Basic Rider Course

Last Tuesday and Wednesday was spent attending the Basic Riding Course at the Honda Rider Education Center in Colton. Passing the course meant that I did not have to take the motorcycle skill test at the Department of Motor Vehicles. (Sample test here. I had earlier passed the written test for both cars and motorcycles.) I learned later that one gets a substantial discount on the insurance premium on a motorcycle after completing this course.

There were seven of us in the class. Most interesting was Dave, a 70 year old Vietnam vet (3 tours of duty, Silver Star, Bronze star) who rides a raked out, hard tail Harley. He has been riding for 30 years without a motorcycle license and only applied for a MC license after the insurance company threatened to terminate the insurance on his bikes. It seems, given the rake of his bike, that he could not successfully navigate the tight turn required in the DMV test even though we was a good and experienced rider. So he decided to attend this course. (After we finished the course, he invited me to drop by his 40 acre farm in Temecula. I hope I get a motorcycle real soon before it gets too cold to ride.)

In the classroom, we were given a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) manual and answered the questions on the back of the manual. We also watched videos that echoed the topics discussed in the manual.

After the pencil work, we were off to the back where a large cordoned area would serve as the practice area. (The school also has a course for those learning how to ride dirt.) For those who did not bring the required gear, the school provided ¾ face helmets and long sleeve shirts. (We were asked to wear shoes that covered the ankle and bring along full-fingered gloves.) For our rides, it was either a 230cc CRF or a 250cc Nighthawk. Under the watchful eyes of our teachers Jeff and Joel, we performed various exercises on the bikes. As everybody had experience riding bikes, most found the exercises were quite easy to perform, except for the slow double turn in a tight space.

All of us passed the written and practical exams. By the way, the course fee is $250.