Modern Buddy

All in all it went pretty well. Getting to ride on a Suzuki TU250x, which is a nice little bike. I kinda want one now. I got the hang of the clutch very quickly (no more wheelies like on the Stella!). Most of the riding has been pretty easy and aside from shifting was nothing new. It was going great, right up until it wasn't. Last time around when practising hard braking, the guy put his hands up signalling me to apply the brakes, and what do I do? Locked the front wheel and bang. Bike went down and I flew off. Tucked and rolled and popped right back up onto my feet. 10 out of 10 for style, but damn... not a good way to end the day. Oh well. That's why we take the course, I suppose. Hurt pride and a couple bruises are all I suffered. The bike took it pretty well too with just a bent bar end and broken headlight trim.

glad you're ok

From what i gathered, the 250 Suzuki isn't sold here in CA.

That's my favorite part of the msf. Not my bike.

I keep telling those MSF guys there's a simple way to teach the stoppie, but they never listen...


Seriously, I'm glad you survived with your sense of humor and your body (mostly) intact.

I took the course back in 1995, when I was still in high school and needed Mommy to sign a waiver because I was 17 years old. I had lots of dirt biking experience but no (legal) street experience.
The course has saved my a$$ more times than I can count in the years since.
I'd also recommend the Experienced Rider Course when the time comes, it's for riders with over one year of recent experience.
You use your own bike on the course, which in my case was a Honda XR250L, a street legal dirt bike. It makes a huge difference, as I'm sure you've noticed all bikes handle differently.

I'm glad you're taking the course, and it sounds like you're learning a lot. Sounds like you landed well too! I tend to just SPLAT!

Good luck and have fun!

Thanks for the kind replies.

Day 2 went by without incident. The tests went very well. I made a 100 on the written portion and only had three points for mistakes (you can still pass with up to 15) on the riding tests.

The TU250x ("TUX") Is a great bike. I have about 30,000 on mine. My wife and I Have taken 2 week long tours on it, 2 up with a bunch of camping gear. It's not the quickest bike, or the fastest, but it handles well, and can do just about anything "well enough". I love mine!

Happens to the best of us.