NYS Road Test

[mavpsa]

Greetings,

Has anyone here taken the NYS Motorcycle road test? Is it hard? Any suggestions?

I know that if you take the MSF course, you get your license automatically when you pass the course. However, I have a friend who felt that the course was what he expected. He believes that there was a lot of information that they didn't cover, countersteering, defensive driving, etc. For the money that it costs, he believes is just better getting the license straight from DMV and starting off slow.

[owace]

well i hope that isnt true. i take my course on may 4, 5 and 6.

[mike75]

I just have one thing to say. TAKE THE MSF COURSE!

Thank you...

[mavpsa]

well...telling me to "TAKE THE MSF COURSE" does very little in justifying taking the course. For example, if someone knows how to manuever a motorcycle, then would taking the course actually help them? I'm almost certain that the course is great for the novie rider, however there are many riders (including many in this forum) who haven't taken the course and have done just fine.

The point that my friend was making was that he had ridden his motorcycle with a permit only (i don't condone that behaviour) for a couple of years prior to taking the course. He walked away with the feeling that the money was not well spent. He didn't learn anything he already didn't know. The only advantage was that he didn't have to take the road test and received a "slight" reduction (around 10%) off his motorcycle insurance. So for him, the $350 wasn't money well spent.

In comparison, driving a motor vehicle is just as dangerous as driving a motorcycle, yet most people never take a structured driving course.

[KatanaSoldier]

well...telling me to "TAKE THE MSF COURSE" does very little in justifying taking the course. For example, if someone knows how to manuever a motorcycle, then would taking the course actually help them? I'm almost certain that the course is great for the novie rider, however there are many riders (including many in this forum) who haven't taken the course and have done just fine.

The point that my friend was making was that he had ridden his motorcycle with a permit only (i don't condone that behaviour) for a couple of years prior to taking the course. He walked away with the feeling that the money was not well spent. He didn't learn anything he already didn't know. The only advantage was that he didn't have to take the road test and received a "slight" reduction (around 10%) off his motorcycle insurance. So for him, the $350 wasn't money well spent.

In comparison, driving a motor vehicle is just as dangerous as driving a motorcycle, yet most people never take a structured driving course.

Respectfully, it sounds like you don't want to take it and are looking for some justification not to, which you won't find in KR. I saw some self proclaimed know it all riders who held permits for years, FAIL the MSF course when they took it. I had to take it in order to ride but I would recommend EVERYONE take it. Why? Simply put, because it can make you a better rider and could save your life. Another great reason among the many too is potentially cheaper insurance.

By the way, there was a licensed dude there who rode for about 20 years before he finally decided to take the course in order to ride on base (civilian), and guess what? He said he learned from it.



typo edit!

[mike75]

Well you didnt give me any information about "your" motorcycle expirence at all. Have your ever ridden a motorcycle before? and to tell you the truth driving a motorcyle has much more risk of injury than driving a car, Ive learned that already in the past 3 month's that I've been riding.

I didn't go to driving school when I got my license, and I know how to drive just fine without going to a driving class. Riding a motorcyle is much different. Im glad that I took the MSF course, yes they teach you the basics but they also teach you what to do in an emergeny on the road and what not to do on a bike that would cause a crash. Even I had a little knowledge about motorcycle's before taking the MSF course ( I have a bunch of friends that ride motorcycle's that I talked too and my brother ride's a harley which he showed me how to ride it alittle before I took the MSF course) but the class taught me more than what they could.

If you do have riding expirence i.e. a riding permit and also someone to teach you (maybe your friend can teach you to ride if he already didnt) then maybe you will do fine without taking a MSF course.

[mavpsa]

hey look, i wasn't issueing an indictment against the MSF course, I was just lnooking for some honest insight in regards to the course.

Prior to owning the katana (which i recently purchased) i owned an SV650s. I had that for two seasons and pretty much rode it everyday to and from work. Prior to that, I had always handled littler 50's when i was younger.

Maybe it could have been that the instructor who taught my friends class was just bad, and not a reflection of the course in general. But I must add, that the majority of the people whom I met in the past and ride, none of them have ever taken the course. I'm not oppossed to taking the course, actually I'm all for it. I would like to take it just because i actually might learn something that I didn't know which my help save my life. I wouldn't mind getting my actual license before hand.

I just wanted to know how hard the road test was thats all.

[BigSteve]

My 2 cents if it helps...

One of my instructors was a stunt "rider". He actually had more info as what not to do. The other instructor had 30 yrs experience on cruisers. I think the combination of the two made for a really good course. There were experienced riders in my class who needed the course for insurance reasons and even they were putting their feet down in some of the tests we were put through. But, from what I've heard is that the MSF test is harder than the NYS road exam. You might do well on the NYS exam since you have experience but, the MSF course for me was worth the $299. I use the info I learned in that course everyday. I hope my insight was helpful.

[KatanaSoldier]

hey look, i wasn't issueing an indictment against the MSF course, I was just lnooking for some honest insight in regards to the course.

Prior to owning the katana (which i recently purchased) i owned an SV650s. I had that for two seasons and pretty much rode it everyday to and from work. Prior to that, I had always handled littler 50's when i was younger.

Maybe it could have been that the instructor who taught my friends class was just bad, and not a reflection of the course in general. But I must add, that the majority of the people whom I met in the past and ride, none of them have ever taken the course. I'm not oppossed to taking the course, actually I'm all for it. I would like to take it just because i actually might learn something that I didn't know which my help save my life. I wouldn't mind getting my actual license before hand.

I just wanted to know how hard the road test was thats all.

It's all good but one thing I like about KR is the safety that is pushed here. We had 3 instructors in the course here. 2 were cruiser riders and one was a rice rocket guy. Between the 3 of them, there was about 100 years experience. You are right though when it pertains to instructors. A bad one can mess up people and vice versa. I know here in Mass, the road test is nothing compared to the MSF course. Just think of taking it as an investment in your skills and safety.

[mavpsa]

mike74; katanasoldier; and big steve thanks for all your input. I've signed up to take the course, unfortunately it won't be for another month and a half (urr!). Suprisingly, they fill up really quickly.

In the meantime, I would like to take my road test and see how I fair in that (fingers crossed). I agree w/many of the points made and even if I only walk away from the course learning a handful of new things, it's always better knowing that not.

I found a listing on craigslist w/this guy who has a kaw250 that he'll provide for the road test (also meet me at the roadtest). Would it be better to take it w/a 250 than my kat?

[mike75]

The 250 should be alot easier than riding with the kat. Thats the same bike I learned on while taking the MSF course. It's lighter and easier to handle, well at least that's what I think.

[KatanaSoldier]

mike74; katanasoldier; and big steve thanks for all your input. I've signed up to take the course, unfortunately it won't be for another month and a half (urr!). Suprisingly, they fill up really quickly.

In the meantime, I would like to take my road test and see how I fair in that (fingers crossed). I agree w/many of the points made and even if I only walk away from the course learning a handful of new things, it's always better knowing that not.

I found a listing on craigslist w/this guy who has a kaw250 that he'll provide for the road test (also meet me at the roadtest). Would it be better to take it w/a 250 than my kat?

I do recommend using the smaller bike for the road test.

[Nero]

I rode a bike for 22 years and just finished taking the MSF course again. I found it very helpful and discovered a few bad riding habits I'd picked up over those years. A couple of other experienced riders in the class said the same thing.

[BigSteve]

I rode a bike for 22 years and just finished taking the MSF course again. I found it very helpful and discovered a few bad riding habits I'd picked up over those years. A couple of other experienced riders in the class said the same thing.

Bad habits are exactly what the instructors told us not to develop.
They did however tell us the habits riders pick up over the years and why we should try and remember the correct techniques for riding.

[Jabara57]

There's a reason i proudly wear my Georgia MSF patch on my jacket. My opinion is 100% hands down take the MSF course

Motorcycle handling is only half of the course. My best description of MSF is that its like Red Flag for the Air Force,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Flag_(USAF)

where they found that most pilots were getting killed in their first few missions, by creating the red Flag exercises and having the pilots "fly" their first few missions in a training environment, survivability was greatly improved.

That what i liked best. Basically alot of what not to do, teaching you about your mistakes BEFORE you make them on the street. Ive found myself doing things instinctively and wondering how.... later i remember.....oh yeah... i learned that in MSF...

They make you do things a dozen times, and it really sticks with you.

I was riding way before i even thought about taking MSF, but Im glad i learned my mistakes by doing drills in a parking lots instead of bouncing off that SUV because it turned left in front of me (cant even tell you how many times i saw a car coming and instinctively thought...they talked about this in MSF..covered the brakes and saved me ASS)

best $250 i ever spent

and in GA, MSF test is easier than DMV, because they let you get away with a few more errors (feet down...etc)