Taking an MSS private motorcycle lesson

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Posted by: Paul

14 March 2009 661 views No Comment

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Once I signed up for the MSS Basic Rider Course, I got an email advising me that it would be worthwhile taking a private lesson a week or so before the course to get some advance learning.

While this is a sure-fire way to raise extra money for MSS, I signed up and just got back from my lesson in Williamsburg, and I highly recommend it.

I signed up for a 2 hour lesson for $130. You can sign up for an hour for half that amount, but having taken the lesson I feel like an hour would barely be enough time to get you on the bike, if it’s your first lesson because the first hour is pretty much taken up walking you around the bike and explaining what all the cables, levers and whatchamacallits actually do.

The Williamsburg location is a short walk from the Metropolitan Avenue stop. My instructor was Steve, and he was a great guy. Very enthusiastic, a long-time rider, and a great teacher. The bike was a 250CC Yamaha or some such. And I used the opportunity to try out my new helmet and gloves from Vespa SoHo for the first time.

After an overview of the bike he drove me a few blocks over to a quiet street and we spent the next hour or so working on “building blocks”. We started with safely firing up the bike, getting it upright, walking it, and power walking it (using clutch control in gear to drive a small amount of power to the wheels).

By the end of the lesson I was driving the bike up and down the street, turning the bike, getting into second gear and of course stopping.

Thank you Steve for a great lesson.