How do I learn to drive a motorcycle?

Knowing the principles of the manual shift will help but

Sorry, even with instructions you will need practice to pass a test.

Isn't there a driving school around?

There's a 'feel' to handling the bike that needs to be learned

before you try to take it on the road.

Go somewhere that they rent dirt bikes and give lessons, the dirt is far more forgiving compared to asphalt.

First of all it depends on where you live. The laws are different in different places. In the US you can just buy yourself a motorcycle and get a learner's permit. In England you have to go through many stages, expensive training, etc.

The best place to start from scratch is the MSF course (in the US). Motorcycle Safety Foundation. You can get in touch with them through your local DMV, or whatever initials you use where you live. They have a beginner's course for total newbies, in fact for many people it's their first time even sitting on a motorcycle and they take the course to see if they can even do it. They supply the bike! You ride around at 10 mph in a parking lot, a relatively safe and easy way to get started.

They don't teach you to ride, they only get you started. You learn to ride by yourself, that's the only way. What they teach you are some very basic and indispensable safety habits to keep you relatively safe while you learn on your own.

Then you get a bike. That's a whole different subject, and there are several different approaches to that question--small or medium-sized, standard or cruiser--depending on how you see yourself riding. (Commuting? Long trips? Just around the neighborhood? Carrying a passenger? etc.) I strongly suggest learning to ride on a USED bike.

You cruise around a quiet residential neighborhood or quiet country lanes until you learn all the controls, so you don't have to think for a second 'Ummm, now which of these doodads is the brake?'

Then it would be good to have another rider come with you on some day-long trips out into the country to practice higher speeds and different conditions. If you don't know another rider, you might try advertising on the motorcycle section of your local Craigslist. Or see if that Harley dealer has a bulletin board with listings of organized group rides. Some motorcycle clubs even have beginner rides, group rides that you can go at your own pace, but with 'safety in numbers'.

Motorcycling is not about weight or strength. It's about finesse and balance. So girls can do as well as guys, actually better because they don't suffer from 'testosterone poisoning'. Just, when picking out a bike, make sure you can sit on it with both feet flat on the ground. This can somewhat limit the range of choices for the 'inseam challenged'.

I won't get into shifting and clutching. It sounds really complicated to explain it or hear about it, but it's really simpler to do than to talk about. Don't let it scare you.

I teach friends to ride all the time. I have a little old thrasher bike just for that. You can meet someone like me hanging around a little local bike repair shop. Find a little shop (probably not a new bike dealer) and ask if they know someone who can help you learn. I know some Harley shops offer their own version of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course. Check online, maybe they are cheaper at a local junior college. They are a good way to start and you use their bikes. (msf-usa.org)

METHOD A

1. learn the car first--yes, it helps to understand how the clutch operates

2. borrow or buy a used scooter, even a small one will help you understand zooming into and out of traffic, etc (like a Vespa but any brand is fine)

3. as you ride you will meet people who have bikes and someone will probably show you how to ride, BUT they might not let you ride by yourself unless it's an old bike or they're rich

4. buy yourself the oldest small motorcycle you can find, for a few hundred dollars and then practice and learn on that

note: you don't mention how tall you are but biggest problem for girls can be short leg length that doesn't allow you to straddle a bike with feet on the ground at a stop; the sport bikes are lower to the ground and usually narrower saddle BUT it's hard to learn on a sport bike because the riding position is severe (the kind where they guy looks like he's lying down on his stomach instead of sitting up)

METHOD B

your boyfriend has a bike

Come to me :)