Blimey, that's harsh. At our RE there were a couple of people that dropped their bikes, with the resulting loss of bike extremeties. The instructors gave those bits to them, and told them to put them somewhere they'd see it everyday, and remember waht is was they did wrong to cause it, and never do it again when on their own bike...
Only one girl didn't finish the class and her heart wasn't in it from the start. The rest, soldiered on, and passed.

 

The MSF Riders Course here in PA. was great and was free for the two day riders part. As well as the classwork which was two other days to complete the total course. The instructors gave wonderful personal attention and taught as well as instructed. I can't say enough of the MSF course.

hb

 

All certified classes use the same criteria....MSF. So it doesn't matter what course you take, they MUST teach the same basic stuff. Buy low, sell high. Or pay less, get the same thing. If you own Harley stock, take their course.

 

ROFLMAO!!!

Okay!

 

One thought that sticks in my head is:

HD has a sale at stake with their course. If you pass, you probably buy a new bike. If you fail, probably not.

MSF has nothing to sell you.

It seems most everyone passes RE from experiences I have read. Maybe just coincidence.

In my MSF class, a good number of people did not pass. I was sure I failed, but I actually did well. I guess those donuts worked their magic!

 

I took a safety course through a private company. It was spendy, but well worth it I thought. They had 3 - 8hr days of class, half in the classroom, half on a bike. At the end they set up appointments with the Sec of State to take the test. You got to use their bikes and practice before the test. The other option here in IL is to take a course through the I-DOT. They provide motorcycles and instructors. I talked to some people that took it through the state, and they said that the classes were too big and the instructors had little time to work with individuals. Also the bikew were old and some of them in disrepair. The I-DOT class is free to IL residents tho. So, I guess the moral of the story is that you get what you pay for. Good luck.

JL

 

I would definitely tell you to take the MSF course. I am 6'2 and can almost pick up a 250... NOT... The idea behind little bikes is to get you to concentrate on what you are doing. you will lean into a curve on a smaller bike, and not get as tired on it as you would with your full size rig. When they said it was two days on the range, in VA, they were not kidding. We rode rain or shine. I have been on and off of bikes for a long time, and every time I go to a course, I learn something, or at least think about things differently. Right after I got my Street Glide, I took it over to the local bank parking lot, set up some cones, and starting figuring out the figure 8's, stopping distances, and all that other stuff. I love to eat up the open road, but the low speed stuff that you work on in MSF will save your bacon in a parking lot, or on side streets. There is no BS in an MSF course. Dearlership tours should come when you are thinking about buying a bike, not learning how to ride one, IMHO...

Whatever course you choose, show up, work hard, and take the knowlege to heart. Ride safe, long, and smiling!

GOSTAZ

 

I'll echo what everyone else said about the MSF course. It was great (and only $20 in Illinois). The instructors were fantastic!! The program is really well designed, and the instructors know how to keep on you without being total a$$es. But they won't cut anyone any slack. i highly recommend the class.

i had never ridden before, and learned on their little Honda 250's. I went and took one short test ride on a Honda 750, and then went and bought my Super Glide, and have had no problems handling the bike.

Wally

 

After never riding a street bike in her life, wife went at age 51 and had a great time. She said it was worth the couple hundred bucks, and she probably couldn't have passed the test on the Sportie she was riding then. She was the oldest in the class. About 60/40 male to female. Two people dropped out 1 guy, 1girl. Go, have fun, everyone is a rookie at one time or another. You sound like me, rode like crazy in the younger years, no street bikes for years while raising a family, now time to have fun!

 

I took the MSF in IL twice. Yep, I failed it the first time. I have to disagree about the bikes. I live in IL also and the last time, they were all new. The governor was trying to take our money (we pay an extra dollar on our licenses to support education) si they decided to use it to buy new equipment. BTW, major reasons I failed the first time were two. One, I wasn't feeling well and if you do the Fri-Sun thing, you are beat at the end of it. Second, missed my annual eye exam the year before and had developed cataracts in both eyes, couldn't see the green cones against the green grass very well. Second time, I still didn't know about the cataracts, but talked to the instructor and they used all orange cones. Very thoughtful.
Class size is limited to 12 w/ 2 instructors. 10-12 hours of the 20 were on bikes.
Yes, there is a diff in the size of the bikes, but it is much easier to overcome bad self taught habits on a small bike at 20mph rather than on your $20,000 Harley.
My advice, Take the MSF. It can literally save your life. Use the extra money for the ERC 1 day course that you take on your own bike.
BTW, I may get flamed for this, but I think that with the exception of "doing the box" (2 u-turns in a 20' space) the rest of the stuff is really easier on a Harley because we are "torquier" and don't need the higher rpms that some of the small bikes need. Just my opinion as afterwards, I have gone back a couple of times and re-done the course on my Harley.
One of the times I one of my first instructors stopped by when he saw a bike and we rode together for a while.
I am waiting for them to post the course agon and will sign up again and also for the ERC this summer. Even though I have gotten in several rides during the winter, my plans at the moment are to take the course sometime every year, just as a reminder.
IL costs $20 and they refund it or you can donate it if you complete the course,,,not even pass, just complete.
Art