MSF. . . For Everyone With No Previous Experience on Bikes

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#11 Unread post by **bok** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 2:44 am

Glad your experience with the MSF was so positive. it is by far the best safety gear you can buy for the price.

People quit from MSF courses all the time, mostly it is because they are doing it for the wrong reasons like the woman who thought she had to ride because her husband bought her a bike. He wanted her to ride...but maybe she wasn't ready, and the pressure of having this bike at home and perhaps a husband saying "c'mon this is easy stuff, you should know how to do it" or something similar made her so nervous and freaked out that she just needed to get away, and GOOD FOR HER.

motorcycling is about making decisions every second of the ride, and the first decision should be "am i ready to ride?" if not, then don't ride.

Kim · #12 Unread post by **Kim** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 5:03 am

I agree that the MSF course is the best for beginners. When I took the course, I was not comfortable with one of the instructors. Plus, by the end of the first day, I was overwhelmed and frustrated. I didn't go back.

I do feel I was there long enough to get the safety tips and basics down. I decided to get a learner's permit and ride with my hubby until I was ready to take the test at the DMV - which I'm planning to do in a couple of weeks.

#13 Unread post by **bok** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 5:07 am

Sorry to hear that Kim, not sure the specifics of your course, but the second day here (of a two day course) has students doing collision avoidance and emergency braking which is pretty important stuff.

Was the instructor just a jerk or sleazy? I'd lodge a complaint with the school and maybe try and get money back or something. Maybe see about taking an advanced course next year from a different school.

ElektraSpitfire · Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:10 am

I got my Ninja 250 and practiced a couple days on it by myself before taking the MSF. I was really lucky to ride the Ninja for the course...I really don't think I would have passed the course without my prior familiarity with the bike. I was riding the Rebel for an hour then switched to the ninja when they bought it on the spot from some guy, and the ninja was much harder for me on the turns and stuff since it is so top heavy and the riding position is much more aggressive. "You want me to make a U-turn??? What???

"

Anyway my point is that the MSF definitely has a steep learning curve, and also I think it's harder passing the course on a Ninja than on a Rebel (assuming no prior experience). However it is definitely worth every cent because I learned invaluable techniques and I agree that every new rider should attend.

Kim · #15 Unread post by **Kim** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:55 am

bok wrote:Sorry to hear that Kim, not sure the specifics of your course, but the second day here (of a two day course) has students doing collision avoidance and emergency braking which is pretty important stuff.

Was the instructor just a jerk or sleazy? I'd lodge a complaint with the school and maybe try and get money back or something. Maybe see about taking an advanced course next year from a different school.

Just a little too "drill sargent" for me.

This was almost two years ago so too late to get the money back

. I actually tried to sign up with another course in the spring, but of course it was full. To be honest, the thought of taking up a whole weekend again didn't appeal to me.

I've been riding about 600+ miles now, and I try to practice the slow manuevers and braking whenever I can.

There's always the possibility that I'll take it again in the future, or even the advanced course if/when experience allows.

#16 Unread post by **bok** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 8:16 am

Just a little too "drill sargent" for me.

yup some instructors (no matter what they are teaching) think that yelling is the only way to get through to people and get the attitude of "if i don't yell at em they'll never survive out there"

sharpmagna · Mon Jun 26, 2006 9:03 am

Kim wrote: Just a little too "drill sargent" for me.

Wow that sucks. Yeah that is why I didn't join the military. I don't deal well with people yelling at me. If yoiu ask me to do something, it'll get done. You yell, and I'll just stare at you blankly...

I lucked out with my instructors. They were both very nice. One was an older woman who rode a huge harley. The other guy had a nicely setup Gold Wing. The way they demoed the skills practices made it look so easy until they told you to do it

I've got about 2500 miles on the Magna so I'm going to sign up for the ERC near the end of the summer (Too dang hot to be doing it right now).

flynrider · Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:44 am

ElektraSpitfire wrote:Anyway my point is that the MSF definitely has a steep learning curve,

Depending on prior experience, it can be a very steep curve indeed. Frankly, I'm amazed that someone who has never ridden a bike and never used a manual transmission can actually pass the course in a weekend. That's a vast amount of info to absorb and skills to develop in a relatively short period of time.

I tell noobs that dropped out because they couldn't absorb it all the first time to do one of two things. Practice the basics on their own in a parking lot until they're comfortable stopping, starting and turning and low speed, then take MSF again. The other option would be to get some independent riding instruction. The group approach doesn't work as well for someone with absolutely no motorcycle or shifting skills.

pacedawg · #19 Unread post by **pacedawg** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 2:44 pm

I disagree. I really don't see the comparison between driving stick and riding a bike. I think what really helped me was the instructors advice about counting "Mississippi's" until you feel the friction zone. Once I had a feeling for the friction zone everything felt natural.

LJTurtle · #20 Unread post by **LJTurtle** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:30 pm

Congrats on passing the MSF. I passed it yesterday as well, and started without ever having ridden a bike. I thought that the 8 hours of class time was a waste of time for me, but the range made up for it in spades. The instructors were great and my group all learned well, so it was fast paced and fun.

Never having used a bike didn't affect me at all. I've driven manual cars, and bike clutches are so much easier. With a car you have to match throttle and clutch release a lot smoother from a stop. On the Nighthawk in class, you could rev the engine high or low, you just needed good clutch control. As soon as I got used to the clutch, I was 100% comfortable on the bike. It was funny seeing all these guys that talked about getting R6's and stuff struggle