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Skreemer posted:Double U-Turn  She read the script on how we should stop as quickly as was safe, but we never got any guidance during training or practice that we were all going a bit too fast and stopping a bit too long, something she said we all did in the test with one or two exceptions who nailed it. I spoke to her about this a bit after and got the impression that they weren't supposed to give us much help on this before the test. The decreasing turn was just a freak mistake. I had no issues at all through eight or so practice runs, other than setting my throttle for the turn later than the instructor liked at first (but still perfectly within the test parameters.) I think I just glanced at the apex instead of the exit and subconsciously relaxed my throttle hand a tiny bit. It was subtle enough that I was hoping she didn't catch it. She did.
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Jun 17, 2013 01:38
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DJCobol posted:Let me know how it goes, I've been thinking about taking that course too. It wasn't bad! I know someone was talking about how it wasn't worth the cost, etc. I don't know, maybe I'm in a different situation, but I just got back on for the first time in 6 years after a nasty wreck. I'd taken the bike out once or twice to show myself that I remembered how to loving start one and operate it, but I'm going to be commuting everyday, and wanted to knock the rust off. It was good to remind myself of good riding technique. The wreck was caused by locking the brakes up and eating it in a corner, so it was good to practice panic stops with my own bike in a safe place to know how much I can grab safely. There were 6 of us (3 cruisers and some squids wanting the license endorsement) and the instructor was really awesome. He could see that I was a little shaky and nervous. He took some time to talk to me on the side about the mental game of getting back on and dealing with those feelings of "I'm going 80mph. What happens if the wheels suddenly locked up for no reason and I got thro- oh god I'm going to die right now." Overall, it was a confidence booster. The next day, my dad and I ripped out a 300 mile ride for father's day  That loving box. I've got a V-Star 1100 and I kept going outside the lines on the double U-turn. Other than that, smooth sailing. Didn't need to take the test because I've already got an endorsement, but did it for shits and giggles. Box was the only thing I hosed up. The course is right down the street from me, so I can go practice whenever I want. Probably going to do that because I want to work on So, if you're an experienced, safe rider with a license- you might not get much out of it. If you haven't ridden in a while, or just want to reinforce some good habits and like outperforming squids with mohawk helmets, go for it... I mean, either way, it wouldn't hurt anything. For me, $105 was worth the confidence boost.
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Jun 17, 2013 21:52
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ManicJason posted:Stuff One of the things I stress and see all the time is people taking their eyes off their exit. During cornering judgement(the one with the near and far gate) it's really apparent. They take their eyes off the exit and "get lost" trying to find it again now that they are a good 15 - 20 feet from where they were. It helps the subconscious out a lot. Eh just practice practice practice.
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Jun 18, 2013 01:05
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Bruiser posted:The course is right down the street from me, so I can go practice whenever I want. Probably going to do that because I want to work on High school parking lot in Murfreesboro? Thats where I took the beginners course last year.
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Jun 18, 2013 04:39
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DJCobol posted:High school parking lot in Murfreesboro? Thats where I took the beginners course last year.  Yes.
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Jun 18, 2013 19:51
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Hey dudes. I've been kicking around the idea of a motorcycle for years now and I'm closer than ever to jumping in. I've been looking at the beginner courses and what not. Just wanted to ask: would something like a Kawasaki KZ200 be a decent entry-level bike. I'm not looking to set land speed records. I want something comfortable/cool/cruise-y that I could potentially ride for semi-long distances once I feel comfortable. I'd also like it to be cheap enough and simple enough mechanically that I'd be willing to learn to gear on it. I'm basically saying that I'm a beginner/beginner and I'd like to learn from the ground up, at my own pace, and am I on the right track or am I totally off base here? I've got good experience as a city-cyclist/commuter type and I'm fully aware of what a motorcycle entails in terms of risks/maintenance and the like. Really I'm just afraid of looking like a poseur! 
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Jun 24, 2013 06:40
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I don't know about your technical/tools situation. If you're just starting out and have minimal tools, starting on a 30 year old bike that might not be able to go on freeways is probably not the easiest way to go. Personally I'd pick a recently made 250 of some sort.
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Jun 24, 2013 06:49
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I'd be just starting out, totally fresh. No tools, but I'm capable mechanically and a self-teacher type. In terms of the length of the project, there is no rush. edit: see that it maxes around 65mph Vaya con Dios!!! fucked around with this message at 07:45 on Jun 24, 2013 |
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Jun 24, 2013 07:34
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I'm taking my MSF course this coming tuesday. On the FAQ it says that I need eye protection. What should I be bringing?
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Jun 24, 2013 09:12
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Partial Octopus posted:I'm taking my MSF course this coming tuesday. On the FAQ it says that I need eye protection. What should I be bringing? A full face helmet with a visor?
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Jun 24, 2013 09:23
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Partial Octopus posted:I'm taking my MSF course this coming tuesday. On the FAQ it says that I need eye protection. What should I be bringing? They made us wear safety glasses like the ones from home depot, sun glasses or prescription eye glasses even if you had a visor on your full face helmet. I don't know why but they did.
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Jun 24, 2013 14:13
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Texibus posted:They made us wear safety glasses like the ones from home depot, sun glasses or prescription eye glasses even if you had a visor on your full face helmet. I don't know why but they did. It's the law a lot of places. In KY you always need eye protection and a flipped up visor doesn't count. I've heard about helmetless scooter riders getting busted for that.
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Jun 24, 2013 14:30
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Partial Octopus posted:I'm taking my MSF course this coming tuesday. On the FAQ it says that I need eye protection. What should I be bringing? 3/4 helmets were provided in my MSF and you had the option of a visor that they would attach for you. I rode in the helmet and sunglasses.
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Jun 24, 2013 16:50
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Doo-rag for back of the neck protection.
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Jun 24, 2013 17:35
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HiggsBoson81 posted:A full face helmet with a visor? I'm a firm believer in full face helmets, but I used one of the 3/4 ones provided during my MSF course because a lot of it was just sitting around. You could leave the visor up if you had sunglasses on.
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Jun 24, 2013 17:56
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I took the Team Oregon BRT and failed the riding portion. Passed written with 100% though! Our test consists of 5 events: cone weave, emergency swerve, emergency brake, 90 degree turn, and sweeping curve. I totally rocked the cone weave and emergency swerve, didn't get a single point or have to re-do those parts; also did well in the sweeping curve, but gained a couple points there. I screwed up the emergency stop by stopping too soon. We had to stop when our front tire went past a cone, I was having trouble seeing the cone/keeping my head up at the same time. My form was really good, though, always using both brakes and downshifting like they wanted. I got two tries and broke too early on both. 10 points. I also made a mistake on the 90 degree right turn, it was giving me trouble and I wanted a bit more practice. Rode over the line, 10 more points. So with a total of about 23 points I failed. <20 or equal(?) is passing. I was so bummed. It was hard to even stay in the class and talk the instructor at the end to figure out what I did wrong. I swear I was riding as good or better than my peers, and I'm not a nervous test taker. All I could conclude was that I suck somehow more so than a large amount of other people. I called the next day to schedule a re-take. The nearest time was 3 weeks out. THREE WEEKS. I asked if I could take it sooner somewhere else (I swear I would drive 2 hours to take this test a couple weeks earlier), but was told that it was all they had. It was really hard to deal with this failure, especially when 90%+ people pass it on their first run. Everyone I talked to said "Passed, no problem". If nothing else, this has been a hell of a journey. I've never dealt with failure like this before. I would sometimes think that maybe I'm just "One of those people who doesn't belong on a bike". I was left with three weeks to 'reflect' on failing. By the end of week 2 I had regained my confidence and I'm ready to test again this Saturday. It's still been 3 weeks since I've last ridden. If I fail again I'll have to choke up another $180 to take the BRT again. Also another 2 or 3 weeks. I just want to ride so badly, it seems to be all I think about anymore!  Not going to give up, I'm too stubborn for that.
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Jun 25, 2013 05:55
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Captain Crunk posted:I took the Team Oregon BRT and failed the riding portion. Passed written with 100% though! Can't you ride on your permit? I rode for about a month and a half before I took the BRC and passed the riding test. You have all the benefit of taking the class, you might as well practice on the road.
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Jun 25, 2013 07:00
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Captain Crunk posted:I took the Team Oregon BRT and failed the riding portion. Passed written with 100% though! Dude it's no biggie, you sound like me when my first longterm relationship went to poo poo. It's bieks, they're supposed to be fun. Either wait three weeks and do other things and relax, or like Covert Ops Wizard said go get your permit and ride anyway. You don't need the MSF cert to get your license, most people don't have it anyway. You're already a step up for taking the course/understanding fundamentals. It sounds like you just screwed up once and let it get to you during the test. In my MSF course one older guy went left both times on the emergency swerve, when he was supposed to go right 
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Jun 25, 2013 14:35
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Echoing what these dudes are saying, also don't pysch yourself out for this go because of something dumb that happened last time. You made a mistake, move on. If you don't you're likely to get nervous and fail again, but you're not going to because it'll be fine. Believe me if you care enough to take a MSF course and are stressed about not passing it you belong on a bike, it's like any other skill in life you just need practice. It's hard to get your skills developed in just one MSF course because you do the drills like four times and are constantly shuffling bikes, so again don't beat yourself up about it. ** Also, I may never say this again but god drat is it good to be living in Michigan. Our course, including them waiving the state skill test portion, is only 25 dollars. Texibus fucked around with this message at 15:17 on Jun 25, 2013 |
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Jun 25, 2013 15:12
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The Royal Nonesuch posted:
I had a guy who blew the box so hard the box would have had to been three times as wide to accomodate his u-turn. Maybe even wider, I'm not exaggerating; he just kinda made not even a 90* turn and just wandered off to nowhere. Somehow he passed. I was actually kinda pissed, how the hell is he gonna turn his huge Harley he was always talking about if he couldn't do it on a little 125?
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Jun 25, 2013 18:22
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Covert Ops Wizard posted:I had a guy who blew the box so hard the box would have had to been three times as wide to accomodate his u-turn. Maybe even wider, I'm not exaggerating; he just kinda made not even a 90* turn and just wandered off to nowhere. Somehow he passed. I was actually kinda pissed, how the hell is he gonna turn his huge Harley he was always talking about if he couldn't do it on a little 125? Guarantee it'll live in his garage after he takes it out once, so he'll probably just offer his neighbors a beer if they come by and help him turn it around.
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Jun 25, 2013 18:35
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Thanks for some perspective, you're right - it's been on my mind like a drat breakup! Either way, I'll just spend the next week relaxing, and looking forward to passing this thing. A couple things that are Oregon specific: If you have a motorcycle learner's permit, you may only ride with another rider who's licensed (on two bikes, lol). I don't know any other riders well enough to ask them to drive to my place to "pick me up" so we can ride. Considered getting it and riding, anyways. Still might. Team Oregon (which is our own MSF thing) is the ONLY way to get an endorsement in Oregon. There is no DMV test. This is a double edged sword, on the one hand all riders are well trained... on the other Team Oregon doesn't have the same availability for test taking as the DMV. IMO, 3 weeks of wait for a test is ridiculous. The permit thing should change as well. I've found myself in a catch-22: I want to practice some more, but unless I know another rider, I can't practice legally.
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Jun 26, 2013 01:49
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I just kissed the outside of the box on the first turn and went a good foot out on the second. I believe I lost exactly the same amount of points as the guy who wandered 20 feet outside.
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Jun 26, 2013 01:59
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Covert Ops Wizard posted:I had a guy who blew the box so hard the box would have had to been three times as wide to accomodate his u-turn. Maybe even wider, I'm not exaggerating; he just kinda made not even a 90* turn and just wandered off to nowhere. Somehow he passed. I was actually kinda pissed, how the hell is he gonna turn his huge Harley he was always talking about if he couldn't do it on a little 125? As an MSF instructor I could give a poo poo less if you do the double u-turn area correctly or not, just don't drop the bike in there. It's a nice to have skill but not a "life saving" skill. Screw up the swerve, the breaking or the cornering, I'll add points like crazy. The box, meh whatever. (Though it is drat funny watching someone make a 200 point turn in a parking lot.) ManicJason posted:I just kissed the outside of the box on the first turn and went a good foot out on the second. I believe I lost exactly the same amount of points as the guy who wandered 20 feet outside. The scoring on the box is pretty easy, put your foot down once, it's 3 points, twice it's 5 points. (dab foot twice you get 5 points total). Same for going outside the lines. Cross once 3 points, twice 5 points. Here's the rub. The maximum number of points I can give you is 8 for that part of the test. Go out side the lines 4 times and paddle your way around? It's 8 points. Where you get hit on points is the rest of the exercises. On the swerve maximum points is 15. On the breaking maximum points is 15. On the cornering maximum points is 15. Basically you can flub the box completely and still do fine. I've actually had one person just ride through the area and do the swerve. Skreemer fucked around with this message at 02:44 on Jun 26, 2013 |
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Jun 26, 2013 02:35
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Skreemer posted:As an MSF instructor I could give a poo poo less if you do the double u-turn area correctly or not, just don't drop the bike in there. It's a nice to have skill but not a "life saving" skill. Screw up the swerve, the breaking or the cornering, I'll add points like crazy. The box, meh whatever. (Though it is drat funny watching someone make a 200 point turn in a parking lot.) I see what you're saying, but this guy's self-admitted achilles heel was slow turns from a stop. He couldn't make a right hand turn without going wide into oncoming traffic which is why his riding buddies convinced him he might want to do the MSF. I agree, most people it doesn't matter, but this guy's total inability to control the bike at slow speed was nuts, it was like he had an inner ear infection or something.
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Jun 26, 2013 04:03
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Covert Ops Wizard posted:I see what you're saying, but this guy's self-admitted achilles heel was slow turns from a stop. He couldn't make a right hand turn without going wide into oncoming traffic which is why his riding buddies convinced him he might want to do the MSF. I agree, most people it doesn't matter, but this guy's total inability to control the bike at slow speed was nuts, it was like he had an inner ear infection or something. Ouch, that's something else altogether and the coaches should have had him working on that.
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Jun 26, 2013 04:13
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Captain Crunk posted:Thanks for some perspective, you're right - it's been on my mind like a drat breakup! Drop me an email: matthewkmayer at gmail.com
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Jun 26, 2013 06:11
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Just had my first night of the BRC1 tonight. Super boring but it gets the points across. At one point the teacher assigned us into groups so we could introduce each other. I met a short stocky 17 year old football player who told me that his parents just got him a brand new gixxer 1100. As I leave I see him riding out of the parking lot wearing a nothing but basketball shorts and a cut up t-shirt.  It had also started raining pretty harshly. I wonder if he'll be at the next class.. Partial Octopus fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Jun 26, 2013 |
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Jun 26, 2013 06:45
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Partial Octopus posted:Just had my first night of the BRC1 tonight. Super boring but it gets the points across. At one point the teacher assigned us into groups so we could introduce each other. I met a short stocky 17 year old football player who told me that his parents just got him a brand new gixxer 1100. As I leave I see him riding out of the parking lot wearing a nothing but basketball shorts and a cut up t-shirt. He's already dead.
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Jun 26, 2013 13:27
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I feel bad for the kid that his parents obviously hate him.
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Jun 26, 2013 15:20
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DJCobol posted:He's already dead. They loved too stupidly.
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Jun 26, 2013 17:52
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Buying your teenager a supersport is probably the only legal way to kill your child.
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Jun 26, 2013 18:30
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Gixxerboy never showed up to class tonight. What a suprise.
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Jun 28, 2013 07:38
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Gixxer owners don't let learning slow them down.
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Jun 28, 2013 13:20
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My experience in SoCal has taught me that it's mostly stationary cars, turns, and walls slowing them down.
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Jun 28, 2013 17:50
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RIP Gixxerboy
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Jun 28, 2013 20:57
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:Gixxer owners don't let learning slow them down. The back end of a eight wheeler will.
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Jun 29, 2013 00:33
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KARMA! posted:The back end of a eight wheeler will. Yeah, but fair's fair: they won't learn anything from it. TheNothingNew fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Jun 29, 2013 |
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Jun 29, 2013 03:17
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I've been instructing for 3 years and I haven't had anyone that's been through my class die that I know of. That being said one of the guys that's been through my class, rolled his eyes at everything I said, left negative feedback saying I was too rigid an instructor, and tried to tell everyone in the class that the only way to get around a corner was to put a knee out. Two weeks after class this person, while riding in a "spirited manner", came over a low crest and slammed into the back of a trailer that was partly in the road. Luckily he didn't die and just ended up badly broken but able to be healed. The investigating officer for the case happened to be my co-coach for the particular class this kid was in. I was fairly shaken up when I heard the kid had gotten hurt. The co-coach/officer made it clear that people will do whatever they want once they leave our vicinity and all we can do is present the information as best we can. As much as I'm not allowed to, there are times I wish I could fail someone for just being a jerk. It's even worse when there are people in the class that can obviously handle a bike and are bored on some of the exercises but for the sake of the class and getting through it, are staying quiet and following directions.
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Jun 29, 2013 04:02
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Skreemer posted:It's even worse when there are people in the class that can obviously handle a bike and are bored on some of the exercises but for the sake of the class and getting through it, are staying quiet and following directions. Are you expecting people to be excited about everything course related? Well there are many possible reasons for looking bored: 1) I know this by heart and do it while thinking about more important stuff in my life 2) I can do this but don't truly understand the point of this exercise 3) I can do this but don't like particular exercise 4) <something else> What helps is linking exercise to real world application. At least that is what my instructor did and that helped a lot.
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Jun 29, 2013 10:41
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