No short cut.

Ride and ride more.

First week do nothing but low speed drills in the parking lot. Learn the clutch friction zone. Slow turns, low speed balance, tight U turns and tight figure 8. Learn counter balancing for tight turns. Learn to use the rear brake for low speed. If you do it correctly expect to drop the bike a few times. If you don't, you are not trying hard enough. Do emergency braking and rolling stops, learn to balance the bike to fall to your left side when coming to a stop. Then learn to fall off the bike. Learn to pick up the bike

Then only go out on the road.

Then learn counter steering, proper braking and turning technique.


The b full test only teaches you how to pass the test. It does not teach you how to ride a bike.

I have been riding for a year on L before taking the b full test. Did everything including off roading. Dropped the bike many many times.

Which is why people say, get a cheap disposable bike you don't mind dropping. You can't sayang your first bike as you will stunt your own skills.

You don't fall, you don't learn. To be honest, the test was a breeze. But then again, by the time I took my b full in a year, I already done 20k km on the dominar.

This post has been edited by jaycee1: Oct 14 2024, 10:34 PM

is good to know the bike has ABS, but ride it like it doesn't have it

for the record, I don't ride on track, just an average rider with many years of riding experience and crashes haha

when MT07 with ABS first came out, I heard about its ABS intrusiveness a few times, and I think the rear ABS triggers easily, I'd say, probably 99% won't feel it

the front, would be another story... see this video from one local rider
I think FortNine made a video about slamming the front brake and causing something like this to happen


riding in the rain is another thing, for me, is to ride it like it doesn't have ABS and practice good safety sense - smooth input to the bike, avoid painted lines

Well ABS is ABS. I don't particularly like it, but I appreciate it is there. Most of the time it's just annoying when it's not needed, but invaluable when it is needed.

The thing about ABS is the cheaper ABS modules all cut in too soon and stay on too long leaving you with no brakes. But it does what it is supposed to do which is preventing lockups and preventing you tucking the front wheel.

I would say daily riding, ABS isnt intrusive but if you are riding at 95+% it can get in the way. Or if you are doing stupid shit like jumping speed humps. Once the front wheel or both wheels gets off the ground, you have no brakes for the split second or so after you land. Very interesting if going down genting with all the speed humps and sharp corner that comes right after.

Then again, it's no fault of the ABS if you are intent to do stupid shit.

Yea, I figured the driving school ain't going to be teaching me the 'real world' experience needed to survive out on Malaysian roads. Which was one of the main factors in me actually looking out for 'external' riding schools like Hafiq Azmi Riding School to get a bit of 'actual 101'.

I'm stoked yet terrified at the same time as being on a bike is the polar opposite of driving a truck where you feel 'somewhat invincible', not that I drive like a maniac for that matter but you know how some drivers can be on the road (speeding, not using turn signals, etc etc).

But after getting stuck for 3 hours on Federal heading back to Klang yesterday and 1.5 hours coming up to work this morning, I've decided enough is enough.. I need to learn to ride to preserve my sanity.

during raining season learning to ride a big bike is also dangerous

-fogging full-face helmet

-federal highway motorcycle lane flooded at Batu Tiga, prepare to merge into the main road

-no light in motorcycle lane area during night

- no place to store your luggage

Oh, I don't intend on doing any serious bike riding especially the Genting run. Just normal commute back and forth from work till I get used to riding a bike. But even then, daily riding back and forth from work won't give me the drive to want to do long rides on weekends.. at least for now, I think?

And yea, I like the earlier point mentioned by @alexei to ride it like it doesn't have it. Guess that would be a good training of sorts to remember ultimately, the best 'safety gear' I can rely on is my brain.

Yea, that's one of my fears as well seeing loads of motorcyclist stuck under the bridge when it's raining.

Not too worried about fogging as I want to also look towards a pinlock system helmet to help with that. Hopefully it works as good as people say it does. But I will definitely be getting a full faced just for the added protection.

Been observant of the motorcycle lanes on highways that I travel on and yea, I do see it's quite dark and has some weird curves which would explain why most motorcyclist ends up on the highway anyways.

I just plan to keep my laptop at work and by extension, leave work at work. Hahah, should not have to worry about carrying too much luggage, I hope..

IMO rain isnt that big of a deal if you are prepared for it.
Waterproof bag, raincoat (get one with bright color), gloves, proper tyre and you are good to go.
Unless it is a really heavy rain where you cant even see what is in front of you then thats when you need to find a place to stop.

This post has been edited by Patent: Oct 15 2024, 10:54 AM

Can consider rent a bike n commute to work for a week.. to get d feel...
Remember 'everyone' out there is trying to 'kill' u...

https://www.facebook.com/share/eYtvZ6QGX6SvMnLF/

This post has been edited by basilisk: Oct 15 2024, 01:14 PM

To be honest, I've no idea how it feels like to ride in the rain but I did try on a full face helmet just for fun and ended up with a fogged visor. I can only imagine it'll be a whole lot worst riding in the rain.

I'm not too worried about getting myself wet, but when it comes to riding in the rain, I'll still err on the side of caution for now, considering I'm still new to all this.

Oh yea, on the first page, someone did mention BINO to have a feel for different bikes. Might just give it a shot, once I've gotten my actually license and have a few hours under my belt.

Just to add on to what the rest mentioned, do not fetch any pillion as it will affect the weight, handling and braking.

Usually it will fog up when you are stationary but pinlock does help. Just a note of caution if you are wearing prescription lenses then pinlock might give you some glare when it is dark and might be irritating to some riders.

Be like some of the riders i know here where they just ride through the rain and only use the raincoat if it is raining in the morning to head for work. Will be showering anyways when you get home so not much difference.

i too have never rode a bike in my life and signed up for B full license right before c19. i was eyeing to purchase a 650 immediately but after reading and asking for opinions, i bought a light weight 250 instead as a leaner's bike . i've just gotten myself a 650 after 3 yrs of riding a 250

thinking back, I am glad i started off with a 250 instead of jumping straight to 650 else i would have dropped quite a number of times or maybe have an accident here and there.



i can still remember my adrenalin pumping when i see the road ahead jam pack of cars and i started out queueing behind cars alot.

you mentioned that you'll be using federal highway often meaning you'll be using the motorcycle lane. In my experience as a newbie, the m lane is narrow as heck and alot of kapchais will be flying past you during peak hours, hence being able to maintain a straight line allowing the other bikes to pass is crucial. no room for error man

This post has been edited by Voopoo: Oct 16 2024, 04:02 PM

Yes indeed. Start off on a smaller cheap bike.

It's easier to build confidence and skill up faster than if you jumped right into a big bike that is too powerful, too heavy and too tall for your skill level.

Once you have managed to build the skills and confidence, then upgrade.

yes, thank you to all you sifus for your advise
after riding a 145 kg 250cc bike for 3 years and switched to a 200kg 650, the weight difference is huge....can immediately feel it during slow speed maneuver.
when i just got my L license, the weight of a bike didnt even cross my mind when i wanted to get a 650cc bike right from the start.

Suggest to get Honda CB500x or the NX 500 as first big bike.

Don't let the 500 fool you.

It's a big bike. And at 200kg, and 830cm seat height, unless you have the legs for it, it's not something a greenhorn can manage well.

what is the 250cc you bhave rode back then?

I understand why people want to just jump on the bigger bike.

Not to say you can't. But unless you are one of those brilliant riders that takes to bikes like a duck to water, most new riders will benefit from starting on a smaller lighter bike.

This is true from personal experience and what I see on a lot of newer riders that went on a new big bike. I am able to skill up waaay faster than those that went the big bike route immediately. Even now, after a few years of riding, they can't properly do a tight U turn or corner at higher speed with confidence.

This post has been edited by jaycee1: Oct 17 2024, 11:34 AM

CB250R, still riding it as my daily ride to work. Wasn't my plan to ride to work but due to the jam nowadays, i prefer riding than driving