Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Doing a UK bike test.. on my Bonneville America..

I had sold my last Triumph in '83 and I had not ridden on two wheels since. Then I fell in love with Clyde. It was a '07 leftover Triumph Speedmaster at the local dealer. The price was right. The deal was struck.

I rode the bike home with paper plates and no motorcycle endorsement on my license. BUSTED. I decided that since I had not ridden for over 25 years maybe I could use a brush up lesson or two.

I signed up for the MSF riders course. The fees were reasonable and since it was being taught in a location over 80 miles away I figured I would use their bike rather than trailer mine to the location etc. Besides this new Triumph would have been a bear in some of the slow speed u turn and within a parking space things we ended up doing with the school bikes.

All was well. I found the place. We got geared up and we were issued a Suziki or Yamaha or whatever Jap flavor they had. These were all 125 cc bikes just smaller and lighter than my cruiser. The controls were all the same and it was easy and fun to ride.

The instruction was good, very much to the point and we went out and did things on a bike that I would have never done on my own. It was great. I learned how to manhandle this little bike into spots that I would never have belived possible.

I thought I knew how to ride before. I was wrong. Now I could make slow speed and very tight turns with complete control and confidence.

It ran over 6 hours and we certainly got our moneys worth. Having passed all the segements of the testing including a written test we were all given paperwork which when presented to DMV would get us the coveted Motorcycle Endorsement for our licenses. I got mine on the way back as I drove through Laughlin NV and found a very seldom used DMV office with a total of 3 people working there and only me.

I was out of there in 10 minutes and on my way home.

Now I was a licensed MCY operator and I started out with the Triumph and since then we have logged 12K miles and saved a lot of money on gas.

I highly urge anyone who has not taken the MSF course to consider it. Everyone will learn something and when you go don't even think about taking your Triumph unless you really are an expert at slow speed.

We had a guy with a 800 lb Moto Guzzi and when he got to the slow speed stuff he had to park it and use the school bike. Even the instructor when using the Moto Guzzi had a tough time doing those figure 8's inside a parking space.

The secret is to look where you want to go....not at the front wheel....not at the ground.....look where you intend to go and turn your head in that direction.....you will be surprised to see how tight your bike can turn and you will not fall over.

It was well worth the money but I still shudder and shake when I take this Speedmaster onto dirt and gravel roads. That front wheel just digs in the bike feels really unstable. So I keep to the hard surfaces and leave the dirt trails for the enduro and trails riders with the smaller bikes with the funny knobby tires.