3 Hours 'til MSF. . .

[XON]

(. . . that I signed up for, incidentally, IN NOVEMBER!!!):shrug1:


Just wanted to ask the Collective Wisdom if there were any tips/tricks to making it more successful or comfortable? (Aside from variations on RTFM...)

:biker:

[Ken]

(. . . that I signed up for, incidentally, IN NOVEMBER!!!):shrug1:


Just wanted to ask the Collective Wisdom if there were any tips/tricks to making it more successful or comfortable? (Aside from variations on RTFM...)

:biker:
Yes, relax and have fun!

[RideCoach]

Yes as an MSF instructor, I can tell you staying relaxed in the arms is one of the keys to a fun weekend. It is about fun and enjoying the weekend, and oh by the way, learn something too.
Staying tense in the arms makes you very tired and irritable.
On thing I can tell you, do not make any panic stops, just nice smoot stops, even in the eval you do on Sunday, make a smooth quick stop, it is only one point for each foot over the standard, if you panic during the stop and lock it up and drop the bike, you are done until the next time they can eval you.
My .02 for you.

[sherob]

Just listen and pay attention... relax, they aren't there to bust your chops. You go over everything you are test for. Have fun ;)

[Sominus]

I'm taking the course tonite, too (Pasadena, TX)...

[dpadair]

Don't "overpractice" any particular skill during the times they let you choose what to practice. Mix it up.

[MMOB]

If its the basic MSF course, where they supply the bikes, take advantage of the opportunity to practice wheelies and stoppies on someone else's bike.

If you do a wheelie at the start of the course, landing on and smashing one of the orange cones, the instructors will be impressed and leave you alone. No more than chest high tho.

Good luck.

[willd]

Ditto everyone else. Having been a beginners racetrack instructor and watched countless MSF Range excercises I can tell you number one is to relax those arms (not to mention the rest of your body). The most common signal I give to riders is the chicken-wing motion.

Those instructors want you to pass and they'll go above and beyond to help you do it. If you have questions, ask 'em. If you need a bit of extra help, ask for it; they'll be glad to do it!

Above everything else, have fun with it! Good luck!

[Tiny]

Ride the **** out of those little 250's! Lotsa fun to be had! Rev high, pop the cluthc, etc! Have fun!

[Tarheel_Rider]

Relax and have fun. It isn't life or death, but the skills you learn and practice may be, so put yourself in the position to learn the most - do not worry about being judged or being perfect. Far better to screw it up here where you can get useful feedback and advice than to get through the course but miss the point.

[XON]

Thx for the loose arms info. Definitely work on that.

And I sure will try that wheelie/stoppie stuff. . . I can't wait to be a real motorcyclerist. . .;)

And Safe Rides to you too, Sominus.

[AZST]

If its the basic MSF course, where they supply the bikes, take advantage of the opportunity to practice wheelies and stoppies on someone else's bike.

If you do a wheelie at the start of the course, landing on and smashing one of the orange cones, the instructors will be impressed and leave you alone. No more than chest high tho.

Good luck.

...oh brother....:p:

--Bryan
04ST1300A
STOC# 5197
:04biker:

[sherob]

I'm taking the course tonite, too (Pasadena, TX)...

If you get the red ST1100 female instructor... she rocks! :D

[motomonkey]

For general info, my wife and I took the MSF basic course last summer, what I would do differently? take lots of sweat-proof sunscreen.... and drink LOTS of water, make sure the boots you wear are broken in and fit well, (wife's boots were not broken in enough, had to swap to another pair on day two) as well as bring good sunglasses. wife and I both work nights, so we kind of underestimated the effects of 8 hours of Kentucky summer sun reflecting off a parking lot, we both burned, wife Burned badly (side affect of some meds she was taking). we both had a lot of fun even with the burn.

we have both been riding about a year now, me with a new-to-me 04 ST, (used to be creakynecks) her on a Yamaha 1100 silverado V-star. which is one of the few bikes of that size she can touch the ground well with her feet. She's a bit short. Anyone know of a sport, or sport-touring type bike that a short woman could hold up? shes been casting envious eyes at my ST...

[Tiny]

I sat on a Kaw 1400 last week and that thing is tiny! I doubt you want her to get one of those unless you're supremely confident of your manhood! ;)

[Carl_T]

Sat on a Yamaha FZ6 at the bike show earlier this year. Supremely comfortable, reasonably upright seating, light enough, and you could always lower the seat 1 inch if needed, it's 31 inches stock.

My wife just picked up a Kawasaki ninja 250. Light as a bicycle, not much beans, but 1-60 in 5 something seconds makes it as fast as a snappy car if you rev it (which it will take hours on end). She is loving the bike as it is a feather to handle for her with a very low seat height. She zings along behind me at a true 65 mph no problem including up hills (it will do 100). It just doesn't rocket out of turns very fast like larger bikes, however it handles quite well. It needed a 15 tooth countershaft sprocket, (bolts right on) 1 tooth more, then it was good to go.

It's a perfect starter if she hasn't ridden much before.

Otherwise if she has much experience an FZ6 might work out.

[sherob]

Well how did your class turn out XON and Sominos :)