Re: Basic RiderCourse (MSF BRC)

1) DO NOT WEAR A FULL-FACE HELMET ON THE RIDERCOURSE RANGE. You must
wear a DOT helmet (3/4 or 1/2 is legal, remember), and eye protection.
(goggles, face shield). Don't wear a full-face helmet though. You will
get points deducted on your skills exam for this,

Ummm, no, you won't. You get nailed for points if you look down. I happen
to be a Rider Coach and having watched a couple of hundred people riding
through the curve, I can tell you that looking down is seldom a problem.
1/2 helmets are not permitted on the MSF course.

2) Part of the skills test is a figure 8. IT IS A BITCH. Out of 12
students in our class, only ONE completed the figure 8 with no points
deducted

Most people obsess over the 'box', but it is also the least critical of the
four skills test (8 points max, you can get up to 15 points for the other
three, with total accumulation of 21 being the failure point). The box is
great at teaching the student to co-ordinate clutch/throttle use. I have
seen folks who have had no motorcycle experience and few bicycle skills
master the box very quickly. I always tell them that this is parking lot
stuff and if they are worried about it in real life, then they should shut
the bike off, dismount, and push. This test/exercise is excellent in that
it forces the student to put together all the basics they have learned so
far.

3) BRING RAINGEAR TO THE RANGE (

Common sense. You bring your gear, it won't rain. Leave your gear home,
you're gonna get wet.

General thoughts on the RiderCourse:
It barely touches on a lot of basic skills.

Yes, it does touch on the basic skills. That is why it is called the Basic
Rider's Course. To say 'barely' I think is unfair. When I teach, it is
very obvious when the students are 'getting it', and interestingly enough,
that is usually when the exercise is scheduled to be completed. You
mentioned the fatigue factor. That is another reason why we don't spend too
long on any one exercise; hard to learn when you are exhausted. When the
students 'get' the exercise, we move on. Why waste the time?
I always tell people who have passed that they are now qualified to ride
around in a parking lot while avoiding cones - for the most part. I stress
to them that they are only BASIC riders and that they must now go on to
learn and improve their skills. Passing the BRC does not make you a good
motorcyclist. It is intended to start you off on the right foot. It is up
to the individual rider to take what they have learned and put it into
practice. I also tell them that while they are riding, that they must
evaluate every incident that they encounter and think about what they could
have done differently. It does not matter whose fault it was, in fact, an
incident that is not the rider's fault should be examined even more
carefully. I feel that if you are constantly running into the same issues,
then it may not be the fault of others. As motorcyclists, I think that the
best way to stay safe is to take full responsibility for everything that
goes on while we ride.


The pace of the range is very fast. You will proceed from one excercise
to the next with barely a pause to issue instructions for the next
excercise.

It is fast paced and does require students to keep up. There are plenty of
natural pauses during the range time to allow students to catch their breath
and assimilate what they have been taught.


You have to be mentally and physically ready to "keep up", as the range is
both mentally AND physically challenging.

Yup, 'nuff said.

The range > activity will require your FULL concentration, if you have any
chance at all of getting anything out of it. -Dave


At the risk of repeating what another poster said, you need to concentrate
fully on your riding - it is the only way to survive.













.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Why do so many people hate or have trouble with math? Your input is needed!
    ... skills are as necessary as basic literate skills (reading and ... Around the 7th grade students are introduced to pre-algebra or algebra. ... learn the basics of algebra the way we deal with history or geoegraphy. ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Joe Pass as teacher
    ... For students with talent willing to work hard, ... inspired teachers, but not necessarily for their research skills), you send ... So from my perspective Joe Pass' "failings" as a teacher are really only the ... etc and want to make 'art". ...
    (rec.music.makers.guitar.jazz)
  • Re: Top 10 skills that schools should teach
    ... Let me do a Pietro and share a wonderful article on skills which should be ... I suggest schools should consider teaching the following skills: ... pace needs to be taught, together with the most appropriate posture, ... All students need to be taught to read body language, to sense mood, to ...
    (soc.culture.filipino)
  • Re: Top 10 skills that schools should teach
    ... Let me do a Pietro and share a wonderful article on skills which should be ... I suggest schools should consider teaching the following skills: ... pace needs to be taught, together with the most appropriate posture, ... All students need to be taught to read body language, to sense mood, to ...
    (soc.culture.filipino)
  • Re: Advice for mid-life career change (to programming)
    ... >>jobs and old skills such as Cobol aren't needed ... Employers won't ... It allowed programming students to get access to a computer. ... > India taxes their businesses rather highly. ...
    (comp.programming)
Loading