Starting Motorcycle Safety Course - My Scooter or Their Bike?

[DanH]

I start a two-day CA motorcycle safety course this Saturday and Sunday. Mornings are in the classroom and afternoons are spent riding in a controlled lot. I can use my own scooter or ride one of their motorcycles ... Honda 500, I think.

I'm not sure which is best to ride during the course. Upon completion, my intent is to only ride a scooter and never exceed 50 mph. I have no intent to ride on freeways or use the scooter to commute to work. It is purely recreational.

Apparently, the safety course is set up for folks who have never ridden a motorcycle, so their provided bikes are rigged for falls - added crash bars, etc.

This implies there will be spills and I don't necessarily want to subject my brand new Like 200i to damage. The problem is that I don't know what the exercises are while riding that cause folks to spill. Their curriculum suggests much of the riding objectives are collision avoidance and riding "safe" to prevent accidents.

Any advice?

[scooterfan]

I think it all depends on personal riding experience. If you bought your scooter quite recently and you do not have much riding experience, I think it will be better to use their bike. You can always get more riding experience on your scooter afterwards.
If you have some experience riding your own scooter and you are able to ride your scooter with confidence - rather use your own scooter. It wouldn’t make sense to use a bike if you are able to ride your scooter quite well already. Riding something “strange” during the course might just make things a bit more complicated.

My 2 cents.

[john grinsel]

Use their bike!

[big blue]

When I took the MSF course  there were a few folks who, dumped the provided bikes, use their rides!

[Stig / Major Tom]

Use their motorcycles!
It's fun!
Probably make you a better scooter rider - like me😊
Umm, don't dump the bike..... auto-fail in my class!
Stig

[klaviator]

All of the riding in the MSF course is at low speed in a parking lot.  A lot of people tend to drop their bikes at low speed.  It is much more difficult to control your bike at 5 mph than at 50 or even 100mph.  If you can handle a 500cc motorcycle then your scooter will seem real easy.  Keep in mind that the MSF course is a lot like the first few years of elementary school.  It's a good start but that's all it is, a good start.  You will have a long way to go before your education is complete.

Also, take what you learn in the class with a grain of salt.  Some of the formation is "distorted" because it is aimed at beginners. 

Which bike to ride?  I'd probably use theirs but realistically you probably won't drop your scooter.  Riding your scooter will seem like cheating because it will be way easier to ride it through the MSF drills.

[CROSSBOLT]

Use their machine. It removes the "sweat" from the required skill training allowing you to absorb what they are teaching.