hi I want to ask some questions if you don't mind, did you go to some learning school to ride motorcycle or did you just practice yourself? can you answer this plz? which one is easier?
you go to school to learn math,chemistry,and physics. you learn to ride a motorcycle by riding. check out the msf course if you want to go that route. (school that is)
ha ha verry funy -_-;; I'm not talking about that school .. --.... just asking driving school or just riding by yourself?
Originally written by christyu on 6/12/2007 1:22 PM
ha ha verry funy -_-;; I'm not talking about that school .. --.... just asking driving school or just riding by yourself?
msf= motorcycle safety foundation courses. check it out + you get a discount on your insurance.
Hey christyu,
still thinking about it, eh! Good for you!
Don't listen to the ignorant posturing of wannabe bikers- sure you can learn to ride by running into things until you figure it out, but you don't need to do that. Taking a class is the best way to get the hang of it. It is safer, the programs are well thought out and the coaches are usually very good at what they do. Best of all, most beginners classes provide the bikes, so you don't have to beat up your own machine when you are getting your first lessons! You don't even need to own a bike to get started!
Of course you need to practice, and you will only get good at it by going out and riding, but the classes will show you what to work on and give you some survival tips that not every beginner lives to learn on their own. The classes provide the basic foundation and you build on that by going out and practicing what you learned. Simple.
The MSF beginners classes are great places to start. i recommend you do that first, whether you intend to go on to sidecars or not. The S/TEP classes are the program for learning to drive a sidecar. Even though you can take the S/TEP class with no prior moto experience, you get a lot more out of it if you have some idea how a motorcycle works and some practice with the throttle and clutch-that's why the MSF class is a good place to start.
Good Luck!
Let us know how it goes...
and to answer your question- I taught myself to ride on a cantankerous old BSA.I rode year round for a number of years until the folks at my local ABATE chapter organized and started promoting the Team Oregon program(similar, but not the same as the MSF) I took one of the first classes they did out here and I was amazed at how much I learned and how much my riding improved!
I taught myself to ride sidecars, using Hal Kendal's books and running over a few things. I rode sidecars for many years before I got interested in teaching the S/TEP class. I had to take the class and then go through the instructors training program. Again, I learned a number of things I never would have picked up on my own. I was surprised that the instructors at Evergreen, who hadn't any practical street experience with sidecars could indeed teach this old dog some new tricks!
If you can get to a driving class, it just makes no sense to start out any other way. It works.
It has been sai dthat the school of experience is a good one but the tuition can be high.
Taking a class will not in itself automatically make you a good rider but it will help you to be able to learn faster and better by your own dedication to practice. It will also help you to practice in a way to develope good techniques. Practice is good but being able to practice 'right' is better.
I have yet to hear someone say they did not learn something by taking a class unless they were just a stubborn know it all who was set in their ways to the point of being unteachable.
