Motorcycle Safety Program ERC? : V-Twin Forum: Harley Davidson Forums

SFTL-1 · 04-07-2009, 01:29 PM

I'm thinking about taking the PA Motorcycle Safety Program's ERC this year as I believe it should offer me some valuable tips & techniques, but I'd also like to hear from those who have taken the course to get your thoughts on it?

Also, my Hooker pipes on my bike are certainly not quiet, am I going to be ostracized because of this?

FLSTFI Dave · 04-07-2009, 05:44 PM

I just took the ERC with my wife in March. For me it was the second time and it was a great refresher. It really remineded me of the importance of looking where you want to go, not at what you want to miss.

It was the wifes first time. She really learned allot. She was really worried about doing the box on her new Heritage due to it being heavier than her 883L. She did it just fine after a couple tries.

Pipes on my Fatboy are far from quite, big shot longs with a 10.2 compression and a 570 lift cam.

Go for it, it's a good class.

Nazzdak · 04-08-2009, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SFTL-1

I'm thinking about taking the PA Motorcycle Safety Program's ERC this year as I believe it should offer me some valuable tips & techniques, but I'd also like to hear from those who have taken the course to get your thoughts on it?

Also, my Hooker pipes on my bike are certainly not quiet, am I going to be ostracized because of this?

I have taken the MSF/ERC course. It is WELL WORTH the time and money spent, in my opinion. I wish is was a mandatory, annual, requirement, to riding on the street. A very small percentage of rider's actually take this class. Here in Indy, it's only a one day event. From 11am to 6 pm. You'll spend the day going back and forth from the classroom to the practice court, going over everything from braking, to U-turns, to slow speed, to counter-steering, to your own real life experiences in the saddle. There is a tremendous amount of one on one coaching, which I really enjoyed. At the end of the day, there's a basic skills test. If you come with an open mind, you WILL learn A LOT. They'll be all types of bikes, so don't worry about your pipes.

good luck!
David

Paniolo · 04-08-2009, 03:42 PM

I had a police motor instructor say something like 90 percent of all motorcyclists who have been in accidents NEVER had any formal training. So just by taking any formal course of instruction you improve your chances. And there are so many courses to choose from, the MSF, Ride Like A Pro, Freddie Spencer, Street Masters the list goes on.

But above all, PRACTICE regularly. Too many folks take a course, and then ride off never to practice again. And riding is NOT the same as dedicated practice. So the next time your buddies say let's meet at 10:00 and head off. consider showing up at 9:30 and spending that half an hour working on braking, tight turns, head and eye placement and balance. It will only help you.

Mark

SFTL-1 · 04-08-2009, 09:16 PM

All good info & advice, thanks...

Serg06 · 04-08-2009, 09:27 PM

Take the course it will most certainly help you. I suggest it to all my buddies even if they have a license already. I'm going to take the advanced course this year. You could never have enough knowledge. Good luck with your decision.

bbrowncods · 04-08-2009, 10:31 PM

Just took it a couple of months ago. Well worth it.

DAKSY · 04-13-2009, 04:36 PM

Glad to hear all the positive feedback...
I signed up to take on 3 May...
Course fee is $125 & got $25 off for being a
Brunswick H.O.G. member, PLUS I get a
$50 gift certificate to any H-D Dealer from
the National H.O.G....
Comes out to $50 for the ERC!

Big_Easy · 04-25-2009, 11:05 AM

I have been riding since '72 but took a long off period from owning a bike and riding routinely. I bought a new bike about 3 years ago and since then I have probably read 8-10 riding technique books and learned alot and reinforced some stuff I figured out on my own as being good skills and had to scrap a few bad ones. I also read portions of the Hurt report and like Paniolo said riders with hands on training are were under-represnted in both non-fatal and fatal crashes.

This spring I took the Riders Edge ERC and I think it was money&time well spent. Obviously it was a full day of low speed practice, and the other thing was it allowed me to get input from instructors on things I thought I was doing right but really wasn't.

I'm thinking that if you approach it with an open book attitude and listen to what they have to say you may come away with more than you think, have fun.

Oh yeah, I took it on my Suzuki DR 650 and there was a guy on a metric cruiser everyone else were on HD's as you would expect so I got a couple of strange looks but everyone was cool. The funny thing was one of the instructors was on a KLR 650

SFTL-1 · 05-18-2009, 11:58 AM

I just registered for one of PA's ERC's and in the instructions under "Requirements" was a bullet point that says:

"Loud Pipes Lose Sites! Legal exhaust pipes only. Loud pipes jeopardize the use of our training sites".

If I'm not mistaken, anyone who has changed or altered their factory exhaust does not have "Legal Pipes" if you go by the letter of the law. Is there anyone familiar with PA's MSF ERC program and how restrictive they're going to be regarding my exhaust which is substantially louder than stock?

route66paul · 05-18-2009, 01:00 PM

The only way to know is to go. I would say it depends on the instructor and the place where it is being held. certain classes have rental bikes to use(usually old cop kawis). This will let you know what to practice on with your own bike after you take the course.