Licence for Australia, USA, UK ETC - PLease Read

[KevinC]

Ahh yes, we only allow gas guzzling SUVs in NA....

Actually, there are some pretty awesome 400 cc, 4 stroke race reps available in Japan. Some of them are imported to NA by:

http://www.greybike.com/index.html

Not too much there at the moment, but the Japanese import FZR400 might be cool.

[Turkina]

Just to interrupt the displacement talk for a moment...

Here in NY the MSF basic rider skills course costs $300-400!  
I would like to take this course as soon as possible, so I could learn safe riding skills my friend might not remember to tell me.  Sure, I get my license after I take the course, but I think it would be better to have all riders educated, rather than reaming us poor people out of our money.  :x

Too many people just pass their written test and off they go on the baddest bike they can get their hands on.  I'm glad I bought my GS instead of a 600cc so I don't bite off more than I can chew while learning.

[paui]

my msf is scheduled for the weekend of aug 1-3 at queens community college and it cost a whopping $385!
i think my friend took it near roosevelt field mall and paid like 300
i think qcc is more expensive bc its in "New york City" as in the 5 boroughs....sucks......at least its a block from my gf's house....

[Turkina]

Here it's $370 and I think they add on a $10 charge for something useless.  I was thinking about going upstate for a weekend and take the course there, but prices aren't low enough to make it worthwhile.  Oh well, I can wait, I'll be overseas for next month with no motorcycle.

[bob]

Licensing here in Michigan is similar to the rest of the US - basically if you can stand upright & find your butt with both hands you're in like Flint.

I have been riding for over 30 years, so things like MSF were far in the future when I got my license.  I have always been of the opinion that a system similar to that in Germany or Japan would be a good idea.  I also think that car licenses should be more difficult to get, too.  Freedom does not equal the right to avoid proper & sufficient training, IMHO.  For example, if I'm ever in the position of needing the services of medical personnel, I can be pretty sure the person I'm depending on will have had significant training on the use of that bone saw (or whatever implement is called for) that he/she is coming at me with.  Well, a 4000 pound car or even a 400 pound motorcycle is easily as potentially damaging in incompetent hands as that bone saw.  I wish people would more often consider the potential lethality of the vehicle they are in control of, whether it has 2 wheels or 4.  I see far more people doing dangerous things in cars than I do on bikes, so I think maybe bikers have a little better understanding of their vulnerability, but until everybody limits their brain-off riding (or driving) to controlled situations in which risks are limited, i.e., a race track or similar, then I'll continue to vote for extensive training before turning someone loose on public streets.

BTW, I have said many times that it's nothing short of a miracle that I survived to see my 21st birthday - when I was young I griped about the restrictions (what few there were!) on licensing & such, but now I look back & think that with what little restrictions there were my survival must be nothing but providence.  

Life is fragile.

My last comment is this:  Ride as much as you can & enjoy it for all it's worth, but make sure you ride well within your limits & consider the ramifications of your actions - for yourself or others.

bob