Total Motorcycle Community Forums

To the OP, I agree with the Story, jstark, Nalian, Duck (those I quickly scanned for content)


I don't think you will die if you don't take the MSF class. However, the skills they teach in the class are necessary to handle the bike adquately. That said, you don't NEED MSF to learn and practice those skills. "MSF" does not have a legal patent on how one rides a bike. "MSF" only has legal ownership of their materials for the program.


I have not taken MSF yet. I have been in a parking lot since hopping on my bike. I'm there because I do not have a license, but I have a permit. I will take MSF as it is the only means available to me to get a new license out here. So that's what I'll do.

Bottom line, you should learn how to handle the bike so you may be in control for all situations. That will take practice. That will take riding experience. That will take trial and error. Keep yourself in a proper and safe environment and practice well to be successful. Go pass a test and receive your license, but for your own self, learn how to ride.

Shorts wrote:"MSF" only has legal ownership of their materials for the program.

Well Oregon might not believe you

I rode for awhile before taking the BRC. It's definately useful and very helpful even for older riders.

storysunfolding wrote:

Shorts wrote:"MSF" only has legal ownership of their materials for the program.

Well Oregon might not believe you

I rode for awhile before taking the BRC. It's definately useful and very helpful even for older riders.

lol They were exactly who I thought about as I typed that sentence

Hi guys. Great thread here. In fact, it's so great it compelled me to register so that I could share my opinion on this very important subject.

I took the MSF course after waiting almost 6 months for an opening. Since I have no patience, I went ahead and bought a bike and got a lot og practice in before the course (no harm done. I didn't drop the bike until AFTER I took the MSF course ).

As good as the MSF course is, it is no substitute for road experience. If I had to give a new rider one piece of advice, other than to to take the course, it would be this - For the first year, ride with the utmost caution and paranoia. Ride like the hold world is out to ruin your day, and above all, ride like you are in constant danger. Most new riders seem to reach a level of confidence way beyond their skills and tend to take chances early on that, when looked at with 20/20 hindsight, look every bit as stupid as they really were. Becoming an experienced rider takes time. The MSF and similar courses, along with the 2 excellent books mentioned above, will help you reach a level of skill and safety way above what you'd reach without them but ultimately, experience is the best teacher. Just make sure you live long enough to get the full benefits of this wisest of all teachers. This is what rider training courses and books are really all about, helping you survive your own foolishness, arrogance and lack of experience.

Sicko wrote:For the first year, ride with the utmost caution and paranoia. Ride like the hold world is out to ruin your day, and above all, ride like you are in constant danger.

I wouldn't stop after the first year. The cages ARE out to get you. That's all you should concern yourself with.

storysunfolding wrote:

Sicko wrote:For the first year, ride with the utmost caution and paranoia. Ride like the hold world is out to ruin your day, and above all, ride like you are in constant danger.

I wouldn't stop after the first year. The cages ARE out to get you. That's all you should concern yourself with.

The moment you let your guard down.......

jonnythan wrote: The larger ones, sure. But when someone says "I've ridden a scooter," it doesn't mean that they're an experienced Silverwing rider.

and it doesn't automatically mean they're NOT.

that was my point.

the original poster didn't give us the info to go on, and people were ASSuming something that we didn't have the answer to.

also, i found fault with the statement that motorcycles and scooters are "NOTHING alike", when they obviously ARE alike. they're QUITE similar.

will riding a 50 cc scooter around town prepare you for riding a 250 ninja? no

but

are all scooters toys that won't prepare you in the slightest for motorcycling? NO.

like others have already explained: basic motorcycling and basic scootering share some of the SAME things: countersteering, object fixation, etc...

"Well, you've only driven a car with an automatic transmission. That's not going to help you with this car with the manual transmission....They are NOTHING alike."

I never said that riding a scooter was nothing like riding a motorcycle. I think you're addressing someone else's comments while making it look like you were talking to me.

In any case, I stand by my original statement. If you are an experienced scooter rider and you are justifying skipping a motorcycle class, you say "I've ridden scooters for years" not "I've ridden a scooter before."

Meh. I rode a scooter for 2,500 miles before taking the MSF. I'll play the other side of the debate here and say that I think the MSF expects you to have some experience before the course. Maybe it was because 8/10 of the students in my class had already ridden so the instructors moved faster then normal, I'm not sure. I found it too move too fast for a complete noob. If I had come into the class before I had ridden the scooter I would not have been able to keep up and would have dropped out before the end of day one.

So yeah, MSF is a great way to start and if the original poster can get in a class it will be excellent experience. But other than that it sounds like he's taking some good precautions... Starting on a small bike, reading about the hazards and nuances, looking for things to practice, etc.. He's not the kid who is going to run out and buy a brand new R1 and hop on the freeway doing 100mph. Those are the kids that need the lectures seen here.

Just buy a bike. Don't wait a month for the MSF, as long as you get a weak bike it's not going to matter. Even though the MSF can be helpful, it is very overrated.