I am working on being a MSF basic rider course instructor, and the instructor program has you ride our own bike for some of the excercises, and the final test. So, I decided rather than use the Deuce or the Ultra for the course, I would get a small metric for that. I got a 500 quackasaki twin, and then I decided to go practice on the course, what a surprise. The clutch is just as heavy on the little Ninja, narrow friction point, and the throttle is quite touchy, and a long low Deuce is quite forgiving compared to the higher twitchy short Ninja. So, gotta practice for a awhile to see if I can get used to the Ninja. I did the skill test with zero points on the Deuce, but heard about the hijinks they want on the course, decided smaller and cheaper may be called for. Now gotta decide, since the final requires another zero point skill test, hmmmm, practice, practice. On the plus side, the little 500 has within 10 hp of the Deuce and is a few hundred pounds lighter (370 vs 680) and is a hoot when wound up...

 

There is a lot more involved than just weight and engine size. Seating position, gear ratios, power to weight ratio, center of gravity, rake and trail are all important factors.
Sport bikes and motocross bikes are designed for quick acceleration. Not really the easiest for a slow speed course. If it is chain drive it isn't expensive to swap out sprocket(s) which will affect clutch and throttle control at slow speeds.

 

Many moons ago, when I took my 1st MSF, I rode circles around the sportbike riders w/my cruiser. They kept knocking cones over all day long...it's all about the center of gravity, skill & relaxation.

 

There is a reason the Harley RK or EG is the dominate police bike. Go to a motor officer rodeo and be amazed. And far more of those are won by H-D mounted riders than the Kawasaki or Beemers.

 

When I went through Ridercoach certification we did the entire class on the class bikes. What if a prospective Ridercoach didn't own a running bike?

 

I decided to try the Ninja 500 since it shows up in a few of the MSF movies. Got a good deal on one with a whopping 2600 miles on it. Now just gotta get used to it.
We have a motor course here too, spendy but good, the first part of the Motor Officer course, and they say right up front, you can use your bike, but they recommend theirs, because you will drop a bike during the course. I am pretty sure, if you don't have to fix or pay to fix, most Motor Officer courses would be easier to learn to toss around a bike. Most of the bikes in the video didn't have signals, headlamps, mirrors, bags, etc.

 

The application for Instructor here (WA state) says own and operate your own registered motorcycle, licensed and endorsed too.

 

I took the instructor course years ago on a Kawasaki ZX-11. That thing handled like a tank at low speed and I had no issues. I know the course has changed quite a bit though. I quit teaching a few years ago when the base was CONSTANTLY having me teach because they are so short on instructors. I am good with once a quarter but three times a month was too much. It's dang hot here and our practice pad is black asphalt...

 

Mouth, I took the class in August '11 and the place I took it at was at an old airport taxiway. It was full sun, in the mid 90's and the pavement was 100 plus. Absolutely no shade or relief. It was ridiculous. People were passing out from the heat. Finally they decided to give people a choice to either continue or reschedule at no extra cost. They even refunded a ladies money because she didn't make it through half of the first morning and she just said F it, she'll continue to ride as a passenger with her husband. It sucked!!

 

DDuess, how was the class? I'm doing it in April. It's the same here, you need to use your registered bike and be a real rider, it's kinda invitation only. I'm going to use my wife's 600 Honda, not my new dresser.