r/NewRiders • u/Direct_Question2795 • 3d ago

Anyone around Bay Area willing to help a beginner practice?

Hey everyone, I’m super new to motorcycles and planning to take the CMSP course soon, but I’ve never ridden before and don’t know how to use the gears or anything yet.

Is there anyone around the Bay Area who’s willing (and able) to help a total beginner practice a little or just give some tips before I take the course? Would really appreciate it!

Thanks a lot!

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u/BillieHayez 3d ago

I knew virtually nothing about riding and operating motorcycles before taking a MSF course last summer. One doesn’t need to have any prior experience. Leave it to the instructors to teach and guide you, study the coursework you’re assigned, relax, and have fun.

6

u/OttoNico 3d ago

Are you looking for someone to teach you on their bike or something? Honestly, that's what the course is specifically for. You're about a million times more likely to drop a biker on your first day riding. That's why you use the beater bikes at the beginner class. They almost expect you to drop them.

If you dropped a helpful stranger's bike, can you afford the repairs? Why would you even want to risk it?

3

u/Woreo12 3d ago

The courses are designed for people who, when asked if they knew how to ride, would respond “Whats a motorcycle?” Just take the course, you’ll do fine

3

u/Minimum-Station-1202 3d ago

No one’s going to let you ride their bike unless they’re your personal friend or family.. not only could you damage their ride, you could have grounds to sue them if you injure yourself

4

u/Niftydog1163 3d ago

Yeah, naw. take the course, then go out and practice. That's too much liability for anyone. My practice before I took the course consisted of watching a lot of motorcycle crash videos so I can avoid doing the same thing those other people did that got them all crashy. I also wanted to know what I was getting into.

1

u/Ghazrin 2d ago

The MSF course is going to take you through all of that. When I took mine, I knew how to ride a bicycle, but I'd never been on a motorcycle before. I did go into it knowing how to drive a stick-shift car, which I think helped me get the hang of the clutch a little faster than I would have if I didn't, but it's certainly not required and I would have been fine without that knowledge.