First ride ever on the street.

[G.Rossman]

Went on my first ride today.  20 miles, first time ever on the road.  Bike did well.  One issue is still that peg where the mounting point is bent.  Second is I was having trouble going to neutral when idling for some reason, as soon as I shut it off it would go right into neutral for me most of the time.  Also caught myself at least once not pull the clutch in when shifting up, shifted fine but I have no idea why I did that.

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[jdoorn14]

Have you taken any sort of motorcycle safety course? Or lessons of any sort from an experienced rider? Just curious how much, if any, other experience you've had prior to this first trip on the street.

[G.Rossman]

I have, I'm legal

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[Torstein]

Congrats on the first successful road ride. I remember being really nervous the first time I was around other vehicles. Confidence builds quick, but always be cautious as things can get ugly quickly!

I also have trouble getting mine into neutral after stopping for some reason, doesn't help that my light is out so I have to guess. Seems like when I'm ridding and slapping through gears it'll hit neutral when I don't want it to  Go figure

[fetor56]

Either put it in neutral before u come to a stop,or if your stopped gently rock the bike back and forth as u try to select neutral.

[Joolstacho]

Many bikes don't like finding neutral whilst stopped, particularly if they are well used bike.
As fetor56 says, practise easing the gearlever into neutral just before you come to a stop, it might seem hard at first but you'll get the hang of it quickly and never have to worry about it again. Suggest you spend a hour or so on an empty road and practise where you don't have the extra worry of traffic.
Goodonya G!

[ShowBizWolf]

If I know I need both of my hands at a stop sign or stop light (like I need to clean my glasses or fix a sleeve, etc) then as I'm slowing to stop I'll shift to neutral (like fetor and jools said) and then squeeze and release the clutch at least two or three times while still rolling... seems that the times I don't do that, my bike doesn't like to get back into first when I want to get moving again and it's very frustrating... especially if there's someone very impatient behind meeee    :gimmie a freakin' second:

[G.Rossman]

Showbizwolf, lol at the give me a second.

I normally go to first so I can hammer it and bail if I have to.  Just how I was taught.  But when I roll up to a buddy or someplace where I know I don't want to hold the clutch in for a period of time I pop it into neutral.

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[ron freeman]

I go all the way down to 1st then heel kick it to neutral.

[peteGS]

Congrats on your first ride!

The best way to do deal with neutral at a stop is to gently get the clutch to the point where the bike starts to move, then flick it into neutral.

The best way to get it into first at a dead stop is to gently blip the throttle.

Motorcycle gearboxes are generally designed for changing gears on the move rather than being stationary, which is also why you can smoothly change up gears without the clutch at the right rev's. I still use my clutch though...

As for sitting at a red light or stop sign, I'm always in first watching my rear vision mirrors as well as the traffic and lights in case someone behind you is not going to stop. I'll sometimes put it in neutral if there's a line of traffic already stopped behind me and I know it's going to be a while before the lights change. I still always like to be in first well and truly before the lights go green though.

[Torstein]

ohhh, i like the moving neutral information. that helped me drop into neutral several times today as i was coming up to stop lights just practicing.. good info! now if only my neutral light worked, LOL