Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hey group,

I started the MSF BRC course Monday and have the second class tonight then on to the range Sat and Sun morning. I have been researching and reading up for a couple of months while waiting for the course to start. Somewhere I found online (in HTML only format) the book that they use in the course. Most of it seems as a bit of review but it is good to hear it coming from the instructor - as he also adds more to the book than what is simply in print.

I am really excited for this weekend but also a bit nervous at the same time. I feel pretty confident that I know where all the primary and secondary controls are - its just the coordination of using them all together. I'm sure all will go well - I just want to get out there and get on the bike to get a feel for it. We have about 10 hours of range time, so I'm sure I'll get the hang of it by test time.

I'm wondering where the best place would be to get a used bike. I've seen a ton of bikes on eBay, craigslist, and of course, the dealership. EBay seems pretty good but you may run into the problem of getting a deal half way across the country. Craigslist seems pretty good but it seems people have a tendency to want to list overpriced equipment. I'm left feeling most comfortable with the dealer - I can check out what they have and check its Blue Book value.

What do y'all think? Thanks.


Carl

Welcome to the board and congrats on taking your MSF. You will find that most people will recommend a used bike for you on this board. Personally it doesn't matter to me if it's new or used as long as it's something reliable and is something you can handle right now. Getting a "disposable" bike to kinda get your sea legs is not a bad way to go and allows you more time to refine what type of rider you want to be and what kind of bike appeals to you. Just apply all you learn from your class and get out and ride.

Congratulations on starting your course. Keep posting and let us know how it goes.
I'm particularly interested because I start my BRC this Friday...it runs through the weekend.

For some odd reason, I feel myself getting more nervous as the course approaches. Is that normal?
I've been reading everything I can, including the BRC hand book and Proficient Motorcycling, but I really have no street bike experience at all. From what I've heard, you really practice everything that is needed to pass the course.

Hopefully I will get to use a cruiser-style bike during the course because the Suzuki M50 calls to me from the dealership: "...buy me, you know you want me..." Can't get enough of that bike!

Good luck to you and let us know...

Congratulations on taking the class. Don't worry about remembering all of the controls, they start you off slow and move you up. You don't need to remember everything at the start.

As for purchasing a used bike. I have found that the value of a motorcycle is subjective. Blue Book is only one source of information. N.A.D.A. also has motorcycle values, but they are considerably lower the BB, so when selling my motorcycle I scoffed at anyone who quoted me the N.A.D.A. price. The value of a used bike from a private seller also has emotional attachment added. Someone that has put a lot of work and mods into a bike will want more than someone who hasn't. The question is... What's it worth to you? I don't think private sellers are trying to rip anyone off, they just want thier bikes to go to good homes and get some of their hard earned cash back.
Dealers get you other ways, licensing, taxes, dealer fees and what not. Often a dealer will not know the history of a bike. They will not know how it has been ridden or how often the oil has been chenged, these are important factors.

There is so much more to say about this topic. Decide on a bike you want and do your research. Knowledge is your best friend when it comes to this kind of purchase.

check out cycletrader.com

And Craigslist.com. Good luck with the BRC I have mine coming up in a few weeks...

Just finished my test last week. Was also nervous at the start but our instructor quickly put us at ease.
Good luck and don't sweat the u-turns. I messed them up every time until the test and zipped through no problem.
Yes you will practice for the test along with being introduce to other skills.
It's a great time, enjoy it.

Understand about the bike search, am doing that now.

Thanks for all the words of encouragement. I'm just anxious to get out there and ride. I had my second class tonight and everything went pretty well. We took the written test tonight and I missed two questions out of 50 - so 96% isn't so bad.

Now we're on to the range Saturday at 7:30am. Weather looks good too - no rain until later in the afternoon. We'll be riding Honda Rebels and Nighthawks as I was expecting. I'm sure all will go well...I'll post up something after Saturday morning.


Carl

Thumbs up from me for taking the course as well.

As for eBay, define your search to within a certain distance from your home and, check every couple of days for new listings. You can save searches on eBay and refine them as you go. This is what my search results look like.... eBay search results ....That search is for relatively new bikes within 250 miles of my home and doesn't include Harley's or custom bikes. I'd say it averages between 50 and 100 listings.

You'll do fine, I promise. Just don't make the mistake I did, which was always looking down. Your bike will always be there, keep your chin up, and your eyes where you want to go. You got this!