Just a point on your bonus tip of putting the bike into neutral at a red light, it's extremely important to watch your mirrors at a light at ALL TIMES, or at least until you're sure the guy approaching from behind isn't going to slam you into the back seat of the guy in front of you. If you leave your bike in first gear at a light you may get cramps in your hand, but it allows you to immediately get out of the way of a distracted driver if needed. I've seen this in practice and it's an extremely important thing to keep in mind. Otherwise great videos, keep it up!
I personally tap my brakes like a spasm every time I am coming into a red light and there is someone behind me in hopes of making sure they notice I am there and slowing down.
Your tip about neutral at a light is helpful for comfort however it screws you if someone comes in hot behind you... I stay in first until someone is stopped completely behind me then shift to neutral and if no one stops behind I stay in first ready to go. That’s why they make adjustable levers! Great video though! I love watching all of your content!
was gonna post the same thing. I always also look for a path of escape incase some nut job decides to not stop I can always pop the clutch and either slip off the road or between the cars in front of me.
Most people would not be able to react in time to someone about to rear-end them at a traffic light or Stop. In Europe we can, usually, go between the vehicles which reduces the chance of being rear-ended. Therefore, being in neutral is better for the clutch. As to having your foot on the rear brake. In theory, it's a good idea. In practice, when rear-ended, you're thrown backwards so your foot will automatically come off the brake pedal. Having said that, I'll usually keep my foot on the rear brake so that the brake light is lit, hopefully the driver behind will see me better.
Exactly. People selling lotteries don't say, win the powerball lotto for free. all you need to do is buy the ticket. I tell u, I am really getting tired of hearing Yammy trying to sell us those tickets.
Excellent info. I use it all, but it took years to get bits and pieces through those years. I’m old, there was no Yam or TH-cam. So spot on. I watch your content every chance I get. Wish I could have dialed this up in the 60s! Keep up the great work. One of your best ever.
I generally keep my index and middle finger firm against my front brake while holding the throttle with the rest of my hand, that way I have very fast brake reflexes, and I find it keeps the throttle in a very precise location
It's one of my issues! I lean on the front bars way too much like its a bicycle i need to shift my weight to the seat and relax...love your videos they have helped me so much!! Thank you!
I've always felt more comfortable by doing 2 finger clutch (index + middle) and 1 finger brake (index). I can easily activate the ABS with 1 finger only in my MT-09. My index finger is always resting on the brake lever unless I'm doing highway with no traffic. Nice tips for beginner/intermediate riders. Throttle control is definitely one of the most important things to work on right from the beginning, until it becomes muscle memory. Cheers all the way from Portugal
Always watch and like your vids, so no hate from me 😁 But 4:15 you talk about sitting at lights in neutral. I would like to disagree. As a guy that has been rammed from behind at lights, i found they teach in high tears of riding (UK) To always keep in gear, have an 'escape' and always be checking your mirrors at: Lights Roundabouts Any give way Thanks mate, hope this tip saves someone ✌️
Knew you were gonna catch flak on the neutral at red lights comment lol. Real world vs best practice, I get it .... I do too. Anyway, great video and many of your pointers are things I had to learn on my own. New riders that have access to quality, informative content will be that much better and safer riders that much sooner. Keep it up!
I am definitely an “intermediate rider”. I really appreciate a video that’s not just geared towards beginners. Definitely still like that content though because there’s always new things to learn
Just got my first bike an 82 yamaha virago 750 tonight, tomorrow after work it'll be registered and inspected and all the brand new riding gear is coming in on monday!
Congrats! There is so much knowledge to share. The most important: Get to a track riding class ASAP, it will make you a much better/safer rider. Second, always remember "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast." Oh, and ALWAYS wear protective gear (helmet, gloves, jacket, boots, pants).
@@A6Legit They said because new riders tend to panic break and you are more likely to if your fingers are already on the brake. I am now doing my full license training and first ride out on the big bike I heard my instructor say over the radio " get those fingers off the front brake".
@@stewartnorton6386 Oh okay. I would assume youre more likely to grab the brake when you are unprepared and get surprised. I guess the solution here is dont use the brakes at all.
I stay in 1st gear at a stop. My left hand rests while I ride & I rest my right hand at the stop. Use the rear brake pedal to activate the brake light and switch when you rest your hands.
MSF instructor here. You should not put your bike in neutral when at a light. if you need to get out of the way of a car not stopping in time you do not have a way to move. keep in gear at a light please.
The only time I ever really have to hang off of the bike at all is while pushing it on some proper curvy roads. For everything else leaning with the bike is just fine
Been riding for ten years, on road and track. when you described the throttle manipulation, I never thought about that, but thinking of it, i do the exact same :-) In my earlier years of riding, I rode older bikes, and there you need to use all fingers to brake hard, my newer bikes i brake with two fingers, and the easyly lift the backwheel :-)
In Australia when you do the course they teach braking with four fingers so you're not powering the bike while trying to stop. Get where you're coming from with two fingers though.
I'm now about 3-4 months into riding my kawasaki and these are the exact things in which I'm currently struggling a bit and trying to get better at... So thank you Papa Yam for your helpful vids. 🤘 Another usefull tipp which would have matched perfectly to this vid is to loosen up your arms and not get stiff in those body areas... Also a part which im trying to get better at because loose arms help to be smoother in corners 🙌
#1 I almost never lift my thumb, index, or middle finger off of the throttle. Only the ring and pinky ever come off for the clutch/brake lever. My friend that got me into riding taught me that
Witch may or may not be good. Although it's less likely to get hit it will increase the chances of a car to get dangerously by your side and hit you... This said, always with radar on for dangerous situations.
I wrote this "expert" off at his bonus tip of putting your bike in neutral. First, always have an exit route planned at a stop light, don't pull too close to the vehicle in front of you. Also, keep the bike in gear and stop whining about hand cramps, the couple of seconds it could take you to put your hand on the bars, pull the clutch in and put the bike in gear could be the difference between life and death.
Yup I remember I remember not knowing about the two finger braking, got on my bike for the first time ever(first time on any bike) all geared up (atgat) and nervous and sweating my balls off but ready to take on the world and go around the block a few times at a possible 25mph max lol...sat down on it for a few minutes(more like 20) getting comfortable feeling the levers and all and then the moment of truth.... Kicked it in first gear and it turned off obviously cuz I still had the kick stand down haha So I put it in neutral, turned it on, put the kick stand up, pulled the clutched in, put it in first gear(I remember saying all those steps aloud as I did them 😅) I was now finally ready to get going so I slowly started releasing the clutch and it moved a little and I was like wow... then it was time to give it gas. Of course i gave it a little too much and it jerked so I panicked and grabbed a nice fist full of front brake with all my strength (good thing I was only going like 3 miles per hour (maybe 2 mph), front wheel turned right away and it super slow mo I started tilting down to the right with enough time to say no, no, no ,no and dropped it 😣😣😣... scratched the mirror a bit and that was it but it did hurt my ego quite a bit lol... turned it off, stood it back up, parked it, and went home to search the deepest depths of TH-cam on how to brake...spent the next week just researching and sitting on the bike (ignition off) just practicing the motion of how to apply steady pressure to both brakes ...gotta say it did help out a lot What a long story, congrats 👍 if you read this far maybe give it a like so papa yam can see it 😊😊😎 Ps. Did I mention it was a turbo busa 😬 Pps. Jk it was a 250cc Korean bike 😋
If you are this insecure on the bike, maybe you shouldn't be. Not trying to ruin your fun but being scared while riding is one of the most dangerous thing. Ride safe
@@ObitoUchihaisgay 😅 some one missed the point of the story lol... I completely agree with u on that point tho, being anxious or cocky is really dangerous. Just to clarify the point was how much easier it is to brake with two fingers and I didnt know that the very first time I got a bike. If u never been nervous about doing something for the very first time u r lying to yourself or cant comprehend risks
I u derstood the point of your story, and thanks for sharing.bits been fun hearing other people's errors when start learning...makes me able to not feel as bad about accidently giving my first 600cc engine full throttle and plowing thru my neighbors mailboxes the first time I tried to ride.😆 You grabbed breaks too hard, and I co mm pletely forgot there was brakes. I put my feet down n tried to stop myself 😆😆😆
I might feel better about it doing it on the first day rather than my second season like I did lol. No panic brake, I used front lever in a low speed turn to get my bike backed into the garage. Bike was mint until I fucked it up...
Forget about hanging off when you re not able to properly ride your bike. Back in the days the first thing I wanted to do was hanging off, but was always a struggle. Then I started always staying on top of the bike and learned proper cornerering lines. This was a real game changer. This was the first time I was able to make a big increase in cornering speed. And up today way more experienced friends of mine are still able to go way faster then me without ever hanging off. Concentrate on the important stuff.
Thank you for all the videos. Picking up my first bike in 2 weeks. Hopefully all the months spent researching, pays off. Thanks again for helping build the confidence. Happy riding
Tip No. 7 watch the signal lights Tip no. 8 bend your arm inward and downward, it release some of the stress of your arms from the vibration and bumps. Thus gives you more handling Especially on aggresive stance bikes like cafe or race bikes. It makes you and your bike have lower and wider center of gravity So it can give you more maneurability
Love the tips man, only thing I disagree with is being in neutral on the street, I’ve avoided a couple rear ends by checking my mirrors and being ready to go
@@NickVetter that guy is obsessed with getting knee down in a parking lot, not realizing that knee down should not be a goal, its a fucking by product of hitting a curve at speed with proper body technique, and all of his material is just regurgitation of keith code.
DanDan the Fireman says you should always stay in first gear and clutch covered at a red light so if someone is coming up behind you, You can get out of the way possibly.
Throttle is crucial, yes. Brief tip for bumpy roads, or thick gloves, so if everything is moving around a lot or the gloves are not allowing proper "tactility". Ok, just the way i do it... there might be better ways :-P Basic Thoughts on this are: 1. No Limitations in Movement of Arms and therefore Body. 2. less fatigue on Hands and forearms. 3. no bad posture of joints involved As I'm having the index finger of my right hand always (!!!) on my brake lever, i use this to steady my Throttle input. Quite simply.. if it gets bumpy or i need really precise control, i just apply a bit of pressure (downwards) with the tip of my index finger onto the brake lever, which gives me one fixed reference-like Point. The second (not fixed, but refering to the above mentioned reference-point) point are my fingers around the handle, or depending on position, the pressure of my palm against the handle. The Arms themselves should be more or less "free floating" in all three dimensions. to be able to compensate for movement of body and bike. To do so, it helps a lot, to put your elbows up… Enduro riders (should) do that all the time anyway. For sport riders, just put them up enough to not have your wrist crooked and blocked for any axis of movement. Secondly, it might be helpful to maintain a certain (small) range of angle between your wrist and your throttle hand. As we all know, the throttle does a 90° from 0% to a 100%. Yes there are other technical solutions that demand less travel, but you should reaaally know what you're doing with these, because less way, is less failure allowed to acheive the same precision. just saying. So if you don't want to permanently adjust your position due to a fixed-grip-position on your throttle, exercise the following. Try to steady your hand in one position and roll the throttle with just your thumb/palm and your middle finger/ ring finger. No need to use the Tips of your Fingers, below the first joint, is where you need to start, remember we're only talking 90° axial movement. The Pink just glides over the handle. like a bearing for reference, as long as the rest of the hand is in motion. Doing so, the actual travel of your wrist doesn't have to be more than a mere 30°, which enables you to leave your elbow and shoulder position as they are without stretching or over-bending your forearm and wrist, whilst having full range of motion on your throttle. It might feel awkward at the beginning, but it delivers two advantages. Firstly, it prevents "yanking" the throttle, which is bad anyway, especially on powerful bikes. (Fastest Riders have the slowest hands, right?!) Secondly, it gives you full range of motion of your upper body, which might be somewhat important to proper riding, doesn't it. It's just my technique.. maybe it helps .-) Cheers and always rubberside down, S. P.S.: As always… I'm german… if you find Errors or mistakes in my Text, you're allowed to keep them
@@jimbalayaman7227 If a car is going so fast they manage to blast through the eleven rows of cars stopped behind me (because I filtered to the front) then we are all going to die. If you have a way of keeping every car at a red light in front of you, I'd love to hear it.
To my lads from India who are watching this video, Follow all these rules except for the light Handlebar grip. Here we do not have such well paved roads, you never know when some potholes, uneven patches or super tall speed breakers are coming your way. In such cases, light grip will surely throw you off the bike, or to the very least give you a mini heart attack by wobbling. Speaking from my 6 years and 200k+ kms of riding experience. Thank You.
Best way to explain how hard to hold the throttle. Picture you are running a relay race with a potato chip. Your grip on the throttle should be the same so that the chip does not leave your hand, or break under pressure. :)
Noise doesn’t travel like that. You’ll only hear it when they’re next to you, not behind or in front. You’ll do much more for your safety by wearing high visibility gear and some cases LEDs. Noise is way too situational to have reasonable benefits.
Nice Shot If you were really concerned about saving your own life you would buy full gear, practice often, wear high visibility items, and have good road strategy first and foremost because all of which are proven to mitigate risk of ending up in a bad situation, or prevent injury. Do what you want and live your life how you will, but don’t pass the idea that being loud to the people next to you will solve all your problems on the road.
@@LushizLlama You don't need to lecture me on safety, I been driving/riding for 20 years. I got more mileage backing up to a curb than you got moving forward. I wear gear, but let me tell you, a loud pipe will save your life over a quiet pipe any day. You absolutely cannot argue that. The more aware other drivers are, the better.
Nice Shot After all is said and done then a louder pipe can be a semi effective way of grabbing attention in limited scenarios. I’m saying that there’s much more you can do that’ll reduce your chances of being in an accident before buying a new exhaust. The loud pipes save lives movement has made many beginners think that a new exhaust will solve all their problem, same with many other folks who’ve been riding over 20 years. When people mention how long they’ve ridden it’s usually never a testement to how much they’ve practiced good road strategy and skills. Anyone can ride in a straight line, but not everyone can perform well in times of emergency. Also, my apologies for coming on too strong. Life’s been stressful lately. Two wheels down.
Yes going to neutral at a light is nice but when a car not paying attention to you comes flying up from behind you'll wish you were still in gear to get out the way
Best video of yours I have ever seen, and I've seen quite a few. I stopped watching because they lacked content. I might start watching again now. Keep this content coming!
The tip re brake technique is interesting. I have tried to use the fore and middle finger technique, but prefer to use the other three fingers because I am a long term (27 years) racing cyclist and the lose are the fingers I use on my race bicycles, so my right hand is used to braking with those fingers due to the design of brake lever and hoods. The control I have is much better. The fore + middle finger alternate works ok but feels awkward, like throwing a ball with my left hand (I am right dominant).
Except leaning to the outside in low-speed turns like U-turns increases lean angle and decreases turn radius. Turn radius decreases along with speed and increasing lean angle. This was easy for me to prove this on a bicycle and it's taught in other motorcycle videos. Try making a bicycle turn on a sidewalk at a corner with 90-degree turn, leaning outside pushing down the inside handle dips the bike quickly otherwise you run off the narrow sidewalk. You can hold the inside leg horizontally to the inside of the turn to decrease the lean but end up off the sidewalk.
Yeah, in the really tight, slow stuff, stay tall. Tighter turning radius, sure. But even if you have turn radius to spare, there are even better reasons to stay tall. Better viewing perspective. And better balance and more time to recover if the rear slides out on you. Leaning with the bike gives you such a bad view, even in higher speed curves. I would only do it on a curve I know by heart.
Yammie, I've been riding for 40 years and I can tell you a noobie rider does not need to be dangling off the side of the machine like Rossi! Baby steps, children, baby steps! Get smooth before you go actin' all crazy!
Sometimes there isn't a way out if you are behind another car at a light, so maybe add in stay far enough behind the car in front of you when stopped. Most motorcyclists are 2 feet off the bumper of the car in front of them at a light meaning whether it is in neutral or whatever it isn't gonna matter.
2:45 I developed the bad habit of gripping the bar weight with the outside of my throttle hand. This actually allows me really good contact with the handlebars and very specific control of the throttle. I say its a bad habit because if i ever ride a bike without bar end weights Im gonna be really wonky. Anybody else do this?
I've gotten into the habit of rocking in my bike slightly at stop lights. It gives me something to do and our eyes are attracted to movement. So it doubles as a safety move.
"Question"... Large Bump in the Road - As you hang-on for dear life, your arm flails, but how do you prevents your wrist from jerking violently and NOT altering throttle?... Unlock Wrist from Arm? - Practice..?
Love all the helpful info. Although I find that some of this is harder to translate to a cruiser style. As far as cornering and leaning. I cant tell you how much i scrape my footrest when turning. Any advise on cruiser riders with these tips? would love to see you do a vid on it. Hell I'd love to see you get a more sporty Harley my dude. Street Bob or something of that nature. All hail the Papa Yamm
I have a video on my channel about leaning with cruisers, but don't want to take away from Yammie. Upper body position plays a huge role in keeping the bike upright, while still making the turn. That way you don't scrape floorboards and pegs.
on the downshifting part to engine brake, i personally think its better to just focus on being clear with your behaviour with what you are going to do, situational awarenss makes this very easy, always pay attention to the one behind you, i dont really think about it too much i guess i just nstinctually or whatever do it at this point and so i subconciously know whether i need to brake gently to show what im about to do or if i can just engine brake without doing that overall i gotta say what youre talking about is stuff i had to be able to do to get my license, so it feels more like beginner tips to me. from my point of view if this is intermeddiate in the USA im worried about how lax the requirements to be able to pass and get your license in USA is. still a good video you put up though, cheers.
Lol my wife said the same thing following me for the first time (at night) and I wasn't thinking about it at the time, but it makes sense now that she said that because I wasn't even using my brakes when she noticed it 😅
Jakarta is a veritable hive of two wheelers. At intersections there's such a buffer of scooters and underbones around you that you wouldn't worry so much about getting rear ended while putting your bike on neutral. If only I can find the damn neutral lol
Don't worry Yammie, I put my shit in neutral too and I'm an experienced rider. If I see someone fast-approaching behind me, I would just jump off that shit! People wouldn't have time to "get out of the way".
Just a point on your bonus tip of putting the bike into neutral at a red light, it's extremely important to watch your mirrors at a light at ALL TIMES, or at least until you're sure the guy approaching from behind isn't going to slam you into the back seat of the guy in front of you. If you leave your bike in first gear at a light you may get cramps in your hand, but it allows you to immediately get out of the way of a distracted driver if needed. I've seen this in practice and it's an extremely important thing to keep in mind.
Otherwise great videos, keep it up!
I use neutral alot. It's best to position yourself out of the path of an "erratic" vehicle. Agree on your points 100% doe
@@DanDanTheFireman hi
Mark Kenny I was going to say the exact same thing! It’s very important.
Yea this has been my biggest concern since starting riding.
Why do some people on cruisers have those giant leather tassels on their handlebars that could easily get snagged or caught on something? Why???
I personally tap my brakes like a spasm every time I am coming into a red light and there is someone behind me in hopes of making sure they notice I am there and slowing down.
Yea, exactly! Forgot where I first saw to do this, but I even do this in a car if I’m slowing down fast in traffic now.
Same
Same .. me rear light is a disco
I got some hyper flash lights so I don’t have to “spasm” anymore
Sammmmeee the infamous taptaptap then I start breaking Everytime. LOL every single passenger I ride with has asked me why I do that
Tip #6: Always wear a seatbelt
Alex Babcock i got pulled over once, when the cop asked if i knew why i was being pulled over, i said cause i wasn’t wearing a seat belt
he laughed a lot
i still got a ticket
If I was him I woulda let you go for sure... why’d he stop u tho?
Do they make those? I’m sure some company has a biker restraint system for purchase lol
RazeR really ? That’s fucked
Your tip about neutral at a light is helpful for comfort however it screws you if someone comes in hot behind you... I stay in first until someone is stopped completely behind me then shift to neutral and if no one stops behind I stay in first ready to go. That’s why they make adjustable levers! Great video though! I love watching all of your content!
was gonna post the same thing. I always also look for a path of escape incase some nut job decides to not stop I can always pop the clutch and either slip off the road or between the cars in front of me.
Bingo
Most people would not be able to react in time to someone about to rear-end them at a traffic light or Stop. In Europe we can, usually, go between the vehicles which reduces the chance of being rear-ended. Therefore, being in neutral is better for the clutch.
As to having your foot on the rear brake. In theory, it's a good idea. In practice, when rear-ended, you're thrown backwards so your foot will automatically come off the brake pedal. Having said that, I'll usually keep my foot on the rear brake so that the brake light is lit, hopefully the driver behind will see me better.
Yup, baaaaaad advise
Not to mention it's also illegal to sit in neutral at a light in some states.
Maintaining constant front brake pressure while rev matching is the challenging part
You don't need to ride fast and aggressive to have fun.Just be in the moment enjoy the ride. be calm, be consistent and you'll be fast enough
0:35 "Win these motorcycles for free" - "Every dollar you spend gets you an entry to win". Hmmmm
I think somewhere he said there was a way to get an entry in without buying any merch or joining the patreon. Like mail un a card with your info
Exactly. People selling lotteries don't say, win the powerball lotto for free. all you need to do is buy the ticket. I tell u, I am really getting tired of hearing Yammy trying to sell us those tickets.
Technically the bike is free. You're paying for the merch or paying for a subscription to use his patreon extras and getting free entries
@@boobear72599 "Technically" sure, but most people are paying for the chance to win a bike. Probably some legal grey area.
Excellent info. I use it all, but it took years to get bits and pieces through those years. I’m old, there was no Yam or TH-cam. So spot on. I watch your content every chance I get. Wish I could have dialed this up in the 60s! Keep up the great work. One of your best ever.
I generally keep my index and middle finger firm against my front brake while holding the throttle with the rest of my hand, that way I have very fast brake reflexes, and I find it keeps the throttle in a very precise location
It's one of my issues! I lean on the front bars way too much like its a bicycle i need to shift my weight to the seat and relax...love your videos they have helped me so much!! Thank you!
I've always felt more comfortable by doing 2 finger clutch (index + middle) and 1 finger brake (index). I can easily activate the ABS with 1 finger only in my MT-09. My index finger is always resting on the brake lever unless I'm doing highway with no traffic.
Nice tips for beginner/intermediate riders. Throttle control is definitely one of the most important things to work on right from the beginning, until it becomes muscle memory.
Cheers all the way from Portugal
I get you. I usually accelerate with one finger covering brake, then switch to two fingers. Don't know why really. Just what I do.
Always watch and like your vids, so no hate from me 😁
But 4:15 you talk about sitting at lights in neutral. I would like to disagree.
As a guy that has been rammed from behind at lights, i found they teach in high tears of riding (UK)
To always keep in gear, have an 'escape' and always be checking your mirrors at:
Lights
Roundabouts
Any give way
Thanks mate, hope this tip saves someone ✌️
Knew you were gonna catch flak on the neutral at red lights comment lol. Real world vs best practice, I get it .... I do too. Anyway, great video and many of your pointers are things I had to learn on my own. New riders that have access to quality, informative content will be that much better and safer riders that much sooner. Keep it up!
I am definitely an “intermediate rider”. I really appreciate a video that’s not just geared towards beginners. Definitely still like that content though because there’s always new things to learn
Just got my first bike an 82 yamaha virago 750 tonight, tomorrow after work it'll be registered and inspected and all the brand new riding gear is coming in on monday!
Good tips to be thinking about moving forward, as i just got my first bike this week. thanks Yammie
Congrats! There is so much knowledge to share. The most important: Get to a track riding class ASAP, it will make you a much better/safer rider. Second, always remember "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast." Oh, and ALWAYS wear protective gear (helmet, gloves, jacket, boots, pants).
About gripping the bars lightly, I’d say an extra tip is to use your abdominal section/core to help hold you along with your knees on the tank grips.
Squeeze the tank not the bars.
When I took my CBT here in UK they had a go at anyone who had fingers covering the brake when not braking.
Why?
@@A6Legit They said because new riders tend to panic break and you are more likely to if your fingers are already on the brake. I am now doing my full license training and first ride out on the big bike I heard my instructor say over the radio " get those fingers off the front brake".
@@stewartnorton6386 Oh okay. I would assume youre more likely to grab the brake when you are unprepared and get surprised. I guess the solution here is dont use the brakes at all.
@@A6Legit it just means you have to practice good progressive break so much that it becomes habit.
Dial in the skill; Noob is really a sensible guy - all these are good tips. I know from experience from my first two yrs behind the handle bar.
I stay in 1st gear at a stop. My left hand rests while I ride & I rest my right hand at the stop. Use the rear brake pedal to activate the brake light and switch when you rest your hands.
MSF instructor here. You should not put your bike in neutral when at a light. if you need to get out of the way of a car not stopping in time you do not have a way to move. keep in gear at a light please.
Let's be real here, you wouldn't have enough time to move anyway...
First thing I thought of...also technically you are disengaging the clutch when you pull in the lever...
I took my test yesterday and some girl that completely failed every test still passed. So you msf Instructors word don’t hold much water IMO.
@@i_read_bad_reviews lmfao
@@Alteriukas yup
great tips man, you are right, it's better practice and focus on one skill at the time to try to be a better driver
Supreme content my dude, been watching your stuff for years now - always consistent
The only time I ever really have to hang off of the bike at all is while pushing it on some proper curvy roads. For everything else leaning with the bike is just fine
Been riding for ten years, on road and track. when you described the throttle manipulation, I never thought about that, but thinking of it, i do the exact same :-) In my earlier years of riding, I rode older bikes, and there you need to use all fingers to brake hard, my newer bikes i brake with two fingers, and the easyly lift the backwheel :-)
In Australia when you do the course they teach braking with four fingers so you're not powering the bike while trying to stop. Get where you're coming from with two fingers though.
I'm now about 3-4 months into riding my kawasaki and these are the exact things in which I'm currently struggling a bit and trying to get better at...
So thank you Papa Yam for your helpful vids. 🤘
Another usefull tipp which would have matched perfectly to this vid is to loosen up your arms and not get stiff in those body areas... Also a part which im trying to get better at because loose arms help to be smoother in corners 🙌
#1 I almost never lift my thumb, index, or middle finger off of the throttle. Only the ring and pinky ever come off for the clutch/brake lever. My friend that got me into riding taught me that
just don't park directly behind cars at a light.always stay over to one side.
Witch may or may not be good. Although it's less likely to get hit it will increase the chances of a car to get dangerously by your side and hit you... This said, always with radar on for dangerous situations.
@@bal4av i'm not a witch i'm a wizard.
@@bal4av most people give plenty of room from my recent experience.
@@xxalphakratosxx, I'm Portuguese. I'm allowed one or two mistakes in English 😉. And it's only a "t" too much...
@@0xsergy, most... But I've heard and seen cases on TH-cam that didn't... Awareness is the key...
I wrote this "expert" off at his bonus tip of putting your bike in neutral. First, always have an exit route planned at a stop light, don't pull too close to the vehicle in front of you. Also, keep the bike in gear and stop whining about hand cramps, the couple of seconds it could take you to put your hand on the bars, pull the clutch in and put the bike in gear could be the difference between life and death.
You inspired me to get my bike license. I got it last week. Wooohooo, shout-out from South Africa.
Adventure bike dude always wins!! He will take us all with old, bias ply tires and a loaded top case.
Yup I remember I remember not knowing about the two finger braking, got on my bike for the first time ever(first time on any bike) all geared up (atgat) and nervous and sweating my balls off but ready to take on the world and go around the block a few times at a possible 25mph max lol...sat down on it for a few minutes(more like 20) getting comfortable feeling the levers and all and then the moment of truth....
Kicked it in first gear and it turned off obviously cuz I still had the kick stand down haha
So I put it in neutral, turned it on, put the kick stand up, pulled the clutched in, put it in first gear(I remember saying all those steps aloud as I did them 😅) I was now finally ready to get going so I slowly started releasing the clutch and it moved a little and I was like wow... then it was time to give it gas. Of course i gave it a little too much and it jerked so I panicked and grabbed a nice fist full of front brake with all my strength (good thing I was only going like 3 miles per hour (maybe 2 mph), front wheel turned right away and it super slow mo I started tilting down to the right with enough time to say no, no, no ,no and dropped it 😣😣😣... scratched the mirror a bit and that was it but it did hurt my ego quite a bit lol... turned it off, stood it back up, parked it, and went home to search the deepest depths of TH-cam on how to brake...spent the next week just researching and sitting on the bike (ignition off) just practicing the motion of how to apply steady pressure to both brakes ...gotta say it did help out a lot
What a long story, congrats 👍 if you read this far maybe give it a like so papa yam can see it 😊😊😎
Ps. Did I mention it was a turbo busa 😬
Pps. Jk it was a 250cc Korean bike 😋
If you are this insecure on the bike, maybe you shouldn't be. Not trying to ruin your fun but being scared while riding is one of the most dangerous thing. Ride safe
@@ObitoUchihaisgay 😅 some one missed the point of the story lol... I completely agree with u on that point tho, being anxious or cocky is really dangerous.
Just to clarify the point was how much easier it is to brake with two fingers and I didnt know that the very first time I got a bike. If u never been nervous about doing something for the very first time u r lying to yourself or cant comprehend risks
I u derstood the point of your story, and thanks for sharing.bits been fun hearing other people's errors when start learning...makes me able to not feel as bad about accidently giving my first 600cc engine full throttle and plowing thru my neighbors mailboxes the first time I tried to ride.😆 You grabbed breaks too hard, and I co mm pletely forgot there was brakes. I put my feet down n tried to stop myself 😆😆😆
I might feel better about it doing it on the first day rather than my second season like I did lol. No panic brake, I used front lever in a low speed turn to get my bike backed into the garage. Bike was mint until I fucked it up...
Not leaning yet, but getting the light-touch to the controls more and better, gracias Yamias
Grip Tape was what made actual control possible for me since I also suffer from nerve damage in my hand.
Forget about hanging off when you re not able to properly ride your bike. Back in the days the first thing I wanted to do was hanging off, but was always a struggle. Then I started always staying on top of the bike and learned proper cornerering lines. This was a real game changer.
This was the first time I was able to make a big increase in cornering speed.
And up today way more experienced friends of mine are still able to go way faster then me without ever hanging off.
Concentrate on the important stuff.
Yammie you make the best content man, literally just recently started riding and already have so much knowledge
Go watch motojitsu on youtube !
Agree with the other fella, go watch motojitsu! Helped me A LOT!
I've learned a lot from motojitsu this yammie dude and from blockhead!
You metioned Schaaf?!?!? So that means you're a man of Culture as well.
where does he mention schaaf?
4:44
Thank you for all the videos. Picking up my first bike in 2 weeks. Hopefully all the months spent researching, pays off. Thanks again for helping build the confidence. Happy riding
Top tip look at other contributors as well, I've been riding consistantly since 79, I wouldn't recommend this guy to a friend
Tip No. 7 watch the signal lights
Tip no. 8 bend your arm inward and downward, it release some of the stress of your arms from the vibration and bumps. Thus gives you more handling
Especially on aggresive stance bikes like cafe or race bikes.
It makes you and your bike have lower and wider center of gravity
So it can give you more maneurability
Love the tips man, only thing I disagree with is being in neutral on the street, I’ve avoided a couple rear ends by checking my mirrors and being ready to go
Can you make a video on how to properly lean off a bike that would be really helpful
Motojitsu
Go check out life at lean mate he's all track based but most of his stuff is also great for the road
+1 for motojitsu, his videos are amazing
yeah, try looking at motojitsu’s channel for that, he shows different types of motorcycles and how you lean on them
@@NickVetter that guy is obsessed with getting knee down in a parking lot, not realizing that knee down should not be a goal, its a fucking by product of hitting a curve at speed with proper body technique, and all of his material is just regurgitation of keith code.
DanDan the Fireman says you should always stay in first gear and clutch covered at a red light so if someone is coming up behind you, You can get out of the way possibly.
Just keep your ears and eyes open, use your mirrors and be aware of everything around you.
They're out to get you so don't make it easy for them!
Some of those roads in the Austin area look fantastic. Much better than what we have in DFW!
I'm late but the man you and fortnine have push me off the deep edge of needing a two-wheeled God sent
Finally a video where you don’t ramble on for 2 minutes and say the word yammy 100x lmao
Lol
Spammy dude
@@DonaldMohrMusic slammy pube
Throttle is crucial, yes.
Brief tip for bumpy roads, or thick gloves, so if everything is moving around a lot or the gloves are not allowing proper "tactility".
Ok, just the way i do it... there might be better ways :-P
Basic Thoughts on this are:
1. No Limitations in Movement of Arms and therefore Body.
2. less fatigue on Hands and forearms.
3. no bad posture of joints involved
As I'm having the index finger of my right hand always (!!!) on my brake lever, i use this to steady my Throttle input.
Quite simply.. if it gets bumpy or i need really precise control, i just apply a bit of pressure (downwards) with the tip of my index finger onto the brake lever, which gives me one fixed
reference-like Point.
The second (not fixed, but refering to the above mentioned reference-point) point are my fingers around the handle, or depending on position, the pressure of my palm against the handle.
The Arms themselves should be more or less "free floating" in all three dimensions. to be able to compensate for movement of body and bike.
To do so, it helps a lot, to put your elbows up… Enduro riders (should) do that all the time anyway.
For sport riders, just put them up enough to not have your wrist crooked and blocked for any axis of movement.
Secondly, it might be helpful to maintain a certain (small) range of angle between your wrist and your throttle hand.
As we all know, the throttle does a 90° from 0% to a 100%. Yes there are other technical solutions that demand less travel, but you should reaaally know what you're doing with these,
because less way, is less failure allowed to acheive the same precision. just saying.
So if you don't want to permanently adjust your position due to a fixed-grip-position on your throttle, exercise the following.
Try to steady your hand in one position and roll the throttle with just your thumb/palm and your middle finger/ ring finger. No need to use the Tips of your Fingers, below the first joint, is where you need to start, remember we're only talking 90° axial movement. The Pink just glides over the handle. like a bearing for reference, as long as the rest of the hand is in motion.
Doing so, the actual travel of your wrist doesn't have to be more than a mere 30°, which enables you to leave your elbow and shoulder position as they are without stretching or over-bending your forearm and wrist, whilst having full range of motion on your throttle.
It might feel awkward at the beginning, but it delivers two advantages.
Firstly, it prevents "yanking" the throttle, which is bad anyway, especially on powerful bikes. (Fastest Riders have the slowest hands, right?!)
Secondly, it gives you full range of motion of your upper body, which might be somewhat important to proper riding, doesn't it.
It's just my technique.. maybe it helps .-)
Cheers and always rubberside down,
S.
P.S.: As always… I'm german… if you find Errors or mistakes in my Text, you're allowed to keep them
Yes great.
What a big long read your comment is, thanks
Thanks. Hugs from north of Portugal 🇵🇹
Worried about getting rear ended at a light? That's why I filter to the front.
Worried about getting rear ended? Better put every car at the light behind you! Doesn't make much sense.
@@jimbalayaman7227 If a car is going so fast they manage to blast through the eleven rows of cars stopped behind me (because I filtered to the front) then we are all going to die. If you have a way of keeping every car at a red light in front of you, I'd love to hear it.
@@jimbalayaman7227 you are not just a goose, you are the entire flock.
That would cost me a lot of money.
Seeing that bike stay in line through the corner with just a push of your finger was beautiful
I also have ulnar side wrist injury on the right hand for over 3 years😁 , it's difficult riding like this. Gotta hold the throttle like an egg😁
I personally use my middle & ring fingers to brake while fine manipulating the throttle when needed with index, thumb, & pinkie fingers.
To my lads from India who are watching this video, Follow all these rules except for the light Handlebar grip. Here we do not have such well paved roads, you never know when some potholes, uneven patches or super tall speed breakers are coming your way. In such cases, light grip will surely throw you off the bike, or to the very least give you a mini heart attack by wobbling. Speaking from my 6 years and 200k+ kms of riding experience.
Thank You.
A lot of the roads here in the US suck too, don't feel alone!
Nope. You should be holding on with your legs . When you hit a pothole in this method ,your arms will flap around and get the shock out. Look it up.
@@sumantaganguli yeah holding it hard reduces dexterity of hand .. the more hard you hold the less refined movt of your hand is ..
thanks man 🙏 i love ur content keep it up man
Best way to explain how hard to hold the throttle. Picture you are running a relay race with a potato chip. Your grip on the throttle should be the same so that the chip does not leave your hand, or break under pressure. :)
I too use 2 fingers on the front brake, in the MSF they corrected me to use 4. After almost looping the bike, my instructor told me to go back to 2.
i use the non moving end of the bar / throttle to temper my throttle input. it looks a bit whack but i get real smooth roll on.
Papa yamm you sound so different in this video compared to other one's 😋 I love watching all your videos!! Keep up the great content!
I run brake flasher on mine bike how ever I still glimpse at my rear view every-time
Hanging off the bike definitely improves safety 10 fold especially in the wet
These motovlogs are so much more entertaining great work 😃👍
When flashing your brake lights and slowing down it may also be a good idea to blip the throttle to wake the people up behind you.
Noise doesn’t travel like that. You’ll only hear it when they’re next to you, not behind or in front. You’ll do much more for your safety by wearing high visibility gear and some cases LEDs. Noise is way too situational to have reasonable benefits.
@@LushizLlama Loud pipes saves lives.
Nice Shot If you were really concerned about saving your own life you would buy full gear, practice often, wear high visibility items, and have good road strategy first and foremost because all of which are proven to mitigate risk of ending up in a bad situation, or prevent injury. Do what you want and live your life how you will, but don’t pass the idea that being loud to the people next to you will solve all your problems on the road.
@@LushizLlama You don't need to lecture me on safety, I been driving/riding for 20 years. I got more mileage backing up to a curb than you got moving forward. I wear gear, but let me tell you, a loud pipe will save your life over a quiet pipe any day. You absolutely cannot argue that. The more aware other drivers are, the better.
Nice Shot After all is said and done then a louder pipe can be a semi effective way of grabbing attention in limited scenarios. I’m saying that there’s much more you can do that’ll reduce your chances of being in an accident before buying a new exhaust. The loud pipes save lives movement has made many beginners think that a new exhaust will solve all their problem, same with many other folks who’ve been riding over 20 years. When people mention how long they’ve ridden it’s usually never a testement to how much they’ve practiced good road strategy and skills. Anyone can ride in a straight line, but not everyone can perform well in times of emergency. Also, my apologies for coming on too strong. Life’s been stressful lately. Two wheels down.
These are all great tips! Thanks for sharing! Now to look for videos on how to hang off...
Yes going to neutral at a light is nice but when a car not paying attention to you comes flying up from behind you'll wish you were still in gear to get out the way
Best video of yours I have ever seen, and I've seen quite a few. I stopped watching because they lacked content. I might start watching again now. Keep this content coming!
I honestly love your videos been watching for almost a year and a half
The tip re brake technique is interesting. I have tried to use the fore and middle finger technique, but prefer to use the other three fingers because I am a long term (27 years) racing cyclist and the lose are the fingers I use on my race bicycles, so my right hand is used to braking with those fingers due to the design of brake lever and hoods. The control I have is much better. The fore + middle finger alternate works ok but feels awkward, like throwing a ball with my left hand (I am right dominant).
Except leaning to the outside in low-speed turns like U-turns increases lean angle and decreases turn radius. Turn radius decreases along with speed and increasing lean angle. This was easy for me to prove this on a bicycle and it's taught in other motorcycle videos. Try making a bicycle turn on a sidewalk at a corner with 90-degree turn, leaning outside pushing down the inside handle dips the bike quickly otherwise you run off the narrow sidewalk. You can hold the inside leg horizontally to the inside of the turn to decrease the lean but end up off the sidewalk.
Yeah, in the really tight, slow stuff, stay tall. Tighter turning radius, sure. But even if you have turn radius to spare, there are even better reasons to stay tall. Better viewing perspective. And better balance and more time to recover if the rear slides out on you. Leaning with the bike gives you such a bad view, even in higher speed curves. I would only do it on a curve I know by heart.
soo well presented and informative, thank you
Yammie, I've been riding for 40 years and I can tell you a noobie rider does not need to be dangling off the side of the machine like Rossi! Baby steps, children, baby steps! Get smooth before you go actin' all crazy!
Alan Roehlich lol but i wanna rossi
But yam didn't make this video for noobs. It's clearly titled INTERMEDIATE
I thought he was a newbie, bike he rides, you tube name?
This was aimed at intermediate riders.
Happy to announce that I just bought my first bike! A z400! Thanks for the vids Papa yam!
Ride safe brother and congratulations that's a sweet kawasexy😉 .
Z Fammmm ! :))
Ride safe bro u are now part of a great family🙌🏻
Bought my naked bike about 2 and a half weeks ago
Love the z400. Great bike to learn or relearn on.
Sometimes there isn't a way out if you are behind another car at a light, so maybe add in stay far enough behind the car in front of you when stopped. Most motorcyclists are 2 feet off the bumper of the car in front of them at a light meaning whether it is in neutral or whatever it isn't gonna matter.
Always sit in 1st at lights and keep your witts about you! If someone ain’t stopping behind you’re ready to boost.. don’t be lazy
Neutral at lights is simply bad practice, but anyone who actually rides knows why we do it at times.
Arthritis...
bad back (military vests)
This Dude has good advice👌🏼
2:45 I developed the bad habit of gripping the bar weight with the outside of my throttle hand. This actually allows me really good contact with the handlebars and very specific control of the throttle. I say its a bad habit because if i ever ride a bike without bar end weights Im gonna be really wonky. Anybody else do this?
i keep rewatching that down shift and up shift at 10:25, I need to know more on that
Rev matching is more forgiving on bigger bikes like his
Thanks for the helpful tips Yammie 👍🏻
I use my middle, ring, and pinky for braking. Strange, I know. But comfy for me.
I've gotten into the habit of rocking in my bike slightly at stop lights. It gives me something to do and our eyes are attracted to movement. So it doubles as a safety move.
Do you mean rock left to right or forward and backwards ? 🤔
@@non-wx8qm left to right. I havent noticed help much between the time I posted this and now
@@non-wx8qm i rock forward to back with the clutch
Helpful a lot thanks for the tips yammie
"Question"... Large Bump in the Road - As you hang-on for dear life, your arm flails, but how do you prevents your wrist from jerking violently and NOT altering throttle?... Unlock Wrist from Arm? - Practice..?
Thanks for adding the tank tops, Yammie! Gonna cop one now
Careful with leaving bike in neutral. I try to leave the bike in 1st. We get hit by cars behind us and you want to be ready to move if you have to
Starting my motorcycle lessons this Sunday! :D
How did it go? Are you riding anything atm?
@@mightyakkylex They were great. I got an R3
@@michaelcallisto nice! Have fun and stay safe out there 😁
Oh shit a moto vlog? Heck Yea brah.
Great video and tips man, as always! Keep rockin'! :)
Love all the helpful info. Although I find that some of this is harder to translate to a cruiser style. As far as cornering and leaning. I cant tell you how much i scrape my footrest when turning. Any advise on cruiser riders with these tips? would love to see you do a vid on it. Hell I'd love to see you get a more sporty Harley my dude. Street Bob or something of that nature. All hail the Papa Yamm
I have a video on my channel about leaning with cruisers, but don't want to take away from Yammie. Upper body position plays a huge role in keeping the bike upright, while still making the turn. That way you don't scrape floorboards and pegs.
DanDanTheFireman what‘s the video called? Didn‘t find it in your huge video library 😅
kinda cool that all these things came to over the 1 year i've been riding.
Always put your bike in neutral at a light, what if you need to get out of the way of a vehicle that comes from any direction and don't stop?
Very nice tips ✌️
Hey yo i love your channel please make some videos about grom motorcycles... cause idont know shit about it and i think many people dont know
Resale price on the giveaway bike just went up! Jammie Chew gooch juice is now INCLUDED.
Papa Yam what happened to your last video?
The one called "How not to die as a new rider" or something around those lines.
on the downshifting part to engine brake, i personally think its better to just focus on being clear with your behaviour with what you are going to do, situational awarenss makes this very easy, always pay attention to the one behind you, i dont really think about it too much i guess i just nstinctually or whatever do it at this point and so i subconciously know whether i need to brake gently to show what im about to do or if i can just engine brake without doing that
overall i gotta say what youre talking about is stuff i had to be able to do to get my license, so it feels more like beginner tips to me. from my point of view if this is intermeddiate in the USA im worried about how lax the requirements to be able to pass and get your license in USA is. still a good video you put up though, cheers.
Chuffled You can ride around with temps here after taking a written test, with zero actual experience. Lol
i like your tap brake bfor dwnshift to warn u slowin good one
After my cbt my mum followed me around on a ride and she picked up on the fact I slowed down but she noticed no lights showed. Thanks for the tip!
Lol my wife said the same thing following me for the first time (at night) and I wasn't thinking about it at the time, but it makes sense now that she said that because I wasn't even using my brakes when she noticed it 😅
Jakarta is a veritable hive of two wheelers. At intersections there's such a buffer of scooters and underbones around you that you wouldn't worry so much about getting rear ended while putting your bike on neutral. If only I can find the damn neutral lol
Don't worry Yammie, I put my shit in neutral too and I'm an experienced rider. If I see someone fast-approaching behind me, I would just jump off that shit! People wouldn't have time to "get out of the way".
I am a renew rider you have helped me some some