Passed the MSF course, loved it, and you should take it too!

philosopheriam

philosopheriam

aka: Mr. Awesome
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Over the weekend, I took the MSF basic rider course - going into it, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, at the end, it was totally worth it!

Day 1: 6PM to 10PM on Friday: Classroom instruction - essentially, you are assigned questions in the instruction booklet and you have to answer them by citing the page, paragraph, and reading the answer to the class. The instructors will discuss areas of importance, etc.

Day 2: 8AM to 5PM on Saturday. YOU WILL BE RIDING FOR AT LEAST 5HRS!!!! This was great! Basic controls, clutch/gear selection, turning, stopping, etc. There is an emphasis on more "doing" than "talking." The last 2hrs of the day were spent in the classroom, discussing what we did earlier.

Day 3: 8AM to 5PM on Sunday: YOU WILL BE RIDING FOR ANOTHER 5HRS!!!! This time, the riding drills become more complicated - tighter turns, figure 8's, emergency swerves and stops, etc. After this is done, the riing evaluation begins - one emergency stop, one figure 8, one emergency swerve, one 90 degree turn, one 135 degree turn. After this, you take the written exam.

Overall, I loved the course. I can't imagine getting on a bike without first attending this course - although I definitely need to practice out on the road, I now have more confidence and feel more comfortable on a bike. The instructors were knowledgable and supportive, and the bikes (Rebels, Nighthawks, and Yamaha dual-sports) were in good mechanical condition.

Bonus: I can walk into the DMV and get my license without taking a driving/written exam :rockon:

Anyone who's never rode a bike OR anyone who has been on a bike and wants t improe their skills NEEDS TO TAKE THIS COURSE!!!
 
Glad you liked the MSF course!! I always felt it was worth the money.

I took it many, many years ago, and have highly recommended the MSF course. Almost all of my riding buddies have taken the course. Congrats on passing!!:rockon::rockon:

Do not forget to give a copy of the certificate to your insurance company. Mine gave me a 20% reduction in insurance rates!!
 
philosopheriam said:
Over the weekend, I took the MSF basic rider course - going into it, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, at the end, it was totally worth it!

Day 1: 6PM to 10PM on Friday: Classroom instruction - essentially, you are assigned questions in the instruction booklet and you have to answer them by citing the page, paragraph, and reading the answer to the class. The instructors will discuss areas of importance, etc.

Day 2: 8AM to 5PM on Saturday. YOU WILL BE RIDING FOR AT LEAST 5HRS!!!! This was great! Basic controls, clutch/gear selection, turning, stopping, etc. There is an emphasis on more "doing" than "talking." The last 2hrs of the day were spent in the classroom, discussing what we did earlier.

Day 3: 8AM to 5PM on Sunday: YOU WILL BE RIDING FOR ANOTHER 5HRS!!!! This time, the riding drills become more complicated - tighter turns, figure 8's, emergency swerves and stops, etc. After this is done, the riing evaluation begins - one emergency stop, one figure 8, one emergency swerve, one 90 degree turn, one 135 degree turn. After this, you take the written exam.

Overall, I loved the course. I can't imagine getting on a bike without first attending this course - although I definitely need to practice out on the road, I now have more confidence and feel more comfortable on a bike. The instructors were knowledgable and supportive, and the bikes (Rebels, Nighthawks, and Yamaha dual-sports) were in good mechanical condition.

Bonus: I can walk into the DMV and get my license without taking a driving/written exam :rockon:

Anyone who's never rode a bike OR anyone who has been on a bike and wants t improe their skills NEEDS TO TAKE THIS COURSE!!!
Click to expand...

Was your course really 22 hours?! Mine is scheduled for a total of 15.5 hours, but I think when it's all said and done, it will only end up having been 14ish. I have 2 classroom days 6 - 8:45PM, and 2 riding days 2:30PM - 7:30PM. I can't imagine a 9 hour riding day, the 5 hours were getting to be a bit long. 5 hours are probably the most I would want to do in a day.
 
philosopheriam said:
Over the weekend, I took the MSF basic rider course - going into it, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, at the end, it was totally worth it!

Day 1: 6PM to 10PM on Friday: Classroom instruction - essentially, you are assigned questions in the instruction booklet and you have to answer them by citing the page, paragraph, and reading the answer to the class. The instructors will discuss areas of importance, etc.

Day 2: 8AM to 5PM on Saturday. YOU WILL BE RIDING FOR AT LEAST 5HRS!!!! This was great! Basic controls, clutch/gear selection, turning, stopping, etc. There is an emphasis on more "doing" than "talking." The last 2hrs of the day were spent in the classroom, discussing what we did earlier.

Day 3: 8AM to 5PM on Sunday: YOU WILL BE RIDING FOR ANOTHER 5HRS!!!! This time, the riding drills become more complicated - tighter turns, figure 8's, emergency swerves and stops, etc. After this is done, the riing evaluation begins - one emergency stop, one figure 8, one emergency swerve, one 90 degree turn, one 135 degree turn. After this, you take the written exam.

Overall, I loved the course. I can't imagine getting on a bike without first attending this course - although I definitely need to practice out on the road, I now have more confidence and feel more comfortable on a bike. The instructors were knowledgable and supportive, and the bikes (Rebels, Nighthawks, and Yamaha dual-sports) were in good mechanical condition.

Bonus: I can walk into the DMV and get my license without taking a driving/written exam :rockon:

Anyone who's never rode a bike OR anyone who has been on a bike and wants t improe their skills NEEDS TO TAKE THIS COURSE!!!
Click to expand...

Appears to me you are hooked on bikes, seems for some of us it's a life long thing :D
A cheap dualsport is the best bike to learn on, ride on street and dirt to get used to a bike moving around a bit. Be safe and get good gear 1st!
 
Congratulations!

When I took the course last summer it was that long as philosopheriam said. My legs on the 2nd day of riding hurt, I was a little to big for a 250 I rode.

Practice what you learned, and be aware what others do around you, they don't and wont see you, till it is too late. Practice your quick stops, and keep it in first gear at stop lights. Have fun!!
 
Yes, we actually rode for 5hrs on Saturday and Sunday - I loved this because in my opinion, theory is important, but you can talk about riding all you want - doing it is what counts.

Before an exercise, the instructors would describe the course and then demonstrate it with a bike. This was very helpful!

Before the MSF, I had NEVER been on a motorcycle - I passed the driving exam with the #2 score in my class :)

What was the most interesting concept to me was countersteering - I understand the physics behind it, and many of us do it without even thinking about it. Consciously countersteering becomes apparent when you're in a turn and need the bike to turn sharper/lean more - just press the handgrip in the direction you want to lean and voila, the bike leans more.... I need to practice more to get truly comfortable with this (it's a mental thing).
 
philosopheriam: congratulations on taking, and passing the MSF. I also took it before starting riding, and like you, could not imagine starting riding without the course.

Congrats again, and be ride safely!

PS: After about 6k mi of riding I'd recommend taking the ARC, the advanced version of the BRC. Also, you might want to check out proficient motorcycling, one of the many books that are a very good read to have an educated understanding of motorcycling, and how to do it the safe way.
 
very big dito to scorpiusss' comments.

i too took the brc and it has saved my life a few times. the first year i could hear my instructors yelling at me when i started to do something wrong. very well worth it.

keep in mind... our instructors told us that we are now qualified to ride in a parking lot. take is slow and keep practicing. and good for you on being wise enough to take it and get some training before going on on the road.
 
Congrats on passing! I took it this past weekend in MD and did great for practice but choked at test time and failed :(. They said "test" and I tensed up and forgot everything we were taught. Crazy thing is that people were dropping bikes all day in practice and running off the course but they passed at "test" time and now are free to get on the open road! I'm totally deflated and lost confidence but am set up to go back for a retest on Sunday - gotta pass this time. How did you all stay calm?
 
Gyrene: don't dismiss being a walk-in... When I arrived for class, there were several people who were on standby, as well as 5+ walk-ins. To my knowledge, I think almost everyone made it in. Just show up early (about 1hr before the first class) and get your name on the list. You might make it!

Nswamy: Without question, parts of the test can be unnerving (the figure 8's!). I just focused on what I was taught, and in addition, I reminded myself that if I slowed down, many parts of the test would be easier. In essence, you don't need to set a land speed record during the test - there is only one part of the exam that requires you to be going at least 15mph (in my case, at least).

This might be elementary to an experienced rider, but the bike I was on, a Yamaha dual-purpose TW200, was very "herky jerky" in 1st gear. Low-speed swerving and figure 8's were a pain in the ass because I was having difficulty controlling the bike's speed. Then, my instructor made a suggestion to leave the bike in 2nd gear during all of the maneuvers - PRESTO! It was like riding a different bike - I could maintain light presure on the throttle and the bike would maintain a steady, low speed. No more herky-jerky!

Having a set of good instructors is key, too... Do you have the ability to ride your own bike now? If so, go to an empty parking lot, set up some cones or buckets as markers, and PRACTICE! When you show up on Sunday, this will help you to prepare.
 
congrats on passing the msf,
where I live we actually have exactly what you describe as our regular driving lessons.
I hated it because I wanted to drive instead of 8's. slow corners etc :p
ofcourse its something you have to know how to do but still.
There are also advanced riding courses, took one last year and the next ones in a month. Driving through 3-5cm deep puddles of water, making a quick turn in the same puddle, things you'd normally never even try. But the bike is fully insured during the day (you pay for that but hey, now I can do silly stuff without worrying about crashing) steep hills, loose sand etc. I love those :)
 
kudos to anyone willing to take the MSF course. I didn't take the MSF course but a similar course offered by Harely Davidson called Riders Edge. I've thought about taking the MSF advanced riders course. I have taken the basic and skilled course through HD. It was fun to be the only guy with a non-HD bike. :BLAA:
 
codeblue said:
Congratulation in passing the MSF course.
Click to expand...

Thanks much for the advice. I'm 6'2" and was on a honda rebel (250cc)...couldn't turn the handle bars when in the saddle because my knees were getting hit - asked the instructors for a different bike but they said "no" so during practice, I sat on the passenger seat and it worked ok. At test time, they said I could lose points so I sat in the saddle which completely threw me off on each excercise.

I've got the FZ6 in the garage and will practice every day until MSF retest on Sunday. Just in case I screw up again, I set myself up for Monday morning to take the DMV test - so am practicing for that too.
 
Went back yesterday for the "Retest" and PASSED with flying colors! Thanks to Vegas Rider for the advice! Whew - now that I've passed, I can say that the class definitely teaches a lot and I'm glad I did the retest.
 
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