[DPE]

Lets not forget to give your Dad credibility as a rider and already looked into this before he made his decision. I am sure he will be OK. Look at his choice, he is sensible and not gone to a full blown racing bike. Why not get on a bike and enjoy a ride out with him.

 

[colombianstorm]

Howdy folks,

bit of an odd question perhaps, but I figured we are a great community and was worth to ask...

TL;DR what to be mindful for a (senior) first time motorbike rider, and what can I do to help him get used to the difference in riding, coming from a scooter?

Full story:
My old man has been retired for a decade or so, and took to riding a few years back, usually with a pillion, on a 350/400cc scooter. He's been racking up a ton of miles at a leisurely pace on all kind of weather and without major accidents.

Now, he got the itch to be on a "real" bike, and in a few weeks he's going to receive a new Honda NC750X. Main reason to pull the trigger was the good reviews of the DCT automatic gear (same-ish as the premium Africa Twin) as he didn't want to learn to use the clutch.

As much as I'm elated from his upgrade, I'm concerned because he never rode a motorcycle and only sat on the bike once at the dealer to test seat height (lockdown, no test ride). He's a bit overconfident and could lead him to make mistakes, especially if he will ride two-up.

Considering that we don't live in the same country (hope to get to visit by spring), how can I help him get acquainted with his new ride? What's to pay attention to in riding dynamics?

Tnx & Cheers,
Dave

I started riding (real) motorcycles at age 52. Over three years I went from an Intruder 400 to a Honda shadow 750 and, for financial reasons, to a 250 Kymco scooter for an additional 2 years. When money returned I bought a Rocket lll on which I could only tippytoe even after the dealer lowered the front. Short version of the story, the first day I rode it I took it out to the countryside with some friends; I was going to brake coming to a curve and I braked as in a scooter, which resulted in depressing the clutch, and when the bike didn't slow down I panicked, forgot everything I knew about riding, drove straight, the bike flipped lengthwise, I went over the handlebars, landed on my head and lost consciousness for about 15 minutes. My buddies helped me and I managed to ride it back home. Amazingly, NOTHING happened to the bike except a scratch on the pillion seat's sissy bar backrest (GO Triumph!!!).

All this to say: make sure to let him know to take it easy until his mind learns the difference between a scooter and a real bike's controls and he does it automatically, without the need to think.

 

[okitoki]

I started riding (real) motorcycles at age 52. Over three years I went from an Intruder 400 to a Honda shadow 750 and, for financial reasons, to a 250 Kymco scooter for an additional 2 years. When money returned I bought a Rocket lll on which I could only tippytoe even after the dealer lowered the front. Short version of the story, the first day I rode it I took it out to the countryside with some friends; I was going to brake coming to a curve and I braked as in a scooter, which resulted in depressing the clutch, and when the bike didn't slow down I panicked, forgot everything I knew about riding, drove straight, the bike flipped lengthwise, I went over the handlebars, landed on my head and lost consciousness for about 15 minutes. My buddies helped me and I managed to ride it back home. Amazingly, NOTHING happened to the bike except a scratch on the pillion seat's sissy bar backrest (GO Triumph!!!).

All this to say: make sure to let him know to take it easy until his mind learns the difference between a scooter and a real bike's controls and he does it automatically, without the need to think.

The difference you have over the OP's father is you have had manual m/c experiences, and this can still happen......

glade you came out of the crash in ok condition.

 

[BarelySober]

Hey thanks, hope you made it out with none-too-many scratches.

I completely forgot that on scooters the default instinct is to brake with the "clutch" side lever (or both)! That's a very good point and probably needs to be un-learned, mmhh dangerous...

Anyone knows whether the Honda DCT system retains the left lever as clutch, since it's not a manual shift gear?

 

[WillieKetchum]

Howdy folks,

bit of an odd question perhaps, but I figured we are a great community and was worth to ask...

TL;DR what to be mindful for a (senior) first time motorbike rider, and what can I do to help him get used to the difference in riding, coming from a scooter?

Full story:
My old man has been retired for a decade or so, and took to riding a few years back, usually with a pillion, on a 350/400cc scooter. He's been racking up a ton of miles at a leisurely pace on all kind of weather and without major accidents.

Now, he got the itch to be on a "real" bike, and in a few weeks he's going to receive a new Honda NC750X. Main reason to pull the trigger was the good reviews of the DCT automatic gear (same-ish as the premium Africa Twin) as he didn't want to learn to use the clutch.

As much as I'm elated from his upgrade, I'm concerned because he never rode a motorcycle and only sat on the bike once at the dealer to test seat height (lockdown, no test ride). He's a bit overconfident and could lead him to make mistakes, especially if he will ride two-up.

Considering that we don't live in the same country (hope to get to visit by spring), how can I help him get acquainted with his new ride? What's to pay attention to in riding dynamics?

Tnx & Cheers,
Dave

Riding a scooter and a motorcycle ARE way different. With a motorcycle you have to shift. The BEST thing your father could do is go to a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) or similar riding course. They will start him from scratch.

 

[rumblebutt]

+1 to all who’ve recommended a safety course. I too started riding late, in my mid 40s, and learned a ton of very helpful techniques. A few days after completing the course and finally being able to legally ride freeways, that training was put to good use and helped me avoid a sudden traffic pile up by simply grabbing all my brakes like they taught us, then doing an evasion swerve so the car behind me didn’t splat me like a bug. Hope your dad has some safe fun!

 

[Traveler07]

Howdy folks,

bit of an odd question perhaps, but I figured we are a great community and was worth to ask...

TL;DR what to be mindful for a (senior) first time motorbike rider, and what can I do to help him get used to the difference in riding, coming from a scooter?

Full story:
My old man has been retired for a decade or so, and took to riding a few years back, usually with a pillion, on a 350/400cc scooter. He's been racking up a ton of miles at a leisurely pace on all kind of weather and without major accidents.

Now, he got the itch to be on a "real" bike, and in a few weeks he's going to receive a new Honda NC750X. Main reason to pull the trigger was the good reviews of the DCT automatic gear (same-ish as the premium Africa Twin) as he didn't want to learn to use the clutch.

As much as I'm elated from his upgrade, I'm concerned because he never rode a motorcycle and only sat on the bike once at the dealer to test seat height (lockdown, no test ride). He's a bit overconfident and could lead him to make mistakes, especially if he will ride two-up.

Considering that we don't live in the same country (hope to get to visit by spring), how can I help him get acquainted with his new ride? What's to pay attention to in riding dynamics?

Tnx & Cheers,
Dave

I agree with the others advising that your dad takes an appropriate safety course if he hasn’t done so. If he had, then he i suggest he takes a refresher course or some serious coaching from a legit individual.
i just turned 60 and also got the itch to switch. My Sreet 3 (with its power) taught me I needed to do just that.😂😂😂

Cheers...