bit and you actually know what you're doing, and as for keeping balanced on the bike, i know that very well for the atv version at least, and i actually like to have fun with it hanging off of it, powersliding through turns, so you could say its the same concept but i know two wheels versus 4 makes a big difference, so i'll definitely have to learn all of that.

 

As far as safety gear goes i ride with a full set of fox racing gear so i'm always ready for anything 👍 and as for awareness especially when i'm climbing up mountains and going around corners and what not you always have to be aware and on the lookout for really anything (especially other people), although i'm sure there's millions more things to watch out for on the road when you're driving with 20x more people around you.

 

Thanks tho! and i'm definitely going to be posting pictures of it once i get it! (picture below of me in full gear with my Raptor 350)

atv riding picture.jpg

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29 minutes ago, RojoRacing said:

Three things that aren't a street bike that require skills that'll keep a new rider on the street safe and give them a leg up on the rest.

 

Riding a two wheel dirt bike.  This will give you the clutch and throttle control needed to get you started as well as give you a sense of the required balance even if they are kind of opposite ends of body positions.  Also teaches you how quickly traction can change and effect who a bike operates.

 

Driving a car or truck.  This teaches you the rules of the rode and with enough years of doing so will show you just how stupid people can be and how much they themselves don't understand about how to drive on the roads.

 

Riding a bicycle on the roads.  This teaches you how people in cars don't ever see you when you're not in a car yourself and gives you a sense of vulnerability which is sorely lacking in most riders when they get that riders high of being able to accelerate like a million dollar super car. 

 

Most rider have the opinion that 90% of drivers don't belong on the roads.  What 90% of riders fail to realize is they themselves are no better qualified to be on the road then those drivers we criticize.  Set an example for the 90% by correctly learning to maintain your machine, learning how to exceedingly control your bike even in surprising conditions and for gods sake never set your mind on cruise control, always be alert, predicting the four different scenarios the cars around you can create at any moment.  Most peoples minds work like a single core or dual core computer processor, you need an 8 core processor to be prepared for things on the roads these days. 

Well i cant say that i have done any of the two wheel dirtbike riding sadly, except for once or twice i rode a little 50cc pit bike which was fun, as for the car, ive been driving for around three years now in a Veloster Turbo that i bought shortly after i got my license (saved up ages for it) and countless times, yeah, ive seen how stupid some people really are, and how they dont belong on the road etc, but what can ya do, just gotta avoid those kinds of people as much as possible to prevent injury.

 

As for bicycle riding on roads, i have a little bit of experience in that you could say, i used to ride my bmx bike with friends on their bikes up the main road near me to go get ice cream and things like that back in the day, used to do it all the time, would mostly be on the sidewalk for it though so i can only attest to having experience in that a little bit.

 

As for how you were saying most riders see it as most other drivers dont belong on the road i can understand where youre coming from with that, and making sure that you set an example so other people can possibly be shown and taught the right thing to do, and yes, these days with all the new roundabouts and other crazy things that theyre implementing (at least around me) you definitely need to have your mind as alert as a 8 core processor lol, pic of my car below if anyone wants to see it 🤙

 

veloster detail.jpg

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2nd thought on it: If you think about it a very light bicycle can lean side to side quicker than a much heavier motorcycle so if you can keep a bicycle upright you shouldn't have any worries or actual problems with a street bike.

Beemer

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6 minutes ago, Beemer said:

2nd thought on it: If you think about it a very light bicycle can lean side to side quicker than a much heavier motorcycle so if you can keep a bicycle upright you shouldn't have any worries or actual problems with a street bike.

Come to think of it thats actually a pretty good point, and i mean i can even keep a bmx bike upright with no hands on the handlebars lol, so...

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1 hour ago, RojoRacing said:

Three things that aren't a street bike that require skills that'll keep a new rider on the street safe and give them a leg up on the rest.

 

Riding a two wheel dirt bike.  This will give you the clutch and throttle control needed to get you started as well as give you a sense of the required balance even if they are kind of opposite ends of body positions.  Also teaches you how quickly traction can change and effect who a bike operates.

 

Driving a car or truck.  This teaches you the rules of the rode and with enough years of doing so will show you just how stupid people can be and how much they themselves don't understand about how to drive on the roads.

 

Riding a bicycle on the roads.  This teaches you how people in cars don't ever see you when you're not in a car yourself and gives you a sense of vulnerability which is sorely lacking in most riders when they get that riders high of being able to accelerate like a million dollar super car. 

 

Most rider have the opinion that 90% of drivers don't belong on the roads.  What 90% of riders fail to realize is they themselves are no better qualified to be on the road then those drivers we criticize.  Set an example for the 90% by correctly learning to maintain your machine, learning how to exceedingly control your bike even in surprising conditions and for gods sake never set your mind on cruise control, always be alert, predicting the four different scenarios the cars around you can create at any moment.  Most peoples minds work like a single core or dual core computer processor, you need an 8 core processor to be prepared for things on the roads these days. 

I hear ya! Last week I decided to ride to one of my favorite bar & thrills at night and before I got to the "T" in the road that either lead me to the highway to get there or a back road to get there I made the decision to take the highway that had more traffic on it. Someone might ask why I would do that because there are more vehicles that could cause an accident. That's true, there are but I can also see those cars easily, it's well lit, I can avoid them easily and most of all there's less chance of a deer running out in front of me without me seeing it. 

 

On a dark back road an animal can run out in front of you in a blink and end your fun real quick. Most riders don't think about that kind of thing. 

Beemer

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You didn't mention if you have an class M(otorcycle) endorsement on your license. I'll assume not since you've asked the question.

 

If someone else already mentioned this I apologize for missing it. But I strongly suggest you take a Motorcycle Safety Program course while you're waiting to purchase your new bike. It will teach you the fundamental skills you need to start your journey on two wheels  onto the road in a safe environment and will also help get you that class M endorsement you'll need to be legal in PA.  👍

 

Welcome to the club. May you have a long and healthy membership. ✌️
 

DewMan
 
Just shut up and ride.

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52 minutes ago, DewMan said:

You didn't mention if you have an class M(otorcycle) endorsement on your license. I'll assume not since you've asked the question.

 

If someone else already mentioned this I apologize for missing it. But I strongly suggest you take a Motorcycle Safety Program course while you're waiting to purchase your new bike. It will teach you the fundamental skills you need to start your journey on two wheels  onto the road in a safe environment and will also help get you that class M endorsement you'll need to be legal in PA.  👍

 

Welcome to the club. May you have a long and healthy membership. ✌️
 

Currently i only have the motorcycle permit, although i am planning on taking the MSP course when they start in the spring or whenever they start the courses again 👍

 

And thank you for the welcome! i look forward to a long and fun membership on the forum!

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You are already familiar with the clutch and gearbox, so you're golden there. The balance part will come to anyone given enough time, and it's pretty basic anyway.  Steering will be your biggest change since you direct steer a quad ( turn the bars left to go left) but you need to counter steer a bike at speed ( push left to go right). But I wouldn't worry about it at all. Just get a bike and become familiar with it slowly. Those Raptors will fly and I'm sure you rip on that thing pretty good, so don't hop on a bike a decide to cut it loose with over-confidence. Spend a few weeks or months, whatever works for you, experimenting with steering/ counter steering and it will become second nature very quickly. 

 

Find a parking lot and just ride round in circles. At low speeds you can direct steer a bike, then at some point which nobody can tell you exactly- counter steering takes over. Play with it and you'll get a feel for it soon. Since we actually countersteer on bicycles as well you already doing this even if you don't realize it, but the weight of a motorcycle and it's heavier spinning wheels will require more effort on the bars vs a pedal bike. 

 

Just take your time to get comfortable and it'll be second nature in no time. Have fun, good luck and be safe!

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I highly doubt riding a 4 wheel ATV will transfer much to the street.  Already stated about 2 wheel dirt translating to street is by far non arguable.  I grew up in the dirt, raced dirt track several years, went to road racing in local club in the bay area.  All that sliding, mud slinging, ice, water, loam, sand, single track and more translats to being able to with out thinking know insitinctivly what to do when the rear kicks or the front starts to tuck.

 

4 Wheelers, and I am speaking of experiance only with car racing have a far more difficult time adopting to a motorcycle, street or dirt.  Driving in race series 24 hours of Lemons and Lucky Dog, my lap times are equal to or a few seconds slower than the team mates I have that do not ride, why?  Because a dirt biker / Street/Road racer has that 6th sense about picking lines and adapting.

 

Personally I believe this to be true on an ATV, to test that theory, ride a buddies 2 wheel dirt bike and test.  I would bet though you can on that ATV punish some pretty quick 2 wheelers in the dirt too.  Slippin and slidin on a ATV is the same yet different that 2 wheels.

 

As far as Street Bicycles go, I hate the f@#kers up here in the PNW, elitist pricks.  I used to ride road bikes and obeyed the laws of traffic, these PIN DICKS are a special kind of stupid

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.” --Thomas Jefferson quoting Cesare Beccaria

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