YAY I passed my MSF!

[Ryephile]

Hey Ninjette's,

I just wanted to share my excitement from the past 3 days. My friend has been teaching me how to ride as best as he knows how in various abandoned parking lots, but this past weekend I finally took the MSF BRC, and I'm super geeked that I passed with flying colors!

The whole experience was first rate. Only $25 since it's mostly state subsidized from motorcycle registrations. 4 hours of classroom and 8 hours of range practice and testing. The weather wasn't ideal (started off snowy, and by Sunday test-time the lot was basically dry, but the temps were always between 25 to 34°F, thank goodness my cold gear worked like a charm!) The Coaches were phenomenally helpful, courteous, and fun. They very much appreciated when they gave advice and I was able to apply it next go around. I learned a ton and my confidence went from shaky to good while also being more attentive and aware of my surroundings. A major step in the right direction.

My coaches said that I "got it" enough that I should consider taking the Advanced class this coming June. I probably will, and my friend that's been helping me all along wants to take it too, which will be cool.

So, over lunch today I stopped at the DMV and did my state written test and now I officially have my cycle endorsement. I know I need tons more seat time, and there's a long road of learning ahead of me, but this is surely a momentous first step.

Thanks for reading!
Ryan

[lgk]

CONGRATS!!!

i'll drink some Laphroaig to celebrate.

[csmith12]

[EternalNewb]

Congrats!

[vman1313]

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

........there's a long road of learning ahead of me, but this is surely a momentous first step.

There is and this is indeed.

Congratulations, Ryan !!!

[ai4px]

Congrats! Without a doubt the best $25 you ever spent!

Originally Posted by Ryephile

Hey Ninjette's,
The whole experience was first rate. Only $25 since it's mostly state subsidized from motorcycle registrations.

Ours in SC is like $325 for the weekend.... but still worth it.

[BlueHairSar]

Originally Posted by lgk

CONGRATS!!!

i'll drink some Laphroaig to celebrate.

[quicklooker]

Congrats. I remember when I took my course last summer in the rain. I was soaked and completely nervous out of my mind. Two folks getting kicked almost immediately didn't help! It cost me $195, though.

[nickjpass]

Congratulations!!! I passed with a 100...well I should have. They thought I was in neutral in the emergency stop... I wasn't. And my MSF was $275...ugh. Have fun on the roads man! Be safe. Be smart.

[Ryephile]

Originally Posted by quicklooker

Congrats. I remember when I took my course last summer in the rain. I was soaked and completely nervous out of my mind. Two folks getting kicked almost immediately didn't help! It cost me $195, though.

I'd say that for that price the class would still be worth it. Bummer on your soaked weekend, we merely had snow and ice and then wet and salt to deal with, LOL.

There certainly were a couple incidents from other students. Not everyone passed, and rightfully so. It was good perspective to see how bad some people are at balancing, let alone soaking up the proper cornering technique.

During the super-tight double-U-turn "box", one guy decided it was a good idea to give the throttle a nice fat twist. OOPS! One of the few women that I saw there was in my group. I didn't get to see this because I was on the other end of our space, but apparently she dropped the bike 3 times within 2 minutes while simply walking it along. They walked her out.

Compared to some of the horror stories I've heard from other friends that've taken the MSF [wheelie to the moon, slamming into parked cars, showing up with high-heels], mine seemed rather tame. Most of the students had some sort of off-road experience, which helped move everything along quickly. We ended up finishing 90 minutes ahead of schedule on Sunday, which was good because I needed a restroom and I was hungry!

Originally Posted by nickjpass

Congratulations!!! I passed with a 100...well I should have. They thought I was in neutral in the emergency stop... I wasn't. And my MSF was $275...ugh. Have fun on the roads man! Be safe. Be smart.

That's crappy they docked you for that, but perhaps you instinctively "checked" it was in 1st and they thought you were putting it in 1st, who knows. If that's the worst you did, you did better than I. I touched the line on the 2nd of the two sharp U-turns. I need more practice with that counter-weight thing, which is ironic having ridden mountain bikes my whole life. It's certainly mostly a mental game. I'll get some of those cute little cones and set up some stuff in my neighborhood high school parking lot in an upcoming weekend. The rest of the tests [both MSF and Michigan state] I got perfect scores.

[quicklooker]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

I'd say that for that price the class would still be worth it.

Absolutely. $195 is less than $2000 in bike repair and medical expenses. Even after the course I took it very easy by training myself in the local area parking lots and roads before I hit it at normal level.

[nickjpass]

@Ryephile This exactly what I did. I guess the transmission made a sound that sounded like a gear change. The moment it happened, I turned around, looked at my instructors, and knew what had happened lol

In reply to your practice in the parking lot, be careful of surroundings. You never know when cagers will drive across Make sure you practice emergency stops. That's probably the most important and difficult thing to master for the street.

Just don't crash...

[antiant]

Compared to some of the horror stories I've heard from other friends that've taken the MSF [wheelie to the moon, slamming into parked cars, showing up with high-heels], mine seemed rather tame.

LOL @ showing up with high heels... seriously? o_0. Congrats, I'm thinking about taking it in April or May. I can't wait ^_^.