I doubt many of you have taken the HD Rider Class (due to years experience) but for anyone who has, or if you have feedback on the class, I'd like to know your opinion.

I'm mulling over taking it, but aside from about 300 clam$ it'll set me back I'd like to know how its different from a $25 three day state sponsored rider safety class?

 

I'm planning on taking it. It costs $240 here, the dealership provides the bikes, 2 nights of instruction and 2 days of riding. Seems like a great deal to me since I have very little riding experience.

 

I took the course about three years ago thought it was worthy.

 

my wife somehow lost over the years of drivers license renewals the motorcycle endorsement on her driver's license. she would have had to take the written and driving tests to get the motorcycle license here, so she elected to take one of the rider's edge courses that our nearest harley dealership offers. it cost 250 bucks, and took three weeknights of classroom meetings, and two full days of riding bikes on the weekend - and it was money and time very well spent. i already had my motorcycle license, and had ridden motorcycles for years, but i took the course too because i had the time and didn't want my wife to know something that perhaps i didn't. i realized there were several things that i had by habit learned to do that were wrong and unsafe. i would recommend the course to everyone just for that reason alone. however, there is another good benefit - your insurance will in most cases go down if you have credit for the motorcycle safety courses. (my wife also did not have to take the riding tests - just the written test and all that was exactly what the course had specifically covered already - so it was a snap at that point).

i don't know what the state sponsored courses consist of (we do not have any here), but the two days of actual riding was excellent in our rider's edge course. we actually were shown and got to practice many things you would not necessarily be prepared for - for example: stopping quickly at speed while in the middle of a corner / turn if necessary, how to best handle obstacles / debri in the road ahead that you can not avoid (for example going over it), quick maneuvers at speed (swerving) as safely as possible, etc.

 

Taking a safety course regardless of the years of experience is a good idea.....

 

Course is worth taking IMHO. I did. Learned some and made me think more. going to take the advanced course also.

[IMG]local://upfiles/36447/6B216FB8E84C4E21BCD882F70A8FBA31.jpg[/IMG]

 

Take the state funded course. It's only a $20.00 "donation" and includes the same crap. The only difference is that you give the "stealership" $300.00+ extra to feel cool like your a true Harley rider by taking the course at Harley.

Do you really think the "stealership" cares about you? They just want your money and then want you to come back and buy a brand spanking new Harley off of their showroom floor.

If they were smart, they would give the class for free since it's all free advertising for them anyway. But then again, that's like asking them to discount their t-shirts because of all of the advertising we do for each dealership as well as the factory by wearing them.

And yes, I'm guilty of wearing them, but oh well. That's the only thing I buy from them.

 

The "state sponsored" class is simply the MSF Basic RiderCourse. You'll learn on small jap bikes how to do the basics. Classroom and Riding time are basically equal to the dealership course. It all depends on how your state or the dealership divides the time.

The dealership Rider's Edge class is the MSF Basic RiderCourse on Buell Blasts.

Here's the rub, the ONLY approved course by the state and the insurance industry is the MSF course. Whether you take it at a college campus or a dealership it's all the same with all the same benefits.

Which one is worth more to you?

 

I took the new rider's course at the dealership when I bought my bike. I hadn't ridden regularly for years, so I thought it would be good to get a refresher course. Yes, some of the stuff (this is a clutch, this is the throttle, etc....) was a little basic, but some of the riding tips we learned (head and eye position in a turn, what to do when you lock up the front or rear tire, counterbalancing for slow speed maneuvering, etc) was great stuff and provided a foundation for practicing my skills. I definitely feel safer and more confident for having completed the course.

As a bonus, the course was essentially free for me, because they refunded the price ($325) in a gift card when you bought a bike through them.

 

Yeah, last week I was at a dealership looking at the bikes and they told me that they pay for the class for people who buy the bike there. Salesman was pretty cool and answered all my questions so if I decide to buy a brand new bike I will stop by there first.