How to Ride a Dirt Bike 101

If you’ve never ridden a dirt bike before, you may be a little lost on your first ride. While these vehicles are generally considered pretty easy to operate, they have a lot of different mechanisms that tend to overwhelm new riders. To help you we here at Fun Products Goldsboro have written up a helpful guide on how to drive a dirt bike for the first time.

Get Familiar with Your Dirt Bike

Before you hop on your bike and ride off into the sunset, you’ll need to know what all the little parts on your vehicle actually do. Take a minute to examine your bike and make sure you know what all the various buttons, switches, and grips are for. On each of your handlebars, you’ll find 2 rotating pieces that act as your throttle and clutch. There is also a handgrip that acts as the brake for the front wheel of the bike. Down by the foot pegs you’ll see another brake lever on the right side and a gear shift on the left. While you’re looking everything over you’ll also want to check and see if your dirt bike has a switch or kick lever to start.

Practice the Correct Riding Position

Once you know where everything is you’ll want to practice a few movements while the bike is still off. First, you’ll want to make sure you know the correct rider position for a dirt bike. Stand up on the bike with the balls of your feet on the pegs. Crouch low, keeping your back straight and your head over the handlebars. Try to keep your elbows out and aligned with your handlebars. You’ll want to keep this position as you go over bumpy terrain and make sharp turns. On easier parts of the trail, you’re free to sit on the bike, just be ready to hop up again when things get bumpy.

Starting The Dirt Bike

Before starting your bike you’ll need to engage your battery by flipping the battery switch or turning your key into the ‘on’ position. If the weather is cold you might need to pull the choke to reduce the oxygen in your engine. Afterward, pull the clutch on your left handlebar in and step on your gear shift 6 times till it is all the way down—this will place the bike in first gear. (If you are using a child’s bike you can simply press the gear shift into the second position to put it in neutral and start the bike. We don’t recommend doing this on an adult bike as they have more gears and it can be difficult to find the neutral setting.) Keeping hold of the clutch, press the electric start button or flip out your kick starter lever. You may need to turn your throttle slightly to give the bike some gas as you repeatedly stomp on your kick start lever to start it.

Driving the Dirt Bike

Now that the bike is started you’ll want to let it idle for a minute or two while keeping a hold of the clutch. Once you’re ready to move forward you can slowly release the clutch while turning the throttle. Be sure to complete these actions at the same time and at a very steady pace. You’ll begin to move forward slowly and, as you get more comfortable with your speed—you may turn the throttle even further. If you’ve turned your throttle 3/4ths of the way toward you, or you hear your engine working very hard, you may want to lift the gear shift with your toes and bring the bike into a higher gear, just be sure to press the clutch in at the same time. To slow down, carefully release your throttle while engaging your clutch. Once this is done and you’re ready to come to a full stop press your foot brake (As a beginner you’re not quite ready for the hand brake’s quick stops.) and fully release your throttle.  

Now that you know how to ride a dirt bike we’re sure you’re excited to test your skills out on the local trails. If you still don’t have a dirt bike of your own we encourage you to visit our dealership in Goldsboro, North Carolina. We proudly serve the cities of Greenville, Wilson, and Raleigh, North Carolina, and have an amazing inventory of dirt bikes of all different models, types, and manufacturers!