So tomorrow and Wednesday I have my MSF course, finally! Anyone have any tips or comments on what to expect?

Relax, listen to the instructor and have fun.

Bring candy :)

/moved to riding skills area

As mentioned. Relax and pay attention. Just enjoy the class and the experience. Good luck!!!!

Woops figured this could go in general.
Anyways yeah I'm looking forward to it I'll pass with flying colors :D Hopefully they will have a 250 ninja there that I can use instead of all rebels and eliminators and what not.

Remember to turn your head, even if it seems exaggerated. It helped me so much and on the test part where we did the figure 8 thing, I didnt get it at all during practice but when I turned my head in the test I got it just right.

As stated above relax and listen. And have fun x-)

Like this classic example, enter ready to learn, not to show how much you already know.

Of course, relax, enjoy, and look where you want to go.


A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

Remember to turn your head, even if it seems exaggerated. It helped me so much and on the test part where we did the figure 8 thing, I didnt get it at all during practice but when I turned my head in the test I got it just right.

As stated above relax and listen. And have fun x-)

I did the exact same. Messed up on it every single practice time. Then, in the test did it like nothing. I was so happy that I almost messed up later on something that I had done with ease a ton...lol

don't be late like me and my friend were

Good luck! I'll be taking the class too this coming weekend!

don't be late like me and my friend were

How late were you? What happened?

How late were you? What happened?

my friend slept over at my house the night before since we had to go to class early the next day. we woke up and got ready and both fell asleep again somehow haha. we were like 15 minutes late...the instructor wasn't too mad

I showed up late to mine by 25 minutes before. They sent me away and told me to reschedule. Hopefully you didn't get wasted the night before, op.

I showed up late to mine by 25 minutes before. They sent me away and told me to reschedule. Hopefully you didn't get wasted the night before, op.

Is that why you were late? :p

I'll have to drive about 45 mins away to get to my class which sucks :mad:

I showed up late to mine by 25 minutes before. They sent me away and told me to reschedule. Hopefully you didn't get wasted the night before, op.

:rotflmao:

So what were your first-day impressions? Any tips / suggestions of your own for the next batch of new riders?

Well I suppose I'll do a general recap of today's events;
We started out just reading from the book and talking in class for about 3 hours which was pretty boring yet informative for those who have never been on a bike. We discussed how to operate the bike and where controls are located just to get everyone familiar with it. Then the part everyone was waiting for, the range! We went out, met our bikes (mine was an eliminator 125 ): no ninjette) it was a little fussy to start up but I got her running. Basically we started out doing the mounting procedure, then learning how to shift and what not, then we walked the bikes (they were turned off) up and down the range to get a feel for them, then we started them up (anyone else learn FINE-C? If so do you actually use it?) and got to play around with the friction zone and eventually got to ride it back and forth across the range. After getting the basic feel for the bike we did exercises taking off and getting into second gear then stopping, and low speed clutch control and eventually the low speed maneuvers which was by far the most fun, today we went through slalom style cones and tomorrow we'll be doing more. The beginning was kind of boring to me because I have a little bit of experience and I know how to clutch, shift and brake, but I learned more control, especially using my rear brake. Still need to work on looking where I'm going but I got WAY better over the course of the day.

After the outside exercises we came back into the class and learned about riding in the streets.

One guy was an hour late and he got turned away, another woman decided to quit because her husband was forcing her to do it but she had a fear of motorcycles. It was an overall fun experience, and our instructor surprised us with the written exam at the end of the class but it was really easy after learning all that we did.

Side note: It was a fairly long drive home during rush hour on busy streets/highways that I'm not familiar with and I made it home A-OK and I'm proud of that because I just got my driver's license a week ago haha!

Oh and I should probably add there was a guy in class who said he went and looked at a 250 to buy, but said it was too small because they won't go 60 mph and at that speed your engine will probably blow up. I made an attempt to educate him on the ways of the ninjette... but after rejecting what I said I decided to not waste my time and let him go get his literbike or whatever haha.

I just got my driver's license a week ago haha!

Ok, I hate to be the one to sound like this... but be super careful out there if/when you're on a motorcycle. Be aware that you're not experienced with dealing with traffic and give yourself more room than you think you need. I probably sound like a parent (oh god am I getting old?), but it's really easy to be arrogant about your driving / riding abilities a year or two after you get your license. Lots of people end up doing stupid stuff as they gain confidence they shouldn't have. Combine that with the natural risks of motorcycling... and, well, be careful out there :thumbup:

Also, I highly recommend reading Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough -- the book is filled with superb information on handling traffic and road dangers.

Ok, I hate to be the one to sound like this... but be super careful out there if/when you're on a motorcycle. Be aware that you're not experienced with dealing with traffic and give yourself more room than you think you need. I probably sound like a parent (oh god am I getting old?), but it's really easy to be arrogant about your driving / riding abilities a year or two after you get your license. Lots of people end up doing stupid stuff as they gain confidence they shouldn't have. Combine that with the natural risks of motorcycling... and, well, be careful out there

Also, I highly recommend reading Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough -- the book is filled with superb information on handling traffic and road dangers.

Honestly I appreciate you saying that. Maybe you do sound a bit like a parent but being responsible is cool, remember! I'll always do my best to be careful, especially on my bike but I realize that I'm inexperienced in riding and even in driving (actually haven't even been driving a whole year lol) so probably the best way to gain experience is to go out and experience for myself. That being said I did pass! :D and as soon as I eat something and go to the dmv, I'll be taking my bike for her semi-maiden voyage (I've ridden it before just not out on the streets) and I WILL be careful!

Congrats on passing! Trust no one. Be sure to stay out of peoples blind spots, and just because a car has their blinker on, doesnt mean they'll turn. Meaning, be careful. lol

best advice I've gotten is to drive like no one can see you and expect the worse from every situation so you are better prepared for it before it happens...

With that being said, be safe, but have fun! I love the bike, 90% of all my newbie stress and scaredeness has gone away and tomorrow morning I plan on taking it on the freeway to work for the first time. All 6 minutes of it lol

WOOH! Just got back from riding my bike ALL BY MYSELF :D I took her around the neighborhood for a while to reacquaint myself with the feel of a sport bike with a lot of power vs a 125 cruiser with no power :P after that I took it out into traffic to ride around town a little and fill 'er up with gas. Luckily didn't kill it at any stops in traffic, I'm still not used to how sensitive my clutch is vs the 125s we had at msf. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to riding way more! I still feel like I'm moving though my body keeps wanting to lean to the right, haha!

Good luck! I'll be taking the class too this coming weekend!



How late were you? What happened?

where are you taking yours as i am doing my MSF class this weekend also

where are you taking yours as i am doing my MSF class this weekend also

I'm taking it by morris plains, nj at randolph cc..it's supposed to rain all weekend so its either going to suck or be extra fun either way I can't wait lol

where are you taking your class?