As a kid, I was a big motorcycle fan. My brother and I would wake up at 4:30a.m., get our chores done, eat breakfast and catch our school bus by 6a.m.. But even though we got home from school so late, it still wasn't enough time to ride our dirt bikes before dark. We were always eager to ride, but the lack of daylight made it hard at times.
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Living in an area that received abundant amounts of snowfall meant that our riding season was cut short even more. Since our dirt bike training consisted mainly of watching MotoGP races on TV, we learned how to ride dirt bikes by trial and error mostly, or what we thought was right.
Even though we had some lessons from a trainer at the track, I wish we would have been more educated on how to ride a dirt bike as beginners before heading out on our own. We were lucky not to have hurt ourselves because of it.
If you're an adult who has newly purchased a dirt bike, or if you're an adult who is still riding around on your parents' dirt bike, I've got some tips for you.
I hope this article can give all of you aspiring riders everything that might have been missed when learning how to ride a dirt motorcycle.
Just remember that everyone makes mistakes and has never ridden a dirt bike before, it's important to be properly trained in order to avoid serious injury. It's also a great idea if you want to get your kids involved with dirt bike riding; which is an excellent way for them to learn discipline and responsibility early on in their lives.
From the moment you decide that you want to start dirt bike riding, there are some precautions that you should take in order to protect yourself.
First, check out your local laws concerning off-road dirt bikes. Make sure that they are street legal. All the equipment you need to ride a dirt bike on public roads is required by law, including a license plate, headlamp, tail lamp and reflectors.
Make sure that you have all the necessary safety gear. And if you want to take your dirt bike riding a step further, I recommend investing in some dirt bike body armor for off-road riding.
It's important that you wear a helmet and full leathers. The last thing you want is to go out there and hurt yourself because of a lack of safety equipment.
In this article, I'll be showing you how to ride a dirt bike by giving you a step-by-step explanation on how to operate a two stroke engine and how it delivers power to the rear tire.
I'll also give you some tips on how not to fall off your motorcycle during a sharp turn or when shifting gears.
So, let's ride!
STEP 1: Basic controls and how to shift gears when learning how to ride a dirt bike for beginners.
When you're just starting out, attempting to drive your dirt bike in higher gear ranges will only slow you down and burn up all your engine power. It's best that beginner riders keep their dirt bike in a lower gear range until you become more familiar with your dirt bike and its power. This will prevent the motor from overheating and bogging down on you when it's needed most.
My brother and I went through all sorts of bikes before we got our first two stroke dirt bike, but nothing bogs them down like shifting into higher gear ranges when you're new to dirt bike riding.
When learning how to ride a dirt bike for beginners, it's important that you become familiar with your clutch lever and throttle control. Beginner riders tend to confuse the controls which makes operating the motorcycle trickier than it should be. So here's how they work:
Your left hand controls the clutch and your right hand controls the throttle.
The easiest way to become familiar with these two controls is to start out by shifting into first gear. Pull the clutch all the way up and twist your wrist as if you're turning a doorknob clockwise until it disengages, then rock your foot slightly off to the left side of your dirt bike to find first gear.
Now, twist your throttle all the way open until you get the momentum needed to move forward. When you get used to this, you can shift into higher gears because it's okay for beginners to start off in a lower gear range (first or second) when learning how to ride a dirt bike. You should only switch into higher gear ranges once you feel comfortable shifting.
If you're just starting out, it's best to stay away from the brake because too much stopping power on loose terrain will cause your rear tire to spin out, which is never good for a beginner rider!
STEP 2: How to operate your dirt bike with your left hand controls.
When you're ready to learn how to ride a dirt bike, it's best that you familiarize yourself with your left hand controls as well as the throttle and clutch. Learning how to operate both your clutch and throttle levers during different situations is important when learning how to ride a dirt bike because they are the most used parts of the motorcycle.
Let's start out with the clutch lever. Pull it towards you to disengage your engine from your rear wheel, and push it away from you to send power to the rear wheel. Make sure that when engaging and disengaging your clutch, you squeeze and release slowly because too much force on either end will damage your clutch pack. Now let's move onto the throttle. Twist it counter-clockwise to slow down and clockwise to speed up. Under heavy use, dirt bike throttles have a tendency of sticking so twist your throttle slowly and steadily until you get used to how much power you need in order for your engine to go faster or slower.
STEP 3: Tips on how to ride a dirt bike.
Now that you know how to operate your dirt bike, there are some vital tips on how to keep yourself safe while learning how to ride a dirt bike. If you're just getting started off road biking and everything is feeling new and scary, take it slow and don't be afraid to fall!
There isn't a single person who's ever started off riding a dirt bike and didn't fall at least once. Everyone falls when they start learning how to ride, even the professionals! Falling is actually pretty safe as long as you do it on grass or some other soft surface.
It goes without saying that you should always wear a helmet while riding your dirt bike, but even the pros don't escape without a stitch or two. Riding dirt bikes can be dangerous, so always be prepared for an unexpected patch of sand or rock that may cause you to wipe out unexpectedly.

