OK - So I've been riding illegally for the past few years in Georgia. I'm 45 and got my motorcycle endorsement when I turned 16 in my native Maryland. Rode tons of miles on the highways but, 11 years ago when I moved to Georgia they didn't transfer my motorcycle endorsement. Sold my Fatboy when I left MD and didn't have a scoot here in GA until about 4 years ago. Kept meaning to go get my endorsement but, for whatever reason(s), never did. Decided to go take the MSF course at recommendations of others here and buds I ride with.

Last Friday Night 6-10pm. Saturday 8am-6pm. Sunday 8am-6pm...

What a waste of time. Only thing I learned was that I don't downshift in an emergency stop situation... and I feel logically there are still some arguments against their reasoning (gets you in getaway gear should someone be about to slam you in the azz you can take off). Argument would be - concentrate on stopping the bike safely not jammin' gears. That is what it is - whatever.

All 12 peoplein our class passed. Some should not have IMO - it scares me that they're out there on road the way they were riding those little 250s. White knuckled - scared to death - and completely incapable of doing a figure 8 in the box no matter how many times they tried. If ya can't run a 250cc scoot through a turn at 8 mph without hitting the cones, ya shouldn't be out there on a 1K+cc bike at road speeds.

I did learn some new acronyms and fancy names for the stuff I've been doing for years. "Friction zone" is evidently the motorcycling for dummies name forridin' the clutch. T-Clocs means "Know enough about your bike to keep it road worthy". and SEE means look where you're going and pay attention you knucklehead. MOM is "Motorcycle Owners Manual"... ask Mom... how cute.

It seems my take on this course is WAY in the minority... everyone had told me that even if you're experienced it's WELL worth the money and time. I even heard "You owe it to yourself". Anyways, with 30 years of riding experience and being a pretty common sense thinker, I feel it was a complete waste of time and can't point to anyuseful new thingI learned. But I was able to sit in the HOT GA sun all day Saturday and Sunday and BAKE in a long sleve shirt, gloves & helmet while not being able to take my hands off the grips even to wipe the sweat off my neck, that was fun. I kept getting yelled at for putting the bike in neutral and kickin' back with my hands off the grips while I sat for 20 minutes at a time on an idling bike - I wasn't in control - please... I was trying to survive. So, I started turning off the bike and dismounting - that was received even worse. SIGH - Hope it gets me a decent discount on my insurance.

Dave

 

Can you get your endorsement right away in GA with the card from the class? If so, I'd say it was worth it.

 

Not right away - have to wait for them to mail me my passed card then go get the endorsement. In retrospect I should have just gone to driver services and taken the road test to get my license - would have taken about 2 hours all in and doneprobably.

 

You're probably right, when I took my class they handed out the card at the end of Sunday, so I was able to walk in and out of the DMV in ten minutes the next day. That and my insurance break made it worth it to me.

I don't think that most people recommending the class gave your 30 yrs exp the proper credit. I wouldn't personally recommend it to a 30 year vet, 3 sure, but not 30.

 

You were satisfying a requirement to obtain a legitimate license.

The one thing you seem to forget is the basic course offered by the MSF is for people who have never even SAT on a motorcycle in their life. It is intended to teach them basics only. It doesn't make them seasoned riders. It shows them what they need to know for practice, practice and further practice.

I think it's safe to say that if the course was designed for someone with 30 years experience it wouldn't serve its intended purpose very well. The course for people with 30 years experience is called the Experienced Riders Course.

 

If you're required to take the course to get a license in Georgia, no getting around it. That and the possible insurance discount would be good. Otherwise, you weren't the target audience as Whaap has already indicated.

 

You probably could have done well to take the ERC. The part about down shifting seems out of whack though. The ERC says to downshift for that quick escape if needed. Basically, if you had to stop in a hurry for something, there is probably someone else right behind you "tryin" to stop fast too.

The ERC in VA is only $75 and is a Sunday only class. When ya get your certificate you can get $50 HOG dollars for taking the course and some more money off your insurance policy.

For the experienced rider who has confidence in his riding ability, the ERC is, along with the monitary incentives, an opportunity to do all the slow speed manuevering and show off to the other 11 riders that you got your act together.

 

I guess if you really know it all, you don't need the class. But alot of people that think they know it all, don't. How's the DMV supposed to determine which is which? So their solution is to send everyone to class.Or, you could have taken the riding test.

 

Not to hijack the thread but I have been thinking about whether or not I should take the basic course and could use some input on this.. I too rode a lot when I was younger and let my endorsement slide one year when I renewed. But that was 30 years ago and mostly on under 350cc motorcycles.
Now that I have the Ultra I have managed to ride it at every opportunity, albiet illegaly on my MC learners permit (supposed to have another rider in view).. But I feel fairly comfortable on it even though I could use some work on the low speed manuevering.
So I guess my question would be, should I do the same thing and take the basic riders course on a smaller bike, or would there be more benefit to taking the experienced riders course on my own bike? Thanks

 

I've been looking to take the course and wanted to compare insurance savings. I call around and do the online quotes and basically found that it will take over 20 years to pay off the course.

Makes me think the insurance companies don't think too highly of the course, no more discount that a few dollars a year.