u/Scarecrow716

I want to get a rebel for my first bike but I’m torn between a rebel 300 and a rebel 500. My only motorcycle experience was an MSF course which I failed mainly because I struggled with throttle control and the clutch on the rebel 300 I used, but I still want to get one and learn on it. My gut tells me to get a 300, but that I’ll also outgrow it eventually and get a 500. My question is: is the difference really that noticeable and would it be worth getting the smaller bike and sell it later to help pay for the 500?

TLDR: Class was great, I failed, 10/10 will try again

I took the MSF course over the weekend and this is how it went. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Before you read, I’m aware each MSF course is a little different, this is just my experience. My sister in law told me she took her’s at a harley dealership in another state and it went poorly, while my coworker took his at the local community college and he said it was great. I’ll try to separate this based on what the class actually was vs my personal experience. Sorry for long post and any typos, I don’t have the best memory and want to get this down before I forget.

***The class*****:** It was a total of 18 hours over 3 days: 4 hours on Friday (All classroom), 8 hours on Saturday (5 hours on the range and 3 in the classroom, and 6 hours on Sunday (All range time). We had 12 people in the class and skill levels ranging from zero experience at all (me) to actively riding and just took it for insurance. There was even an older couple that hadn’t been on a bike in 20 years. The instructors were very knowledgeable and professional the entire time, they were as patient as they could be while still moving the class along.

Friday we just went over the rules of the road along with the basics of motorcycles (i.e. these are the breaks, always wear a helmet, this is the friction zone, this is how to turn). We were given a free msf book to keep and they were constantly emphasizing certain topics that would be on the test.

Saturday we started at 6:45am outside so we could ride the bikes before it got too hot. There was a chance of rain that morning and it was very foggy and humid, but the instructors motivated us to experience both dry roads and wet roads in a controlled environment if possible. They made sure everyone had ankle-high boots, gloves, helmets, and long sleeves on before we started and offered loaners for people that didn’t have helmets of their own (there were 3 I think). They had a few sport bikes, a few cruisers, and a couple dirt bikes we could choose from and when each of us picked ours out, we went through the basics of operating one before any exercises started. We did a lot of low speed maneuvers like going in a straight line, weaving around cones, turning from a stop, riding through a narrow “S” curve, and a few others I can’t really remember. We took a break for lunch, and continued in the classroom where we went over scenarios and finished the day by taking the written test. (Everyone passed the written test no problem)

Sunday started at the same time as we’re under a heat advisory and we all decided to wake up early to finish before the sun got too high. We did more slow maneuvers like the U-Turn and riding over obstacles followed by faster ones such as cruising speed turns, emergency stops, and emergency swerving. Once everyone got practice in, the riding test began. They put us all in a single file line and did one exercise at a time: We started with a cone weave, then a sharp right turn from a stop followed by a U-Turn, then an emergency stop, then swerving out of the way of an obstacle, and finally cruising speed turns where we had to shift into 2nd gear and hold a speed through turns. Once everyone finished, we went to the classroom where the people that passed received their endorsement.

Overall, the class was very good. Again, I understand that not every class is the same and not every instructor is the same, but in my case both were outstanding. Highly recommend. Out of 12 students, 8 passed and 4 failed (each for various reasons but none of them were like “ThIs Is BuLlShIt I’vE bEeN rIdInG lOnGeR tHaN yOuVe BeEn AlIvE” everyone that failed completely agreed with the reasons)

***Now the personal experience:*** As I said above, highly recommend. The teachers were great and super knowledgeable and supportive towards struggling riders. Including me.

The first day was ROUGH. I could barely hold a straight line, I couldn’t get a good feel for the throttle or the clutch lever so I was all over the place. I was trying to watch where I was going but then I’d accidentally hit the throttle and the bike would shoot out and I’d panic. Lost count of how many times I lost balance. I dropped it twice (would’ve dropped it a lot more but I caught it fast enough to use my leg to lift it back up). I thought nothing was going well and I felt so bad for holding up the class while the instructors stuck with me. When the day was done I was honestly considering not going back for day 2 cause I knew I wasn’t going to pass, but I knew I would regret it (plus I paid for it already and I wasn’t even done yet) so I went back for day 2.

I was so excited Saturday morning, but I was dreading it on Sunday because I’ve been wanting a motorcycle for over a year now and life was finally lining up for me to be able to get one and now I’m not even sure if I should even be near one. There were strong wind gusts Sunday morning but those didn’t seem to matter that much (honestly helped with the heat a lot but made it a little hard to hear). I did horrible with the U-Turn and I didn’t get much better at the other slow speed exercises we reviewed. I even straight up asked one of the instructors “No bullshit answer, you won’t hurt my feelings. How am I doing?” And he said “I mean, there’s a chance you’ll still pass but I don’t want to discourage you.”, but then came the faster skills. Suddenly, everything was smooth. I had good throttle control, I didn’t drop the bike, I watched where I was going, I even held a good slow speed when catching up to other riders. I got the confidence to trust the bike and everything after that was smooth sailing.

Then came the test. Every single skill we did was slow speed and I fumbled HARD. I missed a cone on the cone weave and put a foot down, I put another foot down on the turn from a stop and the u-turn plus I went outside the area for the u-turn, I skid on the emergency stop but I think they said that’s ok, I put another foot down on the swerve and stalled the bike (that was my only stall at least), and I struggled with the gear shift on the higher speed exercise. End of it all, I did not pass. The 4 of us that didn’t pass were: Me (had zero experience and was the most uncertain about anything), an older woman (she dropped out for medical reasons), a middle aged woman (she had never driven a bike, only sat passenger with her husband and did it to see if she’d enjoy riding with him, and she was dropping the bikes constantly too), and a middle aged man (I think he had just gotten a bike and was inexperienced with it, he was having throttle control issues too). It was no fault of the instructors or the class, it was 100% me. I’m not at the skill level needed yet, as this was my first experience EVER on a bike. I was told I can take the class again or they suggested getting a small bike to practice with and then go to the DMV, but I think I’m going to take a break and see how I feel about it in a few days.

***The good***: instructors were phenomenal, we went over a bunch of important skills, they had a variety of bikes, everyone was patient with each other (mostly, THAT guy is in the ugly), and the instructors were motivating even when we were failing (“no one is perfect and everyone can improve” mentality).

***The bad***: As I said, unfortunately I failed. It really sucked that it was only 18 hours in total and we only spent 11 hours on bikes. The instructors both said they truly believed that if I had 1-2 more days of practice, I’d pass. It was also a little fast paced because we’d move to the next exercise before I understand the previous one, but again I completely understand the class is for everyone and not just me. It also didn’t help that the riding boots I got are steel toed so they’re a little thick and I was struggling to get them under the gear shifter, plus I couldn’t really feel for it so I’d have to hope for the best that I wasn’t accidentally in neutral.

***The ugly***: So, everyone else had SOME experience besides me but didn’t actively ride a bike. Except one guy. He was only there for the insurance but he had been riding for years and he would CONSTANTLY talk over the instructors or try to make jokes while they were explaining things. On the range, he would constantly rev his engine while the instructors were talking and honked his horn at people thinking he was funny. We could tell the instructors were annoyed at him because at one point, people were confused by all the lines on the ground and got lost so when the instructor was going over to help, the guy just yelled “Keep going!” and the instructor turned with a bright red face and professionally told him (I’m paraphrasing) “I’m the teacher, not you. Shut the fuck up.” When doing the higher speed stuff, the dude even blew past me and when we got back in line he was like “did I accidentally pass you? I’m sorry, are we allowed to do that?” I wanted to punch him in the throat at the end when he was like “so did you pass? You didn’t? Why not? Were you the guy that went outside the box on the u-turn? That’ll do it” If you’re reading this, to the fatass manchild with a bitch-bun on top of your head that wouldn’t shut up: go fuck yourself cockbite.

Other than him, the class was great. Even though I didn’t end up passing, I learned if I even had the capacity to operate a motorcycle and I think with a lot more practice and being in a good headspace, I’m willing to try it again in the future.

TLDR: Class was great, I failed, 10/10 will try again

I took the MSF course over the weekend and this is how it went. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Before you read, I’m aware each MSF course is a little different, this is just my experience. My sister in law told me she took her’s at a harley dealership in another state and it went poorly, while my coworker took his at the local community college and he said it was great. I’ll try to separate this based on what the class actually was vs my personal experience. Sorry for long post and any typos, I don’t have the best memory and want to get this down before I forget.

The class: It was a total of 18 hours over 3 days: 4 hours on Friday (All classroom), 8 hours on Saturday (5 hours on the range and 3 in the classroom, and 6 hours on Sunday (All range time). We had 12 people in the class and skill levels ranging from zero experience at all (me) to actively riding and just took it for insurance. There was even an older couple that hadn’t been on a bike in 20 years. The instructors were very knowledgeable and professional the entire time, they were as patient as they could be while still moving the class along.

Friday we just went over the rules of the road along with the basics of motorcycles (i.e. these are the breaks, always wear a helmet, this is the friction zone, this is how to turn). We were given a free msf book to keep and they were constantly emphasizing certain topics that would be on the test.

Saturday we started at 6:45am outside so we could ride the bikes before it got too hot. There was a chance of rain that morning and it was very foggy and humid, but the instructors motivated us to experience both dry roads and wet roads in a controlled environment if possible. They made sure everyone had ankle-high boots, gloves, helmets, and long sleeves on before we started and offered loaners for people that didn’t have helmets of their own (there were 3 I think). They had a few sport bikes, a few cruisers, and a couple dirt bikes we could choose from and when each of us picked ours out, we went through the basics of operating one before any exercises started. We did a lot of low speed maneuvers like going in a straight line, weaving around cones, turning from a stop, riding through a narrow “S” curve, and a few others I can’t really remember. We took a break for lunch, and continued in the classroom where we went over scenarios and finished the day by taking the written test. (Everyone passed the written test no problem)

Sunday started at the same time as we’re under a heat advisory and we all decided to wake up early to finish before the sun got too high. We did more slow maneuvers like the U-Turn and riding over obstacles followed by faster ones such as cruising speed turns, emergency stops, and emergency swerving. Once everyone got practice in, the riding test began. They put us all in a single file line and did one exercise at a time: We started with a cone weave, then a sharp right turn from a stop followed by a U-Turn, then an emergency stop, then swerving out of the way of an obstacle, and finally cruising speed turns where we had to shift into 2nd gear and hold a speed through turns. Once everyone finished, we went to the classroom where the people that passed received their endorsement.

Overall, the class was very good. Again, I understand that not every class is the same and not every instructor is the same, but in my case both were outstanding. Highly recommend. Out of 12 students, 8 passed and 4 failed (each for various reasons but none of them were like “ThIs Is BuLlShIt I’vE bEeN rIdInG lOnGeR tHaN yOuVe BeEn AlIvE” everyone that failed completely agreed with the reasons)

Now the personal experience: As I said above, highly recommend. The teachers were great and super knowledgeable and supportive towards struggling riders. Including me.

The first day was ROUGH. I could barely hold a straight line, I couldn’t get a good feel for the throttle or the clutch lever so I was all over the place. I was trying to watch where I was going but then I’d accidentally hit the throttle and the bike would shoot out and I’d panic. Lost count of how many times I lost balance. I dropped it twice (would’ve dropped it a lot more but I caught it fast enough to use my leg to lift it back up). I thought nothing was going well and I felt so bad for holding up the class while the instructors stuck with me. When the day was done I was honestly considering not going back for day 2 cause I knew I wasn’t going to pass, but I knew I would regret it (plus I paid for it already and I wasn’t even done yet) so I went back for day 2.

I was so excited Saturday morning, but I was dreading it on Sunday because I’ve been wanting a motorcycle for over a year now and life was finally lining up for me to be able to get one and now I’m not even sure if I should even be near one. There were strong wind gusts Sunday morning but those didn’t seem to matter that much (honestly helped with the heat a lot but made it a little hard to hear). I did horrible with the U-Turn and I didn’t get much better at the other slow speed exercises we reviewed. I even straight up asked one of the instructors “No bullshit answer, you won’t hurt my feelings. How am I doing?” And he said “I mean, there’s a chance you’ll still pass but I don’t want to discourage you.”, but then came the faster skills. Suddenly, everything was smooth. I had good throttle control, I didn’t drop the bike, I watched where I was going, I even held a good slow speed when catching up to other riders. I got the confidence to trust the bike and everything after that was smooth sailing.

Then came the test. Every single skill we did was slow speed and I fumbled HARD. I missed a cone on the cone weave and put a foot down, I put another foot down on the turn from a stop and the u-turn plus I went outside the area for the u-turn, I skid on the emergency stop but I think they said that’s ok, I put another foot down on the swerve and stalled the bike (that was my only stall at least), and I struggled with the gear shift on the higher speed exercise. End of it all, I did not pass. The 4 of us that didn’t pass were: Me (had zero experience and was the most uncertain about anything), an older woman (she dropped out for medical reasons), a middle aged woman (she had never driven a bike, only sat passenger with her husband and did it to see if she’d enjoy riding with him, and she was dropping the bikes constantly too), and a middle aged man (I think he had just gotten a bike and was inexperienced with it, he was having throttle control issues too). It was no fault of the instructors or the class, it was 100% me. I’m not at the skill level needed yet, as this was my first experience EVER on a bike. I was told I can take the class again or they suggested getting a small bike to practice with and then go to the DMV, but I think I’m going to take a break and see how I feel about it in a few days.

The good: instructors were phenomenal, we went over a bunch of important skills, they had a variety of bikes, everyone was patient with each other (mostly, THAT guy is in the ugly), and the instructors were motivating even when we were failing (“no one is perfect and everyone can improve” mentality).

The bad: As I said, unfortunately I failed. It really sucked that it was only 18 hours in total and we only spent 11 hours on bikes. The instructors both said they truly believed that if I had 1-2 more days of practice, I’d pass. It was also a little fast paced because we’d move to the next exercise before I understand the previous one, but again I completely understand the class is for everyone and not just me. It also didn’t help that the riding boots I got are steel toed so they’re a little thick and I was struggling to get them under the gear shifter, plus I couldn’t really feel for it so I’d have to hope for the best that I wasn’t accidentally in neutral.

The ugly: So, everyone else had SOME experience besides me but didn’t actively ride a bike. Except one guy. He was only there for the insurance but he had been riding for years and he would CONSTANTLY talk over the instructors or try to make jokes while they were explaining things. On the range, he would constantly rev his engine while the instructors were talking and honked his horn at people thinking he was funny. We could tell the instructors were annoyed at him because at one point, people were confused by all the lines on the ground and got lost so when the instructor was going over to help, the guy just yelled “Keep going!” and the instructor turned with a bright red face and professionally told him (I’m paraphrasing) “I’m the teacher, not you. Shut the fuck up.” When doing the higher speed stuff, the dude even blew past me and when we got back in line he was like “did I accidentally pass you? I’m sorry, are we allowed to do that?” I wanted to punch him in the throat at the end when he was like “so did you pass? You didn’t? Why not? Were you the guy that went outside the box on the u-turn? That’ll do it” If you’re reading this, to the fatass manchild with a bitch-bun on top of your head that wouldn’t shut up: go fuck yourself cockbite.

Other than him, the class was great. Even though I didn’t end up passing, I learned if I even had the capacity to operate a motorcycle and I think with a lot more practice and being in a good headspace, I’m willing to try it again in the future.