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Review of the CFMoto Glory
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Jay TParticipant
I would have your company club approach whoever puts on the classes in your area and ask if they can A)Put on a class just for your company. Give you a price break for having a guaranteed class size. Classes shouldn’t be bigger than 6 students per instructor. Maybe your company will give time off during the week for the employees to take the class (couple of hours in the afternoon). If your company has a very large parking area with no obstacles (parking bumps, grassy areas or light poles), the folks that run the course in your area may be willing to paint a range in your parking lot and run the range portion at your site. Good luck with that. What a great idea.
Jay TParticipantI am almost perfectly your size. I ride 125 & 250cc motor cycles all of the time. I guess it will depend more on what you hope to achieve by riding. Back a forth to work can be achieved by the smaller motorcycles. If you are wanting to do some rallies and camping, I would suggest a motorcycle 800cc or over. All of the metrics sell motorcycles that are on the small size of the cruiser line. $9k will buy a nice new motorcycle. If you have no rider experience, may I suggest that you spend a couple hundred on a class BEFORE you make your purchase. What if you don’t like it or don’t get your license? Then you have a large investment sitting around waiting.
Jay TParticipantI wanted a motorcycle from the time I was 9. The local Honda/HD dealership was a few miles from my house. I went there every morning that summer. I sat on all the motorcycles that fit me. Fast forward 6 years. My Dad and Mom got divorced and my Dad (as his first choice to prove he was his own man) found a couple of matching Honda CL 100. We were both big guys and looked like monkeys F%C*ing footballs. They were just the right size. We got our permits and then got into the MSF course. This was 1976. We put TONS of miles on those little mini-bikes. Fast forward again, it is now 1996 and I decided, after a 15 year hiatus from riding, that if I didn’t ride this year, I never would again. I took the MSF course again. That year I got a 1996 HD Sportster. I put 8000 miles on it that season. I rode summer/winter. In 1997 I decided that I wanted to do something to keep my skills fresh, so I spoke to a MSF instructor who worked at my job about becoming an instructor. April 1998 I took the instructor course and proceeded to work every weekend for a year. The rest as they say, is history. I don’t work EVERY weekend now, but, I do work 2-3 a month. It is one of the most rewarding things I have done.
Jay TParticipantTake the course before you do anything. You will have a better idea of what motorcycle and equipment you want after the course. One thing that gives me the willies on a weekend that I teach is to hear, “I have a $45k Harlondazuki Custom Shiner waiting for me at the dealership”. Then to have that same person show up in $1200 of ill fitting fashion motorcycle gear Sat. morning for riding. OUCH!!! What if they don’t pass?? Worse yet, What if they get through the class and decide motorcycling is not for them? In Co. the course cost $195-$350 for a weekend of hard work and discovery. I have also seen people get all the way through a class, ride well, pass the ridden evaluation with a great score and decide not to ride. You don’t need any fancy equipment or a motorcycle to take the MSF class. As a side note, In Co. the DMV also takes our written test for the state part. So all the student has to do is take their certificate to the DMV, pay them $16 and get their picture taken.
Jay TParticipantI mostly started teaching for selfish reasons. It helps me to keep my skills fresh (the paycheck doesn’t hurt either). Gotta say that the first time I saw the light bulb go on for a student that I was hooked, though. I am passionate about the sport and I want to share that. I am not an drill instructor Sargent. I am an teacher, instructor, reminder.
Jay TParticipantI’d say let the “pros” show your. But IF you insist on putting that little Rebel into motion before the class I would say ONLY practice clutch control. That is start the motorcycle in neutral. Squeeze the clutch and put the motorcycle in first. Rock back on your heels. Ease the clutch out (not fully engaged) while the motorcycle pulls you forward until you are flat footed. Squeeze the clutch and rock back on your heels. Do this for a long time and you will have the smoothest start that you could imagine. The first day a lot of people suffer from stalling the motorcycle while starting off. This shows you how to control the clutch. This is the second exercise in the class. Practice just this (not moving or riding the motorcycle) before your class and you will look like a real pro.
Jay TParticipantWhile riding my Buell’s (kind of a HD but, considered a sport bike). I used to drop my hand low and way out, almost like reaching to get a five slap. Funny how many did the same in return. Of course I was an odd site. I was wearing black leather on a sport bike. That kind of threw people. I wave when I can, my passenger usually will (and gets a kick out of it). I will give a nod when I am busy protecting myself. What a great topic. In the class it is usually mentioned that KIA owners don’t seem to wave to each other. Sometimes old JEEP owners will. We are a pretty strong community (motorcycles in general). Just see what happens when you are broke down on a major highway on your way to a rally. EVERYBODY at least slows down to check on you.
March 26, 2009 at 4:20 pm in reply to: The best place to look for state laws before you travel #17324Jay TParticipantOops I meant the lower 48. Duh.
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