I was in Asia for 3+ months and I learned how to ride a motorcycle. The one where you feed the gas on the right hand side handle and everything else on the left hand side handle.

I understand there are other types where you shift the clutch by feet. How many other types are there? I tried to google for more information but it shows up the different types of motorcycles like (chopper, standard, street, etc...). How hard is it to learn one of these where you shift by the feet?

BTW... I know how to drive a stick shift car.

 

Of all the bikes I have had they all had the clutch on the LH handle, throttle on the RH handle, and the shiffer on the RH foot pedal.

 

In general most motorcycles have the front brake on the front right handlebar lever. Throttle by twisting the right handlebar and the rear brake is the toe of the right foot.


I had a Yamaha with no clutch but other than that was pretty standard. The gas was on the right handlebar and you shifted with your left foot. With no clutch you just rev up to shifting rpm, let off the gas, shift, then get back on the power. That model had a long foot lever so you would tap down with your toe to upshift and down with your heal or hook your toe under the front and pull up to downshift but the ergonomics were set to keep your foot on the peg and just rock forward or back to shift.

I learned to ride when I was 5. At that age learning anything new is easy. As you get older, and especially if you've spent a lifetime driving with controls a certain way, anything different will probably feel unnatural. But, almost anything can be learned. The difficult part would be bouncing back and forth between bikes that had different control layouts. I imagine a different layout is much like learning to drive on the wrong side of the road. It's difficult at first so you concentrate. Then as you learn you relax and become comfortable... until your old muscle memory kicks in and you do something by habit that you didn't intend.

 

all the ones I have rode shifted with your left foot which was mostly dirt bikes, clutch was on left handle think first gear was 1 down and all the other gears was up then you just reversed it if you was down shifting fairly easy to learn.

 

I could be wrong but if I remember right, it was either an Indian or Motogoozie(?) that had a foot clutch. I may look that up right quick... and learn how to spell that name... lol

I think both of those brands were out of the 1950's.. maybe earlier.

EDIT:
Its Moto Guzzi... Its an Italian motorcycle and is still being made in 2023. I thought those things went out YEARS ago.. but maybe just out in the US. I haven't seen or heard of anyone having one of those things since the 60's.
I couldnt find anything about a foot clutch on it .. but most everything I seen in a search was new stuff. Maybe some of you guys remember.

2nd EDIT:
It was called a suicide clutch....

"Foot clutches with tank shifters were standard on American motorcycles such as Harley-Davidson and Indian up to the mid-20th century and many custom bikes today still employ this system"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicid...0this%20system.

 

Thanks for all of the responses and good to see everyone still here after 5 months.

The one that I rented for 3 months is a Honda AirBlade. The throttle and front brake are on the right handle while the rear brake is on the left handle. Nothing was shifted with my feet.

I apologize for the confusion of the gear-changer lever with the clutch.

So since I know how to drive a stick shift car, is the motorcycle operates the same way? When I shift gear, I would hold down the clutch, shift the gear and then slowly release the clutch while slowly increase the throttle? Do I have to hold down the clutch when I start the motorcycle?

Next set of questions:

Can I rent and practice?
I live in California. Should I get an M1 license if I decide to take the next step?
Is insurance high?
Beside the danger, is it worth it to buy one?

Thank You

 

typically you would hold down the clutch to start it unless it was in neutral.
would check with your state department of motor vehicles and see what is required to get a license you may have to do a written and driving test or go through a training course that would be equivalent.
as per insurance probably depends on the motorcycle but best to get a quote on a model you think you may like to see what it would be.

 

Nobody old enough to remember these, I guess:

 

I guess when I started this thread, I really meant to ask about the gearbox shifting. So researching for the last few days, I guess a motor bike is like a car. There is automatic and manual. I thought with manual, there might be several variations of manual.

The one that I rented and used for 3 month is this one. It has an automatic gearbox so I did not have to manual gear shift and clutch. I really like it.

https://bikez.com/motorcycles/honda_...e_160_2023.php

Also, California DMV classified anything above 150 cc as Motorcycle and anything below is classified as Motor-Driven Cycles.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicl...s-and-scooters

 

the honda looks like a scooter depending on where you are riding, you will likely want something much bigger maybe 450-700 cc range would probably be a good first motorcycle that has enough power to get out of a bad situation and enough speed to go down the interstate.

 

"Can I rent and practice?"

Years ago I was thinking about motorcycling, and took an intro course offered by a national motorcycle organization. MSF, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, offers a course.
https://msf-usa.org/start-your-ride/basic-ridercourse/

Good luck with it!