Basic RiderCourses (beginner classes) start at 6:00 PM on Friday. The weekend
schedule looks like this:
Friday - 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Saturday - 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday - 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Starting times are fixed. Ending times vary greatly depending on weather and other
factors.
Experienced RiderCourses, which are generally only held once each month, usually start at 9:00 AM.
The class starts in Classroom M-2 at Nashville State Community College. Experienced
RiderCourses are usually conducted on the 3rd Saturday of each month. Unless you receive specific
information about a different location or time, plan to be in the classroom at 9:00 AM on the day
of the class.
The weekend course begins at 6:00 PM on Friday. There is no riding on
Friday; instead, there are several classroom activities which will help
everyone become familiar with motorcycles and answer many questions
people who are not familiar with motorcycles may have. Generally the
Friday evening classroom session will be over by around 9:30.
On Saturday morning, promptly at 8:00 AM the first riding session will begin.
This portion of the course is divided into exercises. The first exercise is
little more than a chance to become familiar with the motorcycle you will
be riding all weekend. As the morning progresses you will learn how to
start and stop the engine, ride the motorcycle, shift gears, make turns
and stop the motorcycle by using the brakes.
Many things can happen which make it impossible to follow an exact schedule,
but if everything goes according to schedule you'll be through with your
first morning's riding by around lunch time. We'll take a lunch break (you
can either bring a lunch to eat or go to any of several nearby restaurants)
and re-convene back in the same classroom you were in on Friday evening after
an hour.
Saturday afternoon you will remain in the classroom and have an opportunity
to explore some important information about riding a motorcycle safely in
the real world, where automobiles, animals, debris and other things present
substantially different hazards to a motorcyclist than to a person in a car.
This portion of the classroom will present techniques which help motorcyclists
manage risk and enjoy safe riding. Generally the classroom will be dismissed
somewhere between 4:00 and 6:00 PM depending on many factors.
Sunday morning at 8:00 AM the second riding session will begin. The exercises
on Sunday will concentrate on real-world scenarios and give you an opportunity
to practice some of the hazard avoidance techniques discussed during the
Saturday evening classroom. They will also help you learn more about cornering
and effective braking.
Once again the schedule can vary considerably, but if everything is going
according to schedule you'll break for lunch, after which you will re-convene
for the class wrap up. This will include two tests (or evaluations). One of
them is a written test consisting of 50 multiple-choice questions. These
questions will all be on the material covered during the two classroom
sessions. The other evaluation will be a "skill test", during which your
ability to ride a motorcycle will be assessed objectively.
Around 2:00 PM (if everything goes according to schedule) on Sunday afternoon
the motorcycles will be put back up and
your coaches will probably have everyone re-convene in the classroom to
finish everything up. At this time you will find out how you did on your
tests and receive your completion packet. The class will then be dismissed.
Although we are not able to actually hand you a motorcycle license when
you complete the class, we are able to do the next best thing.
If you pass both the written and skill tests you will receive two
certificates from us. (Actually, one of them is just a card that's
about the size of a normal business card). The larger certificate
is a frameable document. It proves you successfully completed the
skill test to the satisfaction of the State of Tennessee's licensing
requirements. It should be taken to the Dept. of Motor Vehicles
driver license testing center.
When you show them this certificate they will waive their skill test and in most
cases they will also not require you to take their written test.
You will be required to take the eye test (so study for that) as well
as the money test.
There are three notable exceptions to the test waivers:
If you are under 16 you will be given the automotive written
test to verify that you are indeed familiar with the laws of the State
of Tennessee.
If you are 16 or older but you do not currently have a valid Tennessee
Driver's License you will also be required to take the automotive
written exam to verify that you are familiar with the laws of the
State of Tennessee
The State of Tennessee reserves the right (solely at their discretion) to
require that a graduate of our class take their motorcycle-specific
written exam. This is rarely done. This right is reserved for auditing
purposes in order to ensure that graduates of our program are in fact
being exposed to the requisite information necessary for safe and
responsible motorcycling.
The smaller certificate mentioned earlier can be presented to your
insurance company for the 10% discount on your motorcycle liability
insurance.
There is no age limit for individuals wanting to take the class.
Obviously there is a certain amount of effort involved in riding
a motorcycle. It is more demanding physically as well as
mentally than operating an automobile, but many older people
well into their 70's and 80's decide that they would like to
give motorcycling a try and end up enjoying it very much.
Each of us have to decide for ourselves if we have the ability
to do certain activities. If you think you would like to try
learning to ride a motorcycle, taking our class is an excellent
way to find out if this sport is for you or not.
We have several different motorcycles which we use for training bikes. In
keeping with standards set by MSF the motorcycles we use as training bikes
are limited in size, weight and power. Generally the engine size is 250cc
or less for all our bikes.
Seat height is also an important consideration, especially for riders who
don't have very long legs. We have various bikes with different seat
heights and seating positions. Our RiderCoaches use their experience
and knowledge of various models of motorcycles to help each student find
a bike that fits them suitably before the riding begins. If you have
any questions or concerns about the bike, be sure to address them to
your RiderCoach.
Specifically, our fleet of training bikes include several of each of
the following models: Honda Nighthawk 250, Honda Rebel 250, Honda CB125,
Suzuki GN125, Suzuki GZ250, Kawasaki Eliminator 125, Kawasaki KE100, Kawasaki
Super Sherpa 250, Yamaha Virago 250, and possibly a few others.
We have a limited number of scooters that you can use to take a Basic
RiderCourse. The scooters do not have a clutch and it is not necessary
to shift gears on them. Other than these things they are controlled very much
like a motorcycle.
If you complete the Basic RiderCourse using one of our scooters you will get the same
certification as if you had taken the class using one of our motorcycles.
Can my Husband/Wife/Significant Other come and watch the class?
As a general rule we cannot allow someone to participate in the class all weekend
unless they are officially signed up for that weekend. However it is okay for
a non-student to come to the classroom as long as they do not disturb the
classroom proceedings.
As far as the range activities are concerned, they are held in a publicly accessible
parking lot, which means that we could not (even if we wanted to) regulate who can sit
in an adjacent parking lot and watch what is going on.
However, it should be noted that sometimes the presence of a spouse or "significant other"
often poses a distraction to a person trying to master a challenging skill, and the feeling
that they are "being watched" can often add to the anxiety often felt while trying to do
something difficult. This can be very counter-productive.
Everyone is different, and some folks might actually prefer to have a spouse or significant
other nearby while performing the range exercises.
Regardless, it is imperative that such an individual not interfere with the activities
of the coaches or participants in the class. This even includes well-intentioned advice
and coaching from the sidelines. Please remember that our RiderCoaches are specifically
trained to evaluate and coach new riders effectively and that our coaching methods can
be subverted by a sideline coach.
What to bring to the class: Just dress comfortably
and casually. Bring a smile and be prepared to have fun!
What to bring to the range: For your own comfort it's a good idea
to bring some drinks and snacks to the range so that during breaks you
can refresh yourself as needed.
Of course you'll need proper riding gear any time you're actually
riding the motorcycle.
I don't have a helmet. Do I have to buy one first?
We can lend you one of our helmets so that you don't have to buy one
before taking the class.
If you bring your own helmet it absolutely must be DOT. Approved or we will
not be able to allow you to use it during our class. A DOT. approved helmet
will come from the factory with a sticker on the back that says DOT. It will
also have other key features which we will be looking for. Please do not try
to "sneak in" a non-DOT approved helmet for use on our range.
LearnToRide.ORG Frequently Asked Questions