My suggestion to anyone who wants to learn to ride.
Get a dirt bike and do some trail riding for a while, learn to handle the bike as the rear end hops around, learn to counter steer, learn to control the front end as it wants to tuck on you, learn to brake properly not stab at it like most do in a car, learn how the rear brake works.

The next step in my area is we have the fortune of cornerspin, go take their dirt bike course which is geared towards road racing but in the dirt. http://www.cornerspin.com/main.html
Since this is a Cruiser forum and many aren't going to accept this but here it is anyway.

Buy yourself a $2-3K sport bike a few years old and hit a road track and listen to the control riders. Learn your and your bikes limits in a controlled (as much as possible) environment.
Now while I ride my HD on the street I still have a sport bike I take out on the track a few times a year to keep my skills up.
Being prepared in a panic situation is no accident.

 

It isn't as simple as it sounds to successfully lead a noob ride.
I know many who are very fast riders who don't know the first thing about leading a newb.
Nice thing for me is when I started riding sport bikes there were alot of noob rides that were usually led by racers, control riders or guys/girls that have just done it alot.
Your job teaching a noob is to help teach them, make sure the pace isn't too fast, don't make them constantly have to catch up, let them know no one will get left behind, make sure they are comfortable and take their time. We were all new once.
While crashing is never a good thing often it is said our bikes will lean more than we realized (even our Harleys) and when in doubt, lean. Try not to stand it up and run off the road, hit a tree or a guard rail you may have made it if you leaned more and low siding might just save your life!
Stay away from the rear brake in a turn especially and if you have to trail brake in a turn do it very very very gently, it doesn't take much.
Don't just roll off the gas, it upset the entire bike.

 

Excessive speed.

 

step one not be scared and start threads like this. lol. we are all responsiable for our own disteny i am sad when my brothers pass away on bikes. but every time we all jump on one, we know that it could be the last time.

 

Mathematically speaking, this averages to be 25% single bike accidents involving alcohol. Reduce the alcohol accidents will in turn reduce the number (statistically) of single vehicle accidents. Ride safe, practice, and take all precautions. It still amazes me how many people wear full faced helmets, jackets, gloves, leather pants, boots, etc., and stagger out of a bar to get onto their bikes. It is not enough just to plan for an accident, it is important to reduce the chance of accidents.

 

I'm not against having a beer, but when you go past a bar and the parking lot is packed with bikes and bikers and has been all afternoon and evening, something's gonna happen, sooner or later.

 

lol booom. and some people say they have no idea why the stats are the way they are. so many people buy bikes for gas mileage and to go to bike night at local bar. eventually lack of experience and alchol will bit you in the *** every time.

 

"Over-riding"

 

Check out this one, the guy hit the back of a car on a highway in the middle of the night....

http://www.wmur.com/news/28997561/detail.html

 

Instead of spending money on mods and bling, more riders should invest in advanced training, such as a track day course.