MSF class tomorrow!

[Ashaman]

This weekend I'll be riding a 250 around in a parking lot and hopefully learning how not to kill myself or fuck up my XS. I'm pretty stoked, actually, because I like learning new things and especially when they pertain to my interests. It's supposed to be hot as shit tomorrow and coolish on Sunday, so a nice mix. After I get this knowledge and practice under my belt, I plan on doing some short rides to the towns around me and then probably head into the suburbs and then Denver or Colorado Springs proper. I'd like to commute a little bit this summer, too. I'm especially looking forward to being able to ride my XS on paved surfaces for the first time ever; pretty sick of mobbing slowly on my dirt road. Picked up some speed the other night and almost bit it. Anyway, wish me luck.

 

[angus67]

sweet man!!!
When i did mine, this one kid would just crash, going just fine, and , crash. Three times!! got kicked out.

 

[Halloweenie]

Sort of the same thing happened at mine, everybody passed except the girl who dropped the bike at the emergency-stop portion of the test. Everyone seemed to have fun, except her.

 

[Ashaman]

Nothing that interesting happened all weekend, but I guess that's a good thing. I got the only perfect score on the riding test out of the whole class, and 100% on the written, so I was pretty happy with the weekend. U-turns had me all fucked up during practice, but I nailed them on the test. Definitely need to get the XS out to a paved lot and practice on it, but if all goes well that should happen this weekend. Got my M endorsement on my license today, so all I need now is insurance and plates.

 

[jamesgs4]

congrats! plan your first big trip yet?

 

[xjwmx]

Ha ha. When we finished the class nobody who hadn't ridden before thought themselves competent to ride on the street, just parking lots

But pay close attention, because I learned several things there that have saved my life, especially looking over the shoulder before a lane change, which has saved it more than once.

After I finished the class I rode in another parking lot for a few days, then ventured into light traffic.

Some things that are really basic they don't cover in the class, like how to pull out to the left or to the right from a stop, when you're making a turn from a stop. I picked that up on youtube and practiced pulling out to the left and right from a stop over and over in a parking lot. I also learned slow riding from youtube. They taught it in the class but it didn't all click until the video. Although I passed it in the class.

After the class buy the msf book Motorcycling Excellence, and also the book Proficient Motorcycling, which is the classic safety book. Memorize them

Also, around 10,000 miles people get overconfident for their skill and experience, and have a crash. Careful there.

 

[TeeCat]

BIG congrats, Ashaman! Plus 1 for what xjwmx has already advised you on.

I took the MSF and got my endorsement at 50 years of age after having grown up in a household where bikes were forbidden. It was a huge personal victory for me, and I hope it is for you too!

Be safe!

TC

 

[Ashaman]

congrats! plan your first big trip yet?

Yeah, to Elizabeth or Kiowa for some parking lot practice. Those are my closest paved lots, so I'll rack up some country highway practice on the way too.

Ha ha. When we finished the class nobody who hadn't ridden before thought themselves competent to ride on the street, just parking lots

But pay close attention, because I learned several things there that have saved my life, especially looking over the shoulder before a lane change, which has saved it more than once.

After I finished the class I rode in another parking lot for a few days, then ventured into light traffic.

Some things that are really basic they don't cover in the class, like how to pull out to the left or to the right from a stop, when you're making a turn from a stop. I picked that up on youtube and practiced pulling out to the left and right from a stop over and over in a parking lot. I also learned slow riding from youtube. They taught it in the class but it didn't all click until the video. Although I passed it in the class.

After the class buy the msf book Motorcycling Excellence, and also the book Proficient Motorcycling, which is the classic safety book. Memorize them

Also, around 10,000 miles people get overconfident for their skill and experience, and have a crash. Careful there.

Good advice. I had wondered about the pulling to the left or right from a stop, as I read somewhere a while back that a right turn from a stop is one of the harder things to do on the street. Definitely something I want to practice in the parking lot without an impatient asshole behind me.

I'll look for those books next time I'm at the bookstore. I learn well from reading, so that's a good idea. I haven't looked into training books much before since I had no physical riding frame of reference, but I bet they'll be more and more helpful the more I ride.

The 10k mile thing makes sense. Gonna have to keep track of that so I don't fall into that trap.

These first few practice rides are also going to be shakedown rides for the bike. I haven't ridden it more than a couple of miles total, never on pavement, and no faster than ~45mph, so we'll see how things work. I'm hoping there aren't any problems that pop up when it's been running for a while or at speed.

 

[xjwmx]

^Looking back on it, pulling out to the right took a bit of time. The video I found was of a motorcycle cop demonstrating how to do it over and over. Thinking of it now, it was really like what the msf teaches, the walking, but with just one step. The way he did it was to stop normally with the left foot down, then switch to right foot down, and kick back with the right foot and put it up on the peg as you go around the turn. For a left turn keep the left down and kick back with the left and etc. You control how wide you go by slipping the clutch and with the throttle. It's important to look down the lane, not at the center line or the curb, since where you're looking is where the bike will tend to go. You can make a really sharp turn by looking in the right place and trusting your bike in a way, and controlling the clutch and throttle. The control of the bike has become pretty automatic now, so I'm able to focus on traffic and the road. I have around 25,000 miles and four years.


My teacher related a story where he went into a curve too hot and he remembered his own msf teacher saying just push on the bar to lean more into the curve, and he did it and saved himself from wiping out. I admit I have done the same thing a time or two, with his own echo in my ear. He was a great guy, a retired cop, who had a bit part in the movie Rainman, playing a cop. The class was great and we all had a lot of fun. At the end, after we had all graduated, he went down a list of sticky situations and the way to avoid all of them was 'slow down.'

A couple weeks ago on a strange mountain road I went wide and crossed the center line. The scary part was it happened before I knew it happened. I need more practice too! I need to practice not outriding my line of vision Some of your progress will involve learning from mistakes you are fortunate enough to survive.

 

[Robhall]

I've been riding for some time now, both dirt and street, and still want to take the class. I've talked to guys that have been riding 40+ years and taken the class several times. They say they always learn something new every time. If you want to sharpen up your bike control get a dirt bike (old is fine) and hit the dirt. Hell even riding trails made me a much better rider on the track and over large jumps.

 

[Ashaman]

It really is weird how the bike will go where you look. I kept having problems in the class with stuff like tight turns, U turns, etc., but whenever I finally was able to look up and out the bike did what it was supposed to. I'm sure it'll get easier with time, but I know I'll need to do it consciously for a while.

About dirt, I actually picked up a '99 KX125 a few weeks ago just to practice on. I have some acreage so I can ride at home and on the local dirt roads. It does find neutral on the 1-2 shift, and 5th and 6th don't seem to exist, so I think I need to pull the clutch out and see if there's something loose or whatever. Anyway, I digress. I'm gonna continue to use it to practice stuff around here, plus it doesn't matter if I dump it lol.

 

[chunts]

just took the MSF class and got my endorsement a couple months ago. the first ride i had on the street I was nervous as hell but a couple weeks later I'm doing way better. still sticking to short rides when traffic is light.

+1 on Motorcycling Excellence and Proficient Motorcycling. both books have lots of good info.