I did mine on Friday and wondered if other mountain bikers, new to motorbikes and doing their CBT struggled with a brake lever actually being the clutch.

I found it fine when I had time to really think about what I was doing but as soon as I was out on the road my brain thought it was a brake lever.

A little. You do adjust quickly, and I’m very thankful we run cycle brakes as right-front (unlike almost everywhere else) so at least that’s consistent.

I was actually quite surprised that it took me no time to adapt at all. I was worried about it before I started with motorbikes. But as mentioned above, I was very thankful that the front brake is consistent. The LBS once cabled my brakes Euro style without telling me. I made it about 3 meters down the road before crashing.

Personally no but then I’ve raced bikes since I was 8.
Oddly for me I run my BSO’s euro after otb one time too many as a kid.

I did mine on a scooter with a CVT*, so the brakes were in the same position.

*I only wanted something easy to ride to work and modern Vespas are still pretty cool.

Surprisingly no, I’d never sat on a bike before, aside from being a pillion a few times. I was chatting about it to the instructor before we started and I assumed I’d be okay on the whole balancing around the cones bit, but would struggle with the brakes, gears etc – in actual fact, and even more so when I moved onto the ironclad 500s we did our lessons on it felt so dissimilar to MTB that it wasn’t a problem. There was little cross over in terms of ‘operating’ them for me.

Where being a cyclist helped me was self-preservation instinct on the road and where being a MTBer really helped was avoiding that whole panic braking, going stiff thing when something goes slightly wrong – that’s what knocks off 90% of people who fall during their CBT, it’s not hitting something, there’s noting to hit, it’s panic braking or worse panic throttle!

As P-Jay said, there’s so little crossover between riding a 200kg CB500 with 60hp and a 7kg push bike with 1/8th hp that it’s not something I ever really worried about.

By the same logic, I never tried to pedal with the gear lever either.

As P-Jay said, there’s so little crossover between riding a 200kg CB500 with 60hp and a 7kg push bike with 1/8th hp that it’s not something I ever really worried about.

I see what your’e getting at but to me all bikes feel largely the same and I make no distinctions between any of them

It was going round corners that I struggled with. It was fine slowly around cones but coming up to a bend at 40mph I leaned and the bike kept going straight!!!! On a motorbike you lean the bike and you follow, its the other way round on a bicycle!!

its the other way round on a bicycle!!

try out your new found ‘motorbike’ skill on the MTB…

A_a – Google ‘counter steering’ on a motorcycle. That’s how you’re going round corners, not by leaning. You’ll be doing it to some extent even if you don’t realise it. I’ve tried to get round a corner no handed on a motorbike like I can on a bicycle but it’s impossible. You’ll only get about 10% of your cornering from leaning I reckon, the rest from counter steering. Once your aware of it, give it a go. But GENTLY!
Basically, you push on the left side of the bars to turn left, effectively steering very slightly in the opposite direction to the turn. 🙂

Countersteering – trust me you do it on anything with a spinning wheel or you can’t turn it!
Thank gyroscopic forces.

I know about counter steering thanks. You cant go round a corner on 2 wheels without it. Countersteering drops the bike in but it will stand back up again and straighten if you dont lean. On a motorbike you lean the bike on a bicycle it will follow you. Depends on which is heavier.

try out your new found ‘motorbike’ skill on the MTB.

Pushing the bike about is pretty normal on mtb. I was just taken by suprise tootling along on a motorbike for the first time.
Obviously I am not riding god enough for stw!!

Never been an issue. I can’t figure out how Americans can go from motorbike to bicycle though with the front brake on yhe wrong side of the bicycle.

On second thoughts lets not be mean!!

my bikes, all of them, have always had their brakes set up USA style, maybe it explains my difficulties from when I first posted the question. 😉

I don’t know all the technical terms in regards to riding bicycles or motorbikes – I just do what I do and it all seems to work.

Perhaps it’s down to style and or how natural/technical minded you are, but for me the biggest difference was the fact that on a motorbike the bike weighs more than you and it changes the feel of it, not the same as being in a car, far from, but it certainly different to riding a bicycle which weighs less than you.

my bikes, all of them, have always had their brakes set up USA style, maybe it explains my difficulties from when I first posted the question.

The first time something jumps out infront of you could be spectacular. You need a go-pro… 😀

I think I’ve done it once in 6 years of riding, but that was a proper emergency stop situation so I was anchored up hard on the front anyway, so it had the happy advantage of not stalling at the end of it…

This counter steering thing has blown my mind! I give it a whirl yesterday on my commuter bicycle.. About 10 mph tried to turn the bars left and off I piss to the right! Been riding bicycles for 25 years since I was a lad and guess it must just be a natural thing??

I’ve watched about 5 videos on this as it applies to motorbikes as I’m currently saving up to get some rider training and get through my test. I take it this will be covered in detail by the instructor?

I doubt it. It still works though.

Unless the training has changed, counter steering isn’t taught at CBT or direct access

It was covered in detail when I did my IAM, when you read up on (or do) any track riding stuff, and when I saw Jedi

It’s illogical when you first learn about it, but it’s fine once you get it

CBT covered countersteering when I did it, although it was some 8 or so years ago.

Never had a problem transitioning between motorbike and mountain bike – didn’t need any tips or anything, it’s just they are very different! Bit more commonality when it came to cornering on the fatbike but nothing to get excited about.