Practice or not to practice. I did…. so I can’t say not to. However I can say this….
When I got my V500 I had my boss man ride it home for me. It gave me a chance to watch how he rode and the mechanics involved in it. For my brain it helped me. I can watch others on their bike and then hear me tell myself that its gonna be different for mine cause I have a different bike. Well after he dropped it off I waited for him to leave, geared up and went through every sighting I could of controls and mechanisms. Then I went through the start up process several times. Next step was just getting use to the clutch. MSF will do this for you to when you take it….though I didn’t know that at the time. I would let the clutch out extremely slow to get used to the point of engagement and release. Rocking back and forth for what was probably mundane. Once I felt comfortable with that I got used to the throttle, out of gear. Alot of beginners don’t realise how little the throttle has to be turned to get a response. Once you feel comfortable with that…. put it in first again (shoulda added that part with the clutching aspect but I figure it would be assumed)slowly let out the clutch and give it very lil throttle. Go about a couple of feet and start the whole process again. Your building muscle memory. I went through as far as Shut down, kickstand, dismount….then back on, start up , kick stand and clutching again. Eventually move your distance traveled a bit further each time and next thing you know your off and running. The very next most important step is to train your right hand to relax … ESPECIALLY on left hand turns. Alot of people keep the death grip on the throttle and when turning left the throttle goes away from your body, death grip on…the throttle starts to roll and ut oh…… better make sure you are in the frame of mind to remember that the clutch disengages forward motion. Not ok lets ride this bugger out. After that…its just pushing your comfort level increments at a time.