I also took the course after a long hiatus of not riding. My background was all off road biking and I thought I should take the MSF beginners course to both learn something and get my license. I'm also in PA and I think you're right about the instructors being lenient. They were very friendly and informative, but it seemed too easy to pass the test. I had a pretty good class. Mixed bag of backgrounds. The only person who failed the test was the "teachers pet" throughout the whole course. She dumped her bike on the emergency quick stop part of the exam. Then got on her 1300cc Yamaha and rode home!
The only perfect score on the four-part final test was a girl, a high-school senior who also had a broken wrist with a cast on. All in all I think the course was well worth the time to take. It's also free in PA!
