Can I ride a motorcycle?

So, you want to travel around the world on a motorcycle? Guess you better learn how to ride one then!

My past exposure to motorcycles was riding my fathers bikes around the yard, or occasionally on the streets of the small town I grew up in.  Most of these bikes were smaller street bikes, nothing crazy or powerful.

I also would on occasion ride a dirt bike that was owned by various cousins, but only in small back yard areas or open fields near someones home.

So not a huge amount of motorcycle history, and all of it 25-30 years in the past.

Now I have been an avid bicyclist for a very long time, though with long periods of not riding much as well.  I have done both long distance road biking (twice completing a 70 mile road course in the mid 2000s) and plenty of mountain biking, both on the roads and back country trails.

So two wheels are not a problem, but adding the motor does change things quite a bit.

Originally I was just going to buy a cheap used motorbike and learn to ride myself.

Then a friend of mine, who has a lifetime of motorcycle experience, recommended a riding course offered by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation that would give me all the basics of motorcycle operation and allow me to actually try and experience them on a course with the coaches there to review and advise on how to be better.  They even provide the motorcycles for this course so you can learn to ride before investing in a bike.

He even gave me an old helmet, boots, gloves and jacket he no longer needed, so saved me having to go buy those first, or use the stuff the school has on hand (which was okay, but prefer my own stuff).

So on September 9th and 10th of 2017, I attended the two day Basic Rider Course in Gilbert, Arizona.

We started off talking about the bikes, the controls and various good to know concepts, then we worked briefly on just pushing the bikes along without running the motors, just to test balance.  We then moved onto slowly moving the bikes to learn clutch and brake control, and moved on to learning the various techniques to operate under most normal conditions, and even covered emergency stopping and maneuvering.  Classroom work included learning about the various types of bikes, and the rules of the road, and again covering the riding techniques we were learning on the riding course.

The class was both fun and informative, and was a thrill to be on the bike even just riding circles on the class course.  Amazingly stuff came back to me really quick, though I did have a few issues and even managed to wreck the bike once on the first day. (During emergency stopping exercise.  Without too much detail, I lost control, pulled quite a spectacular wheelie and ended up on my ass on the asphalt with the bike falling to the ground right in front of me.  While bruised, was able to get back on the bike and ride it rest of the day and next day.)

I had a little trouble with very slow riding, and with the emergency braking, but was basically given the info I needed to know what I am doing wrong and what I need to learn to correct things.
Otherwise did quite well, and was one of the few riders who seemed able to handle speed and cornering without any issues.

I passed both the riding and written tests and received my MSF completion card which will enable me to go get my Motorcycle Endorsement on my driver license without the need to take state exams.

So step one completed, I have determined that yes, I can ride a motorcycle, at least in a basic sense.

The MSF offers more courses that I plan to take as I get more comfortable riding, each offering another level of riding technique and experience, so still much to learn.

On September 12th I visited the Motor Vehicle Department during my lunch and for $7 received my M endorsement.  So now I can legally ride here in AZ (and the rest of the USA).

Step 2, buying a motorcycle.  Look for updates on that in the next few weeks. :)

Chris