Wasn't commenting on the bikes' performance condition. The size and seats were what murdered me.

TBH they said they were prolly gonna auction off the Nighthawk I used today. If I didn't have a bike (and had no intentions of going further), I'd try and snag it. Wasn't banged up at all and just needed a good tune up

 

My class had a couple ninja 250r. I had never ridden a motorcycle at all before I took the class so some of the basic stuff was helpful, but yeah I'm pretty sure 99% of the people in the class knew where there throttle was. They also didn't let us get on the bike until they "taught" us how to mount. I only missed two questions on the test, one was confusing and the other I was flying through the test and just marked the wrong answer. The driving part I went out of the box barley in the fig 8 and I stopped 2 foot to long on the quick stop.

 

Even if you already know 95% of what they cover, the other 5% could be what saves your life some time. During the class they really just have time to introduce the concepts. It's up to you to think about them and practice them and incorporate them into your riding.

I'd been riding on my permit for too long when I took the class, and had some dirt bike experience as well, so the range exercises were pretty basic for me, too. But the classroom stuff, even though it was mostly obvious, is still good to be reminded of. Things like doing head check as well as using your mirrors, or scanning far down the road, will keep you out of a lot of hairy situations. I can honestly say I've almost never had to do any emergency maneuvers on the road, and that's due to recognizing potential problems ahead of time and staying out of them, plus some dumb luck. And this is while riding in New York City traffic.

I took the experienced rider course two years after the basic. The figure-8 box is tighter and you do the drills a little faster, and they focus more on smoothness, like setting your cornering entry speed and looking all the way through the turn so you don't need any mid-course corrections.

If you ride daily or almost daily, it becomes a habit that you stop thinking about. So spending some time really focusing and being conscious of your riding is a great thing.

 

I just finished the course this weekend. Pretty easy if you have a few hundred miles under you. The cornering exercise taught me the most.

 

It's an excellent thing to take....teaches you a good deal you wouldn't think about - especially when stopped at a light - stay in gear and watch in your rear view mirrors so nothing happens to you....

 

The MSF course is invaluable to say the least about it.

 

Word.

 

Congrats! Took my class years ago because the judicial system thought it would be a hoot for me to go Anyway, I dreaded it but ended up loving it. Ya, they teach the basics but you'd be surprised how many people failed in my group that had been riding for years. I got top score in written and riding ... hey, it ain't bragging if you actually did it

As far as difficulty, the instructors called me Ricky Rice Rocket and on every exercise they'd make my cones closer or decrease the box (fig 8) or make the decreasing radius even decreasinger. I think that they knew I had been a bad boy and I had to pass. Was all good in the end though!

 

Lol here in Philly I need a mirror that lets me see around the guy parked 2 inches off my a$$. There's always someone like that so the concern becomes chain reaction accidents