Female student with helmet taking motorcycle lessons and practicing ride. In background traffic cones and instructor with checklist rating and evaluating the ride. Motorcycle school of driving.
If you’re considering riding a motorcycle or buying one, you may be debating whether a new rider or motorcycle safety course is worthwhile to you.
In these courses, you can learn how to ride in general and, depending on the course, a particular type of motorcycle like a Harley-Davidson.
You can also go over the basics of being a safe rider, such as how to shift, brake, accelerate, turn and maneuver.
You might be required to take a course in some places, but even if you don’t have to, should you? We go over what to know about the topic below.
The Basics
While the specifics of rider safety courses can vary, you might expect that you’ll spend your time split between instruction and then hands-on practice.
Motorcycle safety courses are designed for new riders, but you can also find advanced skills training options for riders with more experience.
In some states, and depending on your age, you might be required to take a safety course that the DMV approves before receiving a motorcycle license. When you complete the course, it might be something you can use instead of taking a skills test when you’re at the DMV.
Taking a course can also help you get a discount on your motorcycle driving insurance.
If you aren’t sure whether you’re required to take a course, contact your local DMV.
You can also find classes available through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), with branches located around the country.
An instructor might spread a safety course over a period of a few days, and the total instruction time could range from 15 to 20 hours.
You can complete most of these courses in a weekend.
What To Expect If You Take a Course
When you’re learning road skills during a motorcycle safety course, you’ll engage in hands-on practice to gain experience. Your instructor might take you through a range of handling and safety techniques for a motorcycle. This could make up anywhere from 10 to 15 hours of your total instruction time.
An instructor could take you through exercises that help you learn how to competently and safely brake, shift gears, navigate around things, make U-turns, and change lanes.
If you have to take a DMV skills test, these are the things that will be covered.
The course you take may have a motorcycle you can practice on during instructional time, or you might be able to bring your own.
You should bring something to take notes on if you’re going to take a rider course, and you should be dressed appropriately. This means your clothes should include long pants, a jacket and eye protection, and over-the-ankle footwear at a minimum.
You’ll need a helmet that provides at least ¾ face coverage and full-finger gloves.
Things to Know
If you haven’t ridden a motorcycle before, be prepared for the fact that it can feel like a workout. You might wake up the day after your course feeling pretty sore.
A lot of that stems from the work you do as you learn proper balance and you develop your riding posture. You have to use the strength of your core as you develop these skills.
During your class, if you go into it with an open mind, you might also find some friends who you can ride with later. Riding motorcycles tends to be a very social hobby, and that’s why some people like it.
You can serve as a support system for each other, and you can get together and ride outside of class if you feel like you get along.
A lot of people find taking a motorcycle class to be very rewarding because they feel like they’ve accomplished something, and it can give them a sense of confidence and peace of mind for when they start riding in the real world.
What Are You Going to Learn?
We briefly touched on some of the things you’re going to learn, but more specific skills you can expect to develop during one of these courses include:
- You’ll learn that your bike will do what your head is doing. A motorcycle is also going to go where your eyes look, so with that in mind, if you want your bike to remain upright, you need to keep your head up. If you want to go forward, moving in a straight line, you have to keep your head up and look straight ahead. Similarly, if you’re turning, you want to turn your head and look where you want to go.
- You’ll learn how to stop right away. Your right hand and right foot both brake, while your left hand and foot handle the down-shift. As you practice, you should be able to start braking gradually and smoothly, so you aren’t making any sudden movements.
- During a course, you’ll learn about weight shift. When you accelerate, the bike’s weight and you as the rider go towards the rear. When you slow and brake, the weight shifts forward. With practice, the goal is to help you learn how to manage this shift in weight so that you have smooth transitions.
If you are considering a motorcycle course, you need to make sure you find one that’s right for your skillset. For example, if you’re an experienced rider, you might want to go to a class where you learn things like two-finger braking.
You won’t learn this in a beginner’s class.
Overall, if you decide to take a course, you’re getting valuable instruction from someone qualified as a trainer. You’re also working with a group, so you can learn from both good and bad examples of what to do. You spend time practicing yourself and watching others, which is extremely helpful. You figure out what a rider might need to correct, so you can then apply that to your own skill set and experience.
