You will go where you look.

Always keep your eyes on your exit.

whaddup Eide. Yeah I'm saving up for a motorbike now (and I'm honestly a bit obsessed and reading up all the time about it) so I expect we'll have a lot to talk about re: this stuff.

I'm particularly interested in reading up on braking techniques because when I used to sporadically ride my sister's light scooter (which I'm going to start riding again soon) the only real 'incident' I had was when I was turning a corner with too much speed and there was a pedestrian right there; I jammed the brakes, skid and fell (and strangely couldn't get back upright for a second until someone gave me a light hand).

Discouragingly it seems that braking in motorcycles is even more complex and preventing skidding despite stopping quickly enough takes learned/practiced technique + split-second decisions.

Ski the spaces, not the trees.

My first (& only) moto was a bit too big & fancy, and I took a bath on it when I sold it on. Everyone says to get the Ninjette first, and I gotta say - I should've listened to everyone.

That's exactly what I'm getting, Tride, the Kawasaki Ninja 250r. Only out here in India it's not an "ette" it's an expensive/high-cc bike by local standards (also these imports cost much more than in the US!) so I think I'll be happy with it for a while :)

Every class I've taken has warned us about riding where you look. This is true about curves as well, never, never, never watch the side of the road, look at where you want to be, not what you want to avoid.

The braking piece is important to. More bikes fall down at slow speeds when someone jams the front brake...

Take a class, it's worth every penny... I took one after 40 years of riding and still learned things I didn't know!

Squeeze the brakes. Progressive pressure. Don't grab them. Only brake when you're fully upright, never when leaned over (until later; that's an advanced technique).

In the US, the MSF teaches you to straighten up before braking. It's a good thing to practice. You should run some safety drills when you get the bike. When I lived in MA, friends of mine would put together a PLP (Parking Lot Practice) with mini cones (or you can use sawn in half tennis balls) every 4-6 weeks. We practiced swerving, quick stops, slalom, etc.