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Signed up for my first MSF course starting next week (in San Diego). Never ridden a motorcycle. Haven't been on a scooter in years. I figure I can drive a stick so how hard can a motorcycle clutch be? I find myself intently watching the feet and hands of passing motorcyclists so I can understand the flow of clutch, shift, brake. Living in CA I think lane splitting is insane. I doubt I'll do much highway riding as I don't do much highway driving. Overall I am more nervous than I expected but I forced myself to register today as it's been something I wanted to do for a long time. I'll be the rookie in the class. I will ask the dumb questions with pride. I want to learn and be safe. I read the crash thread here and that was helpful as it really helped me respect the bike even before I get on it. Wish me luck!
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Aug 1, 2012 04:48
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 21:19 |
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Finished my MSF course yesterday. I did the 2 day schedule. Classroom from 8-12 and ride from 1-5p. Provider was: http://www.saferide4u.com/ If you are in San Diego I recommend them. The instructors were very good. The written exam was 50 questions. I missed 5. I didn't really spend much time on the test and only one question was info I actually missed versus me just hurrying through it. I'll be much more careful when I take the written at the DMV. Background: I am huge noob. I had never been on a motorcyle prior to the class. I ride bicycles (hurr!) and was on a scooter about 20 years ago. I am in my early 40's. Highs and lows: The course provided Kawasaki Eliminators. I think they might have been 125's? I had to wear a XL helmet because I have a large space alien triangular shaped melon. I did find a comfortable Shoei in their inventory. That was a concern, that my mutated head would require custom fit. I was relieved to find out that shouldn't be a problem when I buy my own helmet. These are the first world problems of the noob rider. So now we're suited up and on the course. I was nervous as gently caress. I've always viewed motorcycyles as highly dangerous. Once I got on the bike I kind of mellowed out, but I did have a moment of panic as we mounted for the first time. This is unusual as I am typically not a nervous person. Within 20 seconds on the bike one of the students popped her clutch and jerked forward out of control. I thought she was gonna dump it, then she was sorta half on and half off and I thought she was going to ride into the chain link fence. The instructor was yelling at her to hold the clutch. The students ranged from 19 to early 60's. I think a couple of the guys had more experience than the trainers. For whatever reason, they were taking the class a second time. One guy was covered in tattoos and was kinda rough looking, but he turned out to be very cool and laid back and owned three businesses. He said the class was a condition of getting his license back. He was busted blowing 12 stop lights and had never bothered to get a motorcycle license in 10 years. Naturally I asked about it and he said he was racing a buddy in an empty area of Phoenix AZ. They never saw a cop. They stopped at a gas station and this cop rolls up real slow. He said it was like Jaws. They eyeballed the cop but figured he wasn't after them. The cop gets out of his car and arrests them. He told the story really well. We all got a huge laugh. He seemed to laugh just as hard. The mix of folks was pretty interesting. TBH, I am concerned for the safety of a few of the students. I think they take bikes a bit too lightly. A mid 20's girl who couldn't weigh more than 120lbs said she was buying a CBR600. Another guy, who wanted everyone in the class to call him dragon (I poo poo you not) was going right out to buy a Ducati. He had never ridden before. The guy next to me already owned a SV650 (I think that's the right name). When we went around the room to state our dream bike I just said I hadn't decided but I'm probably starting out on a Honda CBR250 or Rebel. Advice appreciated. =) Now, for the test part....There were four evaluations but three exercises. Exercise 1: We had to do a figure 8 inside of a box that was 20'x12' (IIRC). I completely and utterly sucked at doing the figure 8. Probably one of the worst in the class. During the test I came out of the lines three times. EPIC FAIL. Part two of Exercise 1 was coming out of the figure 8 and doing a swerve which was setup like a rapid lane change to avoid cones representing a barrier. Nailed that part (so easy!) Exercise 2: Quick stop. Ride into second then once the bike passes a set of cones stop as quickly as possible while in control. Nailed it but, didn't get my bike back into 1st during the stop. I think I lost points for that as well. They drilled into our heads to always go back to 1st when stopping. I did try, but was nervous and didn't hit the shift lever enough. But I stopped LIKE A BOSS. Exercise 3: Do a 90 degree turn, shift into second and ride that through a 135 degree turn. We had to stay inside lane markings on the ground. Supposedly it was also timed but I had a hard time seeing how they were tracking time. It was all about outside, inside, outside. If you crossed a line you failed. I nailed this one. The rider who almost dropped her bike in the first couple of minutes was the only person to fail the class. She did OK the rest of the way but she was always kinda shaky. She told me they failed her because she went over the line in the last exercise. I know for a fact she did the figure 8's better than me. I think the instructors wanted her to take the class again to improve her skills. I'd say I agree with their decision although I don't have any right to judge anyone on a bike. As I left the second day she stayed behind to try the test a second time. I was not sure if I passed the riding test when it was over. I knew I blew the figure 8's part and that I didn't get back into first during the stop. I was nervous. The instructors setup a few chairs away from the group and started calling us over one by one. Finally they call my name and.... I passed the test. 
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Aug 10, 2012 23:33
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I thought the pace was great with one exception. On day two we jumped right into doing the U turn skill with no warm up. That kind of sucked as low speed maneuvers right out of the gate were really hard for most of the class. Definitely not a confidence builder. I asked the coach about getting a warm up and doing U turns again and he said U turns are the warm up. Seems like a smart rear end answer but he was a cool guy and you could tell he was not being a dick but it was more like tough love. I didn't take any offense to it and I don't think any other student was upset either. Still, I think they should have a warmup of a few laps on day 2 before U turns.
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Aug 11, 2012 00:50
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Angryboot posted:Grats, Pompous Rhombus and JollyRancher! I am ~5'8" and about 150lbs soaking wet. My goal weight is 160. I don't plan to do freeways on the beginner bike. I put less than 10k miles/year on my car. I can walk to work etc, so my daily mileage quota is well below normal. So...a bike is is purely an indulgence. I won't ever have to rely on the bike as a daily commuter etc. That said, I am looking for the best bike to learn on. The Rebel looks comfortable to me (upright position etc) but the CBR looks sexy and has ABS. Some say ABS is a cop out and teaches bad habits but I am only concerned with safe riding. If it costs me a bit more to be on a safe bike and it keeps me off the concrete I am OK with that. I will go into a few dealerships this weekend just to sit on a few bikes. No intention to buy anytime soon and I have a very experienced biker friend who deals bikes who is going to help me when it's time to purchase. It's up to me to decide what fits me best. Pompous Rhombus posted:What's the rationale behind having to shift down to first while stopping? In my lessons/on my test we never had anything like that, was standard to procedure to switch feet once you were at a stop and shift down to first then. The instructors were adamant about shifting down into 1st when coming to a stop so you can accelerate out of problems. Intersections and cornering were highlighted as the two most dangerous places for motorcyclists. If you're not in 1st as soon as you roll to a stop you can't escape the Soccer Mom who will roll over you in her SUV at a stop light. But...if you're at a stop light and need to escape is rolling into the intersection of cross traffic a better idea? I wasn't there to argue, so they say shift to 1st I try to shift to 1st.
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Aug 11, 2012 06:42
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Skreemer posted:On the Suzuki GZ250s and Yamaha eliminator 250s we have they are a right pain in the rear end to find neutral until the oil and everything is really warmed up. I had problems getting the Eliminators into Neutral. This makes me feel much better about struggling with that! Do most bikes have a N light? The Eliminators did which was helpful (although we were told not to rely on it)
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Aug 13, 2012 04:19
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It's pretty normal to have some trepidation about being on a bike. I've had my bike for a few weeks and 500 miles and I still get that stomach twist every time I throw a leg over. Truthfully I hope it never goes away. It's a good reminder to be safe. You have nothing to prove to anyone so trust your gut. However, if you don't challenge yourself every so often then you don't grow. That's one of the main reasons I got a bike: because I had been afraid of them most of my life. It feels good to get some control over that fear. Anyone have experience with the MSF intermediate course? I am thinking of taking that course but one of the qualifications is six months on a bike and I don't want to wait another five months to take the class.
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Oct 22, 2012 06:01
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Took my MSF in August and have had a bike for ~4 weeks and 900 miles. I just started venturing onto the highway this past week. Noticed when I get off the freeway I need to come down from an adrenaline rush. My brain is like "whoa" as soon as I hit the exit ramp. I keep it under 75 on my Honda CBR250. (more my comfort level than limit of the machine) I am 99% more likely to ride like a dong for the first 5 minutes I get off the freeway as my brain is still doing 70 but traffic is doing 20. Is this post highway rush something that becomes normal over time?
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Nov 22, 2012 06:54
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Those MSF bikes get a lot of abuse. They all have funky clutches and other issues you likely won't have on your own first bike. Are you finding the friction zone? If not then work on that or you'll continue to stall. You are already overcoming challenges. Welcome to motorcycling. Let your coaches know if your bike has issues before the test but be prepared if they say "you shouldn't be in neutral unless you are parking, keep it in first on the range and at stoplights". I swear they must get paid a dollar every time they say "look where you're going" or "you should be in first every time you stop" because I heard that about 800 times in two days.
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Nov 25, 2012 03:32
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I have a CBR250R and it suits me just fine. There is a lot of great advice in this forum but at the end of they day a bike is a personal choice. I wouldn't ride some of bikes people love in this forum anymore than they'd want to ride my 250. Take your time and get the bike that is most fun for you. That's all that matters. Speaking of fun, I feel like I've slipped into that dangerous zone of "experienced noob" on a bike. I've put 1,000 miles on and find myself riding like a dong more than I find acceptable. I don't want a reality check in the form of an off but I find that my judgement is getting progressively worse as I unconsciously slide into dong mode more frequently. How do I literally check myself before I wreck myself? I have been using my gearing up time as a mental checklist to ride safe, than I get on the road and dong it up anyway. 
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Nov 27, 2012 00:43
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Z3n posted:I'd say that the important thing actually isn't never riding like a dong, but knowing the appropriate places to ride like a dong. That is a good way to look at it. Riding like a dong (occasionally) is too fun to pass up but there is definitely a time and a place. It's easy to be too hard on yourself when reading all the safety advice on CA. I am generally very safe but have caught myself in dong mode when I briefly took my mind off safety mode. I'll now evaluate if I am in the right time and place. If I am not, I need to choose to keep things in check. Like most things in life, loosen up and enjoy it but don't hurt yourself is good advice.
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Nov 27, 2012 02:17
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When I took MSF I remember the coaches commenting that the 270 degree turn in the test was a right hander because most people have more problems turning right than left (a right handed thing?). I have noticed this is true for me but usually only at higher speeds. A left hander feels more natural than a right hander. I live around a lot of one way streets so I don't believe it's a right vs left apex thing for me. Anyone else notice this? Any tips on how to overcome that?
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Dec 5, 2012 07:25
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I notice it the most at speed. Specifically there is an on ramp that has a left and right sweeper entrance. I am noticeably less comfortable during the right sweeper portion. I do fine on it but I'd like to not think about it as I consciously try to not tense up so then I automatically tense up. =/
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Dec 5, 2012 19:05
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I did the Advanced Rider Course on Friday. I am glad I did it but I wouldn't ever do it again. While I did come away with a few new skills I was not impressed. It was very much a continuation of BRC while I expected it to deal with challenging scenarios like off camber turns, wet riding or uphill starts etc. I recommend everyone do both courses. The BRC is mandatory IMHO, but the ARC is only worth it if you have the time, money and patience.
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Feb 18, 2013 06:14
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Definitely skip the ARC. Waste of time and money.
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Apr 28, 2013 06:46
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I posted about my arc experience a few pages back. In San Diego we never left the parking lot. I think there were one or two things that were kinda cool but for the time and money it was pretty lame.
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Apr 29, 2013 02:47
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DJCobol posted:Let me know how it goes, I've been thinking about taking that course too. I reviewed the ARC a few pages back. Not worth the time/money IMHO.
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Jun 15, 2013 00:58
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RIP Gixxerboy
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Jun 28, 2013 20:57
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Play nice with the instructors. They will grade your driving test.
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Jun 30, 2013 02:50
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BRC2 can't hurt but I'd advise watching Twist of the Wrist on Youtube 5 times and just riding your bike. BRC2 is mostly just more of standing in a parking lot with low speed drills like BRC1.
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Jul 3, 2013 19:42
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 21:19 |
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Skreemer posted:
I have 10k miles and just under a year of riding under my belt. I have to make a u turn every time I ride to work. I still suck at u turns and would probably fail that part of the test if I had to take it today. Really slow maneuvers like that throw me off. Get me over 10mph or enough room to goose it for a tighter turn and I'm good to go. Make me turn around in a box at 5MPH and laugh at my comical lack of balance/coordination. Whatever, chicks don't care how well you can u turn.
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Aug 15, 2013 06:32
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