Ride Within Your Abilities; Basic Vehicle Control; Body Position; Shifting Gears - Vermont Castings MOTORCYCLE Manual

ridewithinyourabilities
This manual cannot teach you how to control direction, speed or balance.
That's something you can learn only through practice, preferably in a formal
course of instruction like an MSF RiderCourse. But control begins with knowing
your abilities and riding within them, along with knowing and obeying the rules
of the road.

BaSiC VehiCLe CONtrOL

Body Position

To control a motorcycle well:
• Posture — Position yourself
comfortably so you are able to
operate all the controls and can use
your arms to steer the motorcycle,
rather than to hold yourself up.
This helps you bond with your
motorcycle and allows you to react
quickly to hazards.
• Seat — Sit far enough forward so
that arms are slightly bent when
you hold the handgrips. Bending
your arms permits you to press on
the handlebars without having to
stretch.
• Hands — Hold the handgrips
firmly to keep your grip over rough
surfaces. Start with your right
wrist flat. This will help you keep
from accidentally using too much
holdinghandgriPs
throttle. Also, adjust the handlebars
so your hands are even with or
below your elbows. This permits
you to use the proper muscles for
precision steering.
• Knees — Keep your knees against
the gas tank to help you keep your
balance as the motorcycle turns.
• Feet — Keep your feet firmly on the
footrests to maintain balance. Don't
drag your feet. If your foot catches
on something, you could be injured
and it could affect your control of
the motorcycle. Keep your feet near
the controls so you can get to them
fast if needed. Also, don't let your
toes point downward — they may
get caught between the road and
the footrests.

Shifting Gears

There is more to shifting gears than
simply getting the motorcycle to pick
up speed smoothly. Learning to use the
gears when downshifting, turning or
starting on hills is equally important for
safe motorcycle operation.
The gearshift lever is located in front
of the left footrest and is operated by
the left foot. To shift "up" to a higher
gear, position your foot under the
shift lever and lift. To downshift, press
the shift lever down. The shift lever
changes one gear each time it is lifted
or pressed down. Whenever the lever
is released, spring loading returns it to
center, where the mechanism resets
for the next shift up or down. A typical
gear pattern is 1-N-2-3-4-5. The N is
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