If you can ride a bicycle, it’s easy to learn to ride a motorcycle well enough to go down the street. But there’s a lot to master in learning to ride well. There are two separate aspects and I recommend learning them separately at first. One is control of the motorcycle. Just riding around the parking lot and down the street is as easy as riding a bicycle. But you also need to learn to deal with less than perfect traction. Sometimes there’s gravel or wet leaves or rain on the road. So you should learn to ride on a dual sport or dirt bike and learn to control the bike when it slips and slides some under you. Learn to brake hard up to locking the wheel. You need to be able to control the motorcycle without thinking about it.

The second is dealing with traffic. It is best to learn this in a small car first. Learn the rules of the road and learn to anticipate what other drivers will do. It’s a lot safer to make a mistake in the car than on a motorcycle. Then when you go onto the street on your motorcycle you will be able give attention to special aspects of riding on the street. Watch the traffic, watch the surface, watch pedestrians. You need to be much more mindful of everything around you on when riding a motorcycle. Always be thinking ahead: what if that happens or what if that driver pulls out or…

Classes, like MSF are OK if you’re a complete novice, but they don’t take you very far. And some things they teach are wrong. For example, they tell you to ride in the middle of your lane so you have the most room on each side. This is a very bad idea. Cars straddle stuff in the road: bricks, lumber, oil, nails. But their tires clean the part of the lane they run in. Always ride in the tire tracks. If you ride in the left tire tracks of the left most lane or in the right tire tracks of the rightmost lane you have the most clearance relative to cars.

I immediately thought of three things.

Balance, multi-tasking and self control.

Riding a bicycle well is a start, but the difficult part of that transition is the weight of a motorcycle, and how far off perfect balance which bike can be leaned. They are all different depending on their design. Some are lighter overall but carry their weight high, others are heavier but lower to the ground.

Multitasking is an immense part of riding; there are actually dozens of things to be aware of, and only slightly fewer things you must actively practice. All four appendages, hands, feet and individual fingers have independent but co-ordinated tasks that must be simultaneously and independently performed. You must be vigilant with your vision… 360 degree awareness while simultaneously processing the progress of you and your machine as you move through a physical and perilous yet beautiful and fascinating world that is changing constantly and rapidly.

You must train your body and your mind to filter out any unnecessary distractions, while being attuned to everything happening within a widening radius that shifts and gets larger the faster you go. You must resist the ego driven urge to perform and compete with other drivers and motorcyclists. Consciously control your fear and avoid anger, enjoy the wonder of navigating constantly changing obstacles without being hypnotized or frightened by them.

Looking at nothing, but seeing everything, you must make your fluid and smooth way through the world, while operating a complex machine, flowing around all the sharp edges, leaning into the curves and hills, flying over the roughest way.

It’s not a simple thing, but it is a beautiful thing.

It’s easy to learn how to do it. It takes time to learn how to do it well.

Getting on a bike, releasing the clutch, and twisting the throttle will make you go. The relatively massive wheels stabilize you almost instantly. Unlike a bicycle, anything beyond a walking pace requires zero input from the rider to stay upright. The vehicle just does it for you. With just the info in this paragraph you could hop on a Yamaha R1 or similar for the first time and go 85 mph without ever shifting out of first gear. You’d get there in a matter of seconds and you’d almost certainly crash.

Braking, steering, shifting, and stopping are all easy to do because it’s mostly straightforward control lever inputs. Doing them while in motion takes more practice. Doing them while in motion going fast on a powerful bike in less than perfect weather conditions with cars nearby on an unfamiliar road - that’s what takes years to master.

There’s countersteering, brake biasing, throttle rolling, along with things like traffic theory, situational awareness, and emotion suppression skills that all need to be worked on to be a safe, effective rider, and that’s just scratching the surface. Good riders are never satisfied with their own skill level. They always seek to learn and improve on every ride.

Thank you for the A2A.

For everyone that is different. I work at a motorcycle training school and every day we get a different bunch of students with varying abilities. It is like any learning process some people take to it naturally and others are slow burners. The slow burners can often become just as good but they require more help.

Go to your local riding school. Let the experts show you how to do it properly and safely. Check them out first, see their reviews. You don't necessarily want a place that will sign you off quickly you want a place that focuses on your safety as the main priority. They will break it down step by step, starting with the basics and building up. Go there with a realistic attitude, you may have to go back more than once and don't be disappointed if you do. There is a lot to take in and each time you get on the bike you will develop more muscle memory and a better understanding.

When you are first learning to ride a motorbike it can be a little bit like patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time as you have to co-ordinate hands and feet and keep your balance.

If you haven't done so already ride a bicycle first, learn your balance on a lightweight machine which will be more forgiving of mistakes.

Make sure you approach your training withe the right attitude, it isn't just a bike it is your safety. On the roads you have two things going for you: the safety equipment you wear and your brain, use it at all times. One of the key things is to be as relaxed as you can. The bike doesn't like it when you tense up, it likes fluidity.

Above all else, enjoy it and however you choose to do ride safe.

Back in the day we all started on push bikes then trail bikes so took our learning knocks on them, on the road its much different there is danger everywhere.

A good friend wanted to learn she is 60 with little experience, I tried to be supportive but really just wanted to say forget it you are too old and will kill yourself or be killed by some dick head driver.

She is a genetic tom boy so was not too bad, she dropped a test bike in the car park that cost her $1000, she fell off a few times and was sacred by cars she has given up now I hope.

Here is a good one, we got my missus a scooter to ride to work she is a genetically girly girl, I followed her the first morning and got her to work with a few problems, I worried all day and raced to her work and followed her home, I had an old Holden with a big bull bar I pushed an car that got near her off the road she never rode again.

I should have know as when we first hooked up I let her on the front of my Kawa 900 with me on the back that did not work out well, she was better on the back and we had many good times like that.

She does not get on the back of my Harley now she has lost her bottle, thats partly my fault as I have always rode it like I stole it thats the adventure gene.

It can take as little as 5 minutes to learn to ride a motorcycle. It can take a lifetime to master it. It really involves your ability to learn, to balance, to coordinate your movements and to understand how to make a motorcycle turn. (plus a million other little things)

I’m not a riding coach, but off-hand, yes, you should practice in a parking lot for a while before you take to the roads. Concentrate on:

1. balance at a stand-still
2. Operating the throttle
3. Operating the clutch
4. Understanding your transmission and shifter.
5. Smooth application of the brakes. (never, ever grab a whole handful of the front brake)
6. Turning at low speed (bike goes in the direction you point the handlebars)
7. Turning at high speed (bike goes in the opposite direction you point the handlebars, turn right? Push right)
8. Trust your tires. You have so much more grip than you think you do. (until you hit sand/gravel, then you have a lot less)

In traffic, you should not be thinking about how to operate the motorcycle at all. It should be automatic. All you should be doing is following the laws and remembering there are a million little grandma assassins all trying to kill you and you don’t know where they are or when they are coming, but they are coming, so always have an out, keep your head on a swivel and look where you want to go, not at what is coming at you.

Don’t be the last guy through the yellow when someone is waiting to turn and don’t drastically speed up or slow down at intersections. The data shows car drivers can’t judge speed or distance well, especially when it’s rapidly changing. Your job is to stay alive and it’s getting harder everyday.

In pack rides, ride your own ride. Don’t try to keep up or be forced to lead the pack. You will get to lunch eventually, but you don’t want to let someone’s experience or lack thereof put you in the hospital. It’s your bike, do the right thing for you. Also, don’t carry passengers (pillion) until you feel 100% confident on your bike. A passenger changes how your bike handles so practice with one first, before you hit traffic.

I learnt at the age of 44, having not ridden as much as a scooter before.

Learning how to propel it down the road isn't that hard. Sorting out the gears and the clutch and whatnot is fine.

Now, being able to ride for 10 years without coming off once is a lot harder. I know because I've done it. I had much car and bicycle experience which helped. But you need loads of restraint, discipline, judgment and common sense too. That is the hard bit. These are the elements in short supply for some who attempt this.

Wear all the gear all the time. Gear that is appropriate for the weather conditions. That means 2 or 3 jackets to choose from, proper protective trousers, several pairs of gloves, a couple of helmets. Choose a sensible bike for your level of experience and skill. Ride within your limits. Remember Clint. A man's gotta know his limitations. Good luck.

No, motorcycles are not difficult to ride. But, then, it has been a very long time since my first ride and I may be forgetting a few things.

If you know how to ride a bicycle, you know what it takes to balance and turn a motorcycle, even if you are not consciously aware of it. The difference is that the motorcycle is heavier and has more things you have to do to make it move than a motorcycle, like shifting, clutching, throttle control, turn signals, foot brake, horn, etc. Bicycles are generally just pedal and go with an occasional shift here and there. Motorcycles are in the flow of traffic where bicycles are often to the side or in many cases ridden on bike trails.

I think the most difficult part at first is learning how to control all of the things you have to control on a motorcycle while remembering to have to watch out for other traffic, stop lights and signs, merging, left turns, right turns, pot holes, hazards, turn the signal off again, shift, throttle, brake, front brake, rear brake, lean, go slow, go fast, swerve, something in the road, speed limit, yield sign, idiot on cell phone, and on and on.

If you take a training course, they will give you exercises and skills to cope with a lot of these things. You can continue to practice these things in an empty parking lot to increase your awareness of how a motorcycle operates. You can take advanced rider course all the way up to closed circuit training for riding on a track. Total motorcycle control!

People who take a training course and get their license are less likely to have a serious accident or die while operating a motorcycle than those who do not.

It is a skill that you have to learn. It is more complicated than driving a car and needs to be practiced to master the art of riding.

When I got out of the Navy (many years ago) a Navy buddy and I decided to go to England, purchase motorcycles (identical Triumph 650s - a pretty fast motorcycle for the time) and ride around Europe for a few months. I’d never ridden a motorcycle before so I had another friend teach me to ride during a few minutes one afternoon. We went to the CA DMV the next day and I took and passed both the written and riding tests (in the parking lot) and was officially a licensed motorcycle rider.

It was over a year of no riding (mostly spent in Vietnam) before we found ourselves in London with brand new Triumphs.

I want to point something out: I am still here, and able to write somewhat cogently.

I’m not sure how I managed that trick. Luck, mostly…

Given everything, with the incredible lack of experience that I had, while in England, learning to ride on the ‘wrong side of the road” (tougher than it sounds) I had an accident on a narrow tree lined country road just a couple of weeks into the trip. I was hit by a car driving much too fast for the road. Just a yard or so different and it could have killed me. As it was, I was thrown over the top of the car. My friend thought I was dead.

Well, 51 years later, and I’m still riding.

Here’s the point, and my recommendation. At least one of the other answers said you should take a motorcycle safety course. DO IT! Just do it.

One of my sons recently completed the AMA’s Motorcycle Safety Course. I attended the classes and also watched the riding instruction. It’s a great introduction to motorcycling and the best preparation that I can think of. Just do it. (Did I say that already?)

But, you’re not done when you’ve finished the course and gotten your license. Each and every time you ride from that point on, keep your head in the game. Keep observing, keep learning that that can help keep you alive.

In the 51 years (and 13 motorcycles) I’ve been riding I’ve had 4 accidents, the one in England, run off the road by a motorcyclist (motorcycle totaled - back broken), hit a deer (broken plastic and bruises - rode home), and fell and slid on a wet first rain of the season slippery patch of road. All but the last could have been fatal.

I’m not saying don’t ride, riding motorcycles is spectacular.

I’m just saying that every time for the rest of your life you get on a motorcycle, give riding 100% of your attention. After 51 years I still use every ride to look for some new way to be a safer motorcyclist.

Most folks come from a standpoint of already being able to ride a bicycle, so the essentials of balancing a two-wheeled vehicle are pretty much there.

From there, it's a matter of learning to operate the controls; the throttle, brake, clutch, and gear shifting mechanism.

More accidents occur in the first few minutes of riding..... You can look on YouTube and find dozens of these....First timer hops on the bike, tries to give it a little gas, gives it too much.....Bike takes off snapping the rider backwards which opens the throttle even more.... And bang.

It should be done just as you would with a car. Big open space, nothing to hit. Open the throttle gently to learn where the the clutch engagement point is, then back off and squeeze the clutch lever.

Repeat. Repeat a number of times. Get that down in your muscle memory... Pull in the clutch and operate the brakes. Clutch and brake, clutch and brake.

That way, you won't panic when you start moving. Let the clutch out all the way with just enough throttle to keep you moving....Then stop. Stopping is the reflex you want to develop first.

Take it easy, you're in no hurry.

You shouldn’t fall at all. BUT YOU WILL. Almost 60 years riding experience and I dropped my bike last Saturday. I was my fault. Its almost ALWAYS my fault. With practice, you gain experience. With experience you do less stupid things. It is fun, but also dangerous. Take a MSF class. Wear good riding gear. That is a good quality helment, gloves blue jeans and or leather and boots HIGHER than your ankles. You leave the house in the morning for a nice ride with friends and your family is planning your funeral tonight. You must be aware of your surroundings 100% of the time. Ride like your invisible. Because you are. Ride safe, ride long. Like they say, RIDE TO LIVE LIVE TO RIDE. There is not a lot of second chances when it comes to riding a motorcycle. Then you get old. You can’t hold your bike up any longer. So, you go out and buy the DREADED TRIKE. Ride long enough and your butt will be on one too.

Here is some concise advice regarding technique for getting started:

1. Stop with your front wheel straight. Students drop their bike when stopping because they aren’t squaring their bars when coming to a halt.
2. Rotate your head (keep shoulders square) BEFORE you change directions, look through your path of travel.
3. Don’t drag your feet, take a few steps to get going but then get them on the pegs ASAP once you’re moving fast enough to balance.
4. Don’t look down. You should’ve “felt” where the foot pegs/controls were without looking before you even started the engine.
5. Don’t baby the brakes once you’re a bit acquainted with them, brake with a bit of progressive force when stopping…crawling to a stop will make balance an issue and force you to walk with the bike.
6. Don’t look down. What the hell is looking at your clutch lever or gauges doing for you? I know, I know, you can’t help it. Well concentrate harder then.
7. Stalling out a lot? Thats ok, part of the learning process. Twist the throttle, feel it out, make it your friend, practice holding it at steady RPMs. Listen to the motor, if she gets too quiet she’s telling you she’s going to stall. Don’t let that happen, make it rev “louder.”
8. Don’t look down. Breath deep. Fear keeps you alive, but anxiety makes your hands shake. Pretend you’re relaxed and breath slow, your body/heartrate will be tricked into actually relaxing and it will be easier to concentrate.
9. Speed will help you, especially regarding balance. Most stuedents are white-knuckled (loosen your grip) thinking they’re going 60mph, but I’m still walking next to them.
10. Focus…you’re a badass. You can do this. Also, don’t look down.

Eyes: LOOK where you want to go.

Brain: THINK about what you’re doing with the clutch.

Ears: LISTEN to the motor so you don’t stall.

Muscles: LOOSEN up, don’t be tense, and breath.

I am 17 and I dont know how to ride a bicycle. Funny, isn't it? I dont feel embarrased, rather I make fun of myself along with my friends. I personally feel that I am perfect in my imperfections. There is no need to feel embarrased for what youdont know, rather feel proud on what you know. May be your friends know how to ride a bike but you know "Something else". Then why feel tensed about the negativity in you. If you dont now, you will learn later. There is no logic in being sad about it. Its just that, some people learn something at early stage and some at later stage. Try to concentrate on important things in your life right now.

Took me two hours of practice to pass the test. I am still alive … been riding fifty years and some. Then I was lucky, and I am still learning. My advice is to learn how to ride a motorcycle off-road, til you can do wheelies and drift, and handle all kinds of difficulties. Then go on the road.

Learning can be fun!.

A lifetime. while the other answers are simplistically correct - you can learn to ride basics in a couple of weeks even hours….. Please don’t believe that you are in any way proficient!! Example - learning to counter steer. Not something that comes naturally as you will probably learn like you learned on a bicycle - by leaning into turns. Your are going much faster with a motor and you should learn to counter steer. It takes lots of practice for this to become second nature.

Learning to properly use and balance braking is one of the differences between mortals and racers. learning to feel and understand what the seat of your pants is telling you.

Eye discipline, defensive driving techniques and anticipation by reading the clues that drivers give off take a long time to integrate into your daily commute and riding style.

Passing the test and learning to really ride aren’t the same thing. Too many people think that they passed the test ergo they can ride. Just isn’t so. Heck most people take the MSF (or the like) course so they don’t HAVE to take the proficiency exam at the DMV. if you aren’t confident enough to take the proficiency test….. what makes you think you are good enough to survive rush hour?

Practice - take time and effort. Learning to ride is the start of a great adventure. you may be satisfied with riding to the store and back or to work and home. You may end up traveling cross country or cross continent. Maybe you want to race. All of these disciplines have their own learning curves and challenges and methods of accomplishing.

I guarantee you that finishing the basic rider’s course doesn’t make you a proficient or even good rider. Some folks will never be. Others will challenge the world. The difference is in attitude, desire, willingness to learn and develop. I HIGHLY recommend the various Beginning Rider courses - and the advanced courses a bit later. I have taken the advanced course a number of times and always take something away from the class. I’ve been riding for over 40 years and would not classify myself as an expert rider. Competent, safe, sometimes fast, sometimes in the dirt, sometimes accomplished and sometimes in over my head. I try to minimize the last one.

There is a key word missed from the question. It is “safely”.

How easily do I learn to ride a motorcycle. With me teaching you in our paddock, stupendously, mind numbingly easily. If you can ride a bicycle, ten minutes is ample for you to be able to make the bike go and stop and give you a grin which will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Note that even at 10mph, in a grass paddock, you still need a helmet.

Now to the second part of the answer with the additon of “safely”. Modern bikes are easy to ride compared with the things I first rode 50 years ago - but traffic is much denser and other drivers more agressive.

Professional training, which I never had, will help you stay and safe and increase the level of your enjoyment.

Next, when you have your bike licence choose a mid range 400–600cc motorcycle and ride every day - rain, sun or wind: just ride and ride and ride. Don’t get a big, heavy lump of a bike which will intimidate you.

All the time follow this maxim. The diamond studded golden rule for riding safely is that anything which you don’t know for 110% certain is safe has to be thought of as dangerous.

Develop hungry eyes and constantly look for danger and you will ride safely and feel blessed that you have the greatest sport on earth.

How did you learn to ride a motorcycle?

If you were to look for a more difficult way to learn to ride a motorcycle you’d be hard pressed to beat the way I learned. I had just been discharged from 6 years of active military duty and just a few days before had returned from a tour in Vietnam.

My best friend and I were discharged within days of each other and we flew from California to London, purchased two Triumph 650 Tiger motorcycles and spent the next three months riding around Europe.

Full disclosure, I actually had ridden a 650 Triumph for about 10 minutes a couple of years before.

In any event, once in London we picked up our new motorcycles and, after minimal driving for the previous year, rode away from the Triumph dealer learning to ride as we went. Oh yeah, and in a strange country where everyone, for some strange reason, drives on the wrong side of the road. Who knows why? :-)

Here’s the one thing to think about when you consider driving a car vs a motorcycle on the “wrong side of the road.”

Driving a typical car in the UK the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. So just a little analysis and mental mirroring will allow you to drive with the correct edge of the lane or road on the left side of the car. You always have that reference in a car. But you have no such crutch on a motorcycle so when learning we had to be conscious ALL THE TIME.

FYI, safety wise we did OK. I was hit by a car driving way too fast on a twisty tall shrub lined back road. I had a few bruises and the motorcycle needed a new frame. After almost three months of accident free riding my friend rear ended a car in Spain. Turns out he’d been riding the ENTIRE time without using the front brake!

When we returned home my friend never rode again. And I’ve continued to ride and am on my 13th motorcycle.

It all depends. Most of all, it dependes on your age, on your prior skills on bicycles (its the same principle but with an engine), on you knowledge on the dinamics of driving/riding, and your notion of centrifugal force. Besides that, it all a matter of going for it. I started riding when I was about 14, but I was riding bicycles since I was 5. It was so easy to adapt. The hard part was to deal with sudden acceleration without fisical input (pedeling).After that it was a matter of minutes. If you can ride a bicycle, you can ride a motorcycle.A tip, and a very important one, even essencial: start small, in a regular motorcycle (not a scooter), with a clutch and manual transmission, and a small displacement one (125cc max). You'll have time to move up the ladder (and even buy a scooter if you want). Take a safety course, learn the basics not because you want to “learn” to ride, but to substantially diminish the risks, and be more able to cope with the hazard we face everyday.

I warn you: you be addicted in no time! Im an “addict” going on 35 years and have no intention of finding a cure…

Ride safe, rubber side down!