Motorcycle Riding Tips

No matter whether you’re a new rider or an experienced motorcyclist, there is always room for improvement in your riding skills. With some diligence and patience, you can improve your riding ability so that you’re more confident and comfortable on your long touring trips. Your local BMW touring motorcycle dealer is BMW Motorcycles of Jacksonville, located in Orange Park, Florida. We’ve provided the following motorcycle riding tips to help you brush up on your skills and improve your riding game.

Braking

It can be difficult to become accustomed to braking at high speeds while riding a motorcycle if you’re used to driving passenger cars. This is stating the obvious, but motorcycles only have two wheels, which becomes relevant in braking as most of your braking power is focused on the front wheel. You need to apply both sets of brakes simultaneously when you stop, but your front brake will do more of the work. If you’re just starting out as a novice rider, you will want to get some practice in before you hit the highway. Practice riding near the speed limit on a straight and empty road to get a feel for the brakes. Determine how fast you can stop without applying the brakes so forcefully that they lock up entirely.

Passing

When you’re passing other traffic on a bike, you have more freedom than you do in a car while riding a motorcycle. The on-demand acceleration allows you to speed down freeways with ease, but you shouldn’t abuse this power. Use best safety practices and keep your impulses in check. Often in tight situations, you’ll be able to pass other traffic, but you’ll need to maximize your visibility in advance to do so. Pass only when you can legally move into the next lane. Your state’s laws generally have guidelines about when it is safe and legal to pass, so brush up on them to avoid getting a ticket or getting into an accident.

Gear Shifting

Being able to ride your motorcycle smoothly involves having familiarity with how the clutch and the gears function. If you’ve driven a manual-shift car, you likely know how steep the learning curve can be for this process. Practice is the key here, so you may want to start slow on quiet streets to gain confidence in your gear shifting abilities. Your gear shifting and clutch response will differ depending on the model of bike, so becoming familiar with how your particular bike works is also important. Try to get a feel for upshifting that produces consistent acceleration, and downshift in a way that eases you towards a lower speed.

Cornering & Steering

For riders accustomed to driving a car, push steering can feel like a dramatic shift in how to operate a vehicle. You need to lean into the direction you want the bike to go as you steer. Taking corners is another good riding skill that will require some practice and patience to perfect. When you’re steering, push your handlebars in the desired direction of travel, then maintain that pressure throughout the turn while leaning. Holding the controls in a steady position through the turn is the tricky part, but it will begin to feel more natural as you do it. If you want proficiency while cornering, you should learn to look further ahead into the corner to anticipate the speed, line of travel and the gear to shift into so you can complete the turn successfully.

Just in case you haven’t found the touring motorcycle of your dreams yet, you’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of great BMW touring motorcycles near you. Visit our dealership in Orange Park to view our huge selection of used BMW motorcycles, including touring bikes. BMW Motorcycles of Jacksonville also serves the cities of Gainesville and Tallahassee, Florida.