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With all the other questions I see out there in other threads, I figured I'd start a new one. Post up questions, concerns, and anecdotes from your own experiences. I've been an MSF instructor for 3 years now, and while not an expert in all things MSF, I'm out there in the 95+ degree and rainy days throwing cones and dodging new motorcyclists. I instruct in Wisconsin but live in Iowa(used to live in Illinois too) so I know a little about the DMV rules in three states. MSF Website MSF Practice test The practice test is 48 questions in 3 sections. The "real" MSF multiple guess test is 50 questions. Fair warning I am not the be all end all voice of the MSF but can offer encouragement, clarification or direction if needed. Renaissance Robot has reported that the link below is a good resource for beginners in the UK. http://www.begin-motorcycling.co.uk/index.htm Skreemer fucked around with this message at 09:56 on Nov 22, 2014 |
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Jul 24, 2012 01:10
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I'd like to know the most ridiculous thing you've seen as an MSF instructor. Not to take joy in the humiliation of people starting out, but I think we'd all enjoy some of those stories.
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Jul 24, 2012 01:24
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Bloody Queef posted:I'd like to know the most ridiculous thing you've seen as an MSF instructor. Not to take joy in the humiliation of people starting out, but I think we'd all enjoy some of those stories. There was one guy that just couldn't get that the clutch was "analogue" not "digital". The second exercise on the tarmac is finding the friction zone and just rocking up on to the balls of your feet and then pulling in the clutch and rolling it back. Total movement of the bike is about 6 - 10 inches for and back. He dumped the clutch and dropped the bike. Part two of the same exercise is called "power walking". Kinda glide your feet along the ground and let the bike pull you across. He dumped the clutch and dropped the bike. Part 3 of the same exercise is finally getting your feet on the pegs and riding across. He dumped the clutch and dropped the bike. We "counciled him out of the course". One of the instructors volunteered to sped 1 hour a night for a week with the guy to get him comfortable on the bike. The guy never showed. The worst for me was one guy going through the course did everything just about textbook perfect. Followed my instructions, asked good questions, and steadily improved the entire weekend. During the "skills evaluation" (the test) he did the double u-turn spot on and came out of the "box" switched up to second and proceeded towards the swerve area at about 25mph, way too fast. He actually made the swerve but when he straightened out he locked the rear brake and dropped the bike. I was stunned and drat near heart broken. Picked him up, cleaned him up and he was able to take the test again a few days later and pass.
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Jul 24, 2012 02:55
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I ended up having to attempt my MOD1 (off road portion of the UK test) twice due to my own stupidity. I got stuck in some horrific traffic in my car on the way to the place I was doing the training (2wheelskool in Bradford) so instead of riding the bike I'd been practicing on to the test centre I'd had to bomb down there in the car. Arriving barely in time for my test I hopped on to another guys bike he'd kindly lent me and not had chance to feel the clutch out. The first part of the MOD1 is the slalom between a bunch of cones. Needless to say I dumped the clutch like an idiot and screwed up my entry to the first set of cones forcing me to turn tighter and tighter until I eventually ended up losing my balance and had to put a foot down - instant fail but they make you finish  For the rest of the test I didn't pick up a single fault and set the fastest speed they'd seen through the speed trap during the avoidance, 94kph! Next time I passed without a single fault 
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Jul 24, 2012 11:51
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The instructor I had told us a story of a Japanese house wife some navy guy came home with. He, essentially, ordered her to take the course so she could ride a scooter and get groceries. Her first time on the scooter, she got up to about 10mph, decided "gently caress this poo poo" and just stepped off. The scooter went off the tarmac and down a hill.
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Jul 24, 2012 19:16
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Dumb question: I'm taking the course soon and don't own any jeans, only Dickies. The website says you need pants at least as study as jeans, and I'd imagine work pants count, but I'd hate to show up and get denied because I don't have jeans on. I could probably also just call the place where I'll be taking the class...
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Jul 25, 2012 23:47
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MomJeans420 posted:Dumb question: I'm taking the course soon and don't own any jeans, only Dickies. The website says you need pants at least as study as jeans, and I'd imagine work pants count, but I'd hate to show up and get denied because I don't have jeans on. I could probably also just call the place where I'll be taking the class... Dickies/Carhartt will work just fine. Just remember everything else in the list too. I hate sending folks home because they wore sneakers (high heels once too) instead of over the ankle boots. Heck even high top sneakers will work for the course, just tuck in your shoe laces.
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Jul 26, 2012 01:56
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yeah, this was needed. Thanks Skreemer.
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Jul 26, 2012 19:40
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Thanks for making this thread! It has been sorely lacking from here for awhile. When I was beginning I needed a place to ask about the test but couldn't find a good venue. Now we have one! I am a RiderCoach Candidate for the PA MSP program. I just finished the interview process (including a BRC2 which I killed) and am awaiting training in September. I can't tell you how excited I am to make $19/hr to teach people to ride, especially since I'm becoming disillusioned with my IT career. I'm ultimately hoping that I can move up within the MSF to a full-time job. So yeah, feel free to ask me about becoming a RiderCoach!
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Jul 26, 2012 20:57
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Fixed Gear Guy posted:Thanks for making this thread! It has been sorely lacking from here for awhile. When I was beginning I needed a place to ask about the test but couldn't find a good venue. Now we have one!
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Jul 26, 2012 21:04
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I was recruited by an instructor. One of the guys I know through another forum and I had built a GS450L for his wife and over the course of that and the many test rides he said he thought I'd be a good fit. It was a solid 3 weekends of training. Basically 8am to 6pm Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We went through the class as if we'd never taken it before, then we were given the basics on "adult learning" and the fact that the classes are structured as skill building. Tell them (in class), show them (training aid/movie in class), tell them (on the range read the cards), show them (on the range do a demo), make them do it. The last weekend we had to teach a class under the direction of our instructors. When I got to the school I was teaching for, I was paired up with an instructor that had been doing so for 8 or 9 years. First as "C2" and then as "C1". He gave the lead instructor the ok and I was hired on. Though we only make 16$ an hour. Though heck I get to talk about and ride motorcycles all day and get paid for it, other than the admin BS, it's a boatload of fun.
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Jul 26, 2012 23:03
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metallicaeg posted:Man, how do you get a position like that? I'm stuck in a disillusioning job, also in PA, haha A regional manager emailed previous students indicating a need for RiderCoaches in the Philadelphia area. I filled out an online app and it was gravy from there, although the interview was in a group setting and focused on a discussion of general teaching skills rather than specifics of motorcycle safety. Also, there were roughly 150 online applicants, and about 40 made it to the group interview sessions. From that, 13 made it to the BRC2 expo. I'm assuming that about three candidates will drop out, fail to complete the application, or fail training. So that is a big funnel but I think anybody with a good head and a pittance of riding skills can make it There is a link on the PAMSP website for the application. I'd apply now and keep applying every season!
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Jul 26, 2012 23:16
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Count yourselves lucky, I've got my 7th try at the practical test in Japan on Monday. To be fair, the first 4 were basically just practice to figure out what they're looking for (taking the test is only slightly more expensive than a lesson at the school, where the instructor is kind of a dickhead and the course is too small to practice anything beyond the obstacles), but they're extremely pedantic about procedural stuff. On the one hand it's nice that they only want to pass extremely competent riders, on the other hand I'm probably over a grand deep at this point after lessons, transportation (only test site in the prefecture is at least 2 hours away by public transport), and test fees. I've got a good amount of experience on smaller bikes before, most of my problem is just not being able to find much info about the test online, and only being able to understand a portion of the feedback I get. The cops realize that and are nice guys, but still don't give me an inch of slack when it comes to scoring. I have a friend who's been riding for ten years, including two in Japan, and it still took him 3 tries to pass the foreign conversion test here... and our prefecture is actually pretty lenient by Japanese standards. I got my foreign car license conversion squared away in one go at least, which the guy said I was the first to manage in about a year (another friend has since managed to replicate the feat). I considered a school, but they cost over two grand and with my level of Japanese I just wouldn't get that much value out of it, if that's even possible. Bought "More Proficient Motorcycling" to go with the original that I already have, thanks for the recommendation way back when, CA. Last time the examiner said I was really close to passing (got an unfamiliar course and didn't know the proper kabuki-show of changing sides of the lane at one intersection), here's to hoping...
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Jul 27, 2012 09:30
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Is there anywhere online to get the exercises and course layouts used in the MSF beginner course? I passed my MSF a few weeks ago, but I'd love to go over it all again in a parking lot somewhere once I get my bike.
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Jul 27, 2012 18:54
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Zazamoot posted:Is there anywhere online to get the exercises and course layouts used in the MSF beginner course? I passed my MSF a few weeks ago, but I'd love to go over it all again in a parking lot somewhere once I get my bike. Buy yourself a copy of Proficient Motorcycling, with a user name like that, you'll need all the help you can get.
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Jul 27, 2012 19:37
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Depending on where the course is, you might be able to go back and do a lot of the stuff solo, too. My course took place next to a fly-in community on a big slab of tarmac that folks formerly parked their planes on. The guy who ran the entire course said we could come back any time and use it. "It might piss off the people who live here, but I own it, so screw 'em." The real upside was that he had painted a bunch of the maneuvers on the tarmac.
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Jul 27, 2012 21:45
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Spiffness posted:Buy yourself a copy of Proficient Motorcycling, with a user name like that, you'll need all the help you can get. The MSF put out their own book as well.It's mostly the class with a bit more information added. When I get the chance I'll see if I can scan my cards. (though mine are all marked up) Our course used to be taught in one of the parking lots. The school built a skid pad to teach police and EMS evoc driving, we teach there now. I tell folks to go to our old parking lot and practice, all of the lines are still there. Skreemer fucked around with this message at 23:11 on Jul 27, 2012 |
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Jul 27, 2012 23:08
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Skreemer posted:The worst for me was one guy going through the course did everything just about textbook perfect. Followed my instructions, asked good questions, and steadily improved the entire weekend. During the "skills evaluation" (the test) he did the double u-turn spot on and came out of the "box" switched up to second and proceeded towards the swerve area at about 25mph, way too fast. He actually made the swerve but when he straightened out he locked the rear brake and dropped the bike. I was stunned and drat near heart broken. Picked him up, cleaned him up and he was able to take the test again a few days later and pass. There was a woman in my class who had about the thing happen to her. She was very intelligent, asked good question learned quick and did very well in practice (Better than most of us). She went into that curve too fast but made it through and ended up locking the bike up and dropping it in the straight. I think the instructor was more shocked than any of us. I know she was going to re-take, but I never heard if she made it or not, I'm fairly sure she did though. Also, I can't reccomend the MSF course enough. I took it after an 8 year hiatus from riding, before which I had been riding over 15+ years. I learned plenty, and plan on taking the advanced class next year. Smokewagon fucked around with this message at 01:35 on Jul 28, 2012 |
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Jul 28, 2012 01:32
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Weird poo poo that happens during an MSF course. Yesterday I managed to get both pollinated and crop dusted by a pair of helicopters. Being in Wisconsin our range is surrounded by corn and soybean fields. The wind has been pretty bad here and has knocked the tassels off the corn and they aren't getting pollinated very well. Helicopter with booms on either side to the rescue, they actually swoop into the corn field and use the skids and metal booms on either side to stir up the pollen. Weird poo poo... The guy made dozens of passes and I was freaking coated. A few hours later another copter goes by spraying poo poo and it's breezy so I get a good dusting of whatever they were throwing about. Today was all about dodging the rain. Right out on the course at 8am, got a few exercises in when it started to rain around 10, headed back into the class, did the rest of the book work, broke for lunch. I watched MotoGP qualifying on the projection screen while eating. Then it really start pouring. Did the multiple guess test, everyone passed, the headed out to the range to finish up in the light sprinkles that were coming down. What is it with that 135 degree curve? No one gets on the throttle until they're at least halfway through the corner. Everyone passed the riding portion too. Not a bad class.
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Jul 30, 2012 01:04
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This looks like a good thread to ask this question in, since it appears there's a few resident MSF instructors in CA! I took the BRC several months ago, passed it easily, and have put 2000+ miles on a Ninja 650 riding pretty much every day since then. I've been absolutely loving riding, everything from dense urban riding to mountain twisties. I've been riding road bikes and driving manual transmissions for years and years and spent some time riding small step-throughs in crazy SE Asia traffic on dirt roads, so I feel pretty darn comfortable and competent on a bike. So what's the deal with the Advanced/Experienced Rider Course? I did a little bit of searching around trying to figure out what the curriculum is, and the impression I got is that it's just the exercises of day 2 of the BRC all over again. Is that true, or is there more to it that I'm missing? I had a good time taking the BRC, but the pace was godawful slow in order to appeal to the lowest common denominator, and it was incredibly frustrating having to wait for the others who were repeatedly stalling, dropping bikes, and afraid to take a turn faster than 5mph. I would hope that the riders who take the advanced course are a bit better, but is the pace of the course significantly faster? Is the curriculum actually "advanced"? I know I'm not an expert motorcyclist, but I do feel like I have picked it up much faster than most beginners. I definitely would like some advanced instruction, but if I'm going to throw down $125 and spend a whole weekend day on it, I want to know that I will really be getting something from my time and money, otherwise I'd rather go enjoy some beautiful mountain roads with that time. I want rigorous and demanding drills and instruction, not an easy day of riding figure 8s around cones and taking gentle 135 degree turns at 20mph. It almost feels like what I really want is to do some track day instruction, but the cost of entry is much higher for that. Can anyone share some additional insight? Guinness fucked around with this message at 22:22 on Jul 30, 2012 |
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Jul 30, 2012 22:12
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Guinness posted:This looks like a good thread to ask this question in, since it appears there's a few resident MSF instructors in CA! Fixed Gear Guy fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Jul 30, 2012 |
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Jul 30, 2012 23:28
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I didn't get mad or make any snide remarks in the course. I made friends with the other riders and even the instructors while I was there. But I was still frustrated (to myself) by the painfully slow pace while waiting my turn in the hot sun. I still had fun and learned a lot, i just wish the pace was like 3x faster. I took the beginner course because I fit the description of "beginner". Never ridden a real motorcycle before the first day of the BRC, just lots of bicycles and a few hundred kilometers on janky centrifugal clutch (i.e., no hand operated clutch) scooters in Asia. The people I took the BRC through don't have different levels of BRC, I didn't know BRC2 was even a thing. Guinness fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Jul 30, 2012 |
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Jul 30, 2012 23:31
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Guinness posted:I didn't get mad or make any snide remarks in the course. I made friends with the other riders and even the instructors while I was there. But I was still frustrated (to myself) by the painfully slow pace while waiting my turn in the hot sun. I still had fun and learned a lot, i just wish the pace was like 3x faster.
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Jul 30, 2012 23:47
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Guinness posted:I didn't get mad or make any snide remarks in the course. I made friends with the other riders and even the instructors while I was there. But I was still frustrated (to myself) by the painfully slow pace while waiting my turn in the hot sun. I still had fun and learned a lot, i just wish the pace was like 3x faster. If you're looking for something a bit more advanced than BRC but not a racing school like CSS you may want to look into something like this: http://www.totalcontroltraining.net/index.html
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Jul 30, 2012 23:50
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taketheshot posted:If you're looking for something a bit more advanced than BRC but not a racing school like CSS you may want to look into something like this: http://www.totalcontroltraining.net/index.html This does look more along the lines of something I'd be interested in, as I'm not quite ready to dive into track days just yet. Their own self-description actually matches what I'm looking for pretty drat well: quote:Many riders are interested in improving their skills but are unwilling to take on the additional risks associated with a high-speed environment. If you fit into the "I'm interested, but" group, you're not alone... Fortunately, Lee Parks' Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic (Total Control ARC) has a solution for those experienced riders "caught in the middle," ... who want to be able to further enhance their skills in a controlled environment with expert instruction. Sounds very much up my alley.
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Jul 30, 2012 23:57
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Lee Park's school is highly recommended from a number of people I know.
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Jul 30, 2012 23:58
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The two courses MSF offers for experienced riders (basically anyone that's ridden a motorcycle and knows how to work a clutch pretty well) is the ARC (basically sport bike riding techniques) and the Ultimate Bike Bonding course. I've taken the ARC and it's a great follow up to the BRC/BRC2 but not all that advanced if you've been riding for a long time. Try the Lee Parks school as well I know a number of folks that have teken that course and enjoyed the heck out of it.
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Jul 31, 2012 00:33
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I retook the BRC this past weekend since I haven't been riding for 6 years or so; passed it pretty easily. The coaches pretty much noticed that I already had the basic skills right away and were having fun giving me poo poo whenever I do something stupid like stalling out a few times (and it always happened right after I did a picture perfect drill and got the "great job man"). This one woman dumped her bike during the duck-walk, then 3 times in rapid succession later in the day when we started going in circles. She didn't come back to the afternoon classroom session; guess she had enough. Even though it's my second time around I still had a good time though; after 6 years my hands and feet sort of forgot what they're supposed to be doing and it was nice being able to go through everything at a beginner's pace. Had to get used to my own bike again though. Those 125 Eliminators in the class had really stiff clutches; I didn't want to screw up the feel so I made sure I didn't touch my ninja 250 at all until last night. Ended up stalling the poo poo out of it for the first 5 minutes of getting back on. The one thing I think I can pass on to a new guy taking a course is shrug it off if you drop your bike. When I took the class for the first time years ago I had an incident where this old gently caress in front of me panicked and grabbed his brakes. I swerved out of the way but since I was new too I went a little grabby happy on the front brake and dumped the bike. The instructor immediately ran over and went "you okay?" I responded with a shrug and said "eh. Oops." He said, "yup, that's exactly how you should deal with that. No biggy". I ended up passing easily. The woman in my last weekend's class fixated on it and well, didn't get to finish the class. The scooter looked fun as hell but they wouldn't let me touch it
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Jul 31, 2012 19:12
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I've had a few people get the shakes or nervous as sin after a get off. I'll usually stop them before they start off and exercise and ask them how they are doing, a little bit of banter, and say, "OK, deep breath, feel better? Let's go." Giving them that second and reminding them to breathe helps a bunch and you can see some of the tension drain away. With a drop or two during the course I usually don't pay much attention to it. With the number of drops the lady you mentioned had I'd call a break and see if there was something I could do to help. A few of the coaches actually live right down the street from our range and have spent a number of hours coaching folks on their own time.
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Jul 31, 2012 21:59
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Excellent thread. I asked this in the gear thread a few days back, might as well ask here—what do I wear for a top during the classes? People said they pretty much just wore longsleeve shirts. I was thinking a denim jacket. How about gloves?
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Jul 31, 2012 22:23
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Yeah, a lot of people were nervous as hell when the day started. My fiance was shaky enough that she didn't want to pull her legs up to start riding after the duck walking session but eventually eased up and passed her test. The instructors I had pretty much did what you'd do; it was towards the end of the first day when that woman had her 4th dump and by then I think she'd had enough and just didn't want anything to do with it anymore. gently caress that loving box, btw. I didn't drop a leg or anything but I did cross the line in the first U. In the real world though I'm doing u turns like a boss on my residential street. An observer posted:Excellent thread. I asked this in the gear thread a few days back, might as well ask here—what do I wear for a top during the classes? People said they pretty much just wore longsleeve shirts. I was thinking a denim jacket. How about gloves? Depending how hot it is in your area; I wore a long sleeve button-down shirt because that's the only thing I have that's not dark colored and there's no way I'd wanna wear a jacket in the middle of summer in southern cal. Gloves-wise the site I was at had them but I prefer my own. I linked these in the gear thread a while back; 35 bucks for the meso street gloves that are on close-out and they're very sturdy. Angryboot fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Jul 31, 2012 |
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Jul 31, 2012 22:30
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An observer posted:Excellent thread. I asked this in the gear thread a few days back, might as well ask here—what do I wear for a top during the classes? People said they pretty much just wore longsleeve shirts. I was thinking a denim jacket. How about gloves? For the purpose of the course you can get away with wearing anything long sleeved. Heck depending on the temps I'll just wear the long sleeved sweat wicking shirt they bought us. If you plan on riding in gear though I suggest going with your gear. Get used to how it feels getting on and off a bike, see if the sleeves are too short and bind your movements. Gloves are fairly entertaining as again just about anything goes, they just need to be full fingered. We have folks ride wearing work gloves, gardening gloves all sorts of weird gloves. I usually suggest a set of lightly armored motorcross gloves if you know you're not going to wear them ever again. Again though main suggestion is if you have the gear already, wear that and see how it fits.
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Jul 31, 2012 23:08
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Signed up for my first MSF course starting next week (in San Diego). Never ridden a motorcycle. Haven't been on a scooter in years. I figure I can drive a stick so how hard can a motorcycle clutch be? I find myself intently watching the feet and hands of passing motorcyclists so I can understand the flow of clutch, shift, brake. Living in CA I think lane splitting is insane. I doubt I'll do much highway riding as I don't do much highway driving. Overall I am more nervous than I expected but I forced myself to register today as it's been something I wanted to do for a long time. I'll be the rookie in the class. I will ask the dumb questions with pride. I want to learn and be safe. I read the crash thread here and that was helpful as it really helped me respect the bike even before I get on it. Wish me luck!
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Aug 1, 2012 04:48
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Skreemer posted:I've had a few people get the shakes or nervous as sin after a get off. I'll usually stop them before they start off and exercise and ask them how they are doing, a little bit of banter, and say, "OK, deep breath, feel better? Let's go." Giving them that second and reminding them to breathe helps a bunch and you can see some of the tension drain away. She went back with enthusiasm to a smaller Wednesday course, where she dumped the E125 again, another unspecified bike, and the scooter. The instructor's parting shot was that she should probably get used to the idea of being the passenger on the back.  Now she can't even sit on a bike (motor or pedal) without nearly bursting into tears. I'm furious and heartbroken at the same time. Any suggestions on stepping stones back to enthusiasm?
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Aug 1, 2012 08:02
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Is she genuinely unusually short? Do you know why she kept dumping bikes?
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Aug 1, 2012 08:19
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JollyRancher, good luck!Jabs posted:Now she can't even sit on a bike (motor or pedal) without nearly bursting into tears. I'm furious and heartbroken at the same time. How long ago did this class take place? Might wanna back off and let her process stuff through before having her sit on bikes again. According to what you wrote she dumped it when trying to turn around after the duck walk; was this because she had the bike leaning the wrong way? My fiance's pretty short and when she walked the bike the first time, being on tippy toes, if she tried to do a left hand turn with the forks cranked to the left, the bike would start leaning to the right. Very high chance of dumping the bike that way if she kept walking especially if she panics and accidentally blips the throttle, then it's panic brake grab + pop the clutch and dumping the bike. After she's worked through and doesn't get upset anymore sitting on the bike, maybe you can take a look and see if that was happening. My fiance was pretty drat nervous about taking the class until I told her I'd take it with her even though I've had my license for over 10 years. She was still nervous, but since I was there too it made things a lot easier. You might wanna think about doing the same especially since she's had a pretty lovely experience already. Just don't get in the way when she's trying to learn something by giving her too much or contradicting information. And try a different site with different instructors.
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Aug 1, 2012 16:32
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Jabs posted:I'm actually really super pissed at the school my sweetie went to for her MSF here in Denver - especially when I compare the experience she described to the experience I had at a different school just up the road in Erie. She went in a little unprepared, having not been on a bicycle in perhaps 15 years, but totally stoked about getting a bike and riding with me. She was looking at a TW200, and the school was recommended as having a TON of TW200s. They put her on a TU250, said it was too tall. Put her on a TW200. It was shorter (narrower), but still "too tall" (she said she felt comfortable, but being honest was still on the balls of her feet, and not flat footed). Then they put her on an Eliminator 125. Which she dumped turning it around after the duckwalk. They cut her at that point, and recommended a reschedule. If its been 15 years since she's been on a bike why not purchase a cheap bicycle to practice balance while moving. Hell maybe even look for a non running clunker to practice just walking around on, dump it as many times as you like. That might help build confidence.
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Aug 1, 2012 17:02
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Jolly Rancher: If you have driven and can figure out a manual vehicle, and can ride a bicycle with some confidence, you should be able to ride a motorcycle. The only caveat I have to all of that is out here we have a lot of farmers, and for some strange reason they do not like to slip the clutch. Learn your friction zone and get comfy with slipping the clutch a lot. JABS: We have nothing under a 200 at my school and personally I would let her continue if she got right back up and could demonstrate the skill needed for that exercise; provided she wasn't holding up the class. Maybe some extra attention during lunch. I second the idea of buying a pedal bike. There are some folks out there just not prepared for the whole balance thing, and re-learning to ride a bicycle at slow speeds helps tremendously. The disparaging remark should have been brought up to the lead instructor or the head of the person running the school. That's just not right. Let her sort it out if she wasn't to try again, don't push her. Get a bicycle to train the balance and if she's up to it try again.
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Aug 2, 2012 00:05
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I'm pretty sure that the comment was made by the lead instructor at the end of her second go-round. I know she said she had a lot of trouble with finding the friction zone on the 125¹. She also said that when she lost the bike, it was to the outside of the turn when turning around. It's good to know that I'm on the right path. I've been mulling getting a pair of $130 "throwaway" pedal bikes from Walmart to tool around the neighborhood on for a couple months. She's super nervous (and again, near tears when sitting on them in the shop - but also admits that's fear of falling over in such a public place talking), but onboard with the plan. It's good to know that her enthusiasm isn't killed, just overshadowed by terrible experiences at this point. As for her being super short? Totally. I'm 5'9"/175cm and a 30"/75cm inseam. But I'm a dude, so I know what my inseam is because I buy pants. Women apparently don't have that luxury. They get a single number. =) She's 5'3"/160cm, and she doesn't know her inseam, but if I'm a 30, I'd guess she's got a 28 or 27" inseam. At 230# worth of 'suspension squish' I'm tiptoe on my DRZ400. (Before the class) she tried sitting on it on the kickstand, and could reach the pegs OK, but reaching the ground was nothing short of a laughing proposition. Not a 'roll one buttcheek off the seat' for a stoplight, but more like 'Oh Hai knee on the seat!" =) Thanks for the advice! ¹ A number of the MSF schools around here have Kawasaki Eliminator 125 cruisers for teaching. The school I had was running 3 of them, an old honda 250 twin UJM, a TW200, and the KLX250SF I was on (which was awesome, FWIW). Kenny Rogers fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Aug 2, 2012 |
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Aug 2, 2012 01:16
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 14:22 |
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I'm not really a bicyclist, but I recall it being quite a bit different dynamically speaking than riding a motorcycle. Countersteering and throttle control and brake and clutch the weight and all that. That's the tricky stuff you need to get familiar with when riding a motorcycle, and you're not gonna get much, if any, of that with a bicycle. I'd be skeptical of the usefulness of practicing on a bicycle.
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Aug 2, 2012 01:22
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