MSF expands motorcycle rider training programs, raises the bar on minimum competency

Beginning motorcycle riders in training (Photo: Ken Bingenheimer)

The days of motorcycle rider training conducted entirely in parking lots are at an end. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) announced yesterday that it is revamping its training curriculum to focus on three CORE curricula labeled Essential CORE, Expanded CORE, and Recommended CORE.

Dr. Ray Ochs, Director, MSF Training Systems, said, "Each MSF CORE was created to encompass the knowledge, skill, attitudes and habits linked with high-quality riding, but the Recommended CORE is the most comprehensive. These three COREs provide a solid foundation for a lifetime of safety and better riding judgment, and also extend training over a longer period for a much more rounded approach to personal development and the techniques of risk management. Riding skills are perishable and require renewal and commitment over time.

"We're especially excited to announce the new Street RiderCourses, as there's no substitute for being in real traffic," he added.

While some of the new courses are available now at some locations, full roll-out of the training will first require MSF-certified trainers to complete their own train-the-trainer classes. Prospective students should check with their local training site or with a state program administrator's office. The courses will be announced as they are released for public enrollment on the MSF Web site at www.msf-usa.org. All of them are slated to be ready for implementation this year.

The MSF recommends its Essential CORE Curriculum as the minimum training for every beginning rider. This curriculum includes the long-standing Basic Rider Course (BRC), a new Street Rider Course (SRC), and a Basic Bike-Bonding Rider Course. The BRC is conducted entirely in a parking lot on small training cycles provided by the trainer. In the SRC the student may ride a training bike or their own, and goes beyond the traditional closed riding range. The bike-bonding course is specifically intended to help students learn to handle their own motorcycles.

The MSF breaks out the three CORE curricula in this manner.

Essential CORE

Basic RiderCourse: The recommended first ride aboard a smaller, training-size motorcycle on a closed range.

Street RiderCourse 1: The recommended first public-road ride for students with their own motorcycles (or training motorcycles), and the first MSF course taken beyond traditional, closed riding ranges. In a standard SRC 1, three students are linked by radios to one specially certified MSF RiderCoach.

Basic Bike-Bonding RiderCourse: Skill drills to help students handle their own motorcycles.

Expanded CORE

Basic RiderCourse

Street Smart - Rider Perception: A host-an-event kit with a compact disc containing perception tests relating to real-world situations.

Street RiderCourse 1

Basic Bike-Bonding RiderCourse

Advanced RiderCourse - Sportbike Techniques: For sport and other style motorcycles, this includes three classroom hours focusing on rider awareness and risk management, and four hours of riding on a closed range with exercises that aim to develop both technique and judgment.

Street RiderCourse 2: Adding time and mileage to that in Street RiderCourse 1, focused on improving the perceptual strategies of street riding.

Recommended CORE

Basic RiderCourse

Street Smart - Rider Perception

Street RiderCourse 1

Basic Bike-Bonding RiderCourse

Advanced RiderCourse - Sportbike Techniques

Street RiderCourse 2

KS-RiderCourseSM: Developed with Grand Prix road racing champion Kevin Schwantz, this circuit-type, fine-skills course uses a much larger riding range, permitting speeds closer to that on public roads.

For safety information or to enroll in the RiderCourse nearest you, visit www.msf-usa.org or call (800) 446-9227.

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The MSF also announced yesterday that it would participate in a "naturalistic" motorcycle safety study in conjunction with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.