i got my permit today

[mach1]

so iw ent to the dmv this morning and took my test, no studying at all and passed now i can start practicing  ..

[El Bandito]

You planning on taking the MSF course? If not, I would highly recommend it so you have a more likely chance of not killing yourself.

[pingpong]

You planning on taking the MSF course? If not, I would highly recommend it so you have a more likely chance of not killing yourself.

+10000000

[Matty B 500]

Its alot of fun too!

[scratch]

True!  It IS fun!

Congradulations on the test.

The MSF was the best thing that ever hapened to me and that was after I had been riding 6 years, and racing for 1.  Do it.

[pandy]

Congrats on the permit! +10,000 on the MSF! 

[mach1]

as i said in other posts i take it in march

[Matty B 500]

Woooot! 

[pandy]

as i said in other posts i take it in march

Most of us are senile (myself especially).... 

[Matty B 500]

 

[3imo]

We need to be licensed?

woohoo. Keep the shiney side up.  lucky for me there is no shiney side. haha

[jdanna]

i didnt take the msf, just got a bike and started riding without a license, and eventually took the test.

not really the recomended course of action, so i am going to take the msf ERC class this spring or summer

[Alpha13]

i didnt take the msf, just got a bike and started riding without a license, and eventually took the test.

not really the recomended course of action, so i am going to take the msf ERC class this spring or summer

You didn't miss much. I wish I hadn't listened to all these guys that swore by the MSF because, to me at least, it was not worth $150 at all. The 5 hour lecture was about 95% common sense with a few useful items that could have been learned from studying the DMV book (stay in a car's field of view, go over flat objects and grates at a 90 degree angle and slightly elevated off the seat, etc) The riding portion would be helpful to people who had no one to teach them. For me, I did know some fellow riders, one of which who offered to coach me in a parking lot. If I took up his offer I could have made much better use of my time to practice than at the MSF. Not only does it move at a snail's pace (this is good and bad) but a large part of the 10 hours is spent on setting up exercises, waiting your turn to go, breaks, and other time wasters.

If you know someone who's willing to help you learn in a parking lot, I strongly recommend printing out the MSF excercises (found online) and learning yourself.

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

I'm gonna have to disagree with Alpha. It's been statistically proven that riders who either have no formal training, or are taught by friends are more likely to have a serious wreck than riders who take an MSF approved course.

[TragicImage]

I'm still saying that you should try the SkillzDay on the 4th of Feb... you can learn alot even though it is alittle bit more advanced than the BRC from the MSF

[ledfingers]

if you're a fast learner, ride a bit, practice the MSF excersizes with someone who knows what they're doing (who wears full gear! don't have a squiddy teenager teach you), then take the ERC MSF course. I'm glad i took the MSF and thought it very very informative, but i was bored out of my freaking skull for 70% of it. I hardly got to practice that one where you nail 3rd halfway through the corner then downshift going into the corner because everyone in front of me was too scared to get into 3rd. It drove me crazy.

[alerbaugh]

i took the brc with my dad and the erc with some friends.  each time was a blast.  im taking the erc again this summer with my wife after i take her over the course a few times and feel she's ready.

[TarzanBoy]

I'm gonna have to disagree with Alpha. It's been statistically proven that riders who either have no formal training, or are taught by friends are more likely to have a serious wreck than riders who take an MSF approved course.

If you don't:
1.  have a responsible, knowlegable, experienced (at least 10 years) rider to teach you how to ride *and* ride with you for the first ~300 miles or so
2.  research good riding technique and learn for yourself some of the drills and things they cover in MSF (http://www.msgroup.org/TIP003.html is a good place to start)
3.  have a nearby area to practice riding the bike/controls free of cars or other hazards

Then MSF is probably the wiser choice.

I was lucky enough to have a roommate who's been riding for 20+ years that could teach me to ride... and i soaked up as much information on technique and safe practices as I could.   I did try to take the MSF, but the classes were always full.... and by time there were spaces I already had my license and almost 2000 miles on the bike.... so basically a lot of the course would have been wasted on me.

That's not to say that I didn't have close calls while learning.   
•Almost hit an oncoming SUV when I took one of my first-ever full speed (90º ~35 mph) sweeping wide turns (right turn onto a 2-lane street... was probably 2 ft from the SUV when i straightened up)
•Almost hit a curb making a left turn into my subdivision
•Locked the rear tire on the street while braking hard for a stoplight (GS500= crappy brakes)

MSF probably wouldnt' have helped with any of the above 3 situations since you never get up to faster than ~25 mph in the classes.

However, I am proud to report that I still have yet to ever drop a bike. 

Moral of the story:   If you don't have access to good teachers/info... then MSF is the better way to go.

[VTNewb]

MSF can be expensive.

I had been riding dirtbikes a long time, so I didn't do the MSF thing. The proctor for my DMV test was a MSF instructor, who told me that the DMV test is much harder than the MSF stuff. Not sure if DMV tests differ from state to state.

I did however get to witness a couple things.

80% of those that tried the DMV test failed.

Of those that past, a large portion passed with no points off at all.
Only one kid on a hyosung enduro "barely" made it through. The rest were quite well versed as far as I could see.

EDIT: Also, the DMV swerve test was hilarious to watch. 

[Unnamed]

I took the test after about 70 miles of practice, most up and down my street. I passed with 6 or so points out of the 12, and never bothered getting a permit. I took the msf a couple weeks later. I wouldn't really say its hard to pass in Illinois, although not easy (definitely easier on a smaller bike). In my msf there was one harley-type who had failed on a nighthawk.

In my opinion, the permit system for motorcycles is deeply flawed. When you learn to drive a car you can have a parent sitting in the seat next to you giving advice and it works well. In a bike the person will be several feet away, couldn't reasonably be sitting 2 up, and still won't really teach you what you need to know. I didn't even consider getting a permit since I didn't know anyone else with a motorcycle, and a permit is useless without a friend riding with you all the time.

Although this isn't really the right place to get into it, US motorcycle laws need an overhaul anyway. We need a system more like the UK with a graduated license system so noobs have to ride noob bikes. It totally takes away the noobs buying supersport element. The whole biker culture is much more mature over there.