More chicks leaving the nest...

[BobFV1]

Gosh - I taught the MSF BRC this weekend - boy, that makes for a long weekend. Let's see, highlights include -

Girl dumps brand new Heritage Softail in the parking lot on the way to class after forgetting to put down sidestand;

Student in "braking in a curve" drill forgets to brake and almost runs over me;

Brand new rider - never ridden before - gets perfect score on the riding test;

Fun but busy and active weekend - the weather is just great here. I hope the new riders will be safe and ride within their limits...

[Promethean]

Not everyone becomes a good rider on the completion of a BRC.
However, I'll say this....the instructors at the MSF-BRC perform nothing short of a miracle in taking someone who has never been on a motorcycle before and turning them into riders in 15 hours or so.

Last year(2004)....I was one of the dumbasses who dropped their bike twice during the course...and once during real life in the mountains. The latter being due to stupidity. :) I learned quite a bit from that mistake. In fact, I'm glad I dropped the bike then. Saved me from being roadkill later because it drove me to learn everything I could lay my hands on about riding and rider safety.

That said....in my mind, there's no substitute for experience...positive or negative. If those BRC grads buy a smaller bike and remember everything they learnt in the BRC and try to learn more....and apply it....they should be fine.

Which brings me to recount an ex-colleague's experience. He and his wife passed the BRC with flying colours. As soon as he graduated...he had a 750 GSXR. Broke his leg the first week riding it. This after a few other riders trying to prevail upon him to get a smaller bike.

Umm....where was I going with that? Damned if I know...

-Abhijeet

[Brakecheck]

Bob, You must have some kind of patience as well as a great love of motorcycling to teach as you do. Sounds like herding cats all weekend to me. We need guys like you to keep motorcycling alive...I salute you - thanks for all that you do!

Dana

[geechie]

Oh. That kind of chicks. I get it. New riders = fledgelings. Duh....

Sadly, too many new riders fall prey to marketing and end up on a bike that's inappropriate to his or her skill level. Sometimes with disastarous consequences.

I got lucky when I got back on a bike in '91. I couldn't afford more than a 750cc Honda Nighthawk. Turned out to be a great bike for a returning rider.

Would that everyone was so lucky.

George

P.S. Bob. Keep up the good work!

G

[BobFV1]

George -

The Nighthawk is a great bike. We use Nighthawk 250's for training new riders and I try to pick them to do my demonstration rides. More re-entry and beginner riders should be as sensible as you in selecting a re-entry bike!

And boy are you right about salesmen - another kid came to the second day of class on a brand new Triumph Rocket. He was a big kid but talk about the extreme opposite of a "starter bike!:omg: " This bike has roughly the equivalent of THREE 750cc engines!

[mnnden]

Bob, I can't say enough about the course, My wife took it two years ago, I don't think she maxed the test, but came close, pretty good for a 60 year old women who had never ridden a bike before, The credit has to go to the instructors. Den

[Big Papa]

A coworker of mine bought a R1 without ever owning a bike. I freaked out. He took the MSF class, and I am so impressed. We did the high speed Superior-Winkleman-Globe loop and he rode safely like a pro, but fast. My hats off to the MSF class and their instructors!!

[Tipstall]

I bought an XL250 to start riding on the road. Great ride for a dirt bike rider. The R is great, I think it is a great beginning bike. I'm still amazed at the weight of a street bike. I dropped it one day in the garage moving it with flip-flops on and something right behind me. And I'm 6' 190 lbs, get it moving the wrong way and watch out.

I'm going to get a new KLX 250 to replace the XL. I've been following a thread on the bike, Adverider, and it looks like a great bike.

Ken

[BobFV1]

A coworker of mine bought a R1 without ever owning a bike. I freaked out. He took the MSF class, and I am so impressed. We did the high speed Superior-Winkleman-Globe loop and he rode safely like a pro, but fast. My hats off to the MSF class and their instructors!!
BP - Sounds like your friend with the R1 has very good discipline on the throttle.

To all who have commented so positively on MSF training and the instructors, thanks! It isn't by accident that the course can take someone who has never ridden and in 17 hours have them competent to become licensed riders and to start the process of learning how to ride on the street.

It's not the be all and end all to learning how to ride, but I wish I would have had it when I was a beginner. The Navy made me take the old "MRC" (predecessor to the BRC) about 25 years ago, after I had already been riding several years and bought my first heavy bike. Both of my serious road crashes occurred in the interval between when I started riding, self-taught, and took my first formal training course. I don't think that's a coincidence.

Ride safe!

[Tipstall]

I had a dealer tell me that I just need to control me right hand and I could handle a K, FOR MY FIRST BIKE!!!

Ken

[Bones]

Bob,
Putting aside all the politics that MSF is embroiled in lately, it is quite clear that the MSF basic rider's course is an outstanding program in many ways. First of all, in many cases, it takes someone who has never been on a bike and gets them to be better than a lot of folks who are self taught and have been riding for years. Second, it takes a bunch of folks who have been riding for years and corrects a lot of significant misinformation. Third, it offers the opportunity to learn some common sense if someone didn't show up with their own.

I know a bunch of MSF instructors and I truly cannot believe how committed they are to really doing their best to help people be safe riders and enjoy the sport. How they keep the enthusiasm is beyond me.

In my case, I took the course and it rained the entire time. I am not talking drizzle. It RAINED. Our head coach confidently informed and demostrated that you can ride bikes in the rain, just fine. Where we live, it is a skill you must have. I had ridden quite a bit before taking the course, but never in the rain. It made me a better street rider by a long shot.

Despite the miserable weather, I had fun because at least I was on a motorcycle. The poor instructors stood out in driving rain with clip boards for two solid days and never flinched. I really wish some of the semi- experienced self taught riders I know would just take the course.

Here you are, an experienced street rider AND riding an R1 on the track. Still, you do this to teach others. That is fantastic.

Then, you find nice pics of naked women and bring them here. Now there is some dedication, I tell 'ya.

Jeff

[fnfalman]

I took the BRC last year when I re-entered the moto world last year. I wish I had taken it when I started motorcycling back in the late 1980s. Good thing that economics forced me to give it up back then, or otherwise I may have ended up part of the statistics.

Some of the older people were grumbling about BRC was much better when it began with the more involved classrooms, riding skills, etc. Even if that were true (don't we all claim that things were "better" back in the days?), the current BRC is still invaluable for many a novice riders.

[Deano]

I took the BRC last summer, and was impressed with the content and instructors. Nice bunch of people, and they really seemed to care about their students. Repeatedly, they informed the new graduates that just because they passed, they were in no way ready to hit the open roads without further practice and experience. Can’t wait for the ERC schedule to be published for this spring!

PS: Thanks to all of those who give their time to be instructors. We appreciate it.

[fganger]

Gulp! I hate to say it, but your "Girl dumps brand new Heritage Softail in the parking lot on the way to class after forgetting to put down sidestand," comment struck home.

It seems that every year I put a sidecar on for the Winter, the same thing would happen when I took it off. I would come to a stop without putting down my foot, and once I remembered to put down my foot, but walked away from the machine without putting down the sidestand. :icon_redface:

I would usually learn not to do that after only laying my machine down a couple of times each Spring.:037:

The cure, no sidecar. One just can't live in a place which has snow, like Florida. I'll be there in only 130 days, but who is counting?:eusa_dance: :038: :051:

Frank

[BobFV1]

Taught another BRC on Mon-Tue this week here in AZ. Had a crash in class - the guy almost hit me - yikes! He was having trouble with rolling off the throttle before applying the front brake - (don't try this at home!) Lost a couple of other students - a bit atypical for the size of class.

Well - I'm going back this weekend to teach another one before taking a month or so "off" for my real job back in DC. Wish me luck - sometimes I feel like a bullfighter stepping out of the way of these bikes and their new riders!

[socalrob]

Fganger,

Sorry to hijack Bob's great thread, but where in FL are you going to live. I lived in FL for 8 years, in many ways I liked it very much. My favorite area personally is north of Ocala, say Micanopy. Some of the west coast is also very nice. FL is, in MO, on the "unique" states, like no other.

[BobFV1]

Here's a good one. Teaching Level 1 classroom last night, I was going through helmets, and I took what I thought to be one of our demo helmets and threw it on the floor. The other instructor, sitting in the back of the room, jumps up and said "my helmet!". He is a big, badass dude and I looked up with a deer in the headlights look just in time to see him laugh and I had 20 students all laughing at me as well. It was pretty funny - I can just see the look on my face......

[BobFV1]

Ugh - Failed two on the riding skills evaluation today. Had two students crash while I was coaching level two range exercises.. That's four crashes in my last two classes taught!

I think I will take a few weeks off from teaching...

And I may teach at the track next month - do yourself a favor - be afraid, be very afraid.....