As a person who has been a left hander his whole life, I feel very qualified to help answer this question. The short answer is, No, A person being left handed should not affect your ability to ride or control a motorcycle with the standard control configuration. However; the part that you will struggle with the most (when you are learning) is the opposite from what a right handed person will struggle with. I will explain down below.
Backstory about my Left handed-ness
This might not be super important, but I want to explain how I learn to do things either using my left or my right hand. I am naturally a left handed person and tend to do things with my left hand. (duh) However; my right hand is not without its talents.
When I learn a new skill, like using a can opener, playing an guitar, or riding a motorcycle, I will learn how to use that object for the hand orientation that object is setup for. Since most guitars are right handed, I learned to play a right handed guitar. Since I have had no prior experience using that device with either hand I do not find it that much more difficult to learn on my right hand.
I’m sure most left handers use their right hand to control the mouse on a computer, because that was the way you were taught to use it. I feel that learning to ride and learning the controls on a motorcycle is no different. The one problem you might have is throttle control, especially if you are not good at using your right hand at all. While right handed people will probably struggle with clutch control. I will explain below.
Clutch Control
The clutch is located on the left handle bar and controls the connection between the engine and the transmission. Being that this is on the left side, you control it with your left hand. There is this point while using the clutch that is called the ‘friction zone’. This is the zone where the clutch actually starts to connect the engine to the transmission.
This is something that you feel through the handle. Having good control on this lever will help you connect the engine and transmission smoothly. Being naturally left handed will make using this control easier for you than a right hander.
Throttle Control
The throttle is located on the right handle bar. This control increases the RPM of the engine. Basically, it adds more gas to the engine to make it spin faster. This is controlled with your right hand. Using this control, along with the clutch, is what applies power to the wheel and makes you move.
This is the control that a left hander might have trouble with. This will apply power or speed to the motorcycle. You want the power deliverer to be as smooth as possible so the motorcycle is ‘jumpy’. This control is usually easier for a right handed people to get use to since that is their dominant hand.
Wrap-Up
To wrap everything up. You will need to have good motor control on both your hands to operate a motorcycle smoothly. It is a skill that you can learn with no issue. The only difference I noticed, was it took me more time to get use to controlling the throttle, while a right hander will probably have more trouble learning to use the clutch.
But at the end of the day you can learn to ride an motorcycle regardless of which hand you are good with. This is a skill that can be learned by anyone. and in my opinion, left handers might have a slight edge to learning this because most left handers are able to learn how to do things with there right hand since we live in a world that is dominated by right handed people.
If you are curious what type of gear I use and maintain, you can check it out on my Bikes & Gear page.