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I hate my life
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March 10, 2009 at 4:14 am #2592MedicParticipant
Hahaha, ok not really. But I’m a bit frustrated right now.
Today was day 1 of the MSF and I was all ready to go. Once I got there we got broken up into groups, people with some experience, and those with none. Admittedly I don’t have much, but I got with the somewhat experienced group anyway. I don’t need someone to explain to me where the clutch is for 30 minutes hahaha.
Anyway, the riding portion got moved to Thursday and Friday, essentially postponing my ability to ride. Yeah, boo hoo is right! Worse yet, there’s a big cold front coming in right about then. Waaaaa!!
Petty whining aside, some interesting things from day 1:
I was surprised at how many people (who had NEVER ridden a bike) already owned, or were in the process of acquiring, high powered sport bikes. A CBR 600? Are you kidding me? There were a few of those, the one I remember being a tiny female who had never ridden. Not to say she can’t handle it, but good grief. That’s alot of bike for a newbie.Another thing I found interesting was the instructor. She rides a GSXR (?) 1000. Good, no problem, she was telling us how she’s getting it ready for the track and stuff which is fine. Her advice for a bike for inexperienced riders? As long as you can control the throttle, you can control any bike (loosely paraphrased). WOW.
I hope these people get whatever they want but more importantly, can handle what they get safely.
So there’s my nonsensical rant for the day hahaha, just thought I’d share.
March 10, 2009 at 12:45 pm #16967DKParticipantI saw a lot of the same.
One girl already had already purchased bike and full riding gear. I forget what she purchased, but she had the hardest time in the class. She had a very rough day 1 on the course, and I am surprised she actually passed her riding test at the end of day 2. Perfect example of why passing the class does not necessarily mean you are road ready.
One guy had totaled his car and decided it would be cheaper to ride a bike instead. Brand new GSX-R600. Rode it to class because it was cool. He at least had purchased high qualiy gear, but his jacket was so big he looked like a child wearing daddy’s motorcycle jacket and instead of showing up in boots (class requirement) he rode in wearing a slip on casual sneaker that more closely resembled house slippers. Did I mention he didn’t bother to get a learner’s permit or license before riding around? To his credit he was the best rider in class on day 1, but never showed up to day 2. We actually were pretty confident he got pulled for speeding when we left class after day 1, so he may have been a little too busy sitting around without a bike to make class.
The best one, though was the 100 pound woman that had a learners permit and two brand new bikes. I forget what bike she had sitting at home until she was ready for it, (she said it was so heavy she wasn’t sure she could lean it off the side stand) but her learner bike that she rode into class on was a brand new Monster 696. Turns out she had already dropped it at stoplights at least 3 times while out riding. She was so small she had to ask for help to pick the bike up any time it layed down on her.
I was also surprised in my class that the instructors had the same kind of perspective that their recommendation if you get a big bike is to remember to keep a low wrist on the throttle until you can handle the torque.
Enjoy the rest of your class. You’ll have so much fun tooling around the course practicing the maneuvers you’ll forget that you are cold.
March 10, 2009 at 1:11 pm #16968Sangria7ParticipantI actually had a good MSF class…
The instructors explicitly said that passing this course does not make you road ready..it only provided you the skills to move on to a larger parking lot! LOL.
As far as practicing – I get the privelege of doing stop and go’s, emergency stopping, swerving, and reducing radius turning everday on Houstons I-610
Almost 5000 miles in saddle in 6 months-woohoo.
March 10, 2009 at 1:55 pm #16969Clay DowlingParticipantWe were told that anything less than lightening wouldn’t keep us off the course. We rode our second day in light rain. Wasn’t really a problem, you get used to it pretty quickly, especially if you’re properly geared up.
March 10, 2009 at 2:23 pm #16971MedicParticipantOh yeah guys, don’t get me wrong I’m not worried about the weather. If it aint rainin’ we aint trainin’, right? Hahaha I just get spoiled by these 80+ degree days and I was hoping for that to continue so when I passed the course I could get my license right away and enjoy it.
I don’t care, I’ll be riding regardless, well not so much in heavy rain or anything, I’m not experienced enough for that yet. But cold is fine. Gives me a chance to check out this new jacket I bought.I just couldn’t believe some of the bikes these people are jumping into. Well, we’ll see what happens.
March 11, 2009 at 7:46 am #16976smokeizfireParticipant….”Safety” seemed out of place. And boy did I receive flack on this Forum for the posts on my experiences at the course. Now, I was 1 out of several individuals who rode to my classes on my motorcycle, however, I was the only guy who’s horse was a 250 cruiser. The other horses consisted of (1)Yamaha R1, (2)GXS-R 750s, (1)Honda VTX 1300, (1)Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic, a partridge in a pear tree.
March 11, 2009 at 10:27 am #16977Sangria7ParticipantOne word can sum it up “EGOS”.
People tend to entertain their own egos rather than thinking through safety. Unfortunately we have become a society of “bigger is better” mentality. Its funny to see some of these riders who have 1800cc and have only 2000 miles on their bike after a year or two. To them its no longer about the ride but how big their engine is.
To me it’s all about the ride and how you enjoy it – who cares if I don’t have something over 1000cc – a lot of times in my opinion, people who do have larger CC’s only do it for show. And they are the same ones who can’t make a proper U-turn anyways LOL..
March 11, 2009 at 2:24 pm #16978briderdtParticipantIn my class, out of the 12, there were only 2 people who has never been on a bike before. Several had years of riding, and were there to get their endorsement for the first time (some so that they could ride and park on a military base). Of those, there were 2 low-cc scooters, one R1, one FJR-1300, a big bore Harley, and a Burgman 650.
March 11, 2009 at 3:52 pm #16979MedicParticipant30 people in my class, I think the “experienced” group is 11 people. Everyone else has never ridden.
We’re ALL there to get on post, there’s actually a few people with motorcycle endorsements already, and one guy used to race bikes. Not sure what circuit or whatever, but thought that was kinda cool.I was supposed to be finishing the course today but that got pushed back. Turns out they were painting the track or some nonsense, so we couldn’t use it. Oh well, I should be done by mid-day Friday, and I’ll probably spend the rest of the day getting my license and getting the bike registered on post.
I’m kinda apprehesive now that I’m in the experienced group, most of these guys are probably going to run circles around me hahaha. But I should do fine and with any luck, we’ll get done faster than the other groups.
March 11, 2009 at 5:16 pm #16983disciplerocks85ParticipantI was one of the non-experienced riders as was 90% of my 15 member class. There was only 2 people that rode bikes to the class one being one of the 2 instructors and the other was a student and the bike he rode was a 1986 Honda Goldwing. The class was really good and everyone in it was able to pass. The instructors also encouraged the use of starter bikes and why they believed that particular thing. It was great I wish I could get my job so I can afford to get a bike real soon. My class was at an old airport that is no longer used I almost wish we could have used more of the old runway.
March 13, 2009 at 2:43 am #17015MedicParticipantWell guys, I finished day 2 today. I have to say, I’m glad I got in with the group I did. We 2 new instructors, apparently the lady just does the classroom portion? Whatever, she wasn’t all that bad.
But yeah, when they asked who had little or no experience, it was me and one other guy raising hands. Turns out he had more experience than me by a long shot. So I was definitely the low man in this group. No probem, I like to be challenged so I figured this would be perfect.
Had a pretty good day, we got through 7 of the exercises in about 3 hours. We were moving along pretty well despite the cold weather. Nobody dropped a bike, and little instruction really needed to be given above what was already put out. I probably got the most, but I think I did well and kept up with the group.
Got some good advice today and I think I really gained something from the experience. That’s what its all about. Tomorrow is the final day and we’ll get our MSF cards as soon as we pass so I can go straight in to get my endorsement. I know tomorrow will be more challenging, but I’m looking forward to it. All the other riders were really supportive and friendly (I guess it helps that we’re all in the military), and I’m glad I didn’t end up slowing things down.
Wow, do I ramble! … Sorry about that.
I’ll come back and let y’all know when I get my stuff together and can ride for real.March 13, 2009 at 3:01 am #17016KellisanthParticipantSeriously.
I think each person going thru training will experience it differently. Whether from a newbie standpoint, or an experienced person going thru the basics (whether court ordered, or retrain skills long since unused).
Since my riding training doesn’t specifically say MSF, I’m curious as to how it will be.
I’ll have to keep notes when I go thru mine next week. And I am *NOT* looking forward to riding in the cold of the 30s! *shiver*
March 13, 2009 at 2:56 pm #17019MedicParticipantOh definitely, I think that can be said for most things in life really. Everybody gets a unique perspective, which is cool.
I was all bundled up this morning man, cold and raining pretty heavily. I was layered up to no end, and topped it off with my wet weather gear. But they cancelled the class and moved it to Monday. I guess the instructors were still soggy from the other day when they got rained on pretty good.
I was really looking forward to riding this weekend so that kinda stinks, but on the upside, I did get out of work this morning! I’ll get up at 0800 instead of 0600 any day!! Speaking of work… hahaha I should probably get going.
March 13, 2009 at 3:10 pm #17020Clay DowlingParticipantWe had all kinds of different backgrounds in my group, and it was a pretty supportive group all around. Being a rider means you’re a member of a self-selecting fraternity. It’s pretty awesome when you can walk into a room full of people you don’t know, and just because you’re wearing your riding jacket they all come up and talk to you.
And what’s this 0800 crap? Man, I can’t even sleep in that late. If my cats don’t wake me up by 0700 my bladder will, and 0600 is the norm. If I raised chickens I could sneak out and scare the rooster.
March 13, 2009 at 4:22 pm #17026MedicParticipantYeah, 0800 is a rare treat. Truth be told, I was up at like 0530 anyway, but still, I didn’t HAVE to be up until 0800.
And yeah, it is nice to be a part of a group like that. Kinda like wearing the uniform, we all have something in common and its usually pretty easy to make friends.
I was pleased with the folks in my class yesterday, real nice group of folks and really supportive. Makes things so much nicer. -
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