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10 Tips for Nervous Motorcycle Riders

10 Tips for Nervous Motorcycle Riders

Most motorcyclists enjoy riding a motorcycle as a form of recreation. Some motorcyclists consider motorcycle riding a light exercise and a form of stress relief. Meanwhile, some riders, especially novices, get nervous while riding a motorcycle due to their lack of experience and less familiarity with motorcycle operations. Also, riders who have been in motorcycle crashes are less confident while riding. Nervous riders make more mistakes and are more likely to get into an accident. Read this article to learn 10 tips to help you if you are a nervous motorcycle rider.

1. 10 Tips to Help Nervous Motorcycle Riders

1.1 Learn How to Ride a Motorcycle

If you are new to motorcycling, it is difficult to be confident while riding a motorcycle. However, you can gain confidence by learning how to ride a motorcycle. A recommendation is to go for a ride every weekend if not every day. Start with practicing on streets or in parking lots with minimal or no traffic. Then, gradually move up to riding on busy roads, open roads, and highways to learn how to navigate different road conditions and gain versatile riding skills. Nervousness is common with beginners, but it will fade with time and experience.

1.2 Take a Safety Motorcycle Course

If you are worried about safety on a motorcycle and the possibility of getting into a crash, you can enroll in a safety motorcycle course. These courses are intended for novice riders, helping teach them the required skills on how to safely operate a motorcycle. Highly qualified instructors provide practical demonstrations of how to maneuver safely through traffic and scan the road.

1.3 Watch Training Videos

If you want to learn how to ride a motorcycle, from basic to expert level, the internet is full of training videos and tutorials on how to overcome fear while riding. Many motovloggers document their progression from basic to expert riders. You can learn from their experiences and lessons on how to overcome fear while riding.

1.4 Train Your Mind

Along with physical training, you must train your mind to push aside fear and nervousness. If you keep thinking that you cannot ride, you will always be tense and unfocused. If you are an overthinker, motorcycling can be dangerous for you. As a rider, you must learn how to keep your mind active and focused while riding. Train yourself to make quick decisions. This will help you stay calm in difficult situations and help you avoid making mistakes.

1.5 Learn Traffic Laws and Road Signs

Most riders need to become more familiar with traffic laws and road signs since it can be hard to think clearly and abide by the law during emergencies. Otherwise, making a wrong decision could result in a motorcycle crash. Learning traffic laws and road signs will allow you to ride with confidence and make better decisions while riding.

1.6 Keep Practicing

The best way to fight feelings of anxiety while riding is to keep practicing. Ride more frequently on less busy roads before gradually taking the motorcycle out on busy roads when you are confident enough. You can practice emergency stops, maneuvers, and sharp turns in empty parking lots and open areas.

1.7 Ride with a Group

Riding with a group provides a supportive net that offers constant help and guidance when you need it. You can also learn riding tips from your friends in the group that can help make you a better motorcyclist.

1.8 Do Not Get Freaked Out by Statistics

Motorcycles are more prone to accidents than cars due to being less safe. They do not have a canopy, seatbelts, or airbags like cars, which makes riding them riskier. There are more road accidents involving motorcycles and more motorcyclist fatalities every year than car drivers. However, most of the accidents involving motorcycles listed in statistics were due to the riders either being drunk or riding without a helmet and safety gear. Make sure you are wearing a DOT-approved helmet and appropriate safety riding gear while riding and follow all the traffic laws.

1.9 Take Your Time

Do not take your motorcycle out on busy roads unless you are ready. Take your time practicing high- and low-speed maneuvers until you have gained enough confidence.

1.10 Do Not Ride if You Are Stressed or Angry

If you are a beginner and/or a nervous rider, do not ride if you are stressed or angry. Riding while stressed or angry can impair your judgment, make it harder to focus, reduce reaction time, and put you and other drivers at risk.

2. The Bottom Line

Being focused when riding a motorbike will help you make better choices and ride more safely. Riding while nervous can increase the risk of getting into dangerous situations where you might make poor decisions and crash your motorcycle. Nervousness and fear of riding can become reduced with time, practice, and experience. When you become an experienced rider, learn how to ride safely, and know all the riding techniques by watching online training videos and taking safety riding courses, you will become more confident.


If you are new to and feel anxious riding a motorcycle, make sure you practice regularly before you take your vehicle out on the road. To stay safe, ride with a group or a friend who can assist you throughout the ride. If you follow the tips listed in this article, you will soon start to enjoy motorcycle riding. If you want to make motorcycle trips more enjoyable, several attachments can help you improve your riding experience, including sissy bars, backrests, fairings, crash bars, saddlebags, and tank bags.

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