Advice on the course?

[Amber Lamps]

outstanding post! BTW do you provide bikes/gear now and approximately how much does it cost? Just curious.

[NeonspeedRT]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

outstanding post! BTW do you provide bikes/gear now and approximately how much does it cost? Just curious.

Our course runs $200. It's about 5 hours of classroom and 10 hours of range time on the bikes. We provide bikes, helmets, glasses, and gloves.

The bikes are all Suzuki GZ250's. We have two DR200's for taller students also.

The students need to have long pants, long sleeves, and sturdy over the ankle footwear.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by NeonspeedRT

Our course runs $200. It's about 5 hours of classroom and 10 hours of range time on the bikes. We provide bikes, helmets, glasses, and gloves.

The bikes are all Suzuki GZ250's. We have two DR200's for taller students also.

The students need to have long pants, long sleeves, and sturdy over the ankle footwear.

Thanks! Yea that's WAY different then when I took the course in the early 80s. You had to have your own bike/gear and it wasn't mandated by the state.

[PhiSig1071]

What are we goingto do tonight Jimmy, Chris, Nick, Sterling, Sportinsflying, Al, and Misty?

Same thing we do every night Brian, try to take over the motorcycling world!!!!!!

[NeonspeedRT]

Originally Posted by PhiSig1071

What are we goingto do tonight Jimmy, Chris, Nick, Sterling, Sportinsflying, Al, and Misty?

Same thing we do every night Brian, try to take over the motorcycling world!!!!!!

[Mule]

http://www.mtii.com/countymiamidade/miamidade.html

i did this one, it was a good course. The rider coaches were great, didn't bore you off your ass droning on and on about blah...

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by PhiSig1071

What are we goingto do tonight Jimmy, Chris, Nick, Sterling, Sportinsflying, Al, and Misty?

Same thing we do every night Brian, try to take over the motorcycling world!!!!!!

Hey no offense,I think you guys do great work,but when the Army started mandating MSF in the 80s it was bad enough. Now that states are starting to...well someone is getting rich! When I took the course it was like $30 or something,granted they didn't provide bikes or whatnot but frankly I wouldn't be surprised if the bikes were donated like drivers ed cars are. It's great advertising and can get new riders familiar with your brand. Don't get me wrong,the MSF course is a great idea,but making it mandatory reminds me of when helmet laws started. Pre-helmet laws Shoei=$100 or so,within 2 years of the law Shoei=$200-300. Maybe I'm weird but it always makes me nervous when the Gov't gives a monopoly to a certain organization and then forces the public to use said organization. Next you're gonna tell me that you have to take the course every so often to keep your "M" endorsement. If it isn't the law now,I bet there's some MSF lobbyist in the state capital greasing palms to make it so! Sorry,I'm a small gov't minded guy...

[Rider]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

Hey no offense,I think you guys do great work,but when the Army started mandating MSF in the 80s it was bad enough. Now that states are starting to...well someone is getting rich! When I took the course it was like $30 or something,granted they didn't provide bikes or whatnot but frankly I wouldn't be surprised if the bikes were donated like drivers ed cars are. It's great advertising and can get new riders familiar with your brand. Don't get me wrong,the MSF course is a great idea,but making it mandatory reminds me of when helmet laws started. Pre-helmet laws Shoei=$100 or so,within 2 years of the law Shoei=$200-300. Maybe I'm weird but it always makes me nervous when the Gov't gives a monopoly to a certain organization and then forces the public to use said organization. Next you're gonna tell me that you have to take the course every so often to keep your "M" endorsement. If it isn't the law now,I bet there's some MSF lobbyist in the state capital greasing palms to make it so! Sorry,I'm a small gov't minded guy...

My MSF course was $25 and they provided the bike. Of course they did away with that program last year.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by Rider

My MSF course was $25 and they provided the bike. Of course they did away with that program last year.

My point exactly,it wasn't "mandatory" in Mi or it would have cost $200 and still be around. like I said,I think it's great but "mandatory" bothers me...

[NeonspeedRT]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

Now that states are starting to...well someone is getting rich! When I took the course it was like $30 or something,granted they didn't provide bikes or whatnot but frankly I wouldn't be surprised if the bikes were donated like drivers ed cars are. It's great advertising and can get new riders familiar with your brand.

Just a FYI for you. Unfortunatly nobody is getting rich off of the MSF program. MSF is still the federal branch. Local states that adopt the MSF follow the MSF guidelines, but have leeway in a few areas. The individual schools are still privately owned.

There are alot more costs involved then you think for running a school. They have to pay to: rent the range, rent the classroom, buy helmets, gloves, glasses, about 5 cases of water each weekend, bags of ice each weekend, the school pays us for coaching, maintance of the bikes, insurance on the bikes and students, maintance of the range, repaving of the range when necessary, the school also has to pay the state & MSF for the books and materials for the classroom.

Most motorcycle manafactures have stopped all their loaner programs. Even when a fleet of motorcycles is loaned from a dealership, the school is still responsible for all repairs and maintance on the bikes.

Most schools now purchase their own motorcycles for use. So thats a hefty out of pocket expense. Since you need at least 14 bikes. 12 is the max students you can have, but you want at least 1 or 2 back up motorcycles.