Make sure there are two springs for the back brake lever. Mine only had 1 and caused me to go down from the previous owner.

 

Yea the MSF course is a great resource. Just yesterday i went to turn left on a green arrow and some dumb ***** in a prius decided to go straight on his in the opposite direction so i went hard on the brakes locked the rear.

Without the course:

A. I probably wouldn't have known to stand the bike up before braking
B. Hold the rear lock up

Take the course. It is worth the money and you won't be sorry.

 

I didn't take the course, though I probably should have. I dropped my bike the 2nd day I had it due to just being too darn short. Cracked the stator cover and had to remove and silicone it. Don't get discouraged, seat time is absolutely the best way to get comfortable on a bike. I also low sided mine getting a little too happy with the front brakes, it's a learning experience with a fairly steep curve to it.

 

Practice emergency stops and evasive maneuvers in an empty lot. These will save your *** on the street.

 

I know the feeling, I went down last week (4/5) due to a dumbass truck driver not looking before performing a U turn and hit me on my left leg, knocking me off my bike (02 CBR F4i). 4 weeks prior to that I crashed my buddies ZX10 because the clutch cable got stuck on the fork n I couldn't move the bike while it was in motion. After my second accident I said that i was done riding while in the ambulance, but after that, I started missing my bike and now I cant wait to get back on her when it comes out the shop. **** happens bro what can I say, all we can do is just brush off the dust and get back on that saddle and enjoy life. Idk bout you, but I sure dont want anyone stealing what I enjoy by putting fear into me. You live and you learn.

Best of luck with what you decide.

 

MSF, as always, to be recommended. Same for empty lot practice. Make sure there's no sand or funk around you first and then riding the line between the 2 rows of cars, pick a stripe, brake hard on it and count how many stripes it took to stop from 10-20-30mph. Then, use only the back, only the front and combo. Start beating your distance down.

Another fun, though intense, exercise is slow speed circles, slolam and figure-8's using the parking stripes to judge how tight you can go. Just don't push too hard or too long or you WILL dump your bike, lol. You can take the bars to the stops l/r and keep it up with throttle management. That will give you a confidence boost.

Check out Keith Code's book, "Twist of the Wrist". It's more geared for road-racers not street riders, but he's still talking about road skills. Heck, check-out his web-site www.superbikeschool.com for the school. He does an interesting forum blog there. Bunch of real gear-heads on their forums, too. I rank it right up there with this fine institution.

 

Low speed circles and counterbalancing is always fun. It's great when you can make a U turn in the middle of a road while your buddies need to do a k turn.

 

i've discovered that the easiest way to slow down pretty quick is engine break a gear or two and use the front and back brake at the same time. mostly front but not enough to really dip the front end so far the back end comes up. when i took my msf course they'd put flaps or tape over our peripherals on the lens and throw traffic cones in front of us at low speeds *15-20 mph* and as douchey as it sounds, it actually gets you used to maneuvering and hard braking.