If you want to develop off-road skills on your ADV bike, MSF is here to help.
As you’ve probably heard over the past few years, sales of adventure motorcycles have been booming. Talk to any shops you know in your area, and you’ll probably hear a lot of the same thing: They just can’t keep a lot of bikes in that category in stock. (That seems to hold true whether the bikes are new or used, because seemingly everyone is thirsty for a little two-wheeled sense of adventure.)
If you’re already a seasoned adventure rider, that’s one thing—but a lot of people aren’t. What do you do if you want to get some solid skills under your belt so you can ride your new (or new-to-you) ADV bike off the asphalt? There are a number of courses and schools that offer training, but there’s only one Motorcycle Safety Foundation. In summer 2022, it introduced its brand new AdventureBike RiderCourse.
Now, unlike the MSF Basic RiderCourse, the AdventureBike RiderCourse requires you to have your own adventure bike to participate. Schools offering this training won’t have a fleet of their own ADV bikes for you to learn on (and possibly drop), so that’s something to be aware of. In this way, it’s more like some of the MSF’s advanced street bike course offerings, where students are required to also ride their own bikes in class.
What is the MSF ADVRC? It’s a half-day course, meant to teach riders who have adventure bikes, but who haven’t necessarily taken them off road yet. According to the course description, zero off-road experience is required for you to take this course, but you should be experienced in operating your ADV bike on paved streets.
The course covers body positioning, operating your bike on low-traction surfaces, going over obstacles, doing U-turns on hills, and so on. Students interested in taking this course can sign up at the MSF website to receive emails about the course, as well as schools and new coaches that are offering it across the United States.
As of August 26, 2022, facilities in 12 states across the U.S. are currently offering the MSF ADVRC. These states include: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Some states listed here only have one facility currently listed that is offering this course, while others have more than one. Also, states and facilities may change their course offerings in the future. If you’re interested in attending, your best bet is to reach out directly to your selected school that’s offering the course. The MSF website has a search tool by ZIP code to let you search for courses in your area. Once you’ve found a school with this tool, it provides contact information so you can get in touch and find out the specifics about your chosen school.
Getting more hands-on training is a great way to get better at any skills you want to develop on your bike, so it’s always good to see more options like this offered.