Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Safety Course My A**

My wife and I completed the MSC yesterday and I got to tell you was I disappointed with their so called (we are looking out for your safety) bulls**t.

Like everyweek in CT. it was suppose to 85 and sunny on Sat. all week until 11:00 on Friday night and then they announce the arrival of the monsoons.

We rode all day in the rain, not to bad the course for the most part is pretty easy, gentle sweeps, straight line stopping and plenty of time to setup for the task at hand.

They had this figure eight box which everyone did pretty well earlier in the day when it was just drizzling, now this is for the cert. and I mean it is pouring the first guy has to put his foot down (failed), the next guy goes outside the box (failed), the bikes were just slipping all over the place. Then my wife goes she gets about two thirds through it and the front wheel slides out and she takes a low side fall the bike lands on her knee, so at this point they decide to cancel the exercise and give everyone a pass.

At first I thought just her pride was hurt, but could tell there was something else going on. She was a trooper and toughed it through the next two hours and passed the course.

We get in the car and she takes off her rain suit and her knee is swollen and has a nice strawberry on her kneecap.

We tried ice last night, but that did not help much and I had to take her to the ER this morning right now it looks like she just twisted her knee, but is scheduled for an MRI tomorrow as they think she may have torn her cartilage in her knee.

To boot the guy running the course is a DMV Safety Inspector. I know it was my wife so I'm going to be a little more teed off, but come on now we were like lemmings jumping off the cliff.

She was so excited because we were going for ride today and she was looking forward to riding her new bike. Looks that is going to have to wait awhile.

Thanks for letting me vent !!

The people running the course are a private company and are profit motivated. The more people they run through, etc, etc... I have heard stories from participants that these companies will continue the course even in the face of dangerous weather conditions.

They are not affiliated with the MSF but are typically accredited by the MSF. These cretins should be reported to them. Their email address is: msf@msf-usa.org & their phone number is: (800) 446-9227

website:
http://www.msf-usa.org/index_new.cfm

John, sorry to hear about your wife. Hope she gets right back out there! I took the advanced course in April and it was drizzling on and off all day. They were OK about not staying in the box during the test. Did your instructor ride a green Kawasaki Concours?

I hope your wife recovers quickly, and is not gun-shy because of it. Treat it like a learning experience. If you ride a bike, you run the risk of falling off it. Some say it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. So now, maybe she's got that out of the way already.
We missed you in NH. We rode 160 miles in rain that was not to be believed(see my post in rides/nh synopsis).

I'm looking forward to meeting up again, and maybe some riding next time.

Uncle Charlie

John,
I hope your wife is ok. I had a similar experience at my MSA course last year. It poured all weekend and several individuals failed because of slippery conditions. I felt bad for them because it's alot of pressure and it was intimidating in the rain.

Thanks guys for the well wishes.

I'm pretty sure she will want to ride again as soon as she feels better.

She has been pretty quite all day, good sign when she gets this way she is usually just mad at herself and more determine to succeed the next time.

Bonnyusa thanks for the link I'm going to tell them my story and how I think they are defeating the safety aspect of the course just to make a few bucks.

Matt, yes his name was Angelo and Barbara the other instuctor rode a purple Yamaha

Down here in the Sunshine State, the DMV won't give the road test if its wet. They should require the same of the independent saftey course outfits. I imagine they have a contract or a certification from the state.

What a bunch of morons, nobody in their right mind would ride a motorcycle in monsoon rain conditions. Oops, see my post in the NH synopsis thread. Man did it rain. Then it rained twice as hard. Then it really started raining. Then it kept raining till we got back to Rob's.

It was fun anyway!

Uncle Charlie

That's just rediculous John!
Hope your wife recovers quickly and she manages to get outon her new bike.

Here in Oregon, we have what they call Team Oregon instead of using MSF (same but slightly different). I took my class in the middle of Febuary and they told us that the only thing that they would stop the class for is ice. Needless to say, we felt like we were drowning all weekend.

Soren

Unbelievable. Let us know what msf has to say. Hope that your wife has a speedy recovery.

John, glad your wife is "okay" and gets right back on the horse. What caused the riders to go down? Was it discussed so the group could learn (from good and bad) during a debriefing of the days events? If not, this troubles me more from the point of view that in the end they passed everyone due to their success earlier in the day, but didn't (?) reconstruct events/causes to learn from. Motorcycles don't hydroplane like automobiles. I have ridden in rain so heavy that it started to flood the road surface,but my main problem was visibility and I sought out shelter until I could drive safely. I learned to ride 40 years ago. After riding a few years I started to compete and I had to attend competiton school to be licensed. We watched the Expert riders and then they watched us. Lots of group and one on one feedback. Automobiles, same routine, refreshers yearly. Loss of control happens, why and how being explained and understood, is how we change technique to be better. MSF is a baseline for exposure to the priciples of motorcycling. I would suggest finding a track day type activity or maybe ride with a friend with the skills that could supplement her knowledge/experience, riding at her level. Good luck, I hope these instructors learned from this as well.

BobW.

The course is a parking lot they close off with traffic cones. The figure 8 box has a series of park lot spaces with stripes that are raised and coated with some sort of plasticide these things are like spilled oil in the rain when you rode over them and this what caused the first two guys to fail.

When it was dry in the morning before the deluge the payment between offered all the traction you needed, but when it rained it really changed the ability to perform the figure 8 especially for a bunch of beginners.

We got the results back from the MRI this morning a torn Patella tendon, no surgery needed at this point it should heal on its own, she has to see an orthopedic surgeron on Wed. to make sure nothing else is wrong.

So if everything stays the same she should be able to ride in a couple of weeks.

Thanks agin for all the well wishes.

Hope she feels better soon. Also hope it hasn't put her off riding.

but i have always said, if you can ride in the rain or snow then you will probably be ok on dry roads. it is a good learning experience. but i am sorry to hear about the mishap, and hope it is something minor. and that she dosnt get discouraged. remember if you fall off the horse, its best to get right back on. hope she recovers quick.