Motorcycle Controls, Handling and Vehicle Familiarity
You must be able to name and operate every control without looking down. The right hand controls the front brake and throttle; the left hand controls the clutch and turn signals, horn and high-beam switch. The right foot works the rear brake; the left foot shifts gears (one down, the rest up on a typical layout). The right grip twists for throttle. Know where the kill switch, fuel valve and choke/enricher are before you ride.
Braking and steering
Use both brakes together, with most stopping power coming from the front - but apply the front progressively to avoid locking it. On a wet or gravelly surface, favour the rear slightly and be gentler with the front. Countersteering is the key handling concept: at speed, push the grip on the side you want to turn toward, and the bike leans and turns that way. At very low speed, you steer by turning the bars in the direction of the turn.
Pre-ride check and low-speed control
Run a quick T-CLOCS-style walkaround: tyres and pressures, controls and cables, lights, oil and fluids, chain or belt tension and slack, and stands. Low-speed control - friction zone, rear brake, head and eyes up - is what examiners watch in a parking-lot test.
Traps: questions often ask which brake to use in a curve (answer: ideally neither hard; if you must, use both gently and stand the bike up slightly) or which wheel the front brake acts on (front only, and it provides most of the stopping force). Another favourite: the throttle does not slow you - closing it does, plus brakes and engine braking.
Rule of thumb: squeeze, don't grab, the front brake; and look where you want to go - the bike follows your eyes.