Most new riders spend their first month worrying about which bike to buy. The bigger risk sits somewhere else: nobody practices slow-speed control before they're already in traffic.

Here's the drill that changed how I ride: find an empty parking lot, and do nothing but tight figure-8s and full-lock U-turns for 20 minutes. No speed, no destination. Just balance at a crawl.

Why it matters — most drops happen under 10mph: stop signs, parking lots, U-turns on a hill. The skill that prevents them isn't throttle control, it's clutch/friction-zone control, and almost nobody drills it on purpose.

Started Big Bikes Rider Academy for exactly this reason — a place for beginner riders to learn the fundamentals properly instead of piecing it together from YouTube at 1am. If you're new to riding, or you're picking bikes for a beginner, happy to help.