MSF course advise...

[Gilfy650a]

I was talking to my Dad tonight, we got on the topic of MSF courses. we both want to take one. He brought up the point since he used to ride and in his opinion i have a good amount of experence as well, that we should take the advanced rider course.

I'm not sure, so i figure there are quite a few very experinced riders here.
Whats your take on this course of action?

Skip the basic course and go to advanced, Or take the basic and save up again and in the future take the advanced?

[DustyJacket]

Start with the basic course.

I've talked to a lot of experienced riders who then took the course.
Each says they learned a lot.

Many experienced riders learned by doing and are riding by instinct.
The course teaches you the mechanics and what you should be trying to do and how.

Yes, the first hour or two of the first riding day may seem slow, but it builds on itself.

I took mine at the H-D dealer. Called the Riders Edge. they use larger bikes (500cc Buell Blast) and have more hours riding and in the classroom than other MSF classes around here.

Plus, your insurance company may give you discount for the Basic MSF.

Then later feel free to take the Experienced Riders Course, which is aimed at getting you and your bike to take corners correctly, and other stuff.

(I am not an experienced rider. I have about 800 miles under my belt.)

[TheReaper]

Definately take the BRC. The classroom portion can be informative and at the very least a good regresher. Remember, riding is as much mental as mechanical so it never hurts to hear the info another time.

Same thing with the range time. The first 1-2 hours where they run through the basics of the bikes will be a bit slow, but then it's a great opportunity to get practice in a closed environment with an instructor there to help. Again, it never hurts to practice you're quick stops and cornering.

I haven't taken the ERC yet, so can't give any input on that, but maybe since you've both got experience you could take the courses (BRC and ERC) a little closer to each other than a new rider could. Just a thought.

[iwannadie]

ya go beginner. you most likely dont have what the class will consider proper riding technique and will hurt you in the advance course. the beginner course will likely be boring most of the time but you probally will learn something, or at least see if your going by the book or just insinct. usually the class only accpets riding by the book, even if your method is just as safe they dont like you going against the book.

[Gilfy650a]

thanks for the input fellas, thats what i was thinking.

i'm hoping it will make me a much better rider, fairly certain it will

[JustJames]

I took both BRC and ERC. in ERC (experience course) they will repeat most of the thing in BRC course only a few extra exercises that added to ERC. If you already have some experience you might jump up to ERC course IMHO.

Remember this ERC you ride your own bike, even experience riders can drop bikes at BRC courses. I plan to take ERC course again when I complete one year riding.

[cb360]

You're getting good advice. There were plenty of experienced bikers in the basic course I took a few months ago and I guarantee you it wasn't wasted time - they all learned something and came out of it a better and safer rider.

[AmericanWeiner]

I'm just going to piggyback on this thread-

Aside from the entry fee, is there anything I need to have for the MSF course? I've read that they won't let you ride with steel toed boots, etc, etc.

[TheReaper]

During my class the bare minimum was: over the ankle boots, pants (no shorts), a long sleeved shirt, gloves, helmet and eye protection. Remember, this was the bare minimum to be allowed into the class. Personally, the more you got the more I'd wear. I wore my full set of leathers for the class. I was the only one however, most were in a riding jacket or thick leather jacket of some sort, a helmet and work boots and jeans. I did see one guy dump it though, so be aware of the possibility.

They didn't say anything to us about not wearing steel toes.

The other advice I'll give is, dress in layers. Mine started at 7:30 and it was cool for a few hours so I had a sweatshirt under my jacket. You'll want to be able to shed a bit if it gets warm.

Also, plan for the weather, we also got rained on a bit.

[shoey949]

I just finished a portion of the BRC, unless you are a retarted monkey, skip over to the advanced!