Hey everyone.
I am a new rider and am having confidence problems. Took a rider's course but feel private one on one instruction would definitly benefit me. I live in the South Jersey area. I tried searching online but it always leads back to basic courses. Any ideas?

 

.....have any friends who ride? stay in the neighborhood for awhile. Plenty of valuable lessons that can be learned in residential areas.

 

Thanx for your reply! Unfortunately I am the only rider in my small circle of peeps. Plenty of places close by to ride around until I am confident enough for main roads. Just need an experienced rider...

 

I don't know how 1 on 1 institutions will help with confidence but you might learn a thing or two. Confidence comes from riding and more riding. You just have to remember you're invisible to everyone out there. Just imagine they're all trying to hit you and keep that in mind. Never let your guard down.

 

Time in the saddle and building your muscle memory will slowly but surely build confidence over time. If not, riding may not be for you.

Good luck and always pay attention to the environment around you. Some call it defensive driving.

 

The best way to gain confidence is practice. Find a big empty parking lot near you and go over all the things they taught in the course. Starting, stopping, left and right turns, etc. You don't need to worry about going fast at this point, just get to know your bike and how it reacts to you.

 

Does the bike fit you:

Are you comfortable sitting on it ..., can you touch the ground flat footed..., are the bars adjusted for your reach..., can you comfortably reach / use all the controls

Next

Find a vacant parking lot - use some debris to set up a makeshift course

Practice - starting / stopping / backing / braking / turning / accelerating / dodging - do this till comfortable

Then take it to a local neighborhood and tool around till comfortable

Then hit a two lane road and work on that till comfortable

Then a slab - not during rush hr

===========

It all new and scary - was for us all

It can also be tamed..., liberating..., and fun as hell

Ghost

 

Barb's Harley Davidson in Mt. Ephraim participates in the H-D Riding Academy program. You might contact them and see if they plan on offering a Skilled Rider Course any time soon, or if their riding coaches have some advice on if they know anyone willing to be a "Riding mentor."

Despite the name, you don't have to be a pro-level rider to take it; they mean "skilled" as in "already have your cycle endorsement" and a bike. I took the one at Wolverine HD in Michigan, and it sounds like it'd be right up your alley. You start with the same basic exercises in the Basic Rider course, then they add some twists. Plus, I was in a class of 3 people so there's plenty more time for individual coaching. Also, you use your own bike instead of the school bikes.

in my case (I started out with serious confidence issues as well) it can be something as simple as someone watching you while you have difficulty with a maneuver and being able to see what you're doing incorrectly and coach you on the right way. Basic Rider courses often have too many students for the instructors to have the bandwidth for that.

 

What kinda Harley you have ? Being over biked and new is not good.
Ride carefully to a empty parking lot, bigger the better and just ride, don't over think the confidence deal, ride slow, concentrate on being fluid, you will out grow the parking lot...............Good luck
joe

 

I started with a 400cc single. Rode around my neighborhood after work for a week, then started riding to work. I remember hitting 50 the first time (probably that first week) and feeling a little overwhelmed.

Took the MSF Rider's Course within a month of riding, and about 9 months later their advanced riders course. Well worth the money.

Even the Harley dealer here in Orlando uses smaller Asian bikes to learn on (or used to), and I think the new rider would be wise to start out for 6 months on a smaller, lighter, easier-to-handle and easier to stop bike before getting big iron (although the OP doesn't say what he bought).

More currently, that 400cc bike and my Sportster are the only bikes I'd ridden until 2 years ago when I got my Low Rider. Even after almost 150,000 miles of "experience", I was a bit anxious on that ride home on the Low Rider, having never been on a bike that heavy.

I don't know what a one-on-one tute would do for you that the MSF course didn't except lighten your wallet. And even the counsel of riding buddies isn't always accurate. The guy the pushed me to get my first bike told me not to use the front brake.