There is Always Going to be some "Old Timer" Know it All Ego Bustin Out Fool, That will Seek Out the Poor Misguided Newbie That is Easily Impressed... and Then Spouts Off.

If You are THAT New, Take the Advice from most of the Guys Posting...Take a Motorcycle Course... MOST States require it to get an Endorsement anyway...Plus you save on Insurance.

Best Advice is Tell anyone WHO OFFERS ADVICE Without you asking To Mind Their Own Business .... Which ONE FOOT Would You Put Down if you were on a Steep Slope? Wet Road? Slippery Oil? etc etc... There are NO 100% all the Time...

My 2 Cents and Worth ALL Of That... God Bless. "Country Fried & THE MULE"

 

When riding my 1000 pound bike, I'd put four feet down when coming to a stop if I had them.

 

i usually put 2 feet on the ground. sometimes 3.

 

++++ to this message. For all of you who insist on putting both feet down -well, good luck.

 

Just because He's been riding for 40 years doesn't mean he's good at it. I sometimes do the 1 foot thing, but not all that often. And as for intentionally dropping my bike, no thanx. Got a lot of chrome, powdercoat and paint on it, I'd really rather not, not unless I have to.

 

I cannot believe this. Every CERTIFIED motorcycle instruction course will stress the importance of keeping one foot up on the brake and you people argue different. Is it something to do with the American mindset that says "f..k u nobody's gonna tell me what to do" It's the same thing with helmets....you know they save lives and yet you still thumb your noses at it. Fine! All the MC instructors of America and Canada are wrong and full of **** and you can go on stopping with both feet down. Unbelievable......

 

I've always put two feet on the ground. Not because I'm thumbing my nose at "the experts", simply because I feel safer and more comfortable. Two feet on the ground has never hindered my ability to leave a scene in a hurry because I generally have my bike in first gear with one hand on the clutch and the other on the throttle. In the end I think it's all about what works best for you. That doesn't mean that you have to stop learning and trying new techniques and theories. JMO &

 

The odd part of this one foot or two feet down theory is that I rode metric bikes for almost 30 years on and off road before I ever rode a Harley.

With the pegs straight down on the metric bikes, it was natural and comfortable for me to keep on foot on the peg and one on the ground at stops. That's the way I did it for almost 30 years without ever thinking of it as a safety issue or a riding skill.

With the forward position of the Harley footboards, it feels odd to me to keep one foot on the board. I am most comfortable with both feet up or both down on the Harley frame. I never even really thought about that until reading all of this.


Dennis

 

O.K. let's get this part of MSF classes down before we go any further: The vast majority of classes taught in the US and Canada are Basic Rider Courses, or Rider Satefy Skills Courses. These are BASIC, BEGINNER level courses. The course has to do many things and included in that is balancing the muscle memory of just operating the bike with the novice level of control and familiarity with the bike and with that some basic safety measures that won't get you killed.

One of the basic things here is the wrist down position MSF espouses. Does not mean all riders should always ride all bikes wrist down. What it does do is help prevent a newbie from accidentally grabbing too much throttle and then getting in trouble. Experienced riders can throw this out, as they know their bike and how it works and have greater throttle control. Still good when getting on a new to you bike though.

That would be followed by the all fingers on the throttle or all fingers on the brake (front brake). This is again to prevent throttle use problems if the newbie is trying to cover the front brake and allows the newbie to have better brake feel and control with all 4 fingers. The experienced rider can cover the brake very safely. The newbie, probably not.

Since the newbie is not covering the brake at a stop, and has his full hand on the throttle - incase he/she needs to make an emergency escape, MSF suggests the newbie cover the rear brake. Since it is always better to stop with both brakes, and not release until fully stopped, MSF says put the left foot down at a stop - meaning your right foot is already covering the brake, the bike wont roll at a stop and the newbie can adjust for throttle. They have also been told to already down shift to 1st and they have the clutch in. They are ready to take off when the time arises. It's all to get the newbie ready to go again with the least amount of thought, and get riding to become natural quicker. It also means a great deal of safety is maintained for the general or average ride.

MSF does not espouse that there is no other way to do it, or that other ways are unsafe. They do say to not try other methods, including covering the front brake, until you have more experience.

Now, a little more on the "only way to do it" mentality. MSF recognized back in the 80's that many of it's instructors had a Drill Sergeant mentality - it's my way, its the only way and everything else is wrong. The MSF started trying to change this in the late 90's, a totally new program was implimented, though has taken a long time to get used in every state. They are ready to change the program again. Instructor are now rider-coaches. The attitude of yelling, only one way and acting like a drill sergeant is highly frowned upon, though rider coaches are not "fired" for this.

Basically there is more than one way to skin a cat. Some ways are better the first time you try it, other methods work as you gain more experience. It's that simple.

Sorry for the long post. I am an ex- instructor and ex- Rider Coach. I have all the program materials for both the old and current curriculum.

 

Excellent post GarArnett!