When the Sons Of Liberty Riders (SOLR) asked me to evaluate Harley Davidson’s Riders Edge safety training, I jumped at the chance. Having recently taken the Basic Riders Course offered through the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Center at the local technical college, I was curious as to what extra training could be expected from a class that is 8 hours longer (24 compared to 16) and $225.00 more ($350 compared to $125). The following is my Riders Edge experience and comparisons to the state administered course.

While the handouts were similar to my first class, there were many examples of Harley Davidson marketing being inserted into the curriculum. We were told we would have two instructors. Our first day in the classroom was lead by only one instructor who was very polite and also very young. I would guess 25 years old, but she said she had been riding for years. After we introduced ourselves to each other, we took a tour of the dealership. Our host welcomed us to the world of Harley Davidson (H-D) and motorcycling and also explained all of the good things that H-D does for the community and motorcyclists. The millions donated to MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Assoc.) and other local charities, and the brotherhood and sisterhood of the Harley Owners Group (HOG). She also explained the dealership’s promotions, hog roasts, and sales programs. We met the salespeople who told us all about the new models of H-Ds and Buells. It was interesting to hear the names given to the paint, both stock and custom. The parts department manager said they have over 44,000 parts in stock for H-Ds built from 1915 to present. Then we met the service manager who told us about the various check up programs they offer. One thousand, three thousand, ten thousand mile check ups, etc. They also offer free storage with service work. The overall message was one of total service. Anything you need, H-D can take care of.

After two hours of orientation, we hit the classroom, where we were asked if we've learned anything new about H-D dealerships and what kind of new bikes we would prefer to buy. Then the six of us, three men and three women, looked through the handouts and books. The main knowledge base - the Student Workbook was the same as my previous course, but we went through it very slowly and read the answers to the questions, making sure that everyone understands the material.

One of the most striking differences was in the videos we watched. They seemed very much the same as the state sponsored course, but had an incredible amount of "product placement". The H-D name was everywhere. From the view of the shifter (H-D logo on boots), handlebars (logo on gloves) to the motorcycles used. To help us to evaluate needed safety gear the instructor brought up products from the dealership's clothing department. When questioned about the safety of the leather riding gear, our instructor informed us that H-D researches all of their clothing products and they are the best available. This conflicted with what we were taught at the state run course. I clearly remember the instructor from the previous course explaining that although leather provides fairly good protection, when you fall it makes you tumble which results in broken bones while the nylon motorcyclists' gear makes you slide. Large buckles and gloves with the seams on the inside look good, but could actually hinder your safety.

One of the more curious things I heard was when the instructor told us we would start later the next day to give us more time to shop around. True to her word, the class started at 4:00, not 3:30. But this day was different. The second instructor joined us in the classroom and she was all business. I could tell she was very serious about rider safety training. However, the videos we watched kept emphasizing the H-D logo everywhere. Strange how often the H-D logo was prominently displayed.

On Saturday morning, we headed to the high school parking lot for the on-bike training. This course was approximately the same as my previous course, with the same exercises. I was trying to compare the way the exercises were explained on the state run course. I could immediately tell the difference in our two coaches. The younger instructor was reading instructions from the book forgetting helpful hints for the exercise completion, while the second instructor was very dedicated, passionate and patient, paying attention to each student and providing very detailed explanation for every exercise.

One of the things that bothered all of the students was the choice of training motorcycle. The 492cc Buell Blast, while a single cylinder small bike, is not well suited to the beginning rider. In my view, it is very "touchy" with motor impulses that make the bike jumpy. Most of the range exercises had to be done at a very slow speed. In order to complete them properly the students had to feather the clutch all the time, which was difficult to do for the ones that had never ridden before. Even our instructor killed the Buell while demonstrating. At the state sponsored course, we used a variety of 250cc single cylinder bikes (Yamaha, Kawasaki, etc.), which were very easy to control. That variety also provided you with a choice of the height of the motorcycles, which made some of the taller students feel more comfortable.

On Sunday, we had to wait a while for another student. Our instructors told us that this person flunked the test a few weeks ago and would like to take it again. This was not allowed in my previous class. This new arrival stalled the bike at least a dozen times.
The on course exercises were again the same as my previous course. And our older instructor was top notch. However, one of the things that struck me as odd was the amount of attention being paid to the new gal. Seems they were going to make sure she passed this time.
After the tests, we had a "Graduation Celebration" back at the dealership. And again, a marketing survey was taken. "What motorcycle are you most likely to purchase in the future?", "Would you like to buy a Buell or an H-D?", etc. We evaluated the instructors and I gave our younger instructor a thumbs down and the second instructor a thumbs up.

Every day during the course our classes would end earlier than scheduled from half an hour to two hours with approximately an hour for lunch during the last two days. Which summed up the total amount of hours during the course to 20 (that is counting the two hours we've spent touring the dealership).

Overall, I would rate the knowledge given to novices on the course good. The incredible amount of marketing through the dealership during classes was very time-consuming and distracting. I also noticed that many of the participants made remarks that they will never buy a Buell as they are not user friendly. Yes - I would recommend Rider Safety Skills training to my fellow beginning riders only through the state sponsored program.

In closing, I want to thank the Sons Of Liberty Riders for sponsoring my additional training. Safety riding skills training is very important to me.

Respectfully submitted,

Olga



Hawk's Comment's: When SoLR undertook this project, we were after a FAIR, BALANCED, Side by Side comparison of a State Run Rider Ed course vs. Riders Edge. Not a slam at HD or anyone else, we asked for the facts as they happened. I am 100% confident that's what we got. Any questions, comments or further information on this article you can send us an email and we will get back to you.