I'm Licensed! / MSF Tips

phatch · Post by **phatch** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:25 am

Gang,

I can't believe that I didn't post this earlier... but after studying YouTube videos the night before, and practicing in the Walmart parking lot the hour before with a measuring tape and tupperware cones, I PASSED the motorcycle exam at the "MVD" - Officially licensed!! w00t.

I do plan on taking the MSF soon in the future, because I know that even the licensed riders who took it later still learned a lot. SO, I wanted to ask those who have taken it... what's the one thing you learned that really stuck out from the course? What do you still remember? What was that "aha" moment?

Skootz Kabootz · Post by **Skootz Kabootz** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 10:21 am

Congrats on passing your test. That must feel great!

For me the MSF is more about the state of mind you develop rather than any one particular technique. You will not leave the MSF a veteran rider. That takes years of riding. But you can leave there thinking the kind of thoughts that will help you stay alive on the roads. They serve me well every single time I ride.

That said, if I had to name one particular riding technique I learned at the MSF as most important, emergency braking would be at the top of my list.

DanielPerrin · Post by **DanielPerrin** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 10:28 am

Good job passing your exam.

There are two things that I remember very often.

1) Keep out of blind spots. Someone else on MB said to drive like we are invisible, which is always good advice. When you are riding in a blind spot, you really are invisible. So keep out of the blind spots or be ready for the driver to act like they can't see you, because they can't.

2) Don't brake in a turn. Brake all you want while you are riding straight, but don't brake in the turn. I use this in the car, also.

Mutt the Hoople · Post by **Mutt the Hoople** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 10:38 am

Congratulations!!! Glad you posted that. I did a similar thing. I passed the written part, and was going to take the course and hopefully pass that and get the waiver on the riding part for my license. Then I broke my wrist and had to withdraw from the course. Of course it's filled and now it will be autumn before I can take it. But I practiced so much in a parking lot that when I saw videos on what they do for the riding part here, i though it looked like I could pass it at the DMV, which I did. But I'm still taking the course.

Where did you take your test? And if you don't mind me asking, did you find it kind of stupid easy? Maybe because i practiced going really slow... Slow as I possible could on my Buddy, and when I felt really comfortable with that I started doing the same with the Vespa, which was more difficult as it is heavier... But I was surprised there was not more to the test than there was. I could't help but think about all the crazy guys on crotch rockets here and when I see them racing and zig-zagging down the street I think OMG all you had to do to get your license for that thing is rise around some cones and stop properly

Anyway, got my license too but taking it easy till I take the class so I don't do anything that would put me in situations that I don't have the proper skills to deal with.

Hope you get some good answers here because I'm curious too.

spr0k3t · Post by **spr0k3t** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 12:52 pm

Congrats!

As for techniques... for me it was the compressed forks into a high speed 120 degree turn. When you ride into the same turn without compressing the front fork, the final out is almost 10mph less. If you compress the front before going into the turns, the bike gives a better grip while releasing the pressure on the forks. It's very hard to notice, but when executed correctly you will take that one with you many times over. Second best techniques, counter steering and quick evasion.

KABarash · Post by **KABarash** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 3:02 pm

Mutt the Hoople wrote:I could't help but think about all the crazy guys on crotch rockets here and when I see them racing and zig-zagging down the street I think OMG all you had to do to get your license for that thing is rise around some cones and stop properly

Insane, ain't it!!?
I actually was thinking about that just the other day, I saw someone doing JUST that in rush hour traffic, girl on back just wearing a 'novelty' helmet. Three-four miles later I came up behind them, she was standing there, road rash from shoulder to ankle kicking him. He was dead, they'd rear ended a pickup truck!!

Mutt the Hoople · Post by **Mutt the Hoople** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:22 pm

KABarash wrote:
Mutt the Hoople wrote:I could't help but think about all the crazy guys on crotch rockets here and when I see them racing and zig-zagging down the street I think OMG all you had to do to get your license for that thing is rise around some cones and stop properly
Insane, ain't it!!?
I actually was thinking about that just the other day, I saw someone doing JUST that in rush hour traffic, girl on back just wearing a 'novelty' helmet. Three-four miles later I came up behind them, she was standing there, road rash from shoulder to ankle kicking him. He was dead, they'd rear ended a pickup truck!!

OMG... Are you serious? It does not surprise me at all but it's still horrible. But it pisses me off when I see those idiots not just risking their own lives, but also the lives of anyone else who may happen to be sharing the road with them.

I was expecting more from the riding part of the test. I thought it was easier than the driving test. Or maybe less stressful as you don't have the instructor right next to you like you do in the car. But riding seems so much more complicated then driving. Not the concept so much but you have to be so much more aware. A road surface that would be no big deal in a car could do you in on a bike or scooter. A slick spot, etc. It's not a passive thing. I just thought cones and stopping? That's IT??? The course I plotted out in the parking lot was a whole lot more difficult. I'm glad I passed it so easily but stil... I did better than on my drivers test and I've been driving since 1978 and haven't had a moving violation in 22 years. (I choked on the parallel parking bit... I live in the city and do it all of the time on the first try, sit a cop next to me and I get the rear wheels over the curb

)

phatch · Post by **phatch** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 1:53 am

Mutt the Hoople wrote:Where did you take your test? And if you don't mind me asking, did you find it kind of stupid easy? Maybe because i practiced going really slow...

Took it in Mesa, AZ. Yes, it was actually easy... and really, I'm never going to weave through cones in "real life" on the road.

As you know, the Buddy is automatic doesn't have a "friction zone" like manual bikes with a clutch. This was really the only trouble I had. It's hard to feather through on the automatic, and I can't speak for any other Buddy, but mine requires quite a bit of throttle before it actually moves forward. Handling was a breeze, though!

KABarash wrote:Three-four miles later I came up behind them, she was standing there, road rash from shoulder to ankle kicking him. He was dead, they'd rear ended a pickup truck!!

phatch · Post by **phatch** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 1:55 am

Skootz Kabootz wrote:...That said, if I had to name one particular riding technique I learned at the MSF as most important, emergency braking would be at the top of my list.

Funny you say that, because that day when I was practicing the quick stop, I actually skidded! Freaked me out big time, because it's never happened before.

DanielPerrin wrote:...2) Don't brake in a turn. Brake all you want while you are riding straight, but don't brake in the turn. I use this in the car, also.

YES.. In a car, I brake in turns all the time. It's taken a conscious effort not to on the Bud!