sprocket i/o

Passed the MSF ERC Course

Last Friday I took a much needed day off of work, and took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s Experienced Rider Course (MSF ERC). For only $60, you get seven hours of motorcycle skills practice, and one hour of classroom duty. I took mine at the excellent Honda Rider Education Center in Alpharetta, where I took the Basic Rider Course (BRC) two years and 22,000 miles ago.

For the ERC, you have to bring your own bike. We had 11 people, and here are the bikes I can recall:

• Ducati Multistrada
• Ducati ST3 (ABS)
• Suzuki SV650
• Suzuki Bandit 1250 (ABS)
• BMW F650GS Dakar (ABS)
• Honda GL1800 Gold Wing (ABS)
• Harley-Davidson V-Rod
• Harley-Davidson Street Glide
• 2 x Harley-Davidson FLHXAOTEIU (Don’t recall)

The instructors had a BMW 1200GS (ABS), Honda Goldwing GL1800 (ABS), and Suzuki SV650 (ABS). What I found so unusual was the number of motorcycles there with anti-lock brakes (53%), compared to the small percentage sold in the United States (5%). It’s clear that safety-conscious people are buying into the improvements that ABS gives. In one recent study, it was found that 10-17% of motorcycle fatalities were preventable with had the motorcycle had ABS.

In the class, we did the following drills:

• Offset weave (two-handed and one-handed)
• Figure 8′s in the space of a 2-lane road
• Emergency swerves
• Braking in a straight line
• Braking in turns
• Running over obstacles
• Tight turns in 2nd gear

If you took the BRC, you might think it all sounds a bit familiar. Except the tight turns in 2nd gear, the ERC covers everything the BRC did, but on your own bike, and at a faster speed. Due to the experience level, there were far less people messing up than the BRC, but there a few people locking up their rear tires. The owner of the Ducati ST3 dropped his bike in the figure-8, thankfully without damage.

In the classroom, we had a free-form discussion on strategies to avoid accidents, including things to look out for, and proper handling of the bike. We also reviewed the materials on the proper ways to mix drugs and alcohol with your motorcycle. In 2005, 34% of fatal motorcycle accidents involved alcohol. If you read about a motorcycle accident between midnight and 6am, it’s usually because someone was drunk at the time.

The biggest thing I came away from the class with was slow clutchless maneuvering in 2nd gear, which is harder on a single cylinder motorcycle than you might think. I tend to over-use my clutch slowing down for turns. Other things I improved on were setting my corner speed earlier, and separating the straightening from the braking when braking in a turn. Since I did such a poor job at the Figure 8 in the BRC class, I was a bit intimidated by it — but I came through just fine.

I was the youngest in the class, but not the least experienced. The students were accountants, tax lawyers, doctors, vagabonds, etc. Only one female this go around, and she managed to score higher than her husband. Overall, I think the ERC is a good deal for anyone with more than 10,000 miles to take. I’d like to take my training up a notch though, and go to a track day school or something.

Bored of the bike?

In other news, I’ve grown a bit bored of my 2003 BMW F650GS Dakar. I hardly take it offroad, which makes it a bit of a waste of a machine. I’m currently on the lookout for a used 2007 Triumph Tiger 1050, but I can’t seem to find anyone willing to let one go in my color (black) with ABS. Good things come to those who wait!