California Motorcycle Handbook - Antevia

without having to stretch.• Hands—Hold the handlegripsfirmly. Start with your rightwrist flat so you won’taccidentally use too muchthrottle. Also, adjust thehandlebars so your hands areeven with or below yourelbows. This allows you to usethe proper muscles forprecision steering.• Knees—Keep your kneesagainst the gas tank to helpwith your balance as you turnthe motorcycle.• Feet—Keep your feet firmly onthe footpegs for balance. Don’tdrag your feet or you could beinjured and lose control of themotorcycle. Keep your feetnear the controls. Also, don’tpoint your toes downward—they may get caught betweenthe road and the footpegs.Shifting GearsThere is more to shifting gearsthan simply getting themotorcycle to pick up speedsmoothly. Learning to use thegears when downshifting,turning, or starting on hills isimportant for safe motorcycleoperation.Shift down through the gears withthe clutch as you slow or stop.Remain in first gear while stoppedso you can move out quickly ifneeded.Ride slowly enough when youshift into a lower gear or themotorcycle will lurch and the rearwheel may skid. When ridingdownhill or shifting into first gearyou may need to slow todownshift safely. Work toward asmooth, even clutch releaseespecially when downshifting.It is best to change gears beforestarting a turn. However,sometimes you may need to shiftwhile in the turn. Remember toshift smoothly because a suddenchange in power to the rear wheelcan cause a skid.BrakingYour motorcycle has two brakes:one each for the front and rearwheel. Use both brakes at thesame time. The front brake is morepowerful and can provide at leastthree-quarters of your totalstopping power. The front brakeis safe to use when you use itproperly.Remember:• Use both brakes every time youslow or stop. Using both brakesfor “normal” stops permits youto develop the proper habit andskill of using both brakesproperly, which you may needin an emergency. Squeeze thefront brake and press down onthe rear brake. Grabbing at thefront brake or jamming down onthe rear brake can cause thebrakes to lock and result incontrol problems.• If you know the technique,using both brakes in a turn ispossible, although it should bedone very carefully. When you11