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Old May 6th, 2018, 12:38 PM   #17
BlueNinjaF18
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Name: Mike
Location: Bennettsville
Join Date: Mar 2018

Motorcycle(s): 2004 Kawasaki Ninja 250r

Posts: 25
I appreciate all of the feedback, as well as suggestions moving forward. My intent here was not to create an argument, but rather share what happened. One of the intentions of calling the State office was to ask how I could work with them to set up a fund for future riders who like myself, couldn't afford to take the class but needed to. It got nowhere. The impression that the folks at the MSF office gave me was that they had better things to do, and they explicitly stated they were not liable or responsible for anything that happened in the course itself, that they only wrote the guidelines and material used to administer the course.

It was stated in such a manner that gave me the impression that motorcycle safety was not a key concern of theirs. Not how you would expect them to answer the phone or assist a new rider.

David Hough stated in his book Proficient Motorcycling his concern as well over the MSF beginner courses, and their departure from a more thorough curriculum.

It may be good for teaching basic controls and maneuvers, but I've heard from more than one experienced rider that they really didn't learn until they got out on the road themselves, and did exactly what I'm doing now: studying on their own.

On the flip side of that coin, most of the guys with sport bikes that I've talked to locally don't know anything about the technology of riding, they don't wear safety gear, and most of them ride bikes with extended swingarm on them.

The Harley riders around town know a lot more about riding, but again they don't wear helmets, either.

Our state has a high percentage of fatal motorcycle crashes each year, and bike week at Myrtle Beach has a bad reputation for stupid riders causing crashes.

I took all of this into consideration while learning to ride.
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