Start riding without MSF or not ride?

[Harlech]

Hi-

I'm interested in learning to ride a motorcycle. (Specifically the GZ250, which brings me to this forum.) Every forum and article online makes the MSF course seem essential to a new rider.

I would like to take the MSF course, but it is simply not an option for me. I live in HI, and there are no classes on this island. Taking the course would involve a plane ride and a (pricey) hotel stay, and possibly a car rental. That cost, along with motorcycle + safety gear would make learning to ride prohibitively expensive both in time and money.

I know an experienced rider who is also a car instructor who is willing to get me started, as well as loan me a few books/videos on motorcycle safety.

So my question is, should I go with the informal option or wait 2-3 years until I'm in a situation that allows me to take more formalized training?

[Water Warrior 2]

Welcome Harlech. I will offer a couple suggestions. Pick up a copy of Proficient Motorcycling by Hough. Lots and lots of info for new and experienced riders. Also pick up his other writings concerning riding too. Your driving instructor friend may be of valuable use but he/she may not be aware of motorcycle specific concerns. Your riding friend will be able to help you out but be aware you may be taught his bad habits as well as good habits. Hough's writings are generally used into most riding lessons as they are proven to be the best. Do lessons work, yes they do. After many decades of riding I took lessons at 62 years of age. Had to unlearn a lot of bad habits and gained better control and confidence in my riding. Parking lot practice with slow manuvers is a must for anyone. Anyone can go fast in a straight line but are totally at the mercy of luck in a parking lot.
Don't be afraid to make a fashion statement with protective gear either. It does make a difference when you drop a bike at rest or when it is moving.

[alanmcorcoran]

Harlech,

This is one of those touchy subjects on here and I am decidedly in the minority. So, understanding that this is strictly my opinion: I not only think the MSF course is not essential, I found it to be largely a waste of time. Not a complete waste of time and there is nothing wrong with it, but I found it to be very overrated compared to reverent status it's given on here and elsewhere. If you use the search feature, you'll find my reasons, along with a vast majority of other posters disagreeing with me. I think if you have some experience with a manual transmission, can read, can ride a bicycle (more bicycle experience the better) and are moderately coordinated, you can teach yourself how to ride in a parking lot with minimal risk. I also highly recommend the book Water mentioned above (Proficient.) It has a lot of great riding tips and is a beautiful book.

For the record, I eventually did take the MSF course, mainly to shortcut the Motorcycle licensing process and had no trouble passing it. There is actually very little time spent on the bike and the few good ideas they had, I didn't really have enough repetition or appreciation for them in the short time alotted to each rider. My class had 12 riders and most of the time was spent going over the exercises and setting up the cones and then waiting your "turn." I think the bulk of my riding improvement occurred more or less naturally simply by talking on here and mostly just riding the damn bike.

Take it slow, wear the gear and find an empty lot. You'll be okay.

[alantf]

Living as you do on an island (like me) do you find that the drivers are more courteous than on mainland America? Over here there are certainly a lot of idiots who shouldn't be allowed to drive a horse & cart, but by and large the car drivers seem to accept that bikes are the primary transport of a lot of people, & seem to watch out for riders, & move over to give them room to "lane split" in slow moving traffic. We have high traffic congestion. What's it like on Hawiai? We also have a 30mph limit on most roads. Is that the same on your island?

[dhgeyer]

I rode for a lot of years before I took an MSF course. By then I had read everything David L. Hough had written. I had been a subscriber to "Motorcycle Consumer News" for years, and they run several articles every month about issues pertaining to riding better, including a column entitled "Proficient Motorcycling", which carries on the tradition of Hough's books, which are themselves a compilation of articles written for MCN and its predecessor. I didn't learn much in the course that I didn't already know.

They did a study a while back in which they discovered that the safety advantage you get from taking the course disappears after about 6 months. So, like Alan, I am only a lukewarm advocate of the course. It's better than nothing, but not much.

All the information you can get from that course is out there in more complete form from other sources. There are probably videos on Youtube, although I haven't checked that. If you look around there are training videos from a number of sources.

Hough's 3 books are available from Amazon.com, and from The Whitehorse Press (google it).

[ND_Exclaim]

If you haven't already I would watch some how to videos on Youtube. That's what got me started. MotorcycleAssistant ?actually uses a GZ250 in his videos. CaptCrashIdaho ?has some great info and are fun to watch. But I I don't think they would replace training from someone that knows how to teach.

[Water Warrior 2]

I can see where Alan has a somewhat low opinion of the training. Lynda and I were in a class of 6 and spent 24 hours on the bikes over 5 days not including the classroom for 2 evenings. You have to have the time and money to commit to this course but it was well worth it.

[bonehead]

I'm like Dave. I rode for years before I took a course. It was an Air Force course to be able to ride the bike on base. It was more of an intermediate/advanced course that showed you the evasive manuvers and high speed stops and such. It was in my opinion very helpfull as I never knew about counter steering before I went thru the class.

I'm not so sure a basic MSF course is absoutly necessary, but I would highly recommend and advanced riders course to anyone that has not taken one.

[Harlech]

Thanks for the replies.

I actually already have 'Proficient Motorcycling' sitting in my Amazon.com cart. I'm just waiting on getting another order to take advantage of the free shipping.

Atlantf- The U.S. is a big place, so its hard to make a generalization. The drivers here are a lot more courteous then where I'm from, LA, but drivers anywhere are generally a lot more courteous and safe then LA drivers.

The speed limits are lower. The interstate (which in spite of the name, does not go across the state, let alone between states for obvious reasons) has a speed limit that varies from 45-55. In town is generally 25-35.

[blaine]

Originally Posted by Harlech

The speed limits are lower. The interstate (which in spite of the name, does not go across the state, let alone between states for obvious reasons) has a speed limit that varies from 45-55. In town is generally 25-35.

Welcome.The G.Z. will suit you perfectly.
:2tup: :cool: