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earned my motorcycle license by passing the MSF BRC
I learned quite a lot, and I would very strongly recommend the MSF BRC (Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic Rider Course) to anybody, especially from Ironstone Ventures (I went to them because they were highly recommended to me).
The classroom part.. provided a good amount of information. The test is easy if you pay attention.
The first day of the riding part kicked my ass. When I got home, I just wanted to sleep, and had no desire to get on a bike any time soon, possibly ever. It was hot. There was sun. I, not surprisingly, experienced great frustration at being bad at it. At the end of the day the teacher complimented one of the students on being particularly good about leaning the bike over and pushing in the practices. Then she attributed it to him being young and fearless. It continues to amuse me that, when you might expect the teachers to keep telling you to be careful, the instead keep telling you to go faster and lean the bike over more. And they keep saying that this place - in a closed parking lot, is a far better place to drop a bike than out on the road.
The second day wasn't quite so hard on me. A lot of learning both days. The weather was beautiful - warm and very light rain. About perfect for anything except maintaining traction on a motorcycle. But traction wasn't that much of an issue, and everyone, teachers and students, agreed that it was a good experience for us.
Two people dropped their bikes the second day. The first was the previously congradulated fearless student. He had been trying to lock the front brake up, to see what it was like, and succeded during a stoping exercise. He handled it absolutely beautifully. I didn't see him go down, but I saw him roll. He pushed off the high side peg to get his low side leg out, and then rolled. No injuries. One more dent in the gas tank, and a crack in the (plastic) tail. The teacher was entirely happy with the entire incident, from his pushing how hard he could stop the bike, to his roll. This made him a celebrety in the class, and the teacher commented that the rest of us must be jealous. I certainly am.
During the riding test, there are 2 things that immediately fail you: 1) dropping your bike, 2) an intentionally unsafe act. During the stopping test, one of the students locked his front brake and dropped his bike. That sucked. Unfortunately I didn't get to talk to that guy, I think he left before I got done testing. He'll get to retest for $25.
Now I just need to find a bike. I'm still not sure if I'd prefer an '03 SV650 (naked (no plastic)), or a cheaper bike that I'd be happier to drop (so I can more comfortably find its limits).
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Did Sarah take an MSF class ?
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it wasn't until testing that someone failed. but then he was 70 years old and had never ridden a bicycle even.
most everyone else did VERY well, the teacher was surprised, as they usually fail about 1/2.
i really enjoy the full on stopping exercises. a lot, plus the other slow motion studies.
so, yeah, get yourself a beater bike, ride it like you stole it, and spend the winter shopping for a good deal at a desperate dealer or something.
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