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Posted by 2beers
- March 26, 2014, 18:21:26 PMWell, today was Day 1 of my 3-day MSF approved beginner/refresher course at our local Harley dealer.
Now that I'm home for the evening I thought I'd share a few observations.
My class is comprised of 5 females, with riding experience ranging from 'never, and don't know where the throttle is' to 'ride daily since 2003 but never got my license'. I sit somewhere in between those two extremes, having 10 years of riding experience...but didn't ride for the past 28 years.
The morning session allowed some chit chat to get to know each other, gave us good valuable safety basics for the course and for always, provided a tour of the dealership, and a review of motorcycle controls and proper riding apparel.
After the lunch break, we met our Buell motorcycles and Bless them, they've had hard lives. I begged a wrench to reposition the clutch lever on mine (oops, I think I wasn't supposed to tell about that lol). The new HD bikes that will be used for these courses were being delivered about that time...the 500 Streets will replace the retiring Buell fleet in the next few weeks once they've had some breakin miles and are outfitted with rider/bike safety bars, etc.
All in all, I must have been doing OK in the instructor's eyes, as she asked me to switch bikes with a less experienced rider because hers was 'too peppy'.
Important things I learned today that I never knew...
--Handlebars must be pointed straight ahead before applying the brakes to avoid falling down
--Apply both brakes together when practicing to establish muscle memory, you'll need it if you need to stop
quickly.
Good Stuff!!! I'll report in again tomorrow. We meet on the course at 7:30 am... 
Regards, 2beers Bride