Total Motorcycle Community Forums

My wife asked an interesting question the other day. She said that the instructor in the MSF refresher class she took recently said that about 2/3 of all riders DO NOT take a safety course. Why do you think that is? I gave a couple reasons that I could think of; first, the cost is not cheap. I don't think it is outrageous but it is not cheap as I said. Second, there are too few classes and they fill up fast. I think folks don’t want to wait and they eventually lose interest if the wait is too long. Third, the macho thing. “Safety class, I don’t need no stinking safety class”. What do you folks think?

The MSF classes are ok, better then the way I learne. But they could be alot better. I really don't think they are teach you much. When you are in a park lot, all things are easy to do . But on the street , when a car , a dear or what ever runs out in front of you 50% of new riders are not going to know what to do. It is called panic and you will never get that riding in a parking lot. There is more training a new rider needs. But at least it is a start.

Also in some rural areas you may need to travel 200-300 miles to get to nearest location. Add to this the fact that some classes take two days and you will need a motel and several meals too!

Another thing;

In Colorado we have had $2 added to each motorcycle tag over 20 yrs just to be used for rider education. The BRC in Colorado (ABATE) costs $225. The BRC in Wyoming last year was $35

XB08 wrote:The MSF classes are ok, better then the way I learne. But they could be alot better. I really don't think they are teach you much. When you are in a park lot, all things are easy to do . But on the street , when a car , a dear or what ever runs out in front of you 50% of new riders are not going to know what to do. It is called panic and you will never get that riding in a parking lot. There is more training a new rider needs. But at least it is a start.

The classes aren't designed to get you on the street. The Basic Rider Course is simply a course to teach you basic skills . I've yet to see a student that didn't learn something in the course and improve over the two days. Given that I also teach on military bases where periodic training is required, I can honestly say that I see my fair share of riders from all experience levels.

There's definitely more training that a new rider needs. However, the techniques taught in the BRC are applicable at any speed. Our maxim is control before speed because without the first, the second will only get you hurt.

One of the major things that concerns me is "experienced riders". These are the guys that "had to lay it down", hit "a whole bunch of sand in the corner" and know that you "lean your body to turn a motorcycle.".

Luckily MSF is constantly expanding its offerings with an advanced rider course, on road course, and a sponsored cornering school (Kevin Schwantz Superbike). Throw in the other courses out there: stayin safe, police courses, with Lee Parks and these "new riders" will ride your socks off in less than six months.

They didn't have a class in 1975.

It would be interesting to see if the proportion of riders who take it is different in states like Pennsylvania where there is no cost versus ones where there is a fee. That would be a pretty good indication of whether the deciding factor is money or something else.

Since I and most of my friends work for the military, it wasn't optional. There were people in my BRC who had been riding for decades.

I myself took the BRC and ERC in my first four months of riding, and plan on re-taking the ERC every other year. I figure it can't hurt.

Instead of the ERC consider the Lee Parks Total Control class. We recommend students to take the ERC almost immediately after the BRC. It's not as advanced as people would have you think.

ERC=free; Lee Parks=$325

I forgot how inexpensive motorcycling was as a hobby.

Not everyone knows about the MSF or the classes they offer. I only took it at my mom's bf's insistence and I was glad I did. Until then I was more or less self taught on a dirt bike. They didn't really show me anything new, just showed me my bad habbits and how to fix them. Knowing that, I'd say it was worth every penny of the $250.