[RobM]

I agree with Elwood and others that the class teaches you what you don’t know and what to be looking at to improve after the class is over. I was disappointed that they didn’t go over more street-wise material such as crash avoidance, but maybe that’s just too much to ask for in the beginner class. Having ridden dirt bikes before, all the skills that were taught and reviewed were basically a reminder coarse for me (30 years later). But like riding a bicycle, it came back fast. The only big skill that I learned was the almost exclusive use of the front brake, something not that important for a dirt rider. Having said that, I realize after riding on the street now for about 3 weeks, that driving in traffic requires some may different things to be processed that the basic skills have to be wired (instinctive and automatic) to safely operate the bike in traffice situations. That’s what keeps me practicing and working on these skills. I really relate to the comment made by someone on this board recently that once you pass the MSF class you are “parking lot qualified to ride a motorcycle”. I feel that there is so much more to learn.

[RobM]

I found the MSF class to be a blast. I learned alot and had fun doing it. I also found that the verbal explanation of the exercise was sometimes hard to understand. In our class, an instructor would ride the course two or three times before the students would and that helped me alot. Good luck getting a bike and let us know how it goes. There are a lot of good resources on this site, both written and the contributors.

[RobM]

Interesting read and good to see that the Marines are doing something about it. A similar story ran here in the San Diego Trib about the Marines in Camp Pendleton and their need for speed after coming home from Iraq. It indicated that some Marines were trying to get the same adrenline fix from motorcycles as they got in Iraq and that this need for speed was resulting in a high accident and mortality rate. The Marines at Camp Pendleton have been implementing more instruction classes to help with this issue.

[RobM]

I live on a cul-du-sac and I try to do figure 8’s for about 10 mins when I get home to practice the u-turns. I find that my left u-turn is much better than my right. The only problem is that my cul-du-sac has a slope to it so the up-hill turn is different than the downhill turn. I find that my Ninja 250 is harder to handle than the upright standard Yamaha 250 that I had in the MSF class. I don’t know if it’s a low speed idle problem (need much more friction zone) or just the lower center of gravity. In the class I had no problems with the u-turn box, in fact I generally had 2 – 3 ft of space between the bike and the line in my practice runs. That let me have a lot of freedom and relaxation on the test.

[RobM]

This is one that I stumbled on searching the internet. Then got a couple of free issues with the book Proficient Motorcycling. Seems pretty nice and unbiased. My subscription starts December 1. I’ve read a coupe of Motorcyclists and it seems pretty good too.

[RobM]

Ol’ Bubba of the White Werewolves MC. That fits..from Texas, got gray hair and always liked werewolves…

[RobM]

About 20 years ago, I did something similar when a lady pulled out from my right. Thought I could transfer my dirt bike training as a teenager to a street bike in college. Missed her by a fraction of inch when I let up off the back brake and the backend came around and swung in front of her bumper. Gave up the bike after that…Too scary. Now after taking the MSF course and reading up on some good books to get back into riding, I learned that the front brake is your friend. Like other posters I have tried to focus on just using the front brake during normal riding so that when an emergency happens, my reflex is to use the front brake.

[RobM]

You better check the DMV website to see what needs to be done. One of the problems could be that the previous owner was unable to get the bike registered in CA because of the emissions requirements. I’ve read that it’s almost impossible to get a non-CA emmissions bike registered in CA. This was one of the issues that I had when trying to by my Ninja 250 used. I wanted to make sure that it was properly registered in CA. This limited my purchases to Craigslist and not Ebay items from out of state. Good luck.

[RobM]

I like the looks of the Cortech sport tail bag. There is a review on this site about it. I got a hands on look at it last weekend at the local Fun Bike Center and it looked big enough to hold a fair amount of stuff, especially with the expansion pockets opened. This is the one I will be getting in the near future for my commute to work (just started last week – third time tomorrow morning) . Oh yeh, it can also be expanded to include optional saddlebags for those longer trips.

Here is a link to it on New Enough…

http://www.newenoughhp.com/luggage/tail_bags/cortech_by_tour_master/sport_motorcycle_tail_bag.html

Here’s some info on the Ninja 250 site on tail bags..

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Tail_bag

[RobM]

Welcome to the board.. I took my MSF course in San Diego. As said many times on this site, its highly recommended.

[RobM]

All,

Thanks for the input. I will keep focus on running my own pace and let those that don’t like it just go around or get pissed. Also, on my ride to work this morning focused on trying to be smooth and controling the downshifts. All went well. Nice ride into work.

[RobM]

Good suggestion.. I do need more practice time. I hadn’t thought about downshifting practice. That’s a good one. All my days of dirt riding has given me some habits that aren’t as forgiving on the street. I’m still looking into the professional instruction route. Next spring probably.

[RobM]

I’ve also come to that realization and the fact that I suck at right hand turns makes it more nerve racking. Just need more practice…Push right – go right..

[RobM]

That thought did play in my mind afterwards..

[RobM]

All good suggestions. I’d say that yes you guys are right on, disturbing the flow of traffic and getting run over is making me feel pressured and rushed to get out of the way. I guess I just need to let go of those thoughts and just do my own thing and let the other drivers deal their issues. Also, I hadn’t thought of an alternate route. I know of one that’s a little longer, but much safer on a bike. I will try that one next time. Thanks…

[Author]

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