One piece of MSF advice I never see posted

[HunteR151]

So its now been about 6-8 months since Ive taken my MSF course, but I figured Id post one thing that I havent seen posted anywhere in beginner guides or suggestions.

My MSF instructions course had an option for a $25 'extra practice' session, which was similar to the actual course, but more laid back and with fewer people. I think they would limit the groups to 6 people and we would spend 4-6 hours in the parking lot just riding the same practices over and over again. The instructors were still there and would still offer suggestions on how to improve technique, or criticize things done wrong, but the amount of seat time was huge. One thing I noticed about the main MSF course is just as I got the hang of any given exercise, the group would stop and go onto something new. It was just enough time to introduce us to proper techniques, but not nearly enough time to solidify the technique to automation (maybe they figure that's what the streets are for?). The extra practice was exactly what I needed to ingrain everything that was covered in the class in a safe and relaxed environment.

Im not sure why Im posting this here, since 99% of you are well beyond the point of the MSF course, but maybe some newbie will find his way to read this and go on to be a better rider from it. Anyone else take this extra practice, or at least have it offered with your course?

[Bumblebee]

since 99% of you are well beyond the point of the MSF course

Not really. Anyone who believes they are beyond the basics has a serious reality disconnect.

One of the worst things I sometimes see coming from people who took the MSF class is that there is a mindset that they were trained and are safe and never have to practice that stuff again - it's the same attitude that comes out of drivers training. What they don't realize is that the course they take is the minimum concepts of the basics which barely gets them around an empty parking lot without crashing too many times.

To be safe, you have to stay proficient. To stay proficient, you have to practice regularly - as in at least once a month. Quite a few of us do parking lot practice on our own regularly even though we have years and even centuries of experience. I don't know about others however I train myself to a higher standard each time which results in dumping the motorcycle regularly - they're typically slow drops however I still have to pick myself and it up. If you have someone to analyze what you're doing, great. If not, you still have to practice and analyze your own proficiency objectively.

[coffee_brake]

I've never heard of an extra supervised practice session. Great idea, though....

[ariwhiteboy]

I like that idea too...you'll find many of us do slow skills MSF type stuff in parking lots to keep ourselves sharp. I'm lucky enough to be best friends with an MSF instructor, so I don't have to pay the $25.