[mopar]

Just stumbled upon this web site, very good info. Anyway, my story is I was getting killed with gas prices in my truck, so I decided I would look into a bike. I got my permit this past June, & 4 weeks ago & after much searching & talking my wife out of buying a chinese scooter, I settled on used Suzuki GR650 cruiser. Its in very good mechanincal shape, but definitely looks like a used bike, but I don’t care, its my first bike & I’m excited! Anyway after a couple frustrating days of getting the feel down on the clutch & brakes, I now have put on over 300 miles city & country driving & it feels second nature, but I am still cautious, & not over confident. My question is how difficult is the actual license test, the figure 8 i hear is pretty tough. I’ve been riding back & forth to work through the city, & having a little fun on the weekends in the country, weather permitting (I live in Ohio), so I am very acclamated with turning & stopping & don’t think I will have any problems… OR should I still take the safety course to ensure that I pass to obtain my endorsement… & I know I should take the course anyway… thanks…

[Ogre]

I would recomend taking the course, I took it and really enjoyed it. However I see no harm in taking the DMV test first. If you can take and pass the test without the class I say go for it. But it may put into stark contrast that you need the class. One of the fellas in my class had taken the test a few times and could not pass it so he took the class and he was totally into it. He said he should have avoided the trouble of the DMV and took the class from the beginning. I would go for the test then take the class either way You get the license and the class.

Please don’t feed the animal.

[nau_lax21]

agreed with ogre… you should take the msf class. youll probably learn a thing or two. you also (at least in ca) get a form upon completion of the class that bypasses you taking the riding portion of the test, you only have to take the written part to get your motorcycle endorsement on your license

[Sangria7]

MSF first all the way! You will thank yourself later for it.

[Zantosh]

Take it. Take it just to learn to trust the machine if you don’t already. You also learn a lot of basics that you absolutely need – such as how to stop – important.

[Clay Dowling]

I found it very tiring, because I was constantly learning new physical skills. That was also a little stressful for me. The flip side was that I had a lot more skills when I hit the road, a lot of things that I wasn’t confident I could do until I took the class. Swerves and emergency stops were pretty nervous making for me, until I took the class. Then they were a lot of fun. I don’t practice my emergency stops every day, although I do make use of all of the skills for it. I do practice my swerves every day, partially to relieve boredom on my straight line commute, partially because there’s almost always some sort of trash in the road that needs going around. And also because the roads around my house are terrible, and the suspension on my bike lets you feel the road in great detail.

[Author]

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