[Almighty Jason]

Well I figured I'd post up on my MSF experience so far. Tom is the third day. First off I decided to ride my bike there on day two cause it was an awesome day and wanted to ride afterwards. So I get there like 15 minutes early, one instructor comes up and asked if I had a pop can to put under the stand and of course I forgot to put one in (had cleaned out under the seat). So she goes and finds me something. I was like sweet. So I get off set my helmet on my seat and walk in to go the restroom. I come back out and another instructor starts saying my name from 30ft away probably I was like "okay what do I need to turn in". Next thing I know, he's there telling me "in the motorcycle world we don't put helmets on the seats. And I get the whole speal on how a helmet is good for one impact and you need to buy a new one. I was like I know quite a few riders that set them on their seats and hang them off frame sliders/foot pegs. He proceeds to grab the helmet and put it on the ground.:upyours which made me a little upset, because it will scrape the bottom edge of the helmet if you aren't carefull. I was like geez, class hasn't even started and he's telling me how I should ride and where to put my gear and touching my shit. But anyway I shrug it off. So we start with all the basics and go through a lot of the exercises. The coaches give us tips and help us of course. But anyway this one time one of the coaches comes up and is like "USE THE FRONT BRAKE WHEN YOU DISMOUNT". I was like "O". He is like "yea you didn't do it"--all asshole like. I believe it had something to do with one of the other instructors there (there were 12 instructors and 12 students--the state guys were there seeing if they were qualified) But anyway, one of the instructors was probably 27 and she was fairly hot. All I can figure is he was pissed cause I was talking to her earlier, because as I was riding I see he is always trying to get close to her. I mean it would have been cool had he not been such an ass about it. Then later we get our lunch break and I put my helmet on and go to my bike to go to McD's. The guy who had came over and told me where to put my gear and grabbing my shit comes over. "He's like you not riding illegally are you Jason?" He said it in a demeaning tone. I was like "no" I have my endorcement. I said "you want to see it" (politely) as I reached for my wallet. He's like well "I'm not a cop". I just stood there like what the heck is going on. As I was thinking to myself "then why the hell are you asking?" He finally just walks off and I leave.

But anyway the riding part seem really easy on the bikes they had since they were Enduros, and I gret up riding on something very similar. I did take a younger kid (16-17 probably) under my wing. He was having all sorts of problems and I tried to keep him from getting frustrated--by the end he was pretty darn good. It was pretty fun leading the pack though :fiddy I got to lead on almost every excercise. In the "Friction zone" part they told us to go as slow as we could without putting our feet down. I was basically stoped through the whole thing (1mph) it was pretty funny the instructor at the end started laughing because everyone was lined up behind me-finally she had to wave me to go faster. The bike had a 180 rear tire and light as a feather it pretty much stayed upright on it's own.

Later when we get to some real excercises the guy who had harassed me on the helmet and my endorcement tells me "you a heck of a rider".

After class I went riding and for a while, for some reason all those excercises seemed to build cofindence and it felt easier on my bike. I was pleased with the results.

We'll see how tom goes.

 

[RayOSV]

Sounds like you did well. Good job and good luck tomorrow. I'm sure it will be fine.

The instructors have to deal with all sorts of would-be riders (legal and not) so don't take the observations too personally. BTW, I agree about the helmet placement. On the seat is a no-no. Over the mirror if stable or strapped to a peg or something is a lot better.

 

[ItsJustMe]

WTG!! I need to take a class like that!! I hope mine goes as well as yours sounds like it has. GL on the rest!!

 

[killernoodle]

Sounds like you did well. Good job and good luck tomorrow. I'm sure it will be fine.

The instructors have to deal with all sorts of would-be riders (legal and not) so don't take the observations too personally. BTW, I agree about the helmet placement. On the seat is a no-no. Over the mirror if stable or strapped to a peg or something is a lot better.

I think this is more of a "per bike" decision. A sportbike with a narrow shaped seat will not hold a helmet as securely as a bike with a wider and flatter seat. I just hang mine on the mirror usually.

My MSF instructors were excellent, I took it at the Harley dealership :banme and they had a great facility. They had a dedicated track, brand new with no gravel or anything on it, a dedicated classroom complete with huge widescreen TV and high quality audio gear, they had Buell Blasts to ride on (which are great if you're short, unlike me unfortunately), two great instructors with shit-tons of experience, and you could get up any time and get sodas out of the fridge or some chips to snack on or whatever. The class was 4 days: 2 short classroom, 2 long riding.

The instructors noticed how quickly I caught on and swore that I'd ridden bikes before, but I had nothing more than cross country mountainbike experience (never even driven a stick!). Did the entire thing without falling, unlike a couple of students, and passed probably more skilled than anyone else in the class.

Overall, I'd recommend the RidersEdge class over the ones at the community colleges, it just seemed like a really professional deal.

 

[RACER X]

sounds like you got into a training class for inst. usually there are 2 sometimes 3 inst per 12 students. the 3rd being an inst. trainee.

as for the lid. they were right on some parts. over time you hang your lid on the mirrors, you dent the inside of the lid. and if you put it in the same place everytime, you've taken away the crash absorption that was built into your lid. "hang it off the foot rest" i guess it'll work, but if anybody walks by and bumps it, it's gonna go down.

i ALWAYS lay it on the ground , inside the ft wheel area. and i have $600 lid. better to scratch the bottom then the top

and yes, if you place it on the seat, it can blow off.

now if t does blow off, and hit's the ground, it's not totalled. it's desigend for 1 impact W/ YOUR MELLON INSIDE. if your head isnt' in there, you've only damaged the outside, and chances of it cracking the shell are slim to none, you'll just have a nasty lookin scratch.

as for the Riders Edge program, it's the same material as the MSF (thats where they got the program from) they just HDed the program.......longer and more $, i almost went to harley school this yr, but didn't wanna take the week off, since my baby was born this year, and i had better things to do like vacation w/ my baby.

btw, i wouldn't touch your gear, just give you recomendations, your and adult, you do w/ your shit what you want.

 

[mikem317]

Awesome Jason! Congrats. Hopefully tomorrow will bring about a better day.

I had a similar experience when I strapped by Shoei to the MSF's Honda mirror and the instructor called me over and told me never to do it. He didn't touch it and didn't say it in a condescending way, however it feels a little weird getting "called out" on something that you would prob. see as trivial.

Some of those instructors have seen it all and maybe you just fit the profile of somebody without an endorsement, etc.

Somethings you need to take with a grain of salt. :rolleyes

 

[Almighty Jason]

Well 3rd day went real good. I passed believe it or not. 100% on written and 0 points on the riding test.

First thing that day though, I get pulled to the side before we start riding. I was like "o man what did i do now". "He was like Jason looks like you and Vic are the best riders here. He asked if we would each take a section of the group and lead them. Of course we said yes.

The one thing I really didn't like was the amount of instructors, since it was their training as well. One instructor on the one side told me something so I go to the other side and do what he said, and then the other guy said not too. That type of stuff was a little frustrating, but I knew it was just because each had his own way he thought the excercise should be done.

I found a couple times their coaching tips were contraditory though. Like on the braking part he said I anticipated it, but then later on our discussion he said I came in to hot. I guess they were getting trained too. But like I said I think it was because of the different coaches. One coach would tell me to go fast on them since I knew how to ride alright and others said to slow it down. I slowed it down on the turns and the best instructor there (at least I thought) was like "your half assing it aren't you?" I was like yea. Well get out there and hit it harder so that's what I did next time. I really liked that coach. He pushed you enough, but actually would tell you what you did well and not just repeatedly tell you what you did wrong. He seem to make you his friend--which IMO that helps the teaching go smoother. I got the feeling from some of the instructors "why are you here." I think some thought I came just to show off, but I just took it because people had said it was good to take and get an insurance break maybe.

Not really sure what I learned, but some of it was pretty fun. :beer Best part was riding the 125cc that's what I grew up on. In the box for the U-turn I used probably half of the box. The other students started laughing when I got back in line for the next part of the test. The one was like "it looked like you were floating the rear of the bike just pivoted around you." I started laughing with them cause I knew it was true.

I'm just glad everyone passed. The one girl didn't show the second day, and the other girl took the written test and did real well, then the next thing I know she is in her car driving off--the instructors tried to talk her into staying, but I guess it was too much. I felt bad for the younger kid I had been trying to help. He did pass but I think he felt bad about his 12 pts. I told him that when i took it to get my licence I got like 12pts. After that he didn't feel so bad. I told him that it will come with time--his bike did have a shifting problem (even the instructor who used it on a demo had trouble).

 

[Almighty Jason]

I had a similar experience when I strapped by Shoei to the MSF's Honda mirror and the instructor called me over and told me never to do it. He didn't touch it and didn't say it in a condescending way, however it feels a little weird getting "called out" on something that you would prob. see as trivial.

Some of those instructors have seen it all and maybe you just fit the profile of somebody without an endorsement, etc.

Somethings you need to take with a grain of salt.

Yea very true.

 

[nig]

Eh, one of my instructors was a prick too. I've learned a lot from pricks in my lifetime. Smile and nod

 

[Almighty Jason]

sounds like you got into a training class for inst. usually there are 2 sometimes 3 inst per 12 students. the 3rd being an inst. trainee.

as for the lid. they were right on some parts. over time you hang your lid on the mirrors, you dent the inside of the lid. and if you put it in the same place everytime, you've taken away the crash absorption that was built into your lid. "hang it off the foot rest" i guess it'll work, but if anybody walks by and bumps it, it's gonna go down.

i ALWAYS lay it on the ground , inside the ft wheel area. and i have $600 lid. better to scratch the bottom then the top

and yes, if you place it on the seat, it can blow off.

as for the Riders Edge program, it's the same material as the MSF (thats where they got the program from) they just HDed the program.......longer and more $, i almost went to harley school this yr, but didn't wanna take the week off, since my baby was born this year, and i had better things to do like vacation w/ my baby.

Yea I think it was a training class which kinda sucks for us.

Yea that's true hanging it on the mirror is probably bad, cause it tears up the foam which absorbs the impact.

This is what I do: I place my helmet on the rear seat/tail on my R6. The seat and tail are almost perfectly flat with each other and sit on a very slight angle (anyone with an R6 knows the side stand holds the bike very straight) I have set my helmet there in 25mph winds and not have it blown off. When i place it there I give it a good shake and see how sturdy it is. Granted there still is a slight chance that it could fall off--ike you said it's best on the ground, but I trust my own judgement. My helmet is an HJC helmet and costs $139, I guess these guys have $400+ helmets with flip up faces and such would want to do that.

I just don't like scratches on either side of my helmet so I chose to sit it on the seat. Most of the time when I ride I only take it off at gas station and I'm not laying my helmet down in oil and gas.

now if t does blow off, and hit's the ground, it's not totalled. it's desigend for 1 impact W/ YOUR MELLON INSIDE. if your head isnt' in there, you've only damaged the outside, and chances of it cracking the shell are slim to none, you'll just have a nasty lookin scratch.

Hmm. they were saying that it is done for. That is what I also though. The one girl droped her helmet probably from 1ft and he said it was done for and she "technically had to get a new one."

btw, i wouldn't touch your gear, just give you recomendations, your and adult, you do w/ your shit what you want.

I wish you could have been our instructor. You seem like a good coach. I don't always agree with some of your posts but you seem very respectful.

 

[Almighty Jason]

Eh, one of my instructors was a prick too. I've learned a lot from pricks in my lifetime. Smile and nod

Yea that's what I started doing the last day. I didn't say much. I wanted to have a little chat on how to get better, but I don't think they really knew how(since they were learning to teach).

 

[Teknikal]

I remember on the first day of riding someone had there helmet on the seat. When the instructors were talking to use we heard it fall, instructor was like "This is why we don't set helmets on seats"

 

[Almighty Jason]

I think this is more of a "per bike" decision. A sportbike with a narrow shaped seat will not hold a helmet as securely as a bike with a wider and flatter seat. I just hang mine on the mirror usually.

My MSF instructors were excellent, I took it at the Harley dealership and they had a great facility. They had a dedicated track, brand new with no gravel or anything on it, a dedicated classroom complete with huge widescreen TV and high quality audio gear, they had Buell Blasts to ride on (which are great if you're short, unlike me unfortunately), two great instructors with shit-tons of experience, and you could get up any time and get sodas out of the fridge or some chips to snack on or whatever. The class was 4 days: 2 short classroom, 2 long riding.

The instructors noticed how quickly I caught on and swore that I'd ridden bikes before, but I had nothing more than cross country mountainbike experience (never even driven a stick!). Did the entire thing without falling, unlike a couple of students, and passed probably more skilled than anyone else in the class.

Overall, I'd recommend the RidersEdge class over the ones at the community colleges, it just seemed like a really professional deal.

That sounds like an awesome place to have class