How to Ride a Motorcycle - a Step by Step Tutorial on How to Ride a Motorcycle

Depending on your height and the motorcycle's height, throwing a leg over a bike can be an awkward maneuver.

Starting at the left side of the motorcycle, stabilize your balance by leaning gently against the tank and/or the handlebars. With all your weight on your left leg, lift your right leg up and over the bike-- be careful to lift your leg high, or it might get caught before reaching the other side of the bike.

Once you're straddling the bike, you can rest on the seat and get a sense of the motorcycle's ergonomics. This is a good time to make sure mirrors are adjusted. Acquaint yourself with footpeg position and the location of turn signals, horn, and lights. Every bike is different, and spending a moment to become familiar at this stage is far safer than moving fast and riding off too soon.

The next few steps outline the basic controls of a motorcycle; familiarizing yourself with key controls like throttle, brakes, clutch, and shift pedal first will enable you to learn easily and focus more on your technique.