My wife is taking the Riders Edge course now, she will be riding all weekend, I will let you know how is goes, I took the MSF course in April, it was well wprth it. I had not been on a bike in 30 years, she has never been on one, and at the completion she has a Deluxe in the garage just for her, sure hope she passes!

 

Thanks Owen... Please lemme know how it goes. Maybe you guys can compare notes between the 2 courses for me.

Wish your wife good luck for me!

 

scooterbooter - A thought just occured to me...

Which course would you want your daughter on?

 

I took the MSF course in NJ back in 99 (think it cost 150 bucks). Before that, I had never ridden a bike before (at least not one with a clutch). Within 15 minutes I was riding out of first gear and riding around some cones. I really enjoyed the class and it taught me a lot. I guess the fat that I haven't dropped my bike or had an accident in almost 7 years is a pretty good endorsement for the class. Some of the best money I ever spent. Not to mention, I walked out of there with a motorcycle endorsement on my license. I haven't taken an advanced class...thinking about it. I'm sure it couldn't hurt.

Todd

 

Well I don't have any kids, but if I did, I'd have them on the MSF course. Its just the same, and it costs less, and there is NO WAY I'd allow a daughter of mine to be let loose in a Harley dealership after being told they'd get a 10% discount on anything they bought...[8D]

I think you are looking at it from the same viewpoint I did. I wanted more time on the riding course, but that's identical in both courses. They follow the BRC out of the MSF book exactly. Harley sent out the MSF coursebook with confirmation of booking the course and set 'homework' to answer all the questions in it. Which I dutifully did. Then we spent so much time going over the questions in class it drove me bonkers. (Disclaimer: I have a photographic memory and I'm a very quick study)
To top it off, you still have to take the written test at the DMV to get your endorsement, and the questions are NOTHING like the MSF questions. Go figure. I mean you'll still pass if you've done the MSF course, but it causes you more brainpower than you really think it should.

The other thing that really peeved me, was having to go back the monday night, just to get our MSF cards. I think we may have done the written test that night, but it was stupidly easy. Especially since to take the RE I had to drive 45 miles each way. The MSF would have been in my hometown, and the guy who runs it, lives literally across the street, and I would have been done and dusted in just a weekend. But then I had no choice, the state has cancelled all MSF courses, and AFAIK, they are still cancelled.
I wish they'd hurry up and reinstate the program because my husband needs to take one (although he has the endorsement already) and we both really want to take the advanced course, and there is no way we are paying the Harley premium to take it.

 

scttgr8, when did you take your class with PaPaw and Chance? PaPaw is some some character isn't he. I took the class in September 2004. Learned a lot and the instructors knew what they were doing.

 

IndyRider---I was in JUNE 05...those little and I mean little compared to me and my 6'5" 255 frame scooters they teach on were the only complaint that i had. The guys and lady that teach there are truly in it for the betterment of the riders. It was both fun and informative.

[IMG]local://upfiles/7285/79CE95867B8F4F9EA30522E4C2C1DA1A.jpg[/IMG]

 

Mike,

I am a MSF Instructor here in Indiana, so I am biased, but IMHO you can’t go wrong with the MSF course. I know an MSF instructor that also teaches the RE, and they tell me the curriculum is the same! As you pointed out, the difference in the size of the bikes does not relate to your Dyna anyway; conversely, the skills you will learn will all relate. By the way, I sent my boy through the MSF class.

The MSF BRC range exercises are about teaching riding skills, such as use of the friction zone, sarting, stoping, shifting, cornering, avoiding obstacles, etc, they are not about passing a test. The exercises use and build on skills learned in previous exercises. Students must master the skills of an exercise before moving to the next. Sometimes students are dismissed because of their failure to master a skill. Students receive an explanation of the exercise, provided a demonstration to show riding path and proper technique, in some cases conduct static simulations, and then ride the exercise.

The MSF limits the student to instructor ratio to 6 to 1; so we are able to provide plenty of personal attention to the students (I am sure there are some that feel they get to much attention[sm=icon_beat.gif]). I am told the RE uses the same student to instructor ratio. As instructors, we are trained to detect riding errors. I would like to think we are pretty good at analyzing errors and coaching riders in a manor that they can understand and use. That does not mean that an instructor coach 1 person for an hour on an exercise scheduled for a 30 minutes. Schedules are a fact of life and sometimes students are dismissed because of a lack of skill. However, that is the exception and not the norm.

All that said, a joke we share with our students as they graduate applies to either course; graduating qualifies one to operate a small displacement motorcycle in a parking lot under adult supervision. Like you said you are going to do, sometimes it takes further practice.

Wow, sorry this post got so long, I guess I got on a roll. I would advise you, without hesitation, to take the MSF course, don’t think twice about the RE, and use the money you saved to buy some goodies for your bike! Whichever way you decide, good luck and have fun!

John

 

I took the Rider's Edge course just prior to delivery of my Heritage and it was a great course for my limited skills. I still think about and apply things the instructors taught me.

In addition to the snacks and trinkets, my dealer deducted the course price off of the purchase price of my bike and gave me a 10% discount on all parts & accessories for 6 months.

Six of us started and five finished... One was told she should get back on the "short bus" and try the course again later.

If you want to use a bigger bike, my dealer offers an "Advanced" course which is the same basic Rider's Edge course taught on your bike. I think it is slightly cheaper since all chrome scrapes are on you... OBTW, The lady was asked to leave after she took out a turn signal, a peg, and the shifter on one of the Buells.

Edmo

 

I'll tell you from what I experienced at the MSF Advanced Rider Course a few years back....and my friend just saw the same thing last month: the guys on the smaller bikes had an advantage in weaving around the cones--something you're not going to do on any bike in the real world. And if you did, you'd put both of your feet down as many times as you needed to, something that will fail you at MSF.
When I went through on an Electra Glide, it wasn't easy, but doable. But the guy on the Goldwing and the PCH Yamaha--Forget it. So we all parked and used the 250 enduro. Sure, it's nice to learn how to manuever your big bike, but let's be reasonable, someone on a big dresser isn't going to try and squeeze their $20,000 baby into a bad spot.
Once you've "passed", then practice those new skills on your regular ride in empty parking lots until you've got it down. Even fighter pilots don't START in an F/A-18.