Ducati Monster Forum

my friend keeps buggin me to teach him how to ride ! [moto]
should i teach him on my monster?

Depends.  Do you like your monster?

I dropped the first bike I was given to learn to ride-->  "Here's the clutch.  Here's the throttle.  Here's the shifter. Here are the brakes.  Good luck.  Off you go."  [roll] 

If you want a monster rat bike, I say go for it!

send him to an msf course instead.

better for everybody.

dont get me wrong! i know what can happen  [evil]
he just got a divorce and he drives a lotus Which is a bike w/4 wheels ill just make him put it up as collateral !
at least he knows how a clutch works!

Don't do it!

his lotus is a 2006 w/a supercharger 40 +k
my monster is a 99 m 750 w/ a road racing tank i paid 1,500
i still have a triumph legend to keep my knees in the breeze but i cant aford to takover payments on the lotus!
and i dont fit in it!  im 6'4"

1st bike I bought, I barely new how to ride. I new the concept from driving a manual truck. Also, I practiced on floor models clutching and shifting. I suggest if you want to let him learn, you make sure he truely understands how to work everything. then take him to an empty parking lot. I let a buddy of mine practice in a parking lot and all was good until he stopped. Put his foot down on gravel and the bike fell over. I wasn't pissed, but I won't let him forgetit either.

No way if they haven't taken MSF

+1.  If your friend truly wants to learn how to ride, he'll suck it up and invest in the MSF safety course.  [thumbsup]

What is MSF?

http://www.msf-usa.org/ (http://www.msf-usa.org/)

They offer courses on how to ride a motorcycle, including some advanced courses.

 [thumbsup] Thanks

That tank is impossible to replace and will be the first thing to get damaged when he drops it.  You can't bondo a raw aluminum tank either.  Well you can but then you have to paint it and it won't look like a road race tank anymore.  At the very least get a dented tank off ebay and let me hold your road race tank while he rides it.

Don't do it.  Are you nuts?  Tell him to get his own bike first and then you will teach him.  Or even better what the others mentioned, take the MSF course.

I lent my bike a few times and I still cringe when I think about what possessed me to do that.

the msf course seems like the way to go! [thumbsup]
thanks for all the replies [drink]

NO!

Send him to MSF!

The best thing about the MSF (other than it can save your life and the instructors know what they're doing) is that you can drop the bikes pain-free. It's almost expected, which then takes off the pressure and you can concentrate on learning to ride instead of panicking about not dropping your friend's irreplaceable monster.

No one dropped a bike in my MSF class, but almost all of them had tank dings and assorted character marks.

Is he asking you to teach him to ride or understand how to operate a bike?

If he's a good friend take him to an empty parking lot and show him the ropes, clutch, brakes, shifting, etc.  This is what a good friend did for me and i knew after those couple of hours that I'd own a bike soon enough.

Now if he becomes interested in riding send him to the MSF.

I would never give a friend the cold response of simply taking the MSF, take him out and let him get a feel for things on your ride. 
 [moto]

MSF +11tyb

If he is serious about starting riding, he will want to take the class anyway. If not, he really won't miss out on much not trying not to wreck your bike, which is what you hope he is focusing on if you let him ride yours.