if you really want to learn how to ride and be safe and have confidence, then i highly recommend taking a lesson with Donna at the Guru motorcycle school. for the first hour, she thoroughly explains details that you need to know about how to prepare and deflect common dilemma's that occur. then, always with humor and enthusiasm, she uniquely gets you to understand the controls while the whole time you are on the bike feeling very comfortable. after no time and a few trial clutch/brake practices, i was off having fun going around the parking lot by the bay on a beautiful sunny day. then, we went riding together practicing making the lesson complete. she is an asset to riding and makes the experience informative and fun!