Oklahoma City-area **FREE** rider courses

[DanielPerrin]

I spent today going through the **FREE** OSU-OKC "Ready To Ride" class. It was a less-tame version of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) ERC. The MSF ERC is mostly not taught in Oklahoma, for whatever reason. OSU-OKC has a spectacular driving range and private two-lane road. I was reminded of some things that I learned in my first MSF course, and we learned new safety skills. We got to practice on the driving range, and then also on their private road course. We drove at least 20 miles in the course exercises today.

It was funny taking a course with a lot of motorcyclists. They kept saying things like "second gear", "friction point", "pull in the clutch", "gear lever", "make sure you are in first gear when you stop in case you need to go quickly", and even "Everytime you throw your leg over the seat...". The Buddy's performance broke some stereotypes. There was scooter envy: I was told that riding a scooter would be the most fun vehicle of any one there, one of the other students wished he had a scooter instead of his Gold Wing, and I was the clear winner in the u-turn radius exercise.

The "Ready To Ride" course was **FREE**, and is funded by grants from the $3 fee that all motorcyclists pay in their registration. It also counts as 7 hours of defensive driving motorcycle training, and might get you an insurance discount. They have two more "Ready To Ride" courses coming in October, and then another four between April 2013 and June 2013. I don't know course dates beyond that.

Starting Nov 1, OSU-OKC will also be administering the DMV written test, so you can get both the written and driving parts of the test done at their facility if you take the MSF BRC, and maybe also this "Ready To Ride" class. That's better than dealing with DMV people, processes, and paperwork.

OSU-OKC isn't the only free class in OK. The Highway Patrol also has one, and so does Edmond Police. The Edmond Police are snooty, saying, "The motorcycle cannot be smaller than a 250cc or any type of scooter or three wheeler".

Here are some links:
** OSU-OKC Ready to Ride http://www.osuokc.edu/motorcycle/readytoride.aspx
** Oklahoma Highway Patrol Motorcycle Safety Program http://www.ohpsaferiders.com/
** Edmond Police Civilian Motorcycle School http://edmondok.com/index.aspx?NID=577

[leicester]

Thanks for the info! I've been wanting to take one of the basic MSF courses, since I'm new to motor bikes in general, but I wasn't sure where to look. Do you know if they have any scooter courses? The MSF website advertises a couple of different scooter-centered courses but I'm guessing it's only select locations.

Josh

[DanielPerrin]

Thanks for the info! I've been wanting to take one of the basic MSF courses, since I'm new to motor bikes in general, but I wasn't sure where to look. Do you know if they have any scooter courses? The MSF website advertises a couple of different scooter-centered courses but I'm guessing it's only select locations.

Josh

The MSF course is the way to go. There are lots of supporters of the course on Modern Buddy, and I say that I still use things every day that I learned in the course 20 years ago. The OSU-OKC instructors were surprised with how well the Buddy performed, so I'll say they don't have a scooter class. I say you have five good choices.

1. Contact the OSU-OKC people to see if they know of any scooter classes around.
2. Contact the OSU-OKC people to see how welcome your new scooter would be in the Basic Rider Course.
3. Take the Highway Patrol course.
4. Combination of 1, 2 and 3
5. Rent a motorcycle from OSU-OKC and use it for the course. You will learn to shift and other things that you can ignore once you get on your scooter, but it's a great course.

[DanielPerrin]

[*]Contact the OSU-OKC people to see how welcome your new scooter would be in the Basic Rider Course.
[*]Take the Highway Patrol course.


I contacted the Highway Patrol and am waiting to hear back from them. OSU-OKC says that you can bring your scooter to the course, however they will provide helmets and motorcycles for this basic course. You need your own vehicle and an M endorsement for the "Ready To Ride" course and scooters are welcome.

[Edit: clarified OSU-OKC requirements for the basic course]

[pugbuddy]

I would like to retake the MSF course. It would be worth a scoot down to OKC from Tulsa. If it's only one day, I will have to look into it! Thanks!