Safety courses

[ramminghard]

i have been looking around for motorccle safety courses to take come spring. In Calgary. i have only found one from the calgary safety council but i was wondering if there are any others that are good. Also is the safety course recemonded. i have ridden dirt bikes all my life and a few street bikes but not much.
any info would be great.

[LaughingTiger]

Originally posted by ramminghard
i have been looking around for motorccle safety courses to take come spring. In Calgary. i have only found one from the calgary safety council but i was wondering if there are any others that are good. Also is the safety course recemonded. i have ridden dirt bikes all my life and a few street bikes but not much.
any info would be great.

I just went and took the test...it's easy.. I used to race motorcross when I was little..... Don't waste your money on
the safety course shit, not worth it, you learn all your skill first hand when your on the street....

[ramminghard]

That is what i was thinking of doing.
ya the test is quite easy, almost the same as the learners. i took them both at the same time, not realizing that the motorcycle one expires after one year so i have to take it again.

[RT16V]

Sure, you learn alot on the street - bu there are many survival skills that can be learned from riders with many years experience. Learn these while you are still developing your new skills & they become habbit for life. Find the money, take the course, save a bit on insurance & most important of all it may save some of your skin in the end. If you're only concerned about getting your liscence, it's not really necessary - but if you are interested in becoming a good rider, then it is a very good start.

I took one through Foothills Driving Academy, it was not bad at all for $250.

[kevie88]

I agree with RT, Learning motorcycle skills firsthand has almost killed me a few times.. I kinda wish I would have taken a course before I broke my back.. Oh well, at least there was no permanent paralysis. You might not be as lucky as me tho.

[ramminghard]

the real reason that i would take it is to get the class six. but i heard that the test with ama is just around the block. doesn't seem too hard. i have an uncle that used to ride for the calgary police service so he said that he would help me out.

[LaughingTiger]

Originally posted by RT16V
Sure, you learn alot on the street - bu there are many survival skills that can be learned from riders with many years experience. Learn these while you are still developing your new skills & they become habbit for life. Find the money, take the course, save a bit on insurance & most important of all it may save some of your skin in the end. If you're only concerned about getting your liscence, it's not really necessary - but if you are interested in becoming a good rider, then it is a very good start.

I took one through Foothills Driving Academy, it was not bad at all for $250.

Insurance is so cheap on a bike anyway....

[ramminghard]

Does the insurance go down with the safety course? also what would be the average insurance rate? i have heard everywhere from 300 to 1200?

[gpomp]

Originally posted by ramminghard
Does the insurance go down with the safety course? also what would be the average insurance rate? i have heard everywhere from 300 to 1200?

Insurance for bikes is like $450 per year.

[FN49]

Originally posted by gpomp


Insurance for bikes is like $450 per year.

I depends on the bike. Sportbikes are quite expensive to insure compared to cruisers or dual sports. Taking a safety course does decrease your insurance but I don't know how much. If you have ridden dirt bikes all your life you probably won't learn much from taking one of those courses.

[gpomp]

Originally posted by FN49


I depends on the bike. Sportbikes are quite expensive to insure compared to cruisers or dual sports. Taking a safety course does decrease your insurance but I don't know how much. If you have ridden dirt bikes all your life you probably won't learn much from taking one of those courses.

Well, I know that a 99 F4 is $450 per year.

[RT16V]

Originally posted by LaughingTiger



Insurance is so cheap on a bike anyway....

I wasn't using insurance savings as a primary benefit of a safety course - it's just a secondary plus. Any money saved is better than none at all.....

[RT16V]

Originally posted by FN49


I depends on the bike. Sportbikes are quite expensive to insure compared to cruisers or dual sports. Taking a safety course does decrease your insurance but I don't know how much. If you have ridden dirt bikes all your life you probably won't learn much from taking one of those courses.

It's not really about learning to handle a bike in terms of actual skills (ie: getting moving on the road). It's more about surviving on the road with all those inattentive drivers - you can't learn that on a dirt bike

[LaughingTiger]

Ins is very cheap for a bike....average full coverage is $400-500 per year....

You can't do as much damage or hurt as many people on a bike as you can w/ a car, thats why it's so cheap...

[RiCE-DaDDy]

dont skimp on lessons. riding a bike is a bigger risk and I wouldnt skimp. take a course!! US statistics show that 90% of all motorcycle accidents are by people that are self taught.

[FN49]

Originally posted by RT16V


It's not really about learning to handle a bike in terms of actual skills (ie: getting moving on the road). It's more about surviving on the road with all those inattentive drivers - you can't learn that on a dirt bike

I have never taken a safety course but what from what others have told me it doesn’t sound like one would get much out of it if one had lots of riding experience. Riding in the dirt is still probably the best way to get your skill level up on a bike. As far as riding on the road just be very aware of all that is around you and have an “escape” ready if you need it.

Where do you guys get your insurance? I have had my license for 4 years and the cheapest place I found for my 94 XR650L was $366 per year with comprehensive and liability (no collision). I priced out what it would be for a 2002 V-Max this spring and it was around $800 (Full coverage). $450 for a 99 F4 seems low unless you have had your license for a while.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by RiCE-DaDDy
dont skimp on lessons. riding a bike is a bigger risk and I wouldnt skimp. take a course!! US statistics show that 90% of all motorcycle accidents are by people that are self taught.

but arent 90% of cyclists self taught?

[sml]

Originally posted by gpomp


Well, I know that a 99 F4 is $450 per year.

It's $800, not $450!!!

[sml]

Originally posted by LaughingTiger
Ins is very cheap for a bike....average full coverage is $400-500 per year....

You can't do as much damage or hurt as many people on a bike as you can w/ a car, thats why it's so cheap...

No. Bike insurance is cheap because it's based on 6 riding months in a year. March-Oct. Insurance companies bank on the fact that you probably won't be riding when it's -30 outside or when there's an inch of snow on the ground. SO, if you work out the actual period that you can ride, it'll work out to $1600/yr, which is the same as insuring a regular car.
And if you think that you cannot do as much damage with a bike than with a car, think again. Most bikes in a crash end up being total loss ($10k to replace the bike). Most cars get into a scrap can be fixed for under $5k. The other reason why bike insurance is "cheaper" is because the value of a bike vs the value of a car. That's how insurance works. The value of the vehicle is rated first, then the saftey rating. The fact that a bike usually costs less than a car offsets the fact that it's less safe to be riding.

[sml]

Originally posted by Jeff TYPE R
but arent 90% of cyclists self taught?

Not just that, but another stat shows that 50% of all riders on the road don't even HAVE a motorcycle license!!! YIKES!