A one line simple rule

^ Take an MSF course. (Motorcycle Safety Foundation)
They usually do it over w weekend, they presume that you've never touched a bike before, and they give you a quarter-liter bike to play with. Well maybe not "play with" but "learn on".
When I took my last one, I already owned my V-Rod (endorsed rider, second bike, 40 at the time, probably 10k in the saddle.)
I very quickly learned that "riding all of your life" more often than not really means "riding incorrectly all your life."
If you tend to be a know-it-all (yes, like me!) it can be a very humbling experience.
Usually, a 250-cc bike is juuuust big enough to be taken a little seriously---even a moped can kill you if you're not careful, but it's not so large, heavy, and powerful as to kill the sudent before he or she can master basic skills.

Hypermiling comes naturally to bikers for several reasons, and it amounts to riding (or driving) with as little brake and throttle input as you can get away with to get the job done. In a car, it's like driving with dog crap on the accelerator and brake pedals. Yeah, you have to push down on them, but you don't want to unless you have to. Kinda forces you to plan ahead a little.
When a cyclist comes to a stop, they have to stick a leg down to support the bike. If you've ever watched one at an intersection, they usually come to juuuuuuust barely a legal stop, and then gently throttle away.
OK. Maybe the model breaks down on this point. Sometimes MC riders take gleeful advantage of the thrust to weight ratios that make even a diminutive bike a sheer joy to ride. SOMETIMES they don't gently throttle away from a stoplight. However (comma!) there's a price. Do it too much....and you'll run afoul of either LEO or Sir Isaac Newton, so usually MC operators have to accelerate more gently away from a stop than cars do.
Motorcyclists usually eschew tailgating in dense traffic for very obvious reasons. If something comes off of the vehicle in front of you----even a loose piece of gravel, it can be a lot less fun if you don't have a ton and a half of car around you. Also....most MC's have manual transmissions, and so they look for ways not to have to always be clubbing up and down through the gears while motoring along.
Lastly.....motorcyclists tend to be a little more engaged in the driving process. In a car, you take a drive through your surroundings. On a bike....you take a drive IN your surroundings.
Different mindset.
Does not blend well with texting, GPS gazing, makeup application, or reading the morning newspaper.

If I'm on a bike, and I see you in your Prius, you fall into one of two possible categories:
1. You're clueless that I'm anywhere around you.
2. You see me, and you're trying to kill me.

This is the reason that motorcycle muffler modification is so very popular in my (other) community.

YMMV!

 

Driving several hundred thousand miles on a cycle made me a much,, read MUCH more defensive driver. You learn to anticipate people and vehicles long before you can see them. You assume that nobody can see you (because usually they don't!) and. You use y headlight like a horn. Someone comes up to fast to a crossing stop, flash h I'm the brights.

The same tricks also apply then in the car, you find cars early because you anticipate diffently, you treat cross traffic with more ware, and you slow down to turn, especially left with great care,, you become much more aware of traffic action behind you!

Icarus

PS I thought I ws a pretty good rider until my step son took a safety course, and taught me a whole bunch of stuff, particularly braking techniques.

 

You accelerate so fast you are achieving Low Earth Orbit??

 

And doing that with a Prius. Impressive.

 

I definitely feel more comfortable accelerating on a motorcycle than a prius This is because I can accelerate much faster on a bike. The prius complains, but the bike says ride me faster, until you get to the speed you want to go. A motorcycle makes you a more defensive driver, and slow down early to anticipate people stopping in front of you. Definitely not a machine to learn to drive efficietly. A bicycle is anouther mater, when you feel effort in acceleration, that will teach you what your engine must do.

 

Er.....no. Not quite...and yes I caught the wink.

The V-Rod's not in the quickest bike on the planet by a long shot, but it is by far the quickest Harley and if you've got four tires and a steering wheel, you're going to have to have one helluva mill and/or a pretty good day to keep up with it to the next light. However (comma) you're much more likely to reach Law Enforcement Officer, rather than the other LEO.
All things come at a price though. The VRSCD turns like a toad, and (mine) only gets about 35MPG.

Nice thing about Motorcycles.
My other bike is a very diminutive (by today's standards) VN900D---or Kawi Vulcan 900 LT.
I did it backwards. Usually kids buy rice burner sport bikes, and then graduate into a Harley bagger.
Still....(almost) any motorcycle is a joy to ride, if done so properly.
IIRC, the Kawi will knock down a standing quarter in about 14 seconds with somebody better than I am at the helm, or about a half second slower than an SS equipped Camaro. 425BHP versus 50.
For other comparisons....I think the G3 does it in about 17, which is really kinda spritely for an ecobox.

LEO?
Yup. Maybe....if you're not careful, but the re-entry will be kinda expensive, if you know what I mean.

 

That would be difficult... sometime you need to go to the bathroom. But just like a bicycle, its more stable when moving forward. Hit the brakes hard, and you need better balance. Definitely important to practice, but its much easier to slow down slowly, and anticipate stops.

I don't think a motorcycle is a good example for how to save fuel though. Its fun to accelerate fast. A motorcycle will teach you to pay attention to your surroundings, which may make you a safer driver.

 

I still have my '67 BMW R50, wth 250k on it. I haven't ridden it in a few years, and it needs complete restoration now. Not a bike to ride anymore with cable drum brakes. I covet my step sons current version of the BMW Boxer!

Icarus