It is a two day course that is specifically designed for the novice rider. It starts off with the fundamentals of motorcycle riding much like the drivers education class does for novice drivers. For example: What are the controls? Where are they located? How are they operated? All things that are very important if you've never rode a motorcycle before. I have had my motorcycle endorsement from the DMV since I was 16 so I just patiently waited out this part of the course.
The course continues on to operating the bike in various environments that a rider would experience on our road ways. Rain, moron drivers, obstacles, moron drivers, low visibility, moron drivers, moron drivers and moron drivers.
One big part of the MSF course is emphasizing the use of proper riding gear. DOT or Snell approved helmets, proper fitting eye protection if the helmet doesn't have a visor, full finger gloves designed for riding, long sleeved shirt or jacket, long pants(all of which should be of a fabric designed for riding), over the ankle footwear with a low heel.
All great suggestions and you should always wear proper gear when riding. It is just smart practice.
The class goes on to cover safe following distances and legal amounts of alcohol consumption just like the DMV does for automobile drivers.
The riding portion starts off really slow and appropriately so for the novice. Finding the friction point of the clutch and just rocking the bike forward and back. This is a good practice for anyone that is riding an unfamiliar bike. After about 5 minutes of that however I was quite bored of the exercise. I should note that I was using a Kawasaki Trail Way that was provided for the course as my naked wing's rectifier had failed me that morning.
After friction point it was on to power walking the bike where you just engage and disengage the clutch as you walk the bike along sitting on the seat. After this followed the long awaited ride the bike in the same straight line but very slowly.
It wasn't long before the instructor realized that myself and the one other person in the class had some significant experience riding and he adapted the class accordingly.
The process for the class is: Explain, Demonstrate, Explain and allow to practice until the skill is mastered. In our case, the practice was cut short to just a few laps to demonstrate our proficiency. He never deviated from the pattern but as soon as he saw we could do the skill then he would move on.
There were quite a few small bad habits that he pointed out about the way I ride. The biggest thing is that I don't look far enough ahead in my turns. I blame this in part to the fact that I didn't want to run over any of his stupid little cones, but the fact remains that I can and do ride better if I'm looking ahead and not so fixated on what is right below the bike. Ooooh! Shiny!
In the end the course was good. Having it done now allows me to take the Advanced and Experienced Riders Courses that the MSF offers. My only regret was not being able to take the riding test on my Wing. My card has the -649 stamp on it. Meaning that I am safe to ride a motorcycle under 649cc's. I'll just have to get the wing running better and clep out the test in the spring. That's my plan anyway.
