Bringing the bike home..

[zenman]

So I take the MSF, I get my license, and I've settled on a bike. I don't know anyone who has a bike I can practice on. Will the MSF course provide enough expertise to at least get the thing home? Should I get a trailer to bring it back so I can practice on the untrafficed roads around my house? It may seem like a trivial question, but that's the sort of thing I think about.

[DivideOverflow]

A lot of dealerships are willing to deliver... I would get a friend to ride it home for you, or if you dont have any trustworthy friends (on a bike, that is), I would get it trailered.

You know the traffic in your area better than we do.

[gvvikky]

Will the MSF course provide enough expertise to at least get the thing home? Should I get a trailer to bring it back so I can practice on the untrafficed roads around my house? It may seem like a trivial question, but that's the sort of thing I think about.

MSF will give you enough experience to get the bike home on smaller roads with speeds of 35mph. If you are buying from an individual, I would recommend asking the seller if he can ride the bike to your home and you drop him back on your car. This is what I did.

You should practise in empty parking lots and slower back roads with little taffic until you get a feel for the bike.

[dieziege]

No it doesn't come close to making you road worthy on an unfamiliar bike.

Trailer it. There are already too many stories of people (including people with years of riding) dumping their new bikes (or getting killed) before/as they leave the dealer lot.

[zenman]

Thanks, dudes and lady dudes. You're all awesome.

[BigChickenStrips]

No it doesn't come close to making you road worthy on an unfamiliar bike.

Trailer it. There are already too many stories of people (including people with years of riding) dumping their new bikes (or getting killed) before/as they leave the dealer lot.

+1

a few hours of practice once they deliver it and you'll be good to go, but the excitement of gettign a new ride coupled with inexperience is a recipe for disaster.

the MSF is great though, you'll have a lot of fun and learn a few things too.

[Myself002]

I say go to the dealer and ask if you can get a feel for the bike in their parking lot. Thats what I did. Played with the clutch a bit then I drove it home

Then again everyone is different and if you dont feel comfortable enough to be in traffic dont do it.

[Dragonhawk]

So I take the MSF, I get my license, and I've settled on a bike. I don't know anyone who has a bike I can practice on. Will the MSF course provide enough expertise to at least get the thing home? Should I get a trailer to bring it back so I can practice on the untrafficed roads around my house? It may seem like a trivial question, but that's the sort of thing I think about.

I answer that very question on this page:
www.CaliforniaBikeNights.com/learn

That's the sort of thing I thought about too...

[BubbaGump]

I don't think there is such a thing as a trivial question on this site when you're wanting to learn. With riding its the little details that can make the difference. Dragonhawk did a HUGE service by making that site available, so hopefully people will get some useful information from it and go from there.

[bok]

i dumped my bike right out in front of the dealers when i first bought it and i was fresh out of passing my license. In hindsight i would have been better off having it delivered.

didn't do much damage to the bike (bent the brake lever and scratch on the pipe) but it hurt my pride and freaked me out.

could have been much worse than it was for sure.

best advice is have it trailered home i think.