It’s no mystery that riding a motorcycle carries a certain mystique to it. There’s a reason that other riders knowingly nod and raise a hand to greet other riders as they pass on the road. Out on the twisties, there aren’t any nagging thoughts of, …did I remember to buy cat food? Uh oh, I never called my mom back! Is that work assignment due tomorrow or Friday? Instead, you are in the moment, at one with your machine, in your environment. All that other stuff can wait ’til you get home.

Other reasons people regularly tell us

-Waiting in traffic is a distant bad memory

-I used to ride as a passenger and always wanted to be the one in control, driving!

-Gas prices? What gas prices?

-Bro, never thought I would say this but commuting is actually fun.

-It’s always been on my bucket list of things to try.

-I get to ride and spend quality time with my parent/partner/best friend.

-Motorcycle riders have communities everywhere you can get involved with, no matter what kind of skill level or level of physical fitness or kind of bike you ride.

-The absolute zen-like calmness that permeates everyday life and has more than a few scientific studies to back it up.

Oh, and we have to admit, it does make you look like a total badass. And did we mention that it’s incredibly fun?

Nothing replaces one on one instruction. Your lesson is customized to you - your level of riding, skills, weaknesses and strengths. Learning to ride is unique to each individual.

Believe it or not, one of the first things we hear from many clients is that they have taken their state’s safety class and received their M1 license, but feel that they really have no idea how to actually ride a motorcycle. And it shows - there isn’t much of a difference before our lesson our riders who have taken the course, and those that event. Especially if there has been no opportunity to ride since, or if it was a long time ago. It takes a while for that muscle memory to kick in, and often the safety course is just not enough time in the saddle.

You know the class if you’ve taken it - it’s you and around 25 other new riders alternately freaking out with excitement, nerves, fear, and occasionally terror. This lesson will rapidly progress from long droning classroom monologues filled with slideshows from the late nineties to finding yourself atop an actual motorcycle in a cold parking lot with a stranger yelling things at you like, “Let out the clutch! NOW! NOW - I SAID LET OUT THE CLUTCH!!” Sometimes you will remember what a clutch is (hint - it’s that problematic lever that doesn’t seem to like sudden movements), but sometimes you won’t, and a sad clown horn will audibly play as you dump the clutch out for what seems like the thousandth time that day. This usually all happens at an ungodly hour before anyone has had nearly the required amount of coffee. It may occur to you during this process that you never made a will and wonder who will get your stereo and what will happen to your dog if you are to perish in a fiery wreck.

That being said, we find that some students really enjoy the course - you’re FINALLY learning to ride, after all - and they have great memories of this weekend. But many of our students say that they were eliminated early, merely due to nerves and performance anxiety, or that they DID manage to pass and receive their M1, only to realize they have no idea how to ride an actual motorcycle. Or they feel safe only riding in a parking lot - and can only go in a straight line. All you have to do is check out the Yelp reviews of the state courses to see how much people enjoyed them and gave them five stars..yeah, okay…umm…so…how about them Giants!?

After the safety course, some people do go ahead and feel like they need to figure it out on their own, which can be dangerous and lead to an accident. Some people are intimated and have idea how to progress, and without any further instruction, they abandon their dream of learning to ride. Which can be more than a little crushing. Some students, overwhelmed by navigating a heavy unfamiliar machine in front of a few dozen people, drop the bike and leave the class ashamed, even though it is completely normal to not know how to ride a motorcycle when you are at a course that teaches how to ride a motorcycle!

Its also not as well known that you can get your physical license another way - via a little something called the DMV lollipop test. You’ve seen it - it’s painted on the parking lot of the DMV grounds. The test itself is more difficult than the safety course, but ironically, learning it makes students more adept at riding. We can further discuss the pros and cons of what method you would like to pursue during your first lesson.

No. Our beginning lessons will not take place on the streets.

This is entirely up to you - we find that learning to ride is an unique mind over matter learning experience that requires developing both physical muscle memory, and also mental focus and concentration. From our experience, we would recommend two separate lessons within a month long time period. After that, it is sheer repetition and practice. Our goal is to get you as independent as possible so you can feel comfortable practicing on your own. However, this is only a reccommendation. You may find you only need one lesson to brush up on your rusty skills - or you may want to be taught on a regular monthly or bi-monthly basis. Both of these scenarios fall in the usual spectrum of learning to ride.

We usually recommend the beginning rider start with between 10-25 hours a week in a safe contained parking lot to develop their basic skills before they feel comfortable hitting the streets. We try to get you as independent as possible, so that you get to the parking lot near you and practice the skills n’ drills we’ve taught you independently on your own, but yet feel comfortable requesting more help and time from us if you get stuck.

We provide the bike and helmet!

A 2019 Ninja 400.

Yes! However, we are in currently in the process of obtaining a bike with a lower seat to make learning an easier experience for those riders under 5’3. Stay posted! (Feel free to send us your email so we can notify you when this option will become available.)

Yes! Although legally the oldest you need to be is 15 and a half, and you must have written permission from your parents or guardian. We have taught many teens, and many older riders. The oldest rider we have taught so far was 79. Always looking to break that record!

Yes! You are free to bring your own bike to the lesson, and use both our bike and yours, whichever you feel more comfortable on. (We also get to drool over many new bikes this way.)

We will spend between 2-3 hours together in the awesome world of motorcycles! We’ll start by talking safety and the basics and go over the controls of the bike and what they do. When you feel comfortable, we’ll begin riding. We like to put students on the back occasionally to demonstrate the various exercises so the student can see the actions being done from a rider’s perspective in real time. Plus - it’s super fun to ride on the back! When you’re ready, we’ll spend time with you riding nice and slow - and with us walking besides you. Then we’ll let you start riding by yourself under our watchful eye. We will occasionally film you so you can see your body position and also to point out any observations we see that may help or hinder you. Students usually find this extremely helpful. Plus - it’s cool to show your peeps that you actually did it - you’re riding a motorcycle!

Learning a new skill is fairly exhausting both physically and mentally - students tend to tire after the 2 hour mark. Don’t be surprised if you are slightly sore and tired (but the good kind of tired!) afterwards. We recommend you don’t schedule any strenuous activities after your lesson - no Zumba classes with your best friend or 5k races or college reunion pub crawls or gym time. Just order a pizza and relax, basking in your achievements! You will learn quite a bit your first lesson.

Great - let’s tackle these problems and give you some new tools for your toolkit! We have lots of ideas and enjoying solving your riding problems.

We can’t help you with mom though. It might have to be our little secret.

The fear of dropping the bike is a huge mental obstacle for the beginning rider. In our first lesson, we will start very slow and explain the why’s and how’s of why motorcycles get dropped. We also warn students that odds are extremely high that at some point early on in your riding career you are going to drop your first bike - that’s DROP, not CRASH. Dropping the bike usually occurs because the student comes to a sudden stop, grabs a handful of front brake, looks down and the handlebars turn to one side and BAM! Down they go!

Every motorcycle instructor has seen dozens and dozens of bike drops - the bike is fine 99 percent of the time. Our lil sturdy Ninja is equipped with frame sliders, bar ends, and exhaust protection in case of just an event. Occasionally the clutch lever will shear off, or the gear shifter will become bent. These are easy fixes and require no additional financial contribution from the student. Sometimes this does mean the lesson is over for the day, as we have to limp the bike home. We focus on balance extensively our first lesson to prevent this from happening. But when it does, it’s only the student’s pride that is injured. We’’ll then pick up the bike together, discuss what happened, take a break, drink some water, and get back on the proverbial horse - no big deal.

A layer to be added or removed as the weather requires - we all know about the temperamental Bay Area changing weather patterns.

Water - learning to ride is thirsty work! A snack for afterwards or during if you are prone to low blood sugar. Closed toe shoes - flip flops are good for the beach but not for motorcycles. And we are of the opinion that Crocs are debatable as footwear no matter one’s environment.

We will always have emergency water on hand if you forget and need some, ditto extra sunscreen, and are down to share snacks. Hope you like almonds and/or chocolate!

Did you buy brand new motorcycle boots/gloves/jacket and pants in a whirl of excitement at the possibility of riding? Awesome - feel free to wear it - but you may want to leave any new gear that is stiff and not broken it yet at home for our first lesson. We won’t be going faster than fifteen mph in a parking lot so complete gear is not necessary. (That being said - we are big personal fans of ATGATT - “All The Gear, All The Time” - and are happy to discuss new innovations in riding gear, like the game changer that are airbag vests!)

As far as gloves, while we would consider them absolutely essential and necessary for everyday riding, we prefer the students to learn the feel of the controls for our first time riding.

Get a good night’s sleep, hydrate well the day before, and show up excited! We’re gonna have a good time!

We’ll talk many of these basic questions during your lesson! Although we are still not sure as to the secrets of the universe - we just know that motorcycle riding gets you closer to being your best self! (It’s true - there is an old saying, “You never see a motorcycle parked in front of a psychiatrist’s office.

We will send you some links that we think you may find helpful to study further, discuss what a good beginner bike would look like for you, schedule another lesson if you need one, and answer any other questions that you may have forgotten about in all the excitement of the moment.

Yes. For all of our joking, we consider it a great responsibility and an immense gift to be able to transmit this skill to others. Making sure students learn the art of riding as safely as possible is part of our mission. It’s an immensely gratifying job, and you get to meet the best humans. It’s a special kind of person that wants to learn to ride.

I do. So there’s two windmills out on an awkward first date. One windmill says to the other, “So, what kind of music do you like?”

“The other windmill replies, “I’m a big metal fan.”

You’re welcome!