MSF course experience

[yeet 1050]

Well I just finished the MSF course and am getting my full motorcycle license this week when the DMV opens and I honestly had a blast and gained a bunch of new friends including someone that made plans with me to go on cruises in Kansas. Anyone else take the MSF (motorcycle safety foundation) course besides me and if so how was it? 

 

 

[DrKhanMD 74]

I didn't originally take the MSF to learn to ride (I already had ridden tons of dirt bikes prior to the course). I did however use it to get my M1 license just because of convenience, and not having to do the DMV nonsense. Even though I already knew how to ride pretty well I found the course invaluable. I learned little minor things that I would've never thought of on my own. Most of the things i really took away from the course was positioning yourself on the road to pre-avoid accidents and how to keep yourself from getting into accident prone situations in the first place. Another random but huge thing i took away from the course was using your full hand when doing braking. I was always a 2-3 finger guy before the course, but after my instructor told me the logic behind using full fingers, it made a ton of sense. The idea being that you train your muscle memory for braking with full fingers because when you do realistically get into a high stress situation where you need to brake hard, you will grab a hand full of brake without thinking about it, and not be using 2-3 fingers.

 

TL:DR I loved MSF, and MSF should be required for M1 licences, not optional.

 

P.S. Sign up for super bike school next!

Edited March 30, 2014 by DrKhanMD

[Skotti 2105]

And you get an insurance discount! Don't forget.

 

Took mine about a year ago in April. Best thing I learned was to watch where you are going to turn, not where your bike is currently.

[DrKhanMD 74]

And you get an insurance discount! Don't forget.

 

Took mine about a year ago in April. Best thing I learned was to watch where you are going to turn, not where your bike is currently.

 

That one slipped my mind but it's also totally true. You literally go exactly where you look. My one and only accident was from a bad case of target fixation. Drove my bike right off the edge of the road, and into the dirt, spilled it hitting gravel. The turn was entirely doable at the speed I was going, but because i was overly worried/focused on running off the road and into the dirt, that's the exact where I went, lol. Biking is all about confidence in knowing where you wanna go and banishing fear from your mind. I actually have the Litany of Fear from Dune taped to my windshield, I read it every time before I go riding.

[yeet 1050]

That one slipped my mind but it's also totally true. You literally go exactly where you look. My one and only accident was from a bad case of target fixation. Drove my bike right off the edge of the road, and into the dirt, spilled it hitting gravel. The turn was entirely doable at the speed I was going, but because i was overly worried/focused on running off the road and into the dirt, that's the exact where I went, lol. Biking is all about confidence in knowing where you wanna go and banishing fear from your mind. I actually have the Litany of Fear from Dune taped to my windshield, I read it every time before I go riding.

 

I actually dropped one of the bikes doing this first day of riding, accidently gunned it while not looking into a swerve, after that I got it down and the only thing I hated from the last day of class was the figure 8 box (you have to do a figure 8 in a certain amount of space) and I never got it but when it was time to take the test I nailed it which was unbelieve for me, I wasn't looking far enough and had to correct my handling. After that was the quick swerve which I nailed since I loved doing that one and then came the quick stop, where you shift into second gear, downshifted and stopped within a 10 foot space. I got all that but when I downshifted and stopped but I forgot about the clutch and the bike died when I stopped. Passed all that and took the written test and got a 92% on it.

 

I never knew riding a motorcycle could be so much fun!

[Anonymous 47]

wait till you get the adrenaline rush on a 600 or 1000. 

[ElectronicDrug 7496]

Another random but huge thing i took away from the course was using your full hand when doing braking. I was always a 2-3 finger guy before the course, but after my instructor told me the logic behind using full fingers, it made a ton of sense. The idea being that you train your muscle memory for braking with full fingers because when you do realistically get into a high stress situation where you need to brake hard, you will grab a hand full of brake without thinking about it, and not be using 2-3 fingers.

I still use 2 fingers sometimes. But I always use 2 on clutch so I can pop it and bring that front wheel up =)

[Skotti 2105]

Solution to the finger theory: Short levers. )))

[ElectronicDrug 7496]

Yeah I had pazzo shorties

[Lvl. 100 Latias 711]

So, is this course mandatory or is it just for the discount on insurance?

[Seabagz 257]

did you read topic

[Skotti 2105]

So, is this course mandatory or is it just for the discount on insurance?

It counts as the driving portion of a test. But you don't have to take it.

[yeet 1050]

So, is this course mandatory or is it just for the discount on insurance?

 

I think in some states it's mandatory but not in kansas, I took it to learn to ride in 2 days and man did it work. You get about 15 hours of riding time and about like 6 in classroom time, once you finish the course they give you a slip you take to the DMV and get your class M full license endorsement without having to take the the written and skills test (driving portion). You also get a nice insurance discount 

Edited April 1, 2014 by Demon