Finally taking the MSF course!

[JohnC]

Woot. Just registered and paid for the Sept. 10-12 MSF course w/ Albemarle County. My father-in-law just bought a Harley (but didn't have a license), so we're gonna go through the course together. Any comments/advice from those who have already taken it?

[Kaan]

pay attention... everyone i know that takes the course really learns alot, even if they have never riden before.... hell they learn how to ride. be open minded cause its going to be foriegn to you all the first day. do what they tell you and have fun!

[Feersty]

Take your time with it. The course is set to cater to those that have never ridden before. On saturday make sure you practice the box if you get a chance. Make sure you do not drop your bike on Sunday or else you will automatically fail. Good Luck.

[JohnC]

Got to ride one of the neighbors dirt bikes yesterday evening, in an attempt to get a feel for the control layout. My very first attempt ended with me on the ground and the bike laid over, but no damage. That was my only fall though - rode around the back yard, up/down shifting and trying out both brakes. Lots of fun, and hopefully I can do this for the next month or so and *not* look too dumb at the MSF class...

[G.Irish]

Sweet, you should try Supermoto

So what kind of bike is in the future Jdawg? Are you going to be a crotch rocketeer or a hog rider?

[.RJ]

So what kind of bike is in the future Jdawg?

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[JohnC]

Sweet, you should try Supermoto

So what kind of bike is in the future Jdawg? Are you going to be a crotch rocketeer or a hog rider?

Crotch rocket of some sort I think... Been looking at the lower-end Suzukis and Kawasakis, used of course, like Rob did - but you remember the bike I always had my eye on back in the Medialab

[JohnC]

So what kind of bike is in the future Jdawg?

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Needs more boost... :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[BLINGMW]

Boost? That thing's for panzies.

[G.Irish]

Crotch rocket of some sort I think... Been looking at the lower-end Suzukis and Kawasakis, used of course, like Rob did - but you remember the bike I always had my eye on back in the Medialab

hock:

[JohnC]

Crotch rocket of some sort I think... Been looking at the lower-end Suzukis and Kawasakis, used of course, like Rob did - but you remember the bike I always had my eye on back in the Medialab

hock:

Don't worry... I'm not stupid enough to think I could handle that right off the bat. Maybe a couple years down the road...

[Feersty]

500cc is nice. I am in Myrtle Beach right now by the way!

[JohnC]

Alright... It's been a long time coming, but this weekend is finally it! I've been riding dirtbikes all week - at last I can hop on the bike and *smoothly* take off from a stop (even on that crazy 250cc two-stroke from Jess' dad). Low speed handling is still a little iffy, but we spent a good hour riding around in the woods yesterday dodging trees and going up/down 45 degree slopes with turns - so hopefully I'm well prepared. I'll try to post tonight with an initial report - later!

[G.Irish]

Where's that report fool?!

[Feersty]

All these MM guys getting their M class. This is tight y0.

[JohnC]

Where's that report fool?!

Alrighty... Last night was the classroom portion, today was all riding, and tommorrow is test day.

Classroom - Of questionable worth, IMHO. This could've been 2 hours rather than 4. There were a few good points raised about being aware of your surroundings and having a way out of every situation, but far too much time was spent explaining HOW to ride a bike without the bike actually underneath you. Maybe it's just me, but I learn by doing, and having somebody tell me "push down on the left handgrip to turn left" doesn't do a lot of good unless I can then immediately get on a motorcycle and try it out. Lots of time spent looking at vague diagrams of secondary motorcycle controls (lights, signals, fuel valve, etc) that weren't anything like what was actually on the range bikes.

Riding - Awesome. Instructors were in their element (much more so than last night in the classroom), and the pace was great. We went from "this is a motorcycle" to getting familar with the clutch to executing panic stops with both brakes to leaning into turns and accelerating through the apex, etc... I had some trouble making a sharp right hand turn from a stop, and the instructor spent a good 10 minutes just working with me to get it right. Finally, my brain and my hands agreed and it went real smoothly - that was my only issue the whole day. It was all time *very* well spent, and I don't anticipate having any trouble with the riding test tommorrow. Actually, it kind of sucks, 'cause now I really want a motorcycle too :twisted:

Pros:
Great riding instruction, good personal attention and coaching
Nice variety of situations to ride through
Lots of nifty tips and tricks that even experienced riders (like my father-in-law) found very useful
Indestructible range bikes - these things basically idled for 6 hours in 80 degree heat

Cons:
Interesting mechanical explanations ("The clutch takes away power from the engine" - was repeated several times)
Classroom instruction / videos were pretty paltry and not real useful

As a side note, we only had one person drop a bike today (no it wasn't me). He hit a curb after going *way* too wide in a turn, and laid it down - then, to his credit, he got some help to pick it up and got right back on and finished the exercise.

[Feersty]

For some reason I was very nervous when it came time for the test on Sunday evening, but I passed fine. My only problem was the box, make sure you are good at that John, go as far out as possible, hugging the line.

[REED]

question: how long is the license good for, is it like a regular drivers license or do you have to periodicly get retested?

[JohnC]

w00t! I passed 8)

Second day report:

More advanced drills than yesterday. We practiced going over obstacles, panic stops in a turn, high-speed swerves, turn signals and lane changing, and wheelies. Well... just kidding on the last part. And of course there was THE TEST ::cue ominous music::

The riding test consisted of 3 parts:

First, the box of death (mentioned previously by Rob). We practiced variations of this yesterday and this morning, so it wasn't a huge surprise. Basically, theres a ~24ft by ~60ft painted box, in which you have to do a figure eight without going outside the lines or putting your foot down. The instructors told us straight off that it is a horribly contrived test, because in any real-world situation that required such delicate manuvering, you're either avoid it completely or just put your feet down and walk the bike through. But of course class isn't the real world, so we had to do the box. I had some trouble with it yesterday, and wasn't real comfortable with it during practice today. My problem was not turning my head far enough, hence the bike wouldn't come around and I'd end up veering outside the lines. But the test (for me at least) went really smoothly and I did the figure eight with plenty of room to spare, and no points deducted!

Second, just after speeding out of the box, you had to go through a cone gate and immediately swerve around a "UPS truck" made out of cones. I suppose Fedex didn't pony up enough $$$ (or maybe they did :roll, so it was a "UPS truck". There were a number of criteria to fulfill here, such as not braking while swerving, not hitting any of the cones, keeping the speed up (they timed people, and if you took too long, you had to do it over again). I made it through this test fine too, in fact I was inadvertantly going about 5mph too fast, but no points off for that

Lastly, they set up two sweeping turns. First one was a 90-degree right turn, followed by a straight, then a 135-degree right turn and a shorter straight and then a stop. I thought this went okay, but apparently I decellerated into the second corner, earning a 10-point deduction. Whatever. I didn't notice at all, so maybe they were just being picky. Better to be a little slow through a corner than too fast, right?

But of course I passed the riding test (and the totally irrelevant written test earlier) and am half way to my "M" class license. My next step is to go to the DMV and take their written test. If I pass that, then I get a new driver's license with a nice little "M" on it :twisted:

Overall, this class was extremely well taught, had a ton of great information, and most importantly, was a lot of fun. Highly recommended for anyone who's even the least bit interested in motorcycles. And, you can sign up for the class in Charlottesville you won't have to wait nearly as long as you would in NoVA. Come stay with us!

[Feersty]

Nice writeup John.