[burningchicken]

Finished the msf course and got my "license" today!

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by burningchicken

Finished the msf course and got my "license" today!

Congrats! Mind to share some of the experience and types of practices/tests they do over there?

[burningchicken]

Originally Posted by AlpineCloud9

Congrats! Mind to share some of the experience and types of practices/tests they do over there?

Thanks, and I dont mind at all!

The first day for me was fri 6pm-930pm. Ive spent countless hours watching how-to-ride and safety videos on youtube, so this day was pretty boring. Just make sure you look over the hand book once and you'll be fine for the test. The important things from this day were the safety tips. Lane positioning, blindspots, etc... Things that you wont learn while riding in a parking lot.
We were also divided into either the morning group, 7-12 or afternoon 1-6

Sat was 1-6 for me. I arrived there with my joe rocket jacket, scorpion exo helmet, alpinestar gloves, jeans and boots. They provided helmets if you didnt have one, but they were 3/4 and made you wear a hair net. The jacket I wore was definitely overkill since it was 90+ degrees. I would STRONGLY recommend you bring a long sleeve shirt to change into if needed. We were each given a motorcycle. They had one previous gen 250 ninja, honda rebels, eliminators, and a few dirtbikes. I was on a suzuki tu250x. Fuel injected and only had 150 miles

We started off familiarizing ourselves with the bikes. First was turning it on, then clutch and frictionzone control. After we could ride in a straight line, we worked on slow turns and braking. Then came up and down shifting and getting comfortable going faster.

Sunday we came in an hour earlier to take the written test. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. We started the riding with.. THE BOX. oh the dreaded box. You have to do a tight figure 8 turn within a certain box. Most people were terrible at this, including me. After we failed miserably, we did countersteering. This is where things got really fun. We picked up speed and did sharper turns. We did quick breaking and swerving.

At the end of sunday, we had our evaluation. The first one was the box... the second was swerve, third was a quick stop, fourth was a fast turn. If you messed up, you gained points. 21 points and you failed. I only messed up on the box, crossed two lines and put my feet down twice, but still only got 11 points. Only one woman from my class failed, but she also dropped her bike the very first exercise..

Hope this helped. If you have any more questions, lemme know!

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by burningchicken

Thanks, and I dont mind at all!

The first day for me was fri 6pm-930pm. Ive spent countless hours watching how-to-ride and safety videos on youtube, so this day was pretty boring. Just make sure you look over the hand book once and you'll be fine for the test. The important things from this day were the safety tips. Lane positioning, blindspots, etc... Things that you wont learn while riding in a parking lot.
We were also divided into either the morning group, 7-12 or afternoon 1-6

Sat was 1-6 for me. I arrived there with my joe rocket jacket, scorpion exo helmet, alpinestar gloves, jeans and boots. They provided helmets if you didnt have one, but they were 3/4 and made you wear a hair net. The jacket I wore was definitely overkill since it was 90+ degrees. I would STRONGLY recommend you bring a long sleeve shirt to change into if needed. We were each given a motorcycle. They had one previous gen 250 ninja, honda rebels, eliminators, and a few dirtbikes. I was on a suzuki tu250x. Fuel injected and only had 150 miles

We started off familiarizing ourselves with the bikes. First was turning it on, then clutch and frictionzone control. After we could ride in a straight line, we worked on slow turns and braking. Then came up and down shifting and getting comfortable going faster.

Sunday we came in an hour earlier to take the written test. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. We started the riding with.. THE BOX. oh the dreaded box. You have to do a tight figure 8 turn within a certain box. Most people were terrible at this, including me. After we failed miserably, we did countersteering. This is where things got really fun. We picked up speed and did sharper turns. We did quick breaking and swerving.

At the end of sunday, we had our evaluation. The first one was the box... the second was swerve, third was a quick stop, fourth was a fast turn. If you messed up, you gained points. 21 points and you failed. I only messed up on the box, crossed two lines and put my feet down twice, but still only got 11 points. Only one woman from my class failed, but she also dropped her bike the very first exercise..

Hope this helped. If you have any more questions, lemme know!

Great info and thanks for the writeup. Looking forward to my turn .

[UncleWede]

Practice NOW in your cage. You HAVE to be able to know what the idiot 3 car lengths in front of you is going to do before he knows he's going to do it, or you will end up on the hood/trunk of his car.

I practice all the time with my sons/wife in the car. "Watch, the blue Honda is going to move into the right lane"

When you move up to white lining, make sure you are looking about 7 cars ahead. You'll know who is going to try to pinch you when you see them look in the mirror and frown as you are approaching.

The only question I missed on the written was where to look first before you come to a stop at the light/sign. The answer was behind, to make sure that idiot saw you stop and intends to stop before cleaning your clock.

[coh4777]

Originally Posted by AlpineCloud9

Thanks everyone for the great advices! Definitely will buy a helment and gloves before my MSF course in Sept. Depends on how things went during the course, I will then get a full set of riding gears. That I won't waste too much money if I figure it isn't my thing.

Will starting to looking for a used 250cc or 650cc sports bike right after the course, but it probably won't be until next spring that I get to ride again. Definitely will come back and let you guys know how it all went.

I was in the same boat as you a few months ago and just recetly got into motorcycles after my girlfriend bought me MSF classes as a present. There is a lot of good advice on this thread! One thing to add is that you don't have to invest any money in gear for the MSF course, as they provide helmets in addition to the motorcycles. All that is required in terms or attire are denim pants, a long sleeve shirt or jacket, boots that cover your ankle (I wore a pair of timberlands), and a pair of gloves (I used work gloves that I wear when doing maintenance work around the house).

Also, as some others are saying, I would recommend starting on a samller, used bike. Not only will you learn more safely, but if you do drop your bike (which just about everyone will do at least once while learning) you won't feel as bad about damaging a second-hand ninja 250 or 650 versus a much more expensive BMW or Triumph.

Good luck!

[Cloud9blue]

Originally Posted by coh4777

I was in the same boat as you a few months ago and just recetly got into motorcycles after my girlfriend bought me MSF classes as a present. There is a lot of good advice on this thread! One thing to add is that you don't have to invest any money in gear for the MSF course, as they provide helmets in addition to the motorcycles. All that is required in terms or attire are denim pants, a long sleeve shirt or jacket, boots that cover your ankle (I wore a pair of timberlands), and a pair of gloves (I used work gloves that I wear when doing maintenance work around the house).

Also, as some others are saying, I would recommend starting on a samller, used bike. Not only will you learn more safely, but if you do drop your bike (which just about everyone will do at least once while learning) you won't feel as bad about damaging a second-hand ninja 250 or 650 versus a much more expensive BMW or Triumph.

Good luck!

Yeap, but I thought might as well get some basic gears ready so I can grow accustomed to them. As a matter of fact, just picked up a Shoei helment and a pair of Icon gloves. The helment is a bit expensive, but figured it will the most important piece of protective gears that I will need. The factory rebate program they are running is not too shabby though, as you get a free visor.

[Chest Rockwell]

I'm jealous of you guys that can ride the rockets. The way I drive I know it would just be a matter of time before some lucky person was enjoying my organs. I'm about to get a bike but I'm going to go for a cruiser so I can make it to my 30th birthday. Every time I see a sport bike though I just want to get on one and go.