Even if you want to go to a driving school to get a motorcycle license, what should you do? Can I really do it even if I don't know anything about motorcycles? It's full of anxiety, isn't it?

Here, we will explain the content of the lessons that will be conducted at the beginning, to help answer any questions you may have about what to do at the driving school, and also provide information on basic knowledge that will be useful even after the lessons actually begin.

If you read it, you will understand the basics and will be able to concentrate on improving your driving skills, so please read it before attending a driving school.

1. First of all, raise it, maneuver it, and remove the center stand.

The first things you'll learn when you join the course are how to right a fallen motorcycle ("piloting"), how to push the motorcycle with the engine off ("handling"), and how to park the motorcycle on the center stand ("putting the motorcycle on the center stand").
It may seem easy when written down, but it can be quite difficult if you don't know the trick.
*In reality, you will also be taught how to wear the helmet and how to tighten the chin strap, but this is not difficult so I will skip that.
*Motorcycle lessons are quite physically demanding, so you may be asked to do some "warm-up exercises" before the lesson begins.

For those who are weak, the beginning is the most difficult! ? Lifting up a fallen bike

In the case of Regular Motorcycle (400cc), the weight of the vehicle is approximately 200kg for a manual transmission and approximately 230kg for an automatic transmission, depending on the training vehicle used. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to consider it as a block of iron that weighs that much?

Of course, it is impossible to lift it using only the strength of your arms, and even if you use the strength of your whole body, it is impossible to "lift" it unless you are extremely strong. However, if you can get the hang of it, even a weak person can do it.
It's not about lifting something, it's simply about standing up something that has fallen.

Even if it's impossible to do this

Doesn't this seem like something we can do?
Of course, you need a certain amount of muscle strength, but if you can't do this, you won't be able to do anything if you fall, so do your best!

There are basically three methods of triggering.

You can lift it by holding the handle and hanger (the metal frame above the rear wheel).

Hold the left and right handles with both hands to lift the car up.

How to raise the vehicle by holding only the handle in the direction of the fall with both hands

There are three:
Regardless of the method, the important thing is to "squat down firmly and put your hips in." Don't try to lift yourself up using only your arms, but squat down and press your hips against the area between the tank and the seat, and use your whole body (especially your leg muscles) to lift yourself up. Imagine using your hips to push yourself up, rather than lifting yourself up.

Some strong men may be able to wake up by squatting down and using only their upper body strength, but this can cause back pain, so be sure to squat down firmly and use your legs to wake up.

Also, if you are trying to raise a vehicle that has fallen onto the right side, take out the side stand in advance so that you can lean it on the stand after you raise it up.

If you get the hang of it, you won't fall down.

Start maneuvering by holding the handlebars with both hands and holding the bike close to your body so that the weight is supported by your hips.

When pushing, it will be easier to move if you imagine pushing with your hips instead of relying only on your arm strength. When backing up, hold the handle with your left hand and the hanger with your right hand, making sure to check the safety behind you as you move.

If the bike leans to the right (opposite the direction your body is facing), your hips will not be able to support it, and even a slight tilt will cause the bike to tip over.
Be especially careful when turning left, as the road tends to lean to the right.

Tips for hanging on center stand

The difficulty of putting the bike on the center stand varies greatly depending on whether or not you can get the hang of it.
When the center stand is on, the front and rear wheels are completely off the ground and nothing but the stand is in contact with the ground, so when doing this, you tend to imagine that you are "lifting the vehicle."
However, as mentioned above, the vehicle weighs about 200 kg, so it requires tremendous arm strength to lift the vehicle and put it on the center stand.

Textbooks often say "put your entire weight on your foot and use the principle of leverage," but I personally feel a better way to say it is "kick the center stand as if you are trying to drive it into the ground."
The idea is not to use your arm strength to lift, but to support your body so that it doesn't rise up when you kick.

How to remove the center stand without using too much force and without knocking it over?

To remove the center stand, hold the handle with both hands, pull it toward you once to get some rebound, then push it forward to remove it. Once the stand comes off, quickly apply the front brake and support it with your waist.

Be careful not to tilt the bike away from your body at this time, as you may not be able to support it and it may fall over.
If you turn the handlebars slightly to the right beforehand, the bike will naturally lean to the left. If the bike leans to the opposite side to your body when you remove the kickstand, it's likely that the handlebars are turned to the left, so be careful.

Up until this point, I haven't even gotten on the bike, let alone started the engine.
After this, at the driving school, you will actually straddle the bike and be taught how to ride and how to maintain proper posture.

• It is no good to remove the stand after riding. Take it off and ride.
• Make sure your surroundings are safe before riding quickly.
• It is no good to touch your right foot to the ground when riding. Put it on the steps of the bike.

There are various rules for how to ride a vehicle, but I will omit them because they are not complicated and I don't think there will be any problems if you take the lessons at a driving school with the vehicle in front of you.

2. Learn the names, roles, usage, and basic operations of each part.

Before starting the engine, you will of course be taught how to start the engine. You will also learn the names, roles, and uses of each part.

The equipment involved in starting the engine will be explained later, so the order of teaching may be different from the order in which it will be taught in the actual lesson, but we will introduce the names and roles of each part.

Acceleration/deceleration operation

First, I will explain the accelerator, which increases engine speed and accelerates, and the brake, which decelerates.

First, the accelerator. I'm sure you all know where it is, right? It's on the handlebar grip on the right hand side.
Turning this throttle grip towards you opens the throttle and increases the engine speed.

So, do you know where the brakes are? The front wheel brake is operated by the brake lever located behind the accelerator grip, and the rear wheel brake is operated by the pedal in front of the right foot step (the part where you place your foot) rather than the lever in your left hand like on a bicycle.

This means that everything used for acceleration and deceleration is concentrated on the right side.

Gear shift operation

Next is the gear shifting operation. The clutch, which connects and disconnects engine power to the tires, is operated by a lever on the left hand, and gears are operated by a shift pedal located in front of the left footstep.

What exactly is a clutch? Some people may think so, but it would be too long to explain in text, so I will omit it here.

You can't run a bike without at least these four parts, both in the rabbit and the corner, and they're actually the parts you use the most. Therefore, it is placed in the part that is easiest to operate.

The accelerator and brake are on the right, and the clutch and shift are on the left, so although the hands and feet are mixed, the left-right arrangement is the same as in a car. It should be easy to imagine for those who have obtained a standard driver's license with a manual transmission.

Various meters

There are many meters on a motorcycle, and the installation location and which meters are installed vary depending on the model.
However, there are two things that are always installed on every vehicle.

• "Speedometer" that shows the current driving speed
• The odometer displays the total distance traveled since delivery.

is.
In addition to these two

• Tachometer (rpm meter) that displays engine speed
• A trip meter (distance meter) that can be reset and is used to measure mileage.
• "Fuel gauge" that displays the remaining amount of fuel
• "Water temperature gauge (or oil temperature gauge)" that displays the temperature of cooling water and oil

These may be included depending on the vehicle model.
By the way, the CB400SF, which is often used as a driving school vehicle, has all the features except for the water temperature system.

Various switches

Next are the various switches. First of all, the turn signal switch is in this position.

It looks like this when enlarged. If you move it to the left, the left turn signal will flash, and if you move it to the right, the right turn signal will flash. To turn it off, push it back.
Below the turn signals is the horn switch, and above them is the switch for switching the headlights between low and high.
Depending on the car model, there may be a hazard light switch or a choke lever (described later) next to the light selector switch, and there may be a flashing switch on the back where you can operate it with your index finger. In other words, there may be up to six switches in this area alone.

The right side of the handle is a switch that is mainly used for starting the engine, so we will explain it along with the starting operation.

3. Start the engine and drive

Starting operation

First, check the fuel cock before riding. If it is on, it is slightly behind the engine on the left side of the vehicle.

The illustration is oriented to the right, so it is often on the opposite (left side of the vehicle) side of the red circle.

The reason I wrote "if it's on" is because some vehicles don't even have a fuel cock in the first place. Especially, I feel like many modern bikes don't have one.

If your vehicle has a fuel cock, make sure it is turned ON. If it is OFF, gasoline will not come out of the tank and the engine will not start.
Even if it does start, it will be running on the tiny amount of gasoline that has accumulated in the fuel tube from the cock to the engine, so it will quickly run out of gas and stop.

RES stands for reserve and is a reserve tank. Use this when you run out of gas while driving with ON.

If your bike doesn't have a fuel gauge and you run out of gas because you keep it on RES without realizing it, you'll have no choice but to walk to the nearest refueling station, pushing your heavy vehicle... so be sure to check. Don't forget. It's even worse when going uphill.

By the way, even though it is called a reserve tank, the fuel is actually taken from a different location, so don't worry that the gasoline in the reserve tank will not spoil even if you repeatedly refuel before you run out of gas and leave it on for a long time.

Like this.

In addition, vehicles that use a negative pressure tank have ON/PRI/RES instead of ON/OFF/RES, but they are also turned ON when driving. (I will omit what PRI is as it is off topic)

Next, get on the bike, insert the key and turn it on.

LOCK is used to lock the handlebars.
By the way, in most cases the keyhole is located around the handlebars, but some vehicles have it located on the engine side instead of the handlebars, and some vehicles have a card key system instead of a standard key, so when you actually buy your own bike, be sure to read the instruction manual carefully.

Even when I turn the key to ON, the engine still won't start.
Check the kill switch and if it is set to OFF, set it to RUN (spinning arrow image).

This big red switch is the kill switch.
It is used to forcibly stop the engine in an emergency, such as when the engine cannot be stopped due to a malfunction.

Next, check that the gear is in neutral using the neutral light.

The location of the neutral lamp differs depending on the car model, but it is the green N-marked lamp around the meter.

Because modern vehicles are increasingly electronic, many of them are designed so that the starter will not turn if the gear is not in neutral and the clutch is not depressed or the starter is out.
However, to be on the safe side, it's a good idea to hold down the clutch lever just in case a gear suddenly shifts into gear and you accelerate suddenly due to a malfunction.

At this point, you're finally ready to start. Finally, by pressing the starter switch on the right-hand handle, the starter motor (motor for starting the engine) starts, and the engine finally starts.

In addition, on older bikes, in addition to the kill switch and starter switch, there is also a light ON/OFF switch around here. (Modern motorcycles are required to have their lights on at all times, even during the day, so unless the bike is very old, there is no on/off switch for the light.)

In addition, in the case of a kick start type, pull out the kick pedal instead of the switch and kick it with your foot to start the engine. There is a trick to this as well, but I don't think there are any kick-start type cars available for training, so I will omit it this time.

If the engine is cold and difficult to start, such as in the winter, pull the choke lever and then turn the cell.

In addition, recently there are many vehicles that do not have a choke lever that can be adjusted manually because the choke works automatically called auto choke.

If there is a choke lever, this is the position.

By pulling the choke lever, the fuel ratio of the mixture (gas mixture of gasoline and air) is enriched. Generally speaking, the ideal (easily flammable) mixture is said to have a ratio of 1 part fuel to 14.7 parts air, but when starting a cold engine, it is about 1 part fuel to 5 parts air. It is said that it is better to increase the fuel ratio to the ratio of .

In addition, because the humidity is low in winter, there are fewer water molecules in the air, and even if the same volume of air is taken in, the proportion of oxygen in the air is higher, so the mixture tends to be leaner than in summer.
For this reason, using the choke when the engine is hard to start in winter will help the engine start more easily.

You might be thinking, "In that case, isn't it the same if I just turn on the accelerator?", but that's not the case at all.
When you turn the accelerator, the amount of gasoline increases, but at the same time, the amount of air taken in also increases.
Even if the mixture becomes 2:29.4 from 1:14.7, the fuel ratio remains the same, right? The important thing is to make the fuel ratio richer.

However, driving in a rich condition is bad for the engine, so don't forget to turn the choke back on once the engine has warmed up to a certain extent.

Now, all you need to do is put the car in gear, engage the clutch and it's ready to go!
Once you've confirmed it's safe, turn on your blinker, head out onto the course, and try driving around the outer perimeter course.

Super important! Never try to turn with the steering wheel!

Never try to turn using the steering wheel during normal driving, except in exceptional cases such as making a U-turn while keeping one foot on the ground.

A motorcycle is a vehicle that turns by shifting your weight. This is a very important part that is common to almost all curves, so I will explain it in detail, even though it may be repetitive.
Be especially careful when riding a bicycle if you have a habit of bending your bike using the handlebars!

This is because the weight and speed of a motorcycle and a bicycle are very different, so the vehicle's response to steering operations is very different.
On a typical bicycle, if you turn the handlebars to the left, the bike will turn left accordingly, right? So what happens if you try the same thing on a motorcycle?

The answer is "turn right."

Hey, this writer made a fatal typo in a crucial moment.
If you thought so, wait. That's not a typo.
When you are riding a motorcycle, if you simply turn the handlebars to the left, the bike will turn to the right.

STEP 1: Turn the steering wheel to the left
↓
STEP 2: "The front wheels try to move left."
↓
STEP 3: "As a result, the vehicle tilts to the right."
↓
STEP 4: Turn right

To add to that, at STEP 4, the handlebars are naturally turned to the right to prevent the bike from falling over.
*At this point, if you continue to forcefully turn the steering wheel to the left against the movement of the vehicle, the vehicle will tip over to the right.

I understand the logic, but in such a short time? You might think so, but if you were to travel at 30km/h, it would travel about 83cm in just 0.1 seconds. The total length of the bike is approximately 160cm, which is about half the length of the vehicle. In other words, if you turn the steering wheel and keep going,

The blue car will arrive at the position of the red car 0.1 seconds later. If you think it's too far, try pushing your own motorcycle or bicycle forward while turning the handlebars.
I actually tried it and it bent about this much.
During this time, even though the tires are trying to move to the left, inertia causes the car body to continue moving straight.

This is an object weighing approximately 250 kg (vehicle weight + rider's weight) traveling at a speed of 30 km/h. In addition, since it is trying to bend, centrifugal force is also generated in the opposite direction to the direction of bending.

However, the only part of the tire that is in contact with the road tries to go in a different direction against that force.

In other words, in this state, only the top part far from the tire installation surface is pulled in the direction shown in the illustration. As a rider, it feels like you are being pulled to the right.

I think that after reading this far, you can understand how a strong force is at work causing the object to tilt to the right.
When this happens, the only way to avoid falling is to turn right.

If this were a bicycle, you could turn to the left by "immediately putting your weight on the left side." In reality, even people who use the handlebars to turn their bicycles are actually unconsciously trying to balance themselves.

However, this is only possible on a bicycle because it is so light compared to the rider's weight.
As I have said before, the weight of a motorcycle alone is nearly 200 kg. To turn the handlebars and counter the inertia and centrifugal force, the rider's weight must also be nearly 200 kg.

Let's turn with self-steering

However, you might be thinking, "I can't turn unless I turn the steering wheel!"
Don't worry, the handlebars will turn automatically without the use of arms as long as you shift your weight properly. If you have a bicycle, try experimenting.

With the bicycle upright and the handlebars straight, try tilting the bicycle from side to side while pushing it forward. Then

I think the handle will turn naturally like this. This is called "self-steering," and you should use it on your bike to turn.

summary

What did you think? At the driving school, we cover the first 1-2 classes from the lifting to driving around the outside of the car that we explained today.
There are two 50-minute lessons, so the actual instruction time is 1 hour and 40 minutes.

When I write this down again, I realize how efficiently driving schools teach a variety of knowledge and skills in a short amount of time. Of course, during the actual training, they will give you various advice other than what I have written this time.

I hope this article has alleviated some of your concerns about attending a driving school.