My 23 yr old son has decided to buy a motorcycle. Although I disagree with this* he is an adult and can make his own decisions. However, I have a few basic questions.
He has decided on a bike and arranged the purchase for next week. We are going to fetch it in my truck, and for at least some period will deliver it (and him) to motorcycle lessons. He wishes to take the riding lessons on his own bike and we’ll be carrying it to the school until he’s comfortable riding it back and forth. (IIRC, it’s a Kawasaki 250R?)
My really dumb questions:
How do I get the thing into the truck bed? I have heavy duty ramps which can handle my 1100 pound Rhino, but how do you get a bike up there? Do you normally use a winch, or use the motorcycle’s engine to help “push”?
What is the best way to anchor the bike, once it’s in the pickup bed? I assume they don’t come with natural anchor points like my Rhino (the rollbar), and offhand I’m not sure what to attach the come-along straps to. One directly over the seat seems obvious, but I’d like to have a strap “down” to each of the four anchor rings in my bed. If I have the spec correct, the bike will be several inches longer than the bed and will need to rest the back wheel on the open tailgate.
Beyond the ab-initio riding school, what’s the best way to continue learning for a new rider? The school-of-hard-knocks isn’t a desirable choice for motorcyclists, and I have absolutely zero knowledge of riding. Are there motorcycle clubs which provide this (or some sort of mentoring)?
While I’m asking questions: Statistically, are most riding accidents the fault of the rider, or of clueless drivers he’ll be sharing the road with? When I taught him to fly, it was with the secure knowledge that he alone could control the overwhelming majority of his risk; I’m not sure that applies to motorcyclists. (Pilots are rarely hit by other fliers yammering on their cellphones).
I appreciate any and all advice from the experienced motorcyclists on the board. I’m completely out of my element. I would especially appreciate advice on the gradual (I hope) progression from puttering around a parking lot to riding at speed on the freeway. I will pass on anything you care to tell us. Also would like any advice on gear and helmets. We know almost nothing about this stuff.
*I was an ambulance driver/emt in a former life. Too many images stuck in my mind from those years to ever support motorcycling as a form of transportation.
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation runs really great learn-to-ride courses all over the country. They provide the bikes, and it’s a two-day thing. Seems much easier to do an MSF course than to cart your own bike all over the place. The MSF courses really are the standard in motorcycle training, and in many states they get you out of the riding portion of the license exam.
Google “The Hurt Report”–it’s a discussion of all sorts of issues related to motorcycle accidents (written by a guy with the last name Hurt, incidentally). If you look at the stats, you can see whether your son falls into a high risk category or not. Things that put a rider into a lower-risk group are being older (not sure where 23 falls, I’d assume some middle-risk category), having a college degree, having insurance, always wearing a helmet, never driving after boozing, etc. Really though, you probably already know your son and whether he’s a yahoo or not, but it’s good to see that the distribution of accidents is very skewed toward yahoos.
In addition to always wearing a helmet, he should also always wear: a jacket, boots, gloves, and at least sturdy long pants (if not actual motorcycle pants). You always hear it stressed to wear a helmet, but the other stuff is very important, too.
(From the school of very hard knocks.) Wear a helmet, gloves and a jacket and trousers with armour at all the joints. Falling off will hurt, but the padding makes the misery a little easier. An advert once said if you have a ten dollar head, wear a ten dollar helmet. All the gear, all the time.
Getting the bike into the truck - don’t drive it up! Halfway up a ramp is a bad time for the engine to die. It’s going to weigh in the region of 300lb, so two of you should be able to push it up the ramp and keep it steady. One person on the ground, the other in the truck holding the bars. When it’s on the truck, put down the side stand and lash the front and back wheels. Try not to use the handlebars for securing the bike, as they can be flexible and you can damage the throttle tube. You may also have a grab handle or rail on the back of the bike. Tie through here rather than over the seat, if possible. The swingarm (the bit that holds the back wheel) may also give opportunities to hold the bike down. Don’t secure to anything plastic, as they break, and not to the exhaust, as they aren’t structural and they can be hot. It all depends on the bike as to where you can tie it down.
If the bike ever falls over, turn your back to the bike, bend at the knees and then walk the bike back up backwards holding a handlebar and the grab rail. This is how you pick up a Goldwing without a hernia.
I can’t advise on training in the USA, but effective training makes the riding experience more fun, as well as safe.
If I were you, and I loved that son, I’d find a way to get him off that motorcycle.
Ask your local state patrolmen or city police if they know of any “scared straight”, “Blood on the Asphalt”, etc. type movies/books/programs/classes. Motorcycles are not even remotely safe, especially crotch rockets driven by young men.
I highly recommend that he take the standard MSF course with the provided bikes. At least he hasn’t decided to buy a 1000cc sport bike or something as his first bike, but the provided bikes are lower powered and easier to control. I think a lot of new motorcycle riders have a lot of ego wrapped up in their first bike, but seriously: you’re learning. Walk before you run.
Plus, there’s a decent chance that he’ll drop the bike while learning to ride it. Much better to drop one of the teaching bikes than his own brand new bike.
Once he’s finished the basics course, he should take the next course, the more advanced motorcycle techniques, on his own bike. That will help him understand the limits of his particular vehicle and hone his technique, and he should be far enough along that he’s much less likely to drop the bike.
Go threadshit somewhere else please.
Back to the OP.
Like others have said. Have him take and MSF class. It’ll be the best $100-$200 he can spend on the bike. They’ll provide the motorcycles. After that, the best way to continue learning is to NOT cart it around in the back of a pick up truck, it’s to get it out on the road and ride it. Short jaunts into town to pick up milk, return a movie or just go for a ride are all you need for the first few hundred miles (which, if he likes it, will happen in a few weeks). After that his confidence will build up and he’ll be fine.
If you have a little hill somewhere easily accessible, you can set the ramp up so that it’s near-horizontal and make it a lot easier to push (or ride, but I wouldn’t recommend this for a beginner) the bike into the truck bed. However, I don’t think taking lessons on his own bike is the best idea. If he’s going to fall over and bang up an engine, let him do it to someone elses’s bike. He can and should practice with his riding around the neighborhood, but I think he should use the school’s bikes for the class.
If you get the bike straight in the middle of the bed, you can tie it down without even using the kickstand. It’ll be a little easier if it has a center stand, but it’s not necessary. Get a strap from each of the front two anchor points going over the front end of the bike (careful that you’re not going to damage the controls or pinch any lines or cables), and tighten them down until the front forks are compressed. Once you’ve got the front end tied down, a strap over the seat can add stability and keep the rear end straight.
If you do put it on a center stand, put a piece of wood or something underneath it, or you run the risk of some gouges in your truck bed.
The best way to learn to ride is to ride. It’s great if you can go with a buddy, but it’s not like a car where the person in the passenger seat can talk you through things all the time. The more time he spends on a bike, especially in low-speed, residential settings, the more comfortable he’ll be. I’ve never gone on club rides, but the few times I went out with with more experienced riders who kept the trips at my comfort level were a big help.
I can’t speak to accident statistics, but I’ll echo most of spotthegerbil’s advice on gear - all the gear all the time. Where I’ll disagree with him is on the helmet. If all you have is a $10 helmet, don’t go riding until you save enough money for a real one. Some of the gear can be overpriced, but the helmet is something you absolutely don’t want to skimp on.
Push the bike up the ramp. It’s not that hard, and it’s safer. (I saw a video once, where a guy rode a bike into the truck bed and smashed the rear window.)
Since until recently I’ve been alone and didn’t have access to a pick-up, I rented a trailer to move my bikes. Tying down in a pick-up should be the same:
[ul][li]Position the bike in the middle of the bed, kickstand down.[/li][li]Secure a ratchet strap to the left handlebar and the front tie-down of the truck. Find a convenient attachment point high on the frame at the rear of the motorcycle and secure it similarly.[/li][li]When securing the handlebars, take care not to wrap the straps around and cables or wiring.[/li][li]Take up most of the slack, such that the motorcycle can lean a bit to the right.[/li][li]Secure the front and back of the motorcycle’s right side the same as you did the left side.[/li][li]Take up enough slack on the right side such that the motorcycle doesn’t lean to the left.[/li][li]Retract the kickstand.[/li][li]Tighten the left-side straps such that the motorcycle leans just slightly to the left.[/li][li]Tighten the right-side straps such that the motorcycle is upright.[/ul][/li]At this point the motorcycle is upright with the suspension slightly compressed and the kickstang up. This allows the bike to absorb bumps through its own shocks, and prevents the kickstand from delivering a direct shock to it. Since the suspension is compressed, it is also tight enough to ride in the bed.
S/he forgot to advise us that there’s a reason they call them {murder|donor}cycles, and to tell the obligatory anecdote about a FOAF’s kid who drove his Ninja off the lot and directly into a caravan of preschooler buses hauling napalm.
Probably the Kawasaki Ninja 250R. Despite the “Ninja” name and the sporty looks, it probably actually is a good first bike. It’s small, light, easy to handle, and IMHO lots of fun. It is fast enough to go on the highway.
I don’t have much advice on how to get the bike into the bed of the truck. Some people walk the bike up while the bike is under power, but that is an advanced move. Loading onto a trailer, which is much lower than a truck bed, I did it with a ramp and one person pushing on the back of the bike, and a second person next to the bike steering and keeping it upright.
As for securing it into the truck, I do have some advice for that. You should get a motorcycle wheel chock, which is a U shaped “socket” for the front wheel. It is used to keep the front forks from turning when the bike is tied down. The tie downs will keep the bike upright, but if the forks/handlebars/wheels are allowed to turn, then the bike can roll out from under the tie downs.
The best attachment points at the front are in the triple-tree, which is where the front forks attach to the frame. On something like the 250R, with a fairing, that might not be possible. Some people attach to the handle bars, but handle bars will bend if too much force is applied.
The front wheel chock and tie downs are primarily what keeps the bike upright. If done correctly, it will stay up without the back tied down at all. The rear tie downs are to keep the rest of the bike from bouncing around. The best place to attach them are at a low point, below the suspension. Where the shocks attach to the swing arms is a great place, if it is accessible. That will keep the wheel firmly down on the bed of the truck, but let the weight of the bike be supported by the bikes own suspension, which will compress to absorb bumps, etc.
Be very careful of the plastic on the bike. It’s not strong enough to tie to, and might scuff if ties run across it.
As mentioned (and it sounds like he’ll be doing) the basic MSF class is good. If he doesn’t have a good idea of riding, take it again. In some areas MSF offers a second class for “new riders and those returning after a long break” which is designed to reinforce the good habits learned in the basic class. Otherwise, practice, practice, practice. In parking lots and on residential streets.
Statistically (no cites, this isn’t GQ) general aviation and motorcycles are pretty equivalent in safety records. Both are more dangerous than cars, much more dangerous than commercial aircraft, and much safer than skydiving. About 50% of motorcycle accidents are single vehicle, and about 50% of those involve alcohol. 12 hours bottle to throttle. Is that what pilots say? I will not even have one beer if I plan on getting on the bike later.
Contrary to “common sense” freeways are safer for motorcyclists than surface streets, because all of the traffic is traveling in one direction, and entering and leaving the freeway only at controlled points. Intersections are by far the most dangerous place for a motorcycle. Because motorcycles are invisible, cars (and other motorcycles) will pull out or turn in front of them. That is the majority of multi-vehicle motorcycle accidents.
Look for a helmet that is comfortable enough that you’ll actually wear it. It should be extremely tight. Only consider a full face helmet. The majority of non-fatal impacts will occur to the face and jaw, so an open face helmet will not protect you. Be prepared to spend up to $500. Hopefully he can find something he likes in the $200 range, but don’t get something uncomfortable just because it’s cheap.
A good way to think of protective clothing, is how far can you skid on asphalt and be protected. A t-shirt offers zero protection, jeans offer about two feet, and good gear might give you 100+ feet of protection. I’d recommend some ventilated overpants—which will slide over your jeans, a mesh or ventilated jacket, and summer gloves. That will get him through summer, and the purely summer weight gear is cheaper than three season or heavyweight gear.
It’s an old Bell Helmet ad “If you have a $10 head, buy a $10 helmet.”
The meaning of course is you head is worth a hell of a lot more than $10 so you should buy a quality helmet.
Get a helmet that is also certified by Snell, they have higher standards than the DOT.
A lot of wrecks are caused by doing stupid things. The MSF course is very good , I took it a few years back. They also have advanced courses for experienced riders.
another good idea is clothing that is very visible like bright orange or yellow dayglow. The Pentagon now requires all MC riders on their bases to wear that.
IIRC the number one cause of single vehicle accidents involving a motorcycle are taking a turn too wide and clipping something like a light pole or tree. The MSF class teaches you how not to do that.
When you enter a turn too fast the intuitive thing to do is to let up on the throttle. When you do that, the bike will right itself and widen the curve. The correct thing to do is lean further, maintain your speed and hold your radius. The really wrong thing to do is hit the brakes. Then you run the risk of doing a high side fall and that never ends well.
Getting it into your truck with a ramp should be easy, 300 lbs is not hard to push up a ramp, However, Ramps and inclines vary. After the front wheel touches the bed of the truck it “may” stall and catch on the underpart of your bike, be careful to hold it in place while lifting it a bit to get over the bump. If this doesn’t happen it should be easy and you can lash it down as described by Johnny L.A.
In car/bike wrecks in the vast majority of cases the car is at fault. Which is why bright clothing is a great idea. Many bicycle riders are now switching to dayglow colors for the same reason.
Taking a turn too fast is a big problem , that seems to be the case around here anyway with most fatal wrecks.