MSF Course / License.

[mSoueiD]

Hey everyone,

Its finally time for me to take my MSF course which is tomorrow (Monday), Tuesday and Wednesday. From what i hear it isnt so bad, even if your completely new to riding (which i am ). What im really excited about is the fact that i will be able to join all you fellow ninjettes soon and hopefully upon completion of the course ill have my new ninja

If anyone has taken the course and has some tips, let them be heard :P

[CC Cowboy]

Woodbridge, CT?

Pay attention and get the most out of the course you can. It is extremely easy but certain lessons can save your life.

[Alex]

/moved to riding skills section

[Betlog]

It would help to know how a manual transmission works. So, I suggest to read up on that. Good luck.

[mSoueiD]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

Woodbridge, CT?

Pay attention and get the most out of the course you can. It is extremely easy but certain lessons can save your life.

Nope. Woodbridge, NJ

Originally Posted by Betlog

It would help to know how a manual transmission works. So, I suggest to read up on that. Good luck.

When i said i was completely new to riding i meant to put that i have "no seat time". when i was younger i rode dirtbikes a few times and learned the manual transmission through that. In addition i've read up alot on bikes and there workings prior to signing up for the MSF course so i would have that additional knowledge when taking it.

[Jordan91]

hey i have my MSF courses tomorrow too! Ive never even rid a dirt bike so i am completley completley new to riding.

[mSoueiD]

Originally Posted by Jordan91

hey i have my MSF courses tomorrow too! Ive never even rid a dirt bike so i am completley completley new to riding.

Sweet! The first day is just classwork so read through the book atleast once before going. Good luck and im sure we'll both be fine and hopefully get our licenses on the same day

[addy126]

Michael.... they most likely don't teach to "written test'... so be prepared on the bookwork as well. I took my written after my last MSF course day and found that reading thru the DMV book for DMV was helpful on some of the questions.. keep your wits about you and relax.... its all good.

[Soujyu]

You'll love it. I had no seat time before the course and after I got out of the course, it gave me the needed confidence to ride.

Most of what is taught is common sense. If you have that (and I've got friends who say I have no common sense at all), you should be able to pass any of the written tests easily.

[Rollin..]

Originally Posted by mSoueiD

Hey everyone,

Its finally time for me to take my MSF course which is tomorrow (Monday), Tuesday and Wednesday. From what i hear it isnt so bad, even if your completely new to riding (which i am ). What im really excited about is the fact that i will be able to join all you fellow ninjettes soon and hopefully upon completion of the course ill have my new ninja

If anyone has taken the course and has some tips, let them be heard :P

Hi MSoueiD,

I'm also from NJ and took the riding course..I already have riding experience but the course taught me a lot and eliminated some of my bad riding habits...=)

I assume all MSF riding courses would be the same so here is what we did from my experience..hope it helps..

Day 1
first day is classroom..pay attention to what the instructors teach and also the video..read the manual they will give you..it is very helpful..we had a 50 item exam the next day so it helps to pay attention... you need to get at least 40 to pass...

Day 2
morning was spent on basic riding skills..pre ride checks..starting the bike..stopping, basic turning...afternoon we went back to the class for the last part of the videos...then we had the exam..If you pay attention to what the instructors say in the class and also in the field you'll have no trouble with the exam..

Day 3
whole day of riding and later the skills evaluation...here we did u-turns, riding through obstacles..quick swerving., etc..you have to pass the skills evaluation because they do fail students (there goes your $200-300 bux)...try perfecting the following assuming they will give the same skills eval as what we had in my course..

braking before a turn and going through it maintaining speed
U-turn (no wide turns)
quick swerving
quick stops

Overall it was worth it because I learned a lot of things and made me a better rider..=)

[kkim]

some good info here...
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10286

[TenaciousD]

Originally Posted by Rollin..

braking before a turn and going through it maintaining speed
U-turn (no wide turns)
quick swerving
quick stops

This is exactly what we were tested on here in Florida. I just took the class last weekend. With no previous experience, I found it quite challenging, but doable. The worst thing for me was the stupid U-turns.

[Jordan91]

Well, I just got back from the classroom session. It was pretty easy. Im worried about tomorrow though cause Im not very coordinated :/ hope it goes well!

[wvninja]

It will its starts off slow with getting on and off the bike and then duck walking it. Don't worry by the end of day 1 (of actually riding) you will be riding just fine. Day two they start to pick up on being able to corner the bike well and what not.

My course was $100 and the first night was just classroom and we all answered the questions out loud from the back of the book. Day two was riding all day then we took the written exam. Day three was all riding then the riding exam. They put us in alphabetical order for the riding exam ... with a last name starting with C .. I got to be the lucky one to go first...

[drowe531]

Don't worry about it too much, biggest thing is to just relax. If its anything like up here they go slow and everything builds on the last thing. I had never been on a motorcycle or drove anything with manual transmission when I took my MSF. I stalled the bike numerous times but I eventually got the hang of it. Most of the instructors have very good patience and are understanding.

[GeneJunkie]

Wow its interesting to see that the MSF courses are different in each state. I had riding both days and classroom both days (morning on the bikes, afternoon in the classroom). The tests were both giving on the 2nd day. Our riding test was the figure 8 (u-turns), quick stop and cornering.

Anyways, I went in completely new to bikes and manual transmissions and did fine. I was the stalling queen... part of the problem was that they gave me a brand new bike (had 1 mile on it when we started) and the idle was really low, after they adjusted the idle I was fine... ended up doing a wheelie after that too lol.

[mSoueiD]

so day 1 was much easier than i thought. i knew mostly everything presented to me. On to day 2 tomorrow where we actually begin to ride, too bad its forecasted to rain all day tomorrow here in central jersey

[pooter]

• Head & Eyes UP
• Look where you want to go
• Relax, breath and don't lock/stiffen your arms and don't deathgrip the handlebars
• Don't stress about the U-turn box. Give it your best shot, but don't get too frustrated. No one in my class did it right and we all passed.
• Don't stress about the evaluation. At least at my location, they said you'll be able to come back again on standby at no additional cost if you happen to fail, which none in my class did, including one girl who dropped her bike twice (but not during the test, that would be an auto-fail).

[Rollin..]

Question about your motorcycle..ask your MOM..Motorcyle Owners Manual

The instructor told us that...I know its corny...lol..

[Jordan91]

Just got back from day two. It did start of kinda slow but it went pretty quick once we started riding. It was my first time ever on a motorcycle so i pretty muched sucked. But i got the hang of it im just not very smooth at changing gears haha. Hope it goes well tomorrow

[Jordan91]

Yay i passed! now i just have to take the dmv written test and find a ninja! (and all that other stuff... :/ )

[Alex]

[kkim]

Congrats, Jordan. That wasn't so hard, right?

[midknight]

Originally Posted by Jordan91

Yay i passed! now i just have to take the dmv written test and find a ninja! (and all that other stuff... :/ )

you still have to take the written test if you pass the MSF course?

[Jordan91]

No it was not hard at all! First time ever on a bike too! No im finished with the MSF course, i just have to take the written portion of the test from the DMV.

[mSoueiD]

sorry i havent been keeping up with the thread but heres the run down on what happened:

Day 2: It literally did NOT stop raining the entire time we learned the basic maneuvers on the bikes. Riding in the rain was not as bad as i thought though! We then returned to the classroom to take the writing portion of the test. (scored a 100/100 )

Day 3: Sunny out and we began to learn some more advanced maneuvers (u-turn swerving etc.) We then took our skills evaluation (which happened to be perfectly timed with the oncoming monsoon that took over central jersey that afternoon ) I passed the skills evaluation with a 98 only because the ground was so slick from the rain that when i did the "quick stop" portion of the skills test i ended up going a bit further than i expected.

Overall, im VERY happy with the instructors the classmates and the course itself. I would DEFINITELY recommend it to anyone and everyone!

[Rollin..]

congrats!

[GeneJunkie]

Congrats!

[ally99]

Yay! :-) It's a great feeling to pass that course! :-)

[Techno250]

I've been away for a while, not being able to fit a bike in the budget, so not even reading much online, either. Decided, dang it, I'm gonna just do it. Now I'm getting ready to sign up for the MSF at the local Harley dealership that's just a couple of miles from the house.

So, it was great seeing this thread, especially the posts from mSoueiD and Jordan91 as they went through the course. Good to see I'm not the only n00b with zero experience doing it!

I'm pretty happy that here in Georgia, once you complete the MSF and get your certificate, all you have to do is show it at the DMV and you have an instant motorcycle endorsement on your license!

[maviam1]

does anyone know what the spacing is for the cones for the motorcycle test?

[mSoueiD]

Originally Posted by maviam1

does anyone know what the spacing is for the cones for the motorcycle test?

12 feet apart and 2 feet off center

[maviam1]

thank you

[Miee1982]

Hi all i got to really say to help you on the class is pay attion and get involved. Its fun . I already took it once but i want to take it one more time. It fun being able to say i did this and on my own.. O and when i took it about 3 yrs ago i never have ever been on a bike in my life and passed it. i made the mistake of telling my boyfriend i have always wanted to ride so he pused me to try it and i did . i have never regreted it.. i wish i would of done it sooner. it has changed my life for the best now when im upset and need a min to my self i hop on and go for a quick spin and it does help. have fun and relax.. you will get it.. if i did you can..