Total Motorcycle Community Forums

jstark47 wrote:Ditto, congrats on passing!!

RhadamYgg wrote:But I'll say this - I need to practice a lot before I have the same capabilities with a bike that I have in a car. I just want to take a spray paint can and mark up a parking lot with the course and practice on early Sunday mornings.

What works good for us (my wife and I) is those small orange cones kids use for street hockey - the kind that are only a few inches high. They're bright orange so they're easy to see out of the corner of your eye. They're soft, so it's no big deal if the bike runs right over one - doesn't upset the bike and doesn't damage the cone.

That is kind of what I'm looking for - my son wants cones (for some unknown reason) so it might be a nice little two-fer. I'll just borrow his cones when I need them.

RhadamYgg

storysunfolding wrote:Don't worry about setting up the course in a parking lot. It's more trouble than it's worth.

Check out the exercises at the end of this MSF booklet
http://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/Riding_Tips.pdf

With 6 cones you can replicate the lessons taught in the MSF on an individual basis.

That's awesome. I was going to e-mail one of the instructors asking about this. There are a couple of businesses near-by that I can use their parking lot on Sundays - and they aren't too far away.

RhadamYgg

Thumper wrote:

jstark47 wrote: What works good for us (my wife and I) is those small orange cones kids use for street hockey - the kind that are only a few inches high.

Even cheaper...get a bag of tennis balls at WalMart. $7 for the whole bag (a dozen or more balls). Cut them in half, and you have cones that won't break when you run over them.

That's exactly what one of the instructors recommended. I may do that in the mean time until I can actually find cones.

RhadamYgg

AHA! Rhadam, I just PM'd you because I didn't see a fresh post on your MSF experience, and wondered if something happened.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! to you both!!

I view the whole test experience as pass/fail. Acing the test is a great goal, but in the scheme of things, one test in the parking lot does not a rider make, does it? I was the "Queen of Lean" in my MSF, and could brake like a SOB, (U-turns are a different story), but that doesn't mean I won't wipe out on a curve somewhere if I just think "I've got what it takes."

Not that I think any of us here think that way, but I wouldn't get hung up on the test, even if I scored a 20.

Yeah, the adage practice, practice, practice had a whole new meaning for me after the MSF. I realized that this was not a casual, on-again, off-again hobby. But it's a great one.

I'm just worried that a lot of the practical knowledge I've gained will be dulled or forgotten before I can get on a bike again

Yeah, that's why, even though we had our endorsements, both hubby & I re-took the class this spring before really starting to ride. But it isn't expensive here--only $25, and you can take it as many times as you like.

MZ33 wrote:AHA! Rhadam, I just PM'd you because I didn't see a fresh post on your MSF experience, and wondered if something happened.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! to you both!!

I view the whole test experience as pass/fail. Acing the test is a great goal, but in the scheme of things, one test in the parking lot does not a rider make, does it? I was the "Queen of Lean" in my MSF, and could brake like a SOB, (U-turns are a different story), but that doesn't mean I won't wipe out on a curve somewhere if I just think "I've got what it takes."

Not that I think any of us here think that way, but I wouldn't get hung up on the test, even if I scored a 20.

Yeah, the adage practice, practice, practice had a whole new meaning for me after the MSF. I realized that this was not a casual, on-again, off-again hobby. But it's a great one.

I'm just worried that a lot of the practical knowledge I've gained will be dulled or forgotten before I can get on a bike again

Yeah, that's why, even though we had our endorsements, both hubby & I re-took the class this spring before really starting to ride. But it isn't expensive here--only $25, and you can take it as many times as you like.

Thanks!!!

$25 for the course!!! It was $250 here - and the wait is interminable.

RhadamYgg

Yeah, the State of Ohio subsidizes the rest of the course cost. Most of the people that took it with us didn't even know that. It's mandatory for ages 16-18, but at no cost, and if they are on the walk-in list, they get first dibs on any cancellations or no-shows.

On the first day of (online) sign-up, which is in February for an April start, the classes fill all the way up to late June. Of course, H-D offers Rider's Edge, which is about $300, but almost no waiting.