Motorcycle Riding Tips

New to motorcycle riding? Or are you a veteran, and still looking to hone your skills? Motorcycle riding is always a work in progress, so even the most experienced rider can always use some tips for better riding practices. We want to talk about a few of the skills that we think are the most important. Keep in mind that each of these requires a lot of practice, and you must take the proper safety precautions when trying anything you’re unfamiliar with.

Braking

To do any sort of intense riding, you’ll need to first know how to brake quickly at high speeds. This is a simple task, but takes some adaptation if you’re new to motorcycle riding. Remember that motorcycles only have two wheels and about two-thirds of your stopping power comes from your front tire. You still need to apply both brakes at the same time, but make sure you’re relying primarily on the front brake’s stopping power.

Passing

Passing is a bit easier on a motorcycle than in a car, but don’t take for granted how much faster your bike can accelerate. You’ll frequently be able to pass even in some tighter situations, such as right after corners if you learn to maximize your visibility beforehand. You should only pass when you can legally move into the other lane. When passing is possible, maintain a good following distance behind the car you’re overtaking, so you can see oncoming traffic.

Shifting Gears

Although starting and changing gears is simple to understand, practicing the proper techniques can be the difference between abrupt riding and expert smoothness. You can maximize your performance on a bike by spending some time on the track and experimenting a little. Get a feel for upshifting in a way that produces consistent acceleration without any jerking motions. Also, try to downshift with similar smoothness.

Steering and Cornering

Probably the biggest adjustment you’ll make on a motorcycle is adapting to push steering. But cornering skills are also the essence of good riding. Our basic tips start with steering, which is pretty simple. All you do is push your handlebars in the direction you want to travel and keep pressure on the handlebar in that direction through the turn. This feels natural, but the tricky part is holding the controls in a steady position throughout the turn so you make a smooth corner.

All these tips take some practice, but none of them are difficult to learn. If you’re looking to buy a motorcycle, visit Team Mancuso Powersports South in La Marque, TX, to see what we’ve in stock. We welcome all our patrons visiting us from League City and Galveston.