can’t seem to find the right sub. how long to fully learn to ride a motorbike?

20 comments

1. Purely from a skill standpoint you could learn to operate and ride it in a weekend but it’ll take a couple years before you’re adequately proficient at it. Like anything.

2. R/motorcycles

   Riding 26 years now…takes 30 mins or less

3. Get a bike and take a class

4. The very basics – an hour

   To become truly comfortable – A few months

5. What engine size you looking at? and how old are you? I passed my license in the Uk

6. UK answer here.

   I had one introductory lesson on a 125cc, then took the CBT.

   Then about 6 lessons (one a week) before taking my direct access test om a 500cc bike – which I just scraped a pass.

   But that was when I was about 30 years old, having driven a car for 13 years. (and was 20 years ago now – I don’t know if the test has changed much in the meantime).

7. Have you ridden a bicycle before?

8. Honestly, 2 weeks if you put in the work. Around 1 month if you practice on occasion.
   It’s all muscle memory. It’s easy to stop, go, turn, accelerate, brake, etc, but it’s hard to do it fluently and on-the-fly. It might take you even longer if you’ve never driven before.
   When I did my motorcycle course, it was 4 hours in class on a friday night, then saturday + sunday 8 hours training on the bike. On sunday evening we did the licensing test. A lot of people failed.

9. Go take a riders safety course.

10. Find a driving instructor that will teach you. Don’t know UK laws, but in Europe and most of the world that aligns to Europe, you need a motorcycle license to ride.

    The categories go like:

    A1 – light motorcycles, under 125cc

    A2 – standard motorcycles, under 500cc or 33hp.

    A – heavy motorcycle, unrestricted.

    Again, maybe UK is different, but in my country (Israel), you can go for A1 or A2 category license straight away, there is the written exam, minimal number of lessons, and road test. For A category, you need to have A2 for a year, and then take lessons and test.

    So if you go from nothing to the likes of Yamaha R1, it takes like 18 months in average.

11. You can do it in a one week course. Starts with a CBT (1 day) on a 125 then intensive training and a test on a 600

12. Not sure if they offer it on the UK, but where I live free classes are offered where you spend an evening in class learning rules of the road and how to ride safely, and then two weekends learning to ride on a training course with their bikes. Highly recommend if they offer anything similar in your area, even if you have to pay for it.

13. Take a course. In the US, look for MSF’s Basic RiderCourse( BRC). You’ll have the basics needed to practice in 2 days.

14. Riding a motorcycle is an ongoing learning process. Even the best riders drop their bikes.

15. You can learn in a couple hours how to ride.

    After that… You need a lot of seat time… Like a month of occasional practice to get used to the weight and build muscle memory. I passed my test, had a friend park my new bike at my house… Then rode around the parking areas and small streets for a while to get a physical feel for how it responds and build comfort.

    If turns are hard… You are probably entering them too fast. Slow down to a near stop, then pull out of them and into the turn. You might think you are slowing down a lot…. It probably isnt enough. Wait until things become automatic before you start getting fancy.

    I would say after that.. It takes about 6months to a year to become safe and reliable…. Stick to easy roads and safer routes until then.

16. You can learn in a couple hours how to ride.

    After that… You need a lot of seat time… Like a month of occasional practice to get used to the weight and build muscle memory. I passed my test, had a friend park my new bike at my house… Then rode around the parking areas and small streets for a while to get a physical feel for how it responds and build comfort.

    If turns are hard… You are probably entering them too fast. Slow down to a near stop, then pull out of them and into the turn. You might think you are slowing down a lot…. It probably isnt enough. Wait until things become automatic before you start getting fancy.

    I would say after that.. It takes about 6months to a year to become safe and reliable…. Stick to easy roads and safer routes until then.

17. I’m going to be the worried dad here, and say you may not want to learn. Motorcyling is very, very risky even when you are well trained and practiced at it. They get nicknamed donorcycles for a reason, and a lot of times it’s not if you will lay the bike down on the road, but when. Protective helmets and gear can save your life, but that doesn’t mean you will walk away unscathed either.

    My cousin is suffering hard from a motorcycle accident; his back is ruined, he sees double a lot, and he probably will pay the hospital for the rest of his life over it. Keep in mind while it seems cool, it’s substantially more risk even if you are a good cyclist. Your classes hopefully will impress on you how dangerous it can be and the importance of being incredibly careful.

    Just go in knowing the risks and then decide if its worth it.

18. 1 week to understand how it works, a month and a half to get good and comfortable.

19. Go talk to your local riding school. They will take you through all the options.

20. I haven’t driven a motorbike myself, the closest I got to that was a moped, took a few hours to get comfortable behind the “wheel” of the moped, and after that, things were mostly smooth sailing except for turning sharply, which took a few more hours.

    I would think learning to ride a bicycle, and having ridden one for a long time, would be a big helper for the motorcycle, as it is basically the same concept, only with a much heavier and faster bike.