Have you taken a MSF course?

[IBI-UBU]

After riding my Honda Rebel all over my yard and up and down our road for about 100 miles...I took the beginners course in Malden, MO last July....most of their bikes are Suzuki 250's...when I told them I was learning on a Rebel...They had a Rebel out there for me...I learned so much in a weekend...I believe the cost of that one is 200.00(it was worth every penny)...and as long as you already have your learners permit...when you leave there, you just go to DMV and get your motorcycle endorsement on your license...no riding in front of the MO HWY Patrol Ladies...they make me nervous....LOL!!!
It was a great experience...

[DriftinGirl]

Yep! When I decided I was going to ride I signed on for the Gear Up course having never been on a bike. Learned lots but withdrew on day 2 as I felt it was moving to fast for a truly green newbie. Got my Suzuki 650 and did lots of practice in parking lots. Then took the course the second time and learned tons!!!

[CDNRatMan]

   one of the cool things was one course I was teaching I had an older couple show up to take the course. She was a petite little lady, and he was a small man not very large in any sense. So I put them into separate groups and let the instructors teach. I was doing my job and watching. At that time we decided on the size they were allowed to ride. About half way through the course he went over a tire we used to give you the feel of an obstacle on the road, well about half way over he rapped the throttle and catwalked it across the parking lot into a fence and oh about half way up it...lol..before it fell over. No injuries to anything. So at the end of the course I told her she should never try to handle anything large then a 250, as for him nothing larger then a 500/550. Then they told me they only took the course because they had 3 sons and they all wanted to ride, and the deal was if they wanted to buy bikes they had to take the course, and so mom and dad wented to see if it was worth the funds and time....of course we passed with flying colours. All three sons did take the course.

[testpilot]

I bought my first motorcycle ever last year - a 2005 Drifter 1500. Before riding it anywhere, I took the course and I'm glad I did. It was worth every penny and every minute.  After the course, I spent several sessions practicing in a nearby church parking lot before I went out on the road. My longest ride last year was from Akron, OH to Raleigh, NC.

[CDNRatMan]

  I have been a Chief Instructor for the Canada Safety Council Motorcycle course for about 10 years before I let it go, and taught both the Gear-up course and the Advanced riders, they have now added a on-line course to take prior to the basic course which is the Gear-up one, a two hour on-line teaching to get you the basic idea. I have been teaching also as a Chief Instructor for the Canadian Military Motorcycle operator courses both basic and advanced, so I am a huge fan of them and thing everyone should take one. No matter how long you have been riding you can always learn more or reinforce an idea or thought to your riding skills.
I used to like the basic course when we started 2 up riding, I would get on and let the student drive off and then start to lean to move the bike the way I wanted to go....really mess them up. I do know a few bases in Canada if you did not ahve the course you could not bring your ride on to the base. Talked my brother in law into taking the basic the same time as my sister, he had been riding for years then a long lay off from riding and my sister was a novice.....both said they learned a lot and he aid a lot of old things came back with an enlightenment of why it worked that way.

[Troll]

After the BRC, the BRC II...basically the same as level 2 in the BRC, but with your own bike...hell of a lot of difference between a GZ250 Suzuki and a Drifter...and then the ARC...Advanced RiderCourse...body weight shift steering, trail braking, decreasing radius turns, more advanced braking, multiple obstacle avoidance (in turns and going straight) and a really good classroom!!!

[David Baker]

DC, Took the MSP course here in PA 6 years ago with my wife, She never rode before (not even a bicycle) I rode everything there was with wheels when I was younger, When I moved to Pa from NJ they never transferred my M Class with my license and I never bothered to check so I didn't ride for over 15 years, When Wifey decided to start riding I went along and took the course to get mine also. I highly recommend these State run courses to everyone whether you've ridden before or are just starting out. I never realized how many bad habits I had before the course, It definitely has made me a better rider. When we took the course it was late in the riding season, We both passed the course however my wife didn't get much seat time, Having never ridden before she was having a lot of trouble with two wheels, Mostly worrying about dropping the bike. In the spring of the next year she signed up for the course again (in PA you can take the course as many times as you like even if you have a license) I went along and signed up too, I even learned something new second time around. We put Wifey on a CanAm as she really never got the hang of two wheels. In PA they offer an advanced course where they teach you on your bike which I highly recommend if they have one in your state. By the way our table name was "Asphalt Cowboys" lol

[greenbarn]

I took one last spring, when I bought my 800.  Thought is was very worthwhile.

[jmbo]

Took the MSC with my son when he turn of age. I thought I knew a lot about riding but I actually learned a lot through the course. The course I took had you go far beyond your comform point on the bike to both give you experience and confidence you need so you will not panic when things go wrong.  Things like showing us how to jump over a 2x4 or a controlled skid stop could save a lot of road rash.

I think auto driving schools should practice the same way. Don't just show them the rules of the road. Teach them how to respond when things go south.

[John Hopkins]

If you haven't been riding for very long don't forget that when turning look exactly where you want to go and the bike will go there, this works particularly well on turns and curves where you watch the edge of the road in front of your wheel.

John.

[Troll]

Exercises 10 and 13...very important. Exercise 16 is a potential life saver.  17, if done right, will let you fine tune your skills. It's not that the rest aren't meaningful, but these, the actual core of level 2, are things you will use every day.

[DC]

Have you taken a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course?

I'm taking one now that the state offers for free.  On one hand, when I rode years ago, I got by without taking it.  Now that I'm older, I see the wisdom in taking it, even for someone with an average amount of riding experience.

So I decided to take it for several reasons, 1) When you're finished the course, you test for your license.  Since I just started riding again in the Fall, I only have a Leaner's Learner's Permit, and, 2) as much as I'm usually successful in deceiving myself to think I'm smart, I decided to accept the fact that I can't possibly know everything that's on Google and Youtube.

So the class started earlier this week with classroom instruction.  Saturday will be on the riding range, followed by a day of classroom instruction, and then the final day on the range.

The instructor broke us up into three groups, according to the tables we were sitting at.  Then he asked us to name our groups.  After a long day of work, few of us have much creativity or brain power left to do this.  Since were we taking the course in the Animal Research building of a technology center, I suggested we call ourselves the Animal Building Renegades, or ABR for short.  We went with that.     The other two groups named their teams Table 1 and NADS.   

We go through the workbook and each team is assigned questions.  Then we give the answers to the questions and discuss different issues.  I have to say, I'm very surprised that I don't know everything about everything.     This course is actually pretty good.  The instructor is great and, of course, is a long time rider.

The Animal Research building is a trip.  You hear dogs barking behind the walls and all sorts of other wierd animal sounds.  There was this large aquarium in the back of the class that had this HUGE snake in it hiding under a log.  One guy went over to it and then saw that snake and he completely freaked.  It was just a harmless ball python.

I'm really glad I decided to swallow my pride and take this course.  I think it will make me a much better rider.