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  • #1

    Need some advice

    I am in kind of a dilemma. Ok... I am in the Navy stationed in Maryland. I am a Florida resident with a drivers license from Florida. I am currently in North Carolina after helping someone move. I want to take the MSF course, but I am unable to do so in Maryland because it is backed up by 4 months and I am never in Florida long enough or at the right time to take it there.

    So I have an option of taking the MSF course here, in NC, this weekend. Its going to cost $150. The downside is that Maryland and Florida wont recognize this in their states, so the MSF course does not really count for anything besides experience.

    So my question is this: Is it worth it to take the MSF course here this weekend for the experience, and then when I get the chance buy a bike and take it to the Maryland DMV for the road test and written test? Or should I wait and see if I can slide into a MSF course in Maryland, although I dont know if it will be anytime in the next 4 months.

    Thanks.
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  • #2
    If your are new to riding and want to ride what is $150.00 for something that may save your life. Take the course. If your own state won't allow you to use it for insurance purposes take it again when you can. $150 is cheap compared to the cost of possible bike repair, health care, or god forbid funeral costs. Just my opinion.

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    • #3
      I would have to concur with Steve. Additional experience is always a good thing, especially when it comes to motorcycles. As for recognition, see if your insurance company recognizes the course. If so, then all you have to do is pass the road and written tests and you will be set.
      "The secret to life is to keep your mind full and your bowels empty. Unfortunately, the converse is true for most people."

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      • #4
        Call the local MSF office where you are at and explain your situation. Normally, they should be able to interconnect with their office in whatever state you do want the certificate from to get you taken care of, since the course is standardized across the nation.

        The second option you have is to contact the Florida division of licensing in writing, explain that you are active-duty military, and request that they accept an out-of-state MSF course certificate via mail to upgrade your license to include the motorcycle. When I was active duty stationed in Europe, I dealt with them via mail on other issues and they were quite helpful in that sense, including reinstating a suspended driver's license (past-due ticket which I had gotten on leave or tdy) without making me appear in person to get the new one.

        As for taking the MSF course, IMHO:
        If you are 100% sure you want a motorcycle & haven't bought it yet, take the MSF course a week or two before you buy the bike. Since they offer free-retakes on the beginner course, you can take it twice, once now and once again shortly before you get the bike.
        If you already have a bike, go take it ASAP, unless there is any chance you are going to be stationed in Europe in the next few months (Europe in general has a better than MSF system for training, IMHO). The life it may save may be your own.
        If you have already been riding for years, and simply need the endorsement, go take the riding test at your local driver's license office (or whereever they offer it -- most states have special locations/times for MC testing). Then consider signing up for the MSF intermediate or advanced courses instead.

        Cheers,
        =-= The CyberPoet
        Remember The CyberPoet

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        • #5
          Originally posted by The CyberPoet
          As for taking the MSF course:
          Since they offer free-retakes on the beginner course, you can take it twice, once now and once again shortly before you get the bike.
          Do they really do this ? I couldn't find a mention of this on their website, and the people at the local community college where it's offered said i'd have to pay again. Is it location specific ?
          Once you can accept the universe as being something expanding into an infinite nothing which is something, wearing stripes with plaid is easy.
          - Albert Einstein

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          • #6
            Originally posted by hellcamp
            Do they really do this ? I couldn't find a mention of this on their website, and the people at the local community college where it's offered said i'd have to pay again. Is it location specific ?
            I think you have to retake it at the same place you took it the first time, but it's what they said to my gf when she took it, and others have said the same (I never took the MSF -- I'm older than they are and took the European training instead).

            EDIT: But I think it was strictly stand-by or add-in status (i.e. - you don't get the same amount of attention as first-timers).

            Cheers,
            =-= The CyberPoet
            Remember The CyberPoet

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            • #7
              Hmm, gotta look more into this coz it sure was fun beating the hell outta them little 250cc bikes. Not to mention the experience and constant reminder to keep a head on your shoulders.
              Once you can accept the universe as being something expanding into an infinite nothing which is something, wearing stripes with plaid is easy.
              - Albert Einstein

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              • #8
                my class was allowed to re-take the test if you did not pass...

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by hellcamp
                  Hmm, gotta look more into this coz it sure was fun beating the hell outta them little 250cc bikes. Not to mention the experience and constant reminder to keep a head on your shoulders.
                  Although I took the beginner class long ago, a free retake was only offered if you failed the road skills part of the class (meaning no endorsement). You did have to come back to the same place for the free retake, and only needed to take the riding part of the class again (not the classroom stuff). You could actually just come back to take the road skills test only if you didn't want to go through the entire weekend to get your endorsement.

                  If you pass the road test the first time I don't think you can just go back for more free rides to beat the hell out of their bikes again. It's not a "free rides for life" program .
                  ****** WAS...Ma Ma Ma My Katana ******


                  Si hoc signum legere potes, operis boni in rebus Latinus alacribus et fructuosis potiri potes.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Yellow2002Kat
                    It's not a "free rides for life" program .
                    Darn now I'm sad It was almost too good to be true Too bad there ain't too many places around here to rent bikes. It'd be fun to get on another once in a while.
                    Once you can accept the universe as being something expanding into an infinite nothing which is something, wearing stripes with plaid is easy.
                    - Albert Einstein

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                    • #11
                      I took the course a couple of years ago and thought it was a huge waste of time and money. I had never ridden before the course and I got nothing out of it I couldn't have figured out myself in about 15 minutes on a bike in my driveway. Just my opinion, but I say skip it.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by KatanaBadass
                        I took the course a couple of years ago and thought it was a huge waste of time and money. I had never ridden before the course and I got nothing out of it I couldn't have figured out myself in about 15 minutes on a bike in my driveway. Just my opinion, but I say skip it.
                        I would bet that you learned a lot more than you realize. Unless you went into the course with a bad attitude and did not have an open mind to listen.

                        There is a lot of good info in the course. It is worth the time and money.

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                        • #13
                          I rode for two years on a permit before i took the course (not because of ignorance, because that class is extremely difficult to get into here), and I feel it should be mandatory for a motorcycle license... I cant tell you how much i took away with me! And that includes all the classroom training too. Learing all the statistics really makes you aware of things, for example how most motorcycle accidents happen going into turns too fast, etc. It will make you think twice next time you swing a tight left turn blind!
                          Just my 2cents though!

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                          • #14
                            Thanks for the replies everyone. I called back and tried to get into the last slot...the lady had already given it away Looks like fate is working against me here

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