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I just finished up the MSF Basic Riders Course this weekend. Being a small woman (5'3" and 110lbs) and having never driven a motorcycle, I was EXTREMELY nervous about taking the class. I could just picture myself constantly dropping the bike and just making a fool of myself. Thankfully my husband was taking the course with me, so that helped to ease my apprehensions just a little.
Friday night we show up at the local Harley Davidson store, which is where they held all the classroom time since Harley Davidson sponsors the course. We started at 6:00 and I was grateful to see that I wasn't the only female there. We had four women total in our class, only one of which had driven a bike at all and she wasn't a very experienced rider. We had six guys, most of whom owned a bike and had a little experience driving, but a couple who had no experience driving. My apprehensions were easing by the minute just knowing I wasn't the only female and that I wasn't the only person in the class that had never driven a bike. Friday night strictly consisted of going through the book, answering the questions in the back, and watching videos to demonstrate and reinforce the questions we had just answered. This all got to be a little bit boring, since we were there from 600-9:30, but I definitely learned some fundamentals I wasn't previously aware of. I didn't get much sleep that night due to being extremely anxious about actually getting on the bike and riding the next day.
Saturday we arrived bright and early at one of the local high schools where they hold the actual riding part of the class. We started at 7:00. The first couple of exercises we did were just to get us used to the bikes and comfortable with the clutches and clutch engage points. We first just sat on the bikes and got used to their weight, finding neutral, and some of the basics of the bike. Then we cranked the bikes up worked on finding the clutch engagement point by releasing the clutch out just far enough for it to start to pull the bike, then pulling the clutch back in and rolling the bike back to starting position. We did that for several minutes. The next exercise was to "power walk" the bike across the parking lot, then back to the starting position. This was performed by slowly releasing the throttle and possibly even giving it a slight amount of throttle and while sitting on the bike, walking it down to the other end of the parking lot. The third exercise we did was to actually give the bike a little bit of throttle and to ride from one side of the parking lot to the other and back again. I can't really remember all the exercises we did after that as we were on the course from 7:00 until around 2:00 or so, with only an hour break for lunch. I know we did a couple of exercises working on turns, riding in an oval in both directions, weaving in and out of cones, quick stops, and I'm sure a few other things I'm forgetting, but everything was just covering basic information and we were going at a slow enough speed that everyone was able to keep up and perform all the exercises with no problems. Once we all had the current exercise down, we would move to the next exercise. By this point I was gaining some confidence as everyone was commenting on how they couldn't believe that I'd never been on a bike because I was doing so well... Talk about giving you a big head, but I kept reminding myself I wasn't done yet and there was still plenty of time for me to lay it down (Thankfully I was able to keep the bike up the whole weekend, although I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I lay a bike over).
Saturday afternoon we went back to the Harley Davidson shop to go over a few more questions and videos mainly about how to handle different traffic situations. When we finished that up we took the test which consisted of 50 multiple choice questions, that for the most part were common sense. As long as you had paid attention in class, you were not going to fail. You had to make an 80 on the test to pass and no one in our class had any problem with that. I think we were all in the 90's, as most of us only missed one or two questions. We left Saturday right at 6:00. Needless to say our entire class was exhausted after the physical and mental challenge and focus it took to keep the bike up and do all the exercises.
Sunday we had the lovely experience of getting to ride in the rain Thankfully it was just a shower here and there and didn't start to really pour until our last exercise. Sunday was the dreaded box everyone talks about, which amazingly wasn't too terribly bad, as long as you remembered to look at the exit point of the curve. This was probably the biggest thing I learned all weekend, is that the bike really does go wherever you look. We also worked on determining the correct entry speed for curves, lane changes, and swerves on Sunday. We finished up around 12:00 on Sunday, which was a little early, because our instructors didn't want to push us too hard since it was raining. We did have two people lay the bike over on Sunday so we learned the proper technique for picking up a bike.
I would definitely recommend for any rider who has not had the MSF course to take it, whether you've been riding for a couple of years or have never ridden at all. I'm sure each person's experience will be different, but mine was a very positive experience. It helped that our entire class was easy to get along with and very encouraging of each other. Our instructors were also laid back older guys, who just wanted to make sure we learned the stuff and did their best not to intimidate us. Before the class I was wondering if I'd ever have the confidence to get on a bike and drive, even though I had a strong desire to, but now I have the confidence I need to get on a bike. I also learned some exercises to get me acquainted with my own bike when I get one and things to practice and get down pat before I get into a bunch of traffic.
I know this is a long read, but I hope this helps those of you out there that were like me and very anxious and nervous about taking the course. They really do take things slow enough that you are able to pick up the basics you need without ever feeling intimidated about the bike.
If you, or anyone else happens to know - is the Harley-sponsored training the same as the "regular" MSF BRC? I'd gotten the impression somewhere that it was based on the MSF curriculum, but in a somewhat modified format (yeah, yeah, insert open-pipe joke here)?
Our class was exactly the same as the MSF BRC. We asked our instructor about it and he told us the only reason we were doing the classroom stuff at the Harley shop was due to the fact that they help to sponsor the MSF. Nothing about it was pushing Harley stuff, other than when we first arrived Friday night they told us to "be sure and browse the shop before we headed up to the classroom". We were riding Buell Blasts for the course, but I think that was simply due to their low seat height and small engines. I've heard a couple of people say their courses at the Harley shop were really just giving plugs for Harley Davidson, but ours was nothing like that.
I'm glad you liked the course and did well! As far as the BRC's in this area, taking a wild guess, I'd say the average number of females in the class is about 20-30%, so you are in good company. A lot of people are nervous because many have never been on a motorcycle of any type before, much less operated anything that must be manually shifted, and there are a lot of things happening at once.
Despite the nerves, after a few exercises, many are actually dissapointed to take a break between ex.'s because they are having so much fun riding! That is really great to see.
And for you people in Illinois, you can't say the price is holding you back, because the courses are basically free! $20 deposit to hold your seat, which you can donate or opt for a refund at the end of the course. Or try to be a walk-in. If you do choose to donate the money, you are paying about $1 per hour of instruction, with free use of a nice motorcycle, helmet, fuel, and lesson material. Pretty darn good bargain.
The course in MS was $175, but it was well worth it!
Fizzgeek--Yes the bikes had the crash bars, which proved helpful the second day when we were doing the box and stopping in a curve as a couple of the girls laid their bikes over then.
Glad to hear the course went well. I just wish the courses here in MS were subsidized and free or significantly discounted like they are in some other states. But, I think the course is well worth the $175.
FWIW, my insurance company (State Farm) doesn't provide ANY type of discount for an MSF course. I was disappointed to learn that!
__________________ ***Dress for the crash not the ride!***
Glad to hear the course went well. I just wish the courses here in MS were subsidized and free or significantly discounted like they are in some other states. But, I think the course is well worth the $175.
FWIW, my insurance company (State Farm) doesn't provide ANY type of discount for an MSF course. I was disappointed to learn that!
It was $150.00 here in SC when I took it a few years ago. Fyi.
We have MetLife and I'm almost positive they do provide a discount. I know our insurance agent suggested we take the course when we told him we were looking at getting a bike. I guess I'll find out in a month or so when I get my bike whether or not I get a discount for having the course.
Our instructor also said a lot of times if you've passed the MSF recently, the HWY Patrol will let you skip your driving test and just make you take the written test, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one!
mods....GT501 tires, SV650 shock, dinojet kit, K&N filter, Flushmounts, fender elimin. with rear signals relocated in pods, Two Brother's. Soon to be done, sonic springs
mods....GT501 tires, SV650 shock, dinojet kit, K&N filter, Flushmounts, fender elimin. with rear signals relocated in pods, Two Brother's. Soon to be done, sonic springs
MSF Experience--From a Woman's Perspective
Thankfully it was just a shower here and there and didn't start to really pour until our last exercise. Sunday was the dreaded box everyone talks about, which amazingly wasn't too terribly bad, as long as you remembered to look at the exit point of the curve. This was probably the biggest thing I learned all weekend, is that the bike really does go wherever you look. We also worked on determining the correct entry speed for curves, lane changes, and swerves on Sunday. We finished up around 12:00 on Sunday, which was a little early, because our instructors didn't want to push us too hard since it was raining. We did have two people lay the bike over on Sunday so we learned the proper technique for picking up a bike.
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