Motorcycle Safety Foundation - Street Survival

Whether it's the sound that an aftermarket exhaust pipe winding through the gears bellows from a distant on-ramp, or an attraction to the bright and vivid paint schemes on modern sportbikes there's a reason we lust after motorcycles. Regardless of the attraction it's time to get out there on your own, but without a basic foundation and general understanding of motorcycling, your experience probably won't be all roses. In fact, you might end up spooked away from the sport completely.

We laid out our vision of the ideal training course for a newbie rider, then found a guinea pig to see if it'd work. With a minimal amount of off-road riding experience only, our aspiring street rider only knows the basic functions of a motorcycle: how to use the controls, which way to point and how to stop. To turn her loose on the streets at this point would be a recipe for disaster, yet sadly this is how many of us learned the laws of the asphalt jungle. And most have the scars to prove it.

But why would Krystal Ahmad, a 26-year old female, want to start riding a streetbike anyways, and hasn't she heard how "dangerous" it is? She explained: "One of the main reasons for the sudden interest to actually hoist myself into the pilot's seat was the economy. Gas prices aren't too friendly, and I figured that purchasing a cheaper form of transportation that eats less of my budget would be the way to go. It doesn't hurt to know that I can zip through traffic without wasting hours of my life like the rest of the highway cattle. What's also an interesting point is that the guy I dash by in traffic in his $100,000 car paid a lot for a vehicle that can't beat my bike in a race!"

A Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) course seemed like a logical place for Krystal to begin her street riding endeavor. Many new riders assume that their natural bike handling abilities should enable them to skip a beginner's course such as the MSF, but it offers training for certain situations that aren't usually practiced by the self-taught rider: "When I first signed up for the MSF school I was a bit nervous about busting out my nonexistent skills, but I learned everything from mounting the bike to swerving during out of control emergency situations. The class only took one weekend too.

"The only complaint I had was that they couldn't provide an exercise for learning how to take off from a hill or slope, and as I later found out on the road-it's a little tricky."

At the conclusion of the MSF course the student gets a special perk-an automatic motorcycle endorsement. By successfully completing the three-day course, the standard routine of jumping through the DMV's rotten hoops to obtain an endorsement is skipped.

With her motorcycle endorsed license in hand it was time to hit the streets, but first she'd need a bike. The hottest entry-level ride in recent years is Kawasaki's Ninja 250. Not only does it look like a proper sportbike, but it's also extremely docile and very forgiving for the inexperienced pilot. This seemed the best choice for our five-foot tall test subject. A larger rider might find the bike a bit underpowered and small, and a jump up to a larger and more powerful bike is an option. Although a full-on sportbike is likely in your crosshairs, it's a good idea to start on something a bit softer to hone your skills and gain street savviness.

The entirety of the MSF course is taught in a closed parking lot, and though it covers a broad array of riding situations there's still nothing quite like getting out on the actual road. For many new riders this is a crucial stage, and one that must be treated with respect. Eliminating as many risk factors as possible starts with choosing less traveled roads during non-rush hour times.