• A few people have been scammed on the site, Only use paypal to pay for items for sale by other members. If they will not use paypal, its likely a scam NEVER SEND E-TRANSFERS OF ANY KIND.

Heading to Advanced Rider course tomorrow

MZ5

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2012
Messages
2,217
Reaction score
532
Points
113
Location
Arizona, USA
Visit site
It's been longer than I'd realized, so I decided to go to a 1-day advanced rider training by way of a refresher. My riding partner is taking the class, too. I haven't taken this particular course before. Have any of you? I was largely off the bike for a while, but have been commuting on it again, so the miles are once again racking up, and refresher training seemed like a good idea.
 
I took the MSF Advanced Rider course last spring. I really enjoyed it and learned a few new skills. We had six riders and two instructors. Lots of one on one attention.

We spent most of the day on two wheels. I clocked 20 miles on my bike doing the exercises between the cones in the large parking lot.

Have fun and really try to practice the techniques they teach while you are there. They can watch you and give you direct and immediate feedback to help you improve. We had a guy that was half-hearted all morning. It wasn’t until after lunch he really engaged and then he saw rapid improvement. By the end of the day he was able to navigate the tight cone course with his cruiser. He didn’t believe it was possible until one instructor did the course with a Harley bagger to prove it is possible with proper technique.

JT
 
I have taken a number of riding courses and enjoyed all of them. The instructors can often modify the difficulty to make it more or less challenging based on how you are doing. I do at least one a year. This year I have signed up for one in June...to much work travel interferes with riding :(
 
Got my card. (-:
Arizona has something called TEAM Arizona and they have their own names for the classes, but the card says MSF Advanced Rider Course. I thought it was a good class. I have both of Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist books plus Lee Parks' Total Control book, and it was very nice to practice some of the subject matter in them with a coach that could watch, critique, and provide useful feedback or correction. This is a class I would take again in the future. The classroom portion was good, too, with some interesting and challenging visual & mental exercises.

I was debating between this class and a Total Control class, which is also taught by or at least at the TEAM Arizona place (but affiliated with Lee Parks' outfit). My riding partner (my dad) and I decided this one would be the better fit for the two of us, and I think that was the right call. I'd like to take the Total Control class in the late fall or early spring next year, though.

I'd recommend rider training to anyone. Whether you're super experienced or brand spanking new or anywhere in between, there's _something_ useful and even new to be found in these classes.
 
I completely forgot to mention:

The one rider coach came to me at a break and asked me if the NCX was as good as all the articles a few years ago said. I told him I sure thought it was!
 
Depending on your location and what sort of riding you do... I'd recommend a trackday instead, with an organization that provides good instruction.
 
I’ve never been to a track day, but I can assume it focuses more on riding.

The MSF course focuses more on emergency situations, low speed maneuvers, and things related to traffic conditions with only a few speed-related curve/trail-braking techniques.

JT
 
Trail braking and decreasing-radius corners were primary foci of the class I took. I ride on the street, so street riding training seems sensible to me. I _would_ like a class with some slightly higher-speed work. Not track speed, just higher than 15 - 25 mph, particularly since even in this ARC there were some people who either weren't very advanced, or just weren't willing to do more than gingerly idle through the course. I don't mind them doing what they're comfortable doing, except that it _did_ interfere with my ability to move fast enough to make a challenge for myself sometimes.

There is a track surprisingly near me. I can't rent a track day from them here, because my leathers (yes, I still have my sportbike leathers for some reason) don't zip together; they're different brands. Perhaps some day...

***EDIT:
You know, now that I think of it, the NCX wouldn't get up much past highway speed on a lot of tracks anyway, so maybe a track day for this bike _would_ just be a road-speed training day. LOL!
(-:
 
Last edited:
Most of the gear I've bought new has come with a zipper for the other side, so you can sew it onto a different brand. Any chance yours did, and you still have em? Or maybe they're available from the manufacturer.

If I'm just off for a ride, rather than doing other things as well, I'll generally wear full leathers on the NC rather than the AeroStich. Maybe it looks funny to some people but oh well.

Different tracks are weird about gear. On supermotos I regularly see guys on (kart) tracks with next to no gear - MX stuff only, often nothing under the jersey. On a 230lb 60hp+ (at the tire) bike, with high corner speeds, it doesn't take much of a straight to get up to the same speeds you'd be seeing on the NC on a big track. I sure don't trust a jersey to protect me at that point, or MX gloves, but it's common to see.
 
Back
Top