Friday, I arrived at Harley Davidson in Concord, NH to take part in a training course organized by MOST Rider Training. They teach around 400 people a year how to ride in a basic course but they offer intermediate and advanced training as well. This figure compares to the state of New Hampshire attendance which is in the thousands but I chose MOST because they allowed me to sign-up online and pick my date & location. They don’t guarantee you pass but 2 instructors took 10 of us through the course over 3 days.
Friday, 6PM. We were supposed to have classroom time all night but with the chances of Rain, Snow & Freezing temps all weekend, we were given basic controls instruction and we were all sitting on bikes by 7PM. One of the advantages of this training was the state’s training course has a set schedule to follow and thus a lot of our training would have been rescheduled due to weather. MOST was able to work around the weather by modifying the order in which we did instruction. The grading at the end was identical to what the state offers.
Until around 9:30PM, we were walked through Motorcycle Controls, starting, stopping, the friction zone and how to brake. We were driving in straight lines, coming to a stop and walking our bikes in 180 degrees and doing it again. It was raining but temps were solid and luckily, I had my full gear so never felt a single drop of rain. We wrapped up with a bit more classroom time and were told to be back the next morning at 8AM.
Saturday, 8AM. This was a grueling day. Students changed into riding gear by 8:30 and we were out on our bikes. The tiny 250CC engine literally choked under my weight. It was carbed and not fuel injected liked my BMW so engine idle was a pain and my suspension was bottoming out. Note for overweight, trainees to be ready to work a little harder than others when learning on a bike that’s only 3 feet tall and weights 300 pounds.
This day was painful both in mental exhaustion and muscle fatigue. At a point around 2PM, my body simply wouldn’t take my mind’s commands and I couldn’t ride in a straight line due to arm and leg soreness. That day, we were sitting on bikes for 9 hours roughly. We stopped for lunch at 12 after practicing shifting into 2nd, downshifting, more friction zone training, corner, stopping and we started figure-8 training in a 20 foot wide box to simulate U-turns.
From 2-5 PM, we did many courses (16 in all). Here are some of them:
- Accelerate to 20 MPH in 2nd, come to a complete stop and downshift to 1st after passing a line and before passing the next line (done again w/ instructor telling us to stop at random times)
- Entering a corner in 2nd, reducing speed, rolling on throttle, staying in lines and maintaining a line
- Figure-8 & U-Turn in a small box
- Approaching 2 cones, weaving to avoid next cones left & right and instructor giving last-minute directional commands
- Slalom (wide & tight)
- going over 2x4s
- Avoiding obstacles
- Passing
- Changing Lanes
- Balancing at low speeds
- Fluttering the clutch
- Throttle control
- …and many more
At 5PM, we were each graded in 4 different exercises. You get points for mistakes and can’t exceed 21 points without failing. I passed with only 2 mistakes, not increasing speed through a turn and exiting the U-Turn box one time (it was only a slight exit but still had points added).
After some more class-room time, we left at 6:30PM. I had to use my arms to lift my legs into the car. It doesn’t help the training was 45 miles each way to get to the training center from my house…that was a very long drive home.
Saturday night, I slept really well. Like, I laid down, passed out and woke up the next morning to an alarm blaring that it was time for day-3 of training. Luckily, I left my gear at home and wore my normal clothes. It was 5 degrees F outside and was 30 when I got to Concord at 10AM for training. After some required marketing from the Harley Davidson shop that was hosting our class, we entered the classroom to go over everything I had already read on Friday before bed. I read the book twice actually before Sunday so it felt like an easy review.
At Noon, we had some lunch and took the test. I scored a 92%.
Overall, the booklet contained a lot of things I think auto-drivers should also be reading. How to look around, be aware, check blind spots, always indicate, when to turn on your headlights and most importantly, where you want to be in traffic, lane-choosing and being aware of surroundings. It was a good wrap-up and I thought it was really important. of course I took the book home and I’ll read it again in a few weeks.
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At 2PM, I received my MSF and State of New Hampshire cards verifying I passed the course. Monday, I went to the my closest DMV location in Claremont (an hour away) to get my motorcycle operator license. I have to wait for the real license to arrive in a few weeks. For now, I’m stuck with a paper one. Registering my motorcycle will cost $99 with the state, Insurance is $500 a year (for the best coverage with no accidents or violations on my record and a bike w/ ABS + Traction Control if anyone is curious).
The next 10 days of weather is bleak. single-digit lows, highs in the 20s, snow, rain, etc. I’m stuck using Heather’s car to get around since my vehicle has Summer-tires in preparation for Wookies in the Woods. Motorcycle Riding is without a doubt, not an option. I think once I’m back from Wookies, it’ll be warm enough to ride. I’m looking forward to it!
The MSF Course was fantastic. I wish it was required for all riders. Less than 1% of New Hampshire riders who die from motorcycle accidents took a safety course. It’s a scary figure but knowing I prepared myself to safely ride is a good feeling.
Thanks Wayne & Jenn.
