By now I guess you've gotten the drift here, MSF course is a must. Here in NY there are places you can take the basic course and they provide the bike. Problem with your location is that even if you find one close, you'll still have to take your FB with you to and from and with the sound of your post, doesn't seem like a great idea. Embarassed? Probably, but it's better than the ER. One other thing that comes to mind is that it's much better from your insurance carrier's perspective to see a new rider with a MSF course for it's first contact than paying a claim for your bike or something else you damaged.

Just my $.02.

 

I can't wait to take the safety course next month at the community college.I'm all signed up and have my seat secured.The best part is that the course is free here in PA.I know I have some bad habits to break.Thebiggest reason I'm taking the course is because the members of this forum highly reccomend it for everyone.

 

Have you seen the movie "Wild Hogs"?

 

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this yet. But you should think about the MSF course. It will give you some basic techniques that you can build on.

 

MICHAELBARRY - where I am the class is $250 - a bit steep, but sooooo worth the money. I am now considering the advanced class, which is $145, and the final class that would eliminate me having to pass the DMV test for my license, is $60.My theory is that if the money spent on the classes saves my life, then its money well spent.

 

250 isnt too bad, up here the course is 425, but it's a tax credit since it's technically tuition.

 

I took mine in 1974 so I was a bit cheaper......I do believe it was $10. And they let me take it again as a refresher for $2.

 

In the meantime while waiting to take the course I would recomend parking the bike as others have suggested. I have been riding for about 20 years on and off but will take my 2nd MSF course next month and I stop by the course every chance I get to practice what they call the box and another that is a small s curve just to try and stay sharp on low speed maneuvers. I also try and practice high speed stops there. (the course lot is on my way to work)

 

Get drunk, it hurts less that way. [sm=icon_rofl.gif]

 

OK,....um,..................
Taking off on a Fatboy with apes, having never ridden a mo-mo before..........[sm=badidea.gif]


However,.....
Taking the MSF course and learning how to ride, before you get on that bike again.......[sm=goodidea.gif]


Glad you decided to take an MSF course.
When I took the course this past January, I had never ridden a bike before.

(aside from a brief dirt-bike riding experience I think I may have had in college but can't remember exactly because I lost a lot of brain cells while in college.)

Anyway....the MSF written course was awesome and informative, and, the driving course was two 5-hour days of riding time, with great instructors and lots of helpful practice, then the driver's certification test at the end. They have their own bikes for you to ride, so you can pick out a cruiser that suits you. (they won't have bikes with apes, but, that's a topic for another paragraph.)
After you finish the MSF course, you're going to know a heck of a lot more than you do right now. And you will have gotten the best beginner's training there is.
THEN, the REST of your training begins.........road time.


If you want advice, and if you don't mind taking advice from from a newbie who's very first bike was the Harley I'm riding now, here's what I would do if I were you.....

1. Take the apes OFF the bike. Put the stockers ON the bike, and learn to drive expertly with them first. Save your apes for a little further down the road, say...a few months after you've been riding. Then you will be comfortable enough with your bike to learn the new skill of steering with them. First, just get used to just steering a Harley, 'cause it's a whole lotta animal. When you have been driving around on the roads for a few months, THEN consider putting the apes on your bike.

2. After you pass the MSF course, and after you get your license and insurance, take your bike to an empty parking lot, somewhere where you can drive around and around, a lot. (And when I say "alot", I mean,..."each day, for a couple of hours at least, for a week or so, until you are ready to get onto the streets".) Practice all the things the MSF teaches you...your cornering (turns), your stops, your counter-steering and your quick-stops. Take a few empty soda cans with you to use as "markers" on the pavement, to practice weaving in between them, veering, curves, u-turns, swerves, etc.
AND THEN, after about a week of off-road parking-lot practice, THEN take your bike onto the streets. You may feel silly tooling around and around in an empty parking lot, but, BELIEVE ME, not as silly as you would feel with a totalled bike and being in a full-body cast. (and that's if you're lucky)

Have fun with the course, and good luck to you with the new ride! Keep us posted!
Everybody here is very helpful and supportive, (well, almost everybody...LOL!) and you'll find answers to just about every Harley question you could think of.

Miles of smiles to ya,...
Scooter~