MSF course. . .not to b!t(h

[BigDick]

but this is a little (dare I say) Dick and Jane. I keep expecting them to say this is the front and this is the back of the bike, make sure you keep the tires down and don't move the training wheels. >< That's what i get for taking the basic rider course I guess.

[CatatonicBug]

They have to set it up for the people who have NEVER sat on a bike before in their lives. We actually has 2 of them in the class I took. One of them was sent home, because she couldn't handle the manuevering of a honda 250. The riding part is where you actually start learning stuff. Not that it's really fancy, but they are trying to pound the basics into you, so you don't have to think about them when you're stuck in a situation. Countersteering was the main thing I got out of the class. It didn't really make sense until I was actually listening to the instructor and applied the concept the next day on a freeway on-ramp. Only then did it actually make sense to me.

[Ivan]

So, now that you're legal, there is a bike gathering in Marquette just west of Lindsborg on Saturday. I think Trainzz is going and I wouldnt mind heading up there. You are more than welcome to ride with me. I think Cheney has Biker Pancakes on Sunday as well. Might head there as well.

[DGXSER]

At mine I did a four hour in class study one night, then two days of 5 or 6 hours of on bike work. Yeah it was a bit disheartening to "learn" how to "walk" the bike across a parking lot. But then, we had one guy drop it doing just that drill! We had one guy that had never driven a stick shift in his life let alone a bike. He did pretty good all things considered.

By the end of the second day we just had one person (guy) that was so dang afraid of the bike he never really did do any counter steering. Never got enough speed to do it. we al thought he would fail the test, but he must have JUST squeeked past. I took the course in September or October and got my bike in November. Ran into the guy the other day, he bought a bike but still has not ridden it!

[Ken Talbot]

SWMBO started that way, rather than have me teach her all of my bad habits. Then, when she had a few years in the saddle, we both attended a two-day advanced riders' course. THAT was the best two days of training I have ever attended, even having been in the saddle for 30+ years.

YMMV

[rlundy]

Ken, thanks for the comments re: the advanced rider course. I wondered what experienced riders would think of that one.

Having not really ridden since I was 15 (am 45 now), I was still PO'ed at having to take the course to get my FL MC license, just to ride the 150cc chinese scooter I'd bought off the internet for riding around the neighborhood. I got so much out of the course, and enjoyed tooling around on the rebel 250s so much, that I decided to look for a big old bike needing work and found the XS outside of Orlando, dead, for $400 (it was dead due to a bad connection in the headlight bucket, promptly fixed).

I've talked to several other guys I've met through business that agreed the course was excellent (although the guy who took it in July was somewhat less enthusiastic). We all agreed that we wished people had to take a similar course in order to drive a car.

[BigDick]

yeah, day one wasn't really excruciating, just a bit annoying, too much talkity talk and "powerwalking" (slipping the clutch while walking along) but so far the course has helped with low speed manuvering.