[DaytonKAT]

Ohio is $25 for the permit and $25 for the class i cant imagine paying $750 just to get a licence. and the class has both classroom and the riding parts.

[WildKat]

Guess thats about one of the only good things about PA, well that and the Steelers

[Mojoe]

Ohio is $25 for the permit and $25 for the class i cant imagine paying $750 just to get a licence. and the class has both classroom and the riding parts.

For $50, I can't see the course being to extensive. What do you get for the $25? An hour listening to some theory? $750 is expensive....I will agree with that. But once you have completed the course, there are no restrictions. Drive at night, carry a passenger....anything you want. Plus you can pay for the cost of the license in a year or 2 just by what you save on insurance. Plus the course is not only in a parking lot. I think it was 4hrs in a classroom, I was 5 evenings in a parking lot at 2.5-3hrs each time (about 12-15 hrs), and the last step of the course was 5-4hrs on the road under all kinds of conditions. Heavy traffic, country roads, and they even took us on a gravel road (you would be surprised how many people are intimidated by loose gravel). I didn't much like having to do that part cuz you have to ride with a flourescent orange vest that says student driver on the back (a little embarassing after you have been riding almost 20yrs). It is 100% mandatory to follow a msf course in Quebec, but it is said that we also have one of the most extensive requirements in the world to get a bike license. So I guess you get what you pay for. I didn't have a 250 or 300 to learn on...it was a 650.
Plus the same goverment that makes the policy to get a license is also responsible for accidents involving injury....so you can bet they want you to follow a very intensive course.

gear dog Why? are there no helmets that our out of your budget to me D.O.T. aprroved is acceptable.Im sure not everyone has an 800 dollar shoie helmet.

Just because it says D.O.T. approved or Snell approved is NOT enough for me. About 5-6 years ago my cousin dumped his bike on the highway at cruising speed because of a speed wobble. Our mutual friends who were with him said his head was just bouncing off the pavemant. The helmet was toast and the inside padding came loose and was a mess. It was a new helmet that year. It was enough to put him permanently mentally disabled. He is not right in the head today because of it. His helmet was an AGV, and you could not get me to accept one today if you gave it to me. Like I said....you get what you pay for. I would not risk my noggin at a high speed dump with any cheap helmet. I have a Shoei RF800, and I consider that to be my most valuable peice of equipment.

I mean really...look at the price of this helmet.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6749&item=7979887966&rd=1&ssPageName=WD6V

Are you willing to have faith in a $75 helmet....even if it is D.O.T. and Snell approved?

[wismo]

learners permit

mojo im sorry about your cousin my intent was not to get on the subject of helmets or gear.I am not nor claim to be experienced enough to do any high speed or highway riding... Yet.. All I wanted to ask is what my original post stated I guess I unintentionally hit a sore spot with some members.For that I m sorry.

[HIEXWIFE]

Are we talking about a motorcycle leaners permit? 750.00 !!!! Geez, it costs you 10.00 to get a permit from PennDot and the MSF course is free here.

cost me 10 or 15 at AAA...can't remember. but you're right about the MSF course

[The CyberPoet]

In Florida, it varies by MSF facility. The MSF course in our county runs $225 or so, yet the next county over does the same MSF course for $150 (and has a much shorter back-log to boot).

By comparison, a full German MC license runs about $2k - $4k (20 to 40 hours) and a German instructor's license normally will run you around $7 - $10k by the time you are fully qualified.

I will grant you that the MSF course may not save your life. Then again, unless you take it, you will never know. And any one of fifty dozen things you learn there may not only save your life, they may also help keep you from a fate worse than death (IMHO) -- such as living out your days as a paraplegic, dependent on someone else to wipe after you use the bathroom. Even very experienced riders often get something out of taking the beginner's course.

Good Luck!
=-= The CyberPoet

[Mojoe]

Re: learners permit

mojo im sorry about your cousin my intent was not to get on the subject of helmets or gear.I am not nor claim to be experienced enough to do any high speed or highway riding... Yet.. All I wanted to ask is what my original post stated I guess I unintentionally hit a sore spot with some members.For that I m sorry.

hey wismo....no need to apologize at all. I was not in any way offended or anything like that. I just felt the need to let you know that not all helmets are created equal. For sure you can only do as well as your budget will allow...and that is still better than nothing. I just wanted to let you know that being D.O.T. is the very minimum that the law requires, but the high end manufacturers go above and beyond that. So when the day comes that you do gain more experience and decide to ride more aggressively, maybe you will keep in mind that not all helmets are considered equal. Just keep in mind that being DOT approved does not garantee against head injury. Even the best of the best does not garantee this...but at least the odds are better.

[Mojoe]

Even very experienced riders often get something out of taking the beginner's course.

Absolutely! Even after 20 years of riding, I picked up some new things. What I found to be especially helpful was practicing manouvers that I was hesitant to do on my own bike for fear of dropping it. Emergency braking in a turn was particularly helpful. I used their bike to push myself to the limit to see how fast I could stop a bike in a turn without leaving the road.
Going outside the cones on their bike was way better than going in the ditch on mine.

[katman05]

Heres a breakdown of costs and thats if you don't fail and need to re take tests.

$30 knowledge test for 6 R
$60 Closed circuit test
$114 road test & license
$500 motorcycle course

[jeffs]

For $50, I can't see the course being to extensive. What do you get for the $25? An hour listening to some theory?

The MSF course I took here in Michigan cost $25 and they supplied the bike. They offered a couple of different classes. One that was a couple of hours a night for a week and the one that I took which was 4 hrs. on a Friday night, 12 hrs. on Sat., and then 12 hrs. on Sunday. Half the time was spent in the classroom and the other half was spent on the motorcycle.

[Jonsblckhwk]

damn it cost me 30 for my permit and liscense and the msf class is 130 and you have to have your own helmet

[The CyberPoet]

damn it cost me 30 for my permit and liscense and the msf class is 130 and you have to have your own helmet

That's not to bad if they provide the bikes (after all -- how often do you get to drop someone else's bike for only $130 while honing your skills) -- and you'll need that helmet anyway

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Badkitty]

well im not saying im special or anything but , i've ridden dirt bikes most my life and got my first street bike last year. Got permit and let it expire 1yr later, im lazy went to take test and passed with a breeze. Then again thats just me, i see and hear of plenty of people who SHOULD have taken it.

I drove by the college here that does the MSF testing. So i pulled over and watched them. its very simple stuff , but i did see alot of people falling so maybe its good to have it . Keeps them off the road and avoid hurting themselves or others.

[loudnlow7484]

Is that course REQUIRED in Canada? I dunno about the other states, but here in Ohio, you pay your $20, get your permit, and you can take the test right away if you want. If you can pass the test, then you don't need to take any course.

[Jonsblckhwk]

if you are under 18 here in MD you have to take the course but registration is backed up into the fall now so im lucky im 18 and have some good friends who can teach me who have been riding all their lives!

but yes the helmet was the first thing i got, even before my permit! it arrives here on the 28th!!!
im so excited im gonna wear around the house