MSF basic rider course

[Jaynnus]

Yeah, I'm happy I'm going to have pretty much the entire season to practice and ride. weather.com says t-showers for tomorrow, whatever the hell those are.

How hard is it going to be jumping from a 250 to a 650?

You'll be ok. Just keep a good head on your shoulders and respect the bike until you get comfortable.

[Doc]

How hard is it going to be jumping from a 250 to a 650?

If your worried maybe you should have bought a smaller bike.


Nothing like jumping in with the big fish...



Like Jane says, you should be fine.

[jbloudg20]

I haven't taken my course yet (I'm scheduled for July 10), but I've put 250 miles on my 600cc Katana already, and I'm about as comfortable as I think I can be for being so green.

As has been said, respect the bike, and lay low on the throttle.
I'll also say, though, my Katana is a pretty hefty bike. I don't really have to worry about bringing up the front end.

[ThisBitch]

Yeah, I'm happy I'm going to have pretty much the entire season to practice and ride. weather.com says t-showers for tomorrow, whatever the hell those are.

How hard is it going to be jumping from a 250 to a 650?

Depends on the 650. The Ninja 650R is probably the most rider friendly of the 600s. It handles like the 250 and the power in the low ranger is managable enough in the lower RPMs that you're not going to get the front tire up without some effort. I'm glad I started on the 250 though, I still have it, its still my favorite bike

[Doc]

I'm glad I started on the 250 though, I still have it, its still my favorite bike

My point exactly.



So many people think a small bike is too small.

I call BS! I would rather ride a small bike fast (and well) than ride a big bike slow.

I mean if your not (can't due to ability) using 80% of the bike what is the purpose?

[ThisBitch]

Its great on gas, really easy to ride, I can't think of anything else you could ask for. If I'm just putting around town, I just jump on the 250. Saves a lot of speeding tickets too!

[getaddicted]

If your worried maybe you should have bought a smaller bike.


Nothing like jumping in with the big fish...



Like Jane says, you should be fine.

Not worried, was just wondering.

12 hours!

[MattyC]

Good luck tomorrow. You'll have to let us all know how you did.

[OreoGaborio]

Have fun, dude.

Where are you taking it?

[getaddicted]

Framingham, fuller middle school. I wonder what the traffics going to be like on rt 9 in the morning on saturday and sunday...

[banzairx7]

Make sure you take advantage of all the discounts and rebates you get with the course. I took it last year and in the end it cost me $0. Mainly because I bought a new bike. That got me a $100 rebate from both the dealer and MSF. Also Kawasaki gave me a gift certificate for $50 and I got $90 off my insurance.

[LuvDog]

Where are you coming from?

Traffic on Rt 9 before 9 AM on the weekends isn't bad. It just gets kind of crowded during the afternoon when people are out shopping.

Maybe I'll swing by and watch the activities.

[getaddicted]

Coming from the east, newton. Come by and watch me learn in the rain!

[R1]

If I passed the ERC then you should do fine your on this site that adds years to your experience as a rider just look at some of the new people, they know it all from a week or two of posting........

Just remember if you wear any gear at all you automatically fail no matter what SquidlyDocUberDuperAntiSquid says.

show up in shorts and a t shirt and you dont even need a dot helmet.

J/K



you'll do fine just take it for what it is, a course to better your riding skills, dont look at it like a test or instructional BS its a course in basic riding skills and they are not teachers but coaches.

enjoy the day it really is fun once you get into the cornering techniques.



goodluck

BTW if its in the rain dont stress, our class was in the sun all day long til the final qualification then it was the real test. everything we learned with less than 100% traction. amazing what a bike can do at low speeds in the wet.
I dont know about the bikes they give you but i spent some time the other day in a parking lot practicing some of the stuff i learned at the course.

[*GhostRide37]

hahaha fuckin priceless fall video, even though you know its coming from a mile away

[rolker]

I'm glad I started on the 250 though, I still have it, its still my favorite bike

So, when are you taking it to the track?

[getaddicted]

Well, I'm off to framingham. I hope it goes well, man I'm starting to get a little nervous but not too bad. See ya!

[banzairx7]

Don't worry its super easy, especially the first day.

[ThisBitch]

So, when are you taking it to the track?

Soon I hope, I'm realizing that I need a LOT of work on my turns at speed.

[getaddicted]

holy crap that was fun! You guys were right, it was no sweat at all. Shifting etc seems to be pretty easy. The harder part for me is not being afraid of the bike (ie, in emergency stop practice, not wanting to grab too much brake and slide and thus stopping too slowly) but it's minor, I get over it pretty easily. Also I don't know if it was just the throttle on this particular bike or if it's this way on all motorcycles, but it seemed sort of touchy/grabby/sticky if you understand what I'm trying to say.

Highlights:

"Speedskating rink practice" you can figure it out from the name what it is, going around and around in a skating rink shape. We were supposed to practice Slow Look Press Roll, and brake before the entrance to the turn. One contestant in the BRC olympics took it upon himself to come to a complete stop (including putting his feet down) at the first cone, despite the pleading of the "RiderCoach" that "you don't need to slow down that much" and eventually "don't stop completely!"

Also in speedskating rink practice, it was great going around those turns, I was trying my best to countersteer and look through the turn. I felt like a MotoGP racer!

At some other point (actually it might have been right at the end of the Framingham Grand Prix) I was leading the group. The coaches use hand signals, but I was so intent on being the next Valentino Rossi that I didnt notice he was madly signaling for me to stop, and I almost hit him. I started braking about a foot from where he was standing, he may or may not have had to jump out of my way. Whoops.

Funny tidbit: one of the other pledges who happened to be sitting next to me for the first 3 hours happened to mention how he had driven to framingham from east boston, even though he had already been riding for a solid year, because his buddy told him that this location happened to be the easiest place to take the brc at.


Anyways, I had a hell of a time, and I can't wait for tomorrow. Streets of Boston, here I come!

[banzairx7]

Are you on the ninja 250's or the Hondas? We had the hondas and they are a pretty junky bike. I kept locking the rear tire. The POS rear drum had zero feedback. Coach kept on yelling at me about it. I should have yelled back about getting better bikes. It was fun bottoming the front forks braking though.

[getaddicted]

We were on the hondas.

[Brit-Triple]

to quote Goodfellas, "Hey he popped his cherry."

congrats and keep it up, very addictive so be careful

[getaddicted]

About to head off to day two!

[getaddicted]

Hey assholes, I passed!