MSF: Stare at cones and ride over them. Questions and concerns.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Cycle Asylum > MSF: Stare at cones and ride over them. Questions and concerns.

The Royal Nonesuch: Nov 1, 2005

Had my final field day/test today. Observations/comments/stories of newbie riders:

U-Turn box = great hilarity. I don't even know why that's mandatory in the test. Our group had one guy who just didn't get it. He'd wobble through the first turn and then just kind of meander off course in a lazy, undetermined direction until one of the instructors corralled him. He did this on the evaluation too. I put a foot down during the eval, but at least I stayed inside the box.
Bitch of a time finding neutral on the Kawasaki Eliminators... until I was in motion and either gearing up to 2nd or down to 1st. Then I could accidentally pop on that little N light every drat time. Made for some hilarious moments when the instructor had finished giving me tips and I gas it, ease out the clutch like a pro and just sit there revving the poo poo out of the bike
Quickstop drills are fun. 135degree turn drills are fun.
For the Swerve evaluation, the instructor told us we were swerving right several times, and then made us all say "Right!" several times. We had one older guy who dumped his bike earlier in the day and got nervous - he went left. No worries: you get two tries - they waved him over and explained things and got him back in line. Bam, he went left again. That maxed out his points, but somehow he got a perfect score on the last drill (135deg timed turn) and managed to squeak out a pass.
We had "that guy" who had been riding for years in his home country, but had to do this class because he was under 21 and here for school etc. The first day he was super douchy: texting on his bike during instructions, bitching and complaining how easy everything was, etc. Was reprimanded several times. Second day we had a different lead instructor, who was frustrated but put him as head/starter of all the manouvers/drills/tests. Kid turned out pretty cool after that. I guess my point is you MSF instructors have the patience of saints, and that's a good way to deal with semi-experienced assholes.
My DMV form cannot get here soon enough, help guys I think I am hooked

Overall, a fun few days. Absolutely a must if you have no experience with motorcycles like myself. I had only previously ridden a few single-gear oddball dirtbikes and the like, and very limited experience with manual cars, but the course had me working the clutch without even thinking by the end of the first day. Also, thread title should be "Don't :stare:

at cones unless they are your exit point. Then, ride over them"

# ¿ Aug 18, 2012 05:27

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 14, 2024 18:53

The Royal Nonesuch: Nov 1, 2005

Yeah I had to rush straight from work to the first day of my BRC, and just wore my dark grey Dickies... on the tail end of SoCal's record-setting, nasty-humid heatwave a couple weeks ago. I work outside all day so I was fine with it, but my legs were roasting. Our coach said people in classes the week before were vomiting and getting heat exhaustion, and he kept forcing us to drink water. He congratulated me because I was the only one who brought enough (3liters and a gatorade).

The next day I wore light colored jeans and it was much better. Seriously forget the motorcycle jacket and just go with long sleeves.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2012 02:37

The Royal Nonesuch: Nov 1, 2005

Safety Dance posted:

I saw an ex-girlfriend on the sidewalk turned around, and pulled into a parking spot. Fumbled the kickstand, and down went the bike.

It wasn't meant to be.

Hahah I can't stop laughing at this. Right after I got my bike I pulled up next to a stop light and realized the car next to me looked like my ex's, whom I left six months prior when she cheated. I looked over and not only was it her, but she was checking me out. She realized it was me and gave me an awkward wave. I nodded and roared off into the distance.

It would have been considerably less cathartic if I'd stalled and dumped it in the intersection.

# ¿ Nov 1, 2012 21:22

The Royal Nonesuch: Nov 1, 2005

You get two days on a motorcycle for only the price of admission - just do what the instructors say and have a good time! I went into MSF having never even driven a manual car, and now I have a bike and ride to work basically every day. My only big mistake the whole time was being stressed about it. Relax, respect and enjoy.

If you don't screw up on the Figure 8 Box I'll buy you a new title (I put a foot down BUT I STAYED INSIDE THE LINES OK :v:

The Royal Nonesuch fucked around with this message at 08:59 on Nov 18, 2012

# ¿ Nov 18, 2012 08:53

The Royal Nonesuch: Nov 1, 2005

M42 posted:

Issue #2, it stalls veeeery easily in 1st. Is that normal? Must have stalled it like 20 times today.

Yeah don't be afraid to give it some more throttle, especially if you're a big guy (I'm 6'3" 210). I stalled a lot during the first day, and early in the second I realized I could roll that throttle and things were great. It's a 250cc cruiser, not a R1 - you won't wheelie it or go tearing across the lot and crash.

As to the neutral thing yeah, those bikes are just beat to poo poo - I couldn't get my Eliminator into neutral to save my life. Try to put it into Neutral while you're still rolling and coast to a stop - that helps a lot. I often ended up leaving it in 1st at the end of drills and being drat sure to clutch in when I started it again. Note: I got lucky and the instructors never noticed/said anything, you'll probably get lectured if you do that :v:

# ¿ Nov 25, 2012 04:23

The Royal Nonesuch: Nov 1, 2005

Captain Crunk posted:

I took the Team Oregon BRT and failed the riding portion. Passed written with 100% though!
.....
It was really hard to deal with this failure
.....
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.
.....
Not going to give up, I'm too stubborn for that.

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 :v:

# ¿ Jun 25, 2013 14:35

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 14, 2024 18:53

The Royal Nonesuch: Nov 1, 2005

xergm posted:

Certainly helped when the bikes warmed up too. No more problems trying to find neutral when I needed it, and no more finding it when I didn't.

If I was to go back in time and do the MSF over again for some reason, I'd be sure to tell myself to thrash on the controls a lot harder... all of my issues with stalling and accidentally finding neutral could have been avoided. Jam up/down on the drat shift pedal like you mean it, and don't be afraid of the throttle - you won't break anything and the bike is not going to accelerate out of control.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2014 08:16

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Cycle Asylum > MSF: Stare at cones and ride over them. Questions and concerns.