Day 1 of MSF Riding down! :)

[VicTim]

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Thanks Crash, your awsome

 

[takaaki44]

Hey! I resemble that remark!

I totally fell down on the first day. It was great. Then I passed the test only missing 2 points and the instructors told me I did very well, so nyah!

touche! we are all beginners at some point, and we all learn from our mistakes. and not to mention, the age old adage that there's only two kinds of riders...

that said, the two classmates that i had that dropped on day 1:

one had a scooter and fell HARD during quick braking
the other had the smallest honda 250 (we did have 3 bike options in our course) and simply did not have the strength to hold the bike up (she was a 50+ y/o female). she not only fell the first day, but proceeded to fall multiple times throughout the course.

so yea, more so for their own safety - i hope they either got a lot more practice and improvement, otherwise i'd be concerned for their own well being if they were on the road.

 

[I'm OaklandLion]

one last thing - "DON'T CHASE THE RABBIT!"

You will end up riding with people that are faster than you. On a group ride, do not try to keep up with them. Don't chase the rabbitt.

It's also called, "ride your own ride".

 

[sanjuro]

P.S. Don't use the word Ride and Down in the same sentence. Bad mojo...

 

[crazybob]

all the bikes were the same. 250 cruisers. but thanks. was on a 250 kawasaki eliminator today.

Are you taking MSF with NCMT in San Lorenzo? If so, their fleet of eliminators are all 125 cc. So if you felt good on those you can still double your displacement and upgrade to a 250 when you get your own bike.

Protip: barf is full of wiseasses, and this guy was pulling your leg. Very old joke around here, due to the amount of new riders who run right out and buy some kind of fire-breathing monster and then get themselves killed. A 250 is exactly what the MSF needs, don't be in a hurry to go for bigger stuff. Other countries actually have a tiered licensing system in place, where you have to be licensed for a certain length of time to get bigger bikes, as a matter of safety. Obligatory explanation: the US thinks tiered licensing is some kind of socialist plot to infiltrate your precious bodily fluids, and you'll have a bunch of people telling you it's no big deal, go get a turbo hayabusa or whatever and just go slow at first, penis enlargement treatments totally work too blah blah... :| ...just sayin. A grain of salt and some common sense go a long way.

This is truth. I took the same NCMT course on the same bike two years ago, bought a Ninja 250 shortly thereafter, bought a second 250 five months later, and am still learning how to improve my technique on them. But it depends on what your personality and situation is - not that my advice will change, but if you're the type that's got deep pockets and is trying to compensate for something I don't know if it'll sink in.

Still, taking MSF and having the humility to post about it on BARF (with key phrases like, 'doing my best to be smart and responsible') sounds like you're off to a great start. So since the next step is getting a bike to practice on, my first piece of advice is that whatever you get, get it used. And while bikes are generally more pricey in the warmer months, I've seen some especially good deals on 250s lately (and no, unless you're over 300 lbs., you do not 'need' the EX500 instead). They're really cheap, they're a whole mess of fun, and they're a lot more graceful in letting you make most of those beginners mistakes. Then, if you find out you're really an enthusiast for a bigger, shinier, prettier bike... you can sell it for about as much as you bought it, and you'll at least be better prepared. But if you find out that your enthusiasm is more for the genuine skill, I think you'll be holding onto one for a while. Good luck.

 

[StevenDavisFoto]

good job! I still remember when I took that class, 12 years ago LOL. Best thing i did when i was 16. And yeah the RF-1000 helmet is a good helmet. I have one and it treats me well.

thanks. it's the new RF-1100, but yeah, just as nice and better now

 

[StevenDavisFoto]

Get the book "Proficient Motorcycling" - great stuff on keeping the bike balanced, apex, sight lines, etc.

yeah, got it

 

[StevenDavisFoto]

Are you taking MSF with NCMT in San Lorenzo? If so, their fleet of eliminators are all 125 cc. So if you felt good on those you can still double your displacement and upgrade to a 250 when you get your own bike.

This is truth. I took the same NCMT course on the same bike two years ago, bought a Ninja 250 shortly thereafter, bought a second 250 five months later, and am still learning how to improve my technique on them. But it depends on what your personality and situation is - not that my advice will change, but if you're the type that's got deep pockets and is trying to compensate for something I don't know if it'll sink in.

Still, taking MSF and having the humility to post about it on BARF (with key phrases like, 'doing my best to be smart and responsible') sounds like you're off to a great start. So since the next step is getting a bike to practice on, my first piece of advice is that whatever you get, get it used. And while bikes are generally more pricey in the warmer months, I've seen some especially good deals on 250s lately (and no, unless you're over 300 lbs., you do not 'need' the EX500 instead). They're really cheap, they're a whole mess of fun, and they're a lot more graceful in letting you make most of those beginners mistakes. Then, if you find out you're really an enthusiast for a bigger, shinier, prettier bike... you can sell it for about as much as you bought it, and you'll at least be better prepared. But if you find out that your enthusiasm is more for the genuine skill, I think you'll be holding onto one for a while. Good luck.

thanks. i really don't know what i want yet. those were 125's??? that felt like plenty of power, haha. maybe a 250 IS good enough. can a 250 handle freeway stuff though if i wanna do that? i know they top at around 70mph and at the speed ur revs are WAY up. i also live in the really hilly part of hayward, so can it handle that?

 

[Feanor]

As an instructor over 40, I always tried to be VERY sensitive about questions, confusion and anxiety about manual shifting...

Growing up, fully half the cars on the road were manual, and now, it seems that its about 85% automatic (or semi auto shifting), and it's not common at all these days to run into a younger driver who has never operated a manual shift of any sort.

It's just another thing to absorb along with all the rest of the information and technique in the MSF. Fortunately, the course is geared not only for new riders, but also for people who have never worked a manual transmission before.

Well done on taking the course, and in no time at all you'll be wondering why you were even thinking about shifting at all

p.s. the other day my young neice asked me why they say "dial the phone" her not understanding what the term "dial" meant... Yes, I felt REALLY old then!

 

[crazybob]

thanks. i really don't know what i want yet. those were 125's??? that felt like plenty of power, haha. maybe a 250 IS good enough. can a 250 handle freeway stuff though if i wanna do that? i know they top at around 70mph and at the speed ur revs are WAY up. i also live in the really hilly part of hayward, so can it handle that?

I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at whoever told you such bogus statements, unless it was your instructors talking about the MSF bikes (yes, they were only 125s). A ninja 250 is unlike all other US-available bikes of that size, which are the scooter/cruiser type. The EX250 (or 250R, to sound more badass) is a sportbike with a standard seating posture, and will take you to 90 mph without hesitation (you can get to 100-110+, but it takes longer and let's be honest, you don't need to). Cruising the freeway at 80 mph in 6th gear puts the engine at about 9,000-10,000 RPM, which is a perfectly fine place to be since it doesn't redline until 14k and they're designed to spin that fast. Hills are similarly no problem - I don't know if you know Berkeley at all but the steepest street there has a 25% grade and the ninja doesn't scoff at that even with a passenger.

Read my sig quote below. The bike has so much potential, but since it doesn't immediately jump to illegal speeds if you sneeze, it's looked upon merely as a stepping stone by the majority of riders (which is fortunate for getting your hands on one, at least). Which doesn't mean you shouldn't use it as a stepping stone too, but like I said if you're honestly willing to learn from the bike it will teach you more than most.

I'd be happy to point out some CL ads & check out bikes with you if you're interested. Send me a PM.

 

[AkatomboRR]

Msf ftw.

 

[dvorak]

Cruising the freeway at 65 mph in 6th gear puts the engine at about 6,500-7,000 RPM, which is a perfectly fine place to be since it doesn't redline until 13k and they're designed to spin that fast.

Fixed
at least for my '09 Ninja 250

 

[crazybob]

Fixed
at least for my '09 Ninja 250

They dropped redline by 1k for newer models

enjoy your slower bike

 

[Gnarly Cranium]

touche! we are all beginners at some point, and we all learn from our mistakes. and not to mention, the age old adage that there's only two kinds of riders...

that said, the two classmates that i had that dropped on day 1:

one had a scooter and fell HARD during quick braking
the other had the smallest honda 250 (we did have 3 bike options in our course) and simply did not have the strength to hold the bike up (she was a 50+ y/o female). she not only fell the first day, but proceeded to fall multiple times throughout the course.

so yea, more so for their own safety - i hope they either got a lot more practice and improvement, otherwise i'd be concerned for their own well being if they were on the road.

On the first day I was the only one that fell. On the second day, two other students in my class went down, both during the braking drills-- one fell twice, and I believe she failed the course. We also had a girl on a scooter who simply could not figure out how to TURN at all and just kept sortof helplessly wandering in a straight line, and she didn't pass either.

thanks. i really don't know what i want yet. those were 125's??? that felt like plenty of power, haha. maybe a 250 IS good enough. can a 250 handle freeway stuff though if i wanna do that? i know they top at around 70mph and at the speed ur revs are WAY up. i also live in the really hilly part of hayward, so can it handle that?

Depends on the bike. The Ninja 250 tops out around 110. It remains very popular among beginners and veterans alike, for the street and racing (250s have their own racing category). Also, for some perspective-- my first bike was a 650, but it's from 1984 and weighs around 500lbs, with a top speed of 120 and a completely mild-mannered disposition. I'm told it can do wheelies but I'm still not sure I actually believe it. On the other hand, a Yamaha R6 is a 600, but its top speed is 186mph or something and it can flip you upside down without breaking a sweat. And then there are Harleys and such, which can have massive like 1600cc engines but behave in a totally different way. Or a DRZ 400, which struggles a bit on the freeway, but could practically climb right up the side of a house. And there are electric bikes that don't even have engine size in the traditional sense (and mostly are too underpowered to be remotely safe on the freeway). And pretty much any bike can significantly out-accelerate most cars.

The other day I was feeding the parking meter out in front of Golden Gate Cycles and one of the dealer guys was talking to a customer, showing him a shiny new Ninja 250-- shopping for his girlfriend's first bike apparently. I walked up just as the dealer was saying "Yeah she'll probably get about six months or a year out of this bike before she'll need a 600." So... yeah, people on barf are fulla crap, and people at the shops can be too, be sure to get second/third/fifth opinions, there's such a wide range of attitudes out there.

 

[Carlo]

As a Ridercoach, I highly discourage this. On the first day, the riders spend 5hrs getting comfortable with basic skills as well as getting comfortable with that particular motorcycle. Different motorcycles have slightly different engagements points for the friction zone as well as front and rear brake application. The last thing that a new rider needs to do is to try and adapt to a different motorcycle and new techniques on the same day as the Riding Evaluation.

Not an issue in your case, since all they had was cruisers, but if there's a choice offered, pick the dirtbike first, and the standard second. Don't even consider the cruisers.

Our local MSF course has several of each, and all the cruisers have their turn signals broken off because the people who maintain the bikes got tired of replacing them.

Need I say more?

 

[Gnarly Cranium]

I was the one who got the TW200 in my msf class (you-- you're tall, you take THAT one), everybody else was on an Eliminator or Rebel. There was only one Ninja 250 and they ended up wheeling that one away, one of the instructors said it might be a bit much for us since nobody in the class had ever ridden before.

I would definitely agree with Enchanter too, switching to a totally new bike feels almost like starting over from scratch. You can test out different types of bikes later. The middle of the MSF is not the greatest time to swap.

 

[Thateguhate]

I took the MSF course at CSM last November and It was the best learning experience. They taught me all the stop and go, and parking lot fundamentals but just remember.. Once you get out there you sort of become your own teacher, You just have to set your own limits and pace yourself more..

Just enjoy the ride though.

And also I'd like to add that the MSF coaches at CSM are some of the coolest teachers I've ever had.. I'm trying to remember my coaches name on our course, I know it was the same name as the coach on the other course but he was an older guy... He asked us what bikes we wanted for our first bikes and he didn't grill the inexperienced who wanted gixer 1k's... and R1's.. Instead he allowed everyone to learn and decide for themselves.

By the end of the class everyone had they're mind made up on what they wanted, I still suck with my idea of the 600 F4i and ended up getting it, but my point is they let grown ups be grown ups.. And they will tell you the truth about your skill set. Even when you think they're not paying attention, they are...

 

[Sharky]

all the bikes were the same. 250 cruisers. but thanks. was on a 250 kawasaki eliminator today.

Back in the stone ages when I HAD to take the MSF to get a license we at least got to ride NX 250s. They were slow but at least would do a decent brake stand and wheelies.

After a new rider go scared and stuffed it in the figure 8 drill, me and another guy got benched for a while. She placed 1st in the class room test and passed overall. I still wonder if she got the bike she was supposed to ride to LA home after that weekend...

I got the top spot in the practical...not fair really, I'd been riding for four years before I had to do the MSF.

 

[Hit Girl]

Off topic (a little) but "Hi" Steven. I think we were in the same class together and passed! Woot!

 

[spiced_rum]

can a 250 handle freeway stuff though if i wanna do that? i know they top at around 70mph and at the speed ur revs are WAY up. i also live in the really hilly part of hayward, so can it handle that?

On the 237, the Ninja 250 is just fine. I'm usually moving faster than the cars. On the 280, I cannot keep up. On the 101 it varies, but the fastest cars are going faster than me. Of course I am describing light traffic times.

I think mine tops out at an indicated 90, but of course the speedo is optimistic.

The power is plenty for going up steep hills on roads.

Steep hills also implies more chances to drop the bike at stop signs, lights, etc. The Ninja 250, being light and low, is less likely to get dropped and easier to pick up. And tends not to be damaged by a drop.