Today was the last day of the BRC, with the test. I passed. Wish I could say with flying colors but the thing I knew I needed work on killed me during the BRC: Low speed maneuvering. Blew the Figure 8 they allow that so long as you do very good on the rest.

The evaluator did say I almost failed on the cornering though. Apparently scraping your peg is considered a drop and instant fail. Came into the turn too hot (for their liking) but was past the PNR. Rather than bail on the turn, I just leaned harder. Apparently way harder

Mini-review: For a person that has never ridden a motorcycle before, the Basic Rider Course is an excellent class. For someone who successfully got their bike home in 1 piece and been riding it for a bit however, I'd recommend the Experienced Rider Course. The BRC targets complete newbies going over basic motorcycle fundamentals, controls and operation. Someone with experience riding a bike might find it hard to pay attention (and not laugh) when they're covering things like "Where's the throttle". Day 1 was murder on my attention span.

Another thing that almost killed me: we were not allowed to bring our own bikes despite the MSF website saying so. My *** and legs are killing me from riding the 'cruisers' they used (250s like the Nighthawk). Everything feels natural when I'm on my CBR. Seating position, control locations, balance. But that's because I've gotten used to it. I feel that anyone who already has a sports bike but doesn't have years experience riding motorcycles in general might get thrown off a bit. Example: I've never had a problem shifting my CBR. Not even on the first ride with 20 years between my last ride. But I had difficulty even today finding the shifter (downshifting was ugly).

The ERC is allegedly the mostly the same course with a few more things thrown in (group riding, ect). But you have to bring your own bike to that. It may have gone smoother for me in that course. I'll find out when I take it

Overall, the MSF's courses are something I highly recommend for new and newish riders. The criticism from an experienced rider who's not PO'd that he had to wait for you to catch up is invaluable. I knew what I needed to work on before going in (slow speeds). But they taught me how to work on that.

And yeah, there were 2 fails. One woman aced the Figure 8 and then lowsided on the quick stop (no damage except to her confidence since that was the 4th failure). The other was a lowside on the cornering. Went in too hot but didn't have the confidence to lean more. Braked in the turn and you can guess the rest. No damage except to his pride

 

Grats!

The ERC is more than just basic with a few tricks. At least down here, you have to have insurance, have to have your own bike, and the MSF instructor told me they recommend 3k miles under your belt (not sure if that's an actual number, but that's what they told me).

 

Same here minus the 3k miles. I just would have felt more comfortable on a sports bike. My *** NEVER hurt just from sitting on my CBR. I was constantly shifting around in the seat, trying to find a comfortable position, and standing up whenever stopped to stretch my legs. The instructor was somewhat sympathetic, owning a sports bike as well.

I will recommend in the survey I'll receive that they consider adding a course between beginner and experienced. One where we can bring our own bikes, cuts down on the very basics. I don't know how anyone could miss where the throttle was on a motorcycle.

Thought everyone played 'Vroom, vroom' pretend motorcycles as a kid

 

Yeah those little cruisers were weird, I feel like a sportbike position is so much more natural.

 

AHH -- figure 8 box SUCKS A$$. Worst part in my msf course, put a foot down once and went outside the line once. Did come in a little hot in my cornering, but passed it anyway.

Think I got 8 out of 25 bad points overall.

 

I passed the course with flying colors. 100% on the written test. Best three days of school ever. And the u-turn box is awesome.

 

The u-turns box is awesome once you *get* it, lol. That was definitely the hardest part for me. I took my ninja out to a parking lot after the first day of the course and did nothing but figure 8s for a couple of hours.

 

100% on the written here too. Completely blew the u-turn box but aced the rest. Even with the near 'drop' () for almost scraping a peg.

The thing I will stress despite my criticism is it taught me how to practice what I need to practice.

 

Yeah x2 on the practice what you need to practice. I went out in my parking lot and just spun tight turns till I felt like I was going to fall over and comfortable with the clutch/throttle.