2 Wheel Safety Training

I took the course at Mission College in Santa Clara, CA. My instructors (Joe, Diane, and Alvin) were all FANTASTIC! I was a complete newcomer to motorcycle riding and Joe was very nice about it and he helped me a lot. Diane also taught me many things to make me a better ride. Alvin was super awesome, super friendly, and super helpful. He gave me a lot of individual attention and instruction that proved to be very helpful. Alvin really paid attention to what problems I was personally having and helped me correct them. I am very grateful to Alvin, Joe, Diane, and this course! Thank you ALL so much! HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Course and Instructors!!!

This is a review for the San Jose (Mission College) but I figure they are the same organization, so you get the same.
–
I just completed the course on ¹²⁄₂₁ and ¹²⁄₂₂.
If you have more then 50 hours behind the bars of a motorcycle this class is going to be about as exciting as running a cheese grater over your fingers… Just endure.
If your reason for taking this exam is you don’t want to waste time at the DMV then I am with you. Its the same reason I went. Yes I have a DMV close by, yes I practice on the damn course, but all you need is a little bad luck and your screwed… come back another day. My life is to hectic to do that more then 1X, so hence I went to this class. But don’t fret. YOU WILL PASS! Its almost like you are guaranteed to pass!.. How can I say that, because EVERYONE in my class of 18 people passed. even people who HAD NEVER ridden a motorcycle before…
I SWEAR to GOD, ALLAH, BUDDAH, the 7 Saints and everything that is holy, that I WOULD NOT HAVE passed a few of those riders EVAH… OMG… but here we are, with them on the road. Oh Joy.
Here is a note though, if one of the instructors fails to show up, you could be asked to come back, yes that right, even if you completed everything up until the last range evaluation section, you will be asked to come back…
How do i know this? Because it happened… One of the instructors failed to show up, the class had 19 students, and only 3 instructors, and they can only have 6 students per instructor so we were asked to draw straws to see who would have to come back… I was like NO WAY IN HELL… i had to re-​arrange my schedule, get the time off work, schedule someone to pick up my kids. are you serious? Oh wait for it, here is the incentive, when you come back for range day 2, you don’t have to pay… Honestly! WTF… If you are going to have on your company web site, a disclaimer that says if you don’t show, like a concert you don’t get your money back, then guess the WF … if a rock star is a no show, they have to reimburse the consumer… I swear that was some serious bullpucky… So your 50.50 on that one, and they won’t budge. I declined to pull straws, and that caused everyone else to do the same thing, so a young man offered to come back. We all pitched in a few bucks to him as our own incentive… what a horse manure maneuver by a company. If your instructors don’t show, you should pay the penalty, refund the charge and charge them nothing, or the 75 $ retest fee… jerks.
The bikes are beater bikes for sure. though I have to admit for they run well. I have to agree with the other reviews though I was having trouble finding the right gears as they were all jammed up together. Again a company thing, if they paid the right $$ to fix those transmissions, then it would not be a problem…
Instructors. I think Joe has the best feedback, but I get feeling they know they are just pushing cows thorough a chute for the $$… Moo Moo…

so this is coming from a passing students perspective. I literally just finished up the course today 12−21−15 — 12−22−15 at the mission college site (santa clara) i had joe and alvin as my instructors and they were both amazing they made the class funny and entertaining and you could tell they really enjoyed their jobs and working along side one another. One of my favorite moments was during the riding evaluation final, you need to take a turn at a moderate speed (15−20MPH) and i came around it pretty quick and exactly as he wanted us too and i made eye contact with alvin as i was coming by and he yelled NICE, they were fantastic at building up your confidence; provided you deserved it. Now for the reason i didnt give them 5 stars. I do believe that 2 of the people in my group should not have passed the course; they were not ready at all to be put out onto the street; they were constantly in the way and stalling and dropping bikes. As well (and this is not in any way shape or form alvin or joes fault) on the last day they had to ask someone to leave due to there only being 3 instructors (the 4^th was a no show) they did everything they could to bring someone in; but noone wanted to show, so they did ask 1 student to leave for a refund/​come back for free for the 1 day you missed. Other than those 2 issues the class was fantastic and i would highly recommend it. As for the commando-​ken and such comments; i did meet him and he seemed like a hard-​ass… thankfully i did not have him; and when talking to him 1on1 during breaks and such he seemed nice.

Took this class with my husband and daughter. Not only did we have a really great time, we learned a ton. Our instructors were Ty Piz (first evening classroom), Joe Martin (range) and Bill Scott (2^nd day classroom and range). All were very knowledgeable and patient, and both the classroom and range lessons had a strong focus on safety. When out on the range, safe riding habits were practiced over and over to imprint into muscle memory. The range lessons built on each other and there was quite a bit of practice,
A few things to know – (1) None of the papers say this, but your gloves not only have to be full fingered, they have to have leather on the palm. They can even be gardening gloves, or even thin little driving gloves, just make sure they are leather. (2) As one reviewer said, the bikes are old and beaten up. But it actually makes it a little less stressful about dropping them (no one did, but still). (3) Read the books before you attend the class. The classroom is just review and hits the high points. You have to know the material to pass the exam. Yes, the book is boring and dry, but take it in small doses and do a few pages a night. There were plenty of folks who didn’t pass or were coming back to take a re-​exam. (4) The range class starts at the time indicated. This is not the time to arrive. You have to be geared up and ready to ride when the class starts or you are late!
Our review is five stars, but that is because of our instructors. The instructors are not necessarily the same on each day. The range group next to us had a change in instructors on Sunday. If we had been in the range group on that day, I’m not so sure it would be that high. Those instructors were young men with something to prove. We overheard the way they were talking to their group and couldn’t believe how disrespectful and awful they were. Loud voices are expected — you are in full face motorcycle helmets and engines are running. But these guys didn’t just have loud voices. They were berating people. They also took every opportunity they could to yell over and interrupt our training for absolutely no reason other than that they could do it. They would call out to our instructors from across the parking lot when they were in the middle of speaking to us, or echoing an instruction that we had just been given that they had happened to overhear. In the morning, they were acting like drill sergeants barking orders for everyone to get ready. Besides just being general jerks, we witnessed both instructors yelling at one woman. One said, «Stephanie! You have to turn off the choke!» The other instructor then yelled «The engine is too hot» and then shook his head and made a face while he was walking towards us like he couldn’t believe what an idiot she was. You know — because someone taking a beginner motorcycle class is supposed to know all of these things. (/​sarcasm) The instructors were preening and being inappropriate — it was that whole over testosteroned thing in abundance. I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t people in that group who failed just because these guys were intimidating jerks. That is not to say that this type of instruction doesn’t work for some people. All I know is that we couldn’t help but be very, very glad that we had Bill and Joe as our instructors.

In discussions now about rescheduling/​refunding after being late for the first class. Will update after discussion.

I had ridden bike for 5 years. But u can learn more skills in this class. And wat ever they teach has really helped me.

Location: Mission College
Course: MTC Beginner
Instructors: Ray, Marcus, Joe
Ray (Classroom only): 4hrs. Gave some valuable tips but I thought 4 hours was way too much. The class was pretty boring too. The flow was not in-​line with the presentation.
Marcus (Classroom & Range):
Classroom: 4 hrs. Marcus make the classroom training interesting with good anecdotes, shared relevant experiences, the flow was in-​line with the presentation.
Range: 10 hrs. Brilliant observations, great tips, friendly but not too much. The beginners, intermediate riders as well as the experienced riders enjoyed it thoroughly.
Joe (Range): 10 hrs. Very experienced and patient. Provided great tips and encouragement. Was very friendly.

Passed the class last week.
The boyfriend and I had: Omar, Ray, Kristi, and another gentleman with the long ponytail (sorry I forgot your name)
I have about 100 miles of riding on my own while the bf had about 6 – 7 years of riding. We both learned a lot from the class and our instructors made it easy to understand. Any questions, they answered and made it very clear.
I think I had a really good group of people who have had experience riding before. We were able to do all the exercises fine making it easier for everyone including the instructors. So thank you to those who were in my class for all being so cool with each other and making it fun.
Make sure you have leather gloves or motorcycle gloves, shoes that have a cushion to protect your ankles. Long pants, preferably jeans. And at least a long sleeve shirt. They provide helmets but remember, people sweat. Brings snacks and lots of water.

Just passed my class today. Had Derek, mike, Tom, Diana, they were all awesome! They really are positive with the constructive criticism and they want everyone to pass. Def would refer everyone. Thanks guys!

Took this course this past weekend. Before I came into this class, I knew most of the basic knowledge (thanks to my boyfriend, who has ridden for 11 years) and had ridden myself about 6 – 7 times. I learned SO much in this course and gained so much confidence. Omar, Alvin, & Ray were my instructors over the three days. They are very helpful and firm with their directions (don’t get offended or flustered, it’s all for your benefit.)
Before the course I was constantly stalling my bike and wobbling around turns. Today, less than 24 hours after completing the course, my boyfriend and I rode for 100 miles in the Briones area. I felt so much more confident in everything I was doing (curves, hills, turns, etc.) I even let my boyfriend go ahead to race a Lotus Elise and I stayed behind and navigated Bear Creek Road easily on my own :).
Definitely recommend to riders of all abilities!

Derik, Tom, and Mike did an amazing job with the riding class. It was my first time on the bike. After the whole course I felt really good about the skills I got. Recommend them if you want to succeed in the class.

Worst business ever seen in Bay Area. All their rules are aimed to kick you out of the class or gain additional charges. If you need waiver — go and get if from other school for same price there at least 3 other places without those strange policies.
At Mission College they don’t have their own parking so you have to pay or will get a 35 $ ticket.
If you will be late no matter why — they will ask you contact office, and office will just ignore you and you will not be able to reschedule you class, so you will waste you 300 $.
If staff will not like your sneakers — again, you will waste 300 $.
Bikes which they offer for ranges — crap with worn clutch /​brakes.
Best option is to go to DMV lot on weekend. Practice for 30 minutes. Pass driving test. Save 300 $ for better gear. Tell a friend.

This course was easy enough. Most of the instructors were stern and tough but pretty cool as long as you listen, show improvement, don’t make excuses or act like a know-​it-​all, then you’ll be fine. Joe was awesome and approachable. There was an asian instructor (I forgot his name-​ken or alvin) that was BEYOND rude. He was one of our instructors on the last day (Evaluation day). He waved his arms and screamed at people like a crazy person which made everyone nervous and frustrated which then caused us to mess up more (safety hazard?!). When people asked him questions he was sarcastic and rude. My advice is don’t let an instructors attitude hinder your learning experience– if you have questions ask someone else or confront them about it so that you get as much as you can out of the class. Its your money, time and safety. Also don’t be on time, BE EARLY.
the days were set up as…
first day: 4 hour instruction
Tip: they do not give you the handbook in class. It is attached in the email confirmation. Go over it the first night
Second day: 4 hour riding exercises; 1 hour Lunch; 4 hour instruction
theres a written test at the end of class and they grade it right there.
Third day: 5 hours riding exercises then evaluation.
The eval was a lot easier then I thought it would be. Just make sure you get everything down during the exercises.

Took the motorcycle course over Fri, Sat& Sun in Santa Clara. This evaluation is for the range instructors Ken & Alvin and their coaching.
A). Ken was absolutely the worst instructor — he started off by saying that this was like a military drill
Excuse me — you should probably rename the course to rider boot camp instead of rider coach. From the beginning he was in a hurry to get out — rushed through instructions and was VERY hostile to any questions or help. The first day of the range was wrapped up at 11:15am thanks to commando Ken who was just trying to time exercises & get it over to meet the time requirements. The CMSP sites say that they will be 10hrs of range driving time — not in our case. The first day we only drove for 4hrs and 15 minutes tops.
This is a marked difference from his demeanor when the inspector was observing the next day — when he un-​Ken like, asked if we had any questions.
He continuously asked me to speed up through the curves but gave no suggestions on how to develop those skills — he kept ‘telling’ what to do (which I can learn from a book) but no tips or suggestions on how do do them which is what a classroom learning is for — excuse me, given the fact it cannot shift or use clutch like regular motorcycles.
B). Do NOT take this course if you are planning to ride a scooter. The only scooter they have is pretty beaten up! 2 other folks who signed up for scooter left because they did not get one & were pretty pissed.
I DID not receive any scooter specific instructions from Ken until once when the inspector was close by. In fact I did not know that the left side of the handle had the rear brake until 2 hrs into range training.(which was the whole point of beginner training) I thought it was the clutch! Alvin, the other inspector was much more helpful and gave scooter tips when I asked him. But I only got him very few times.
Lastly, there was no directions on the evaluation and how we are being scored. Some people got second turns & I did not thanks to commando Ken who was the one evaluating. I seriously question the method to have instructor evaluations since they already had certain bias against students.
In the interest of full disclosure I did not pass the skills test — but given that my skills are worse off that what I started with & much lower confidence thanks to commando Ken, I doubt if I would have taken my scooter out even if I had passed .
Not recommending unless you want to waste $ 250 and definitely reschedule if Ken is on the roster. Other coaches Alvin and Ray were very very helpful but I got Alvin very few times and Ray was in the other group.
For other options, another recommended location in San Mateo is a lot helpful with much more liberal policies and true intent to coach instead of making money by just meeting timed exercise requirement. I regret my decision for not going with them (since I got into a earlier date at the mission college location) but going back to them for my second try.

You will be dealing with a bunch of money hungry amateurs who could care less about the customer experience. You will get the run around and will be ignored if you run into any problem. Go find another school is my recommendation.

I attended the course 11÷6−11÷9÷15
Class was with Derrik on a Thursday night. It was very informative and he made it interesting and his realism help relate the material to real life riding. He shared some serious do’s and don’t and DON’T EVER’S. I liked how he said this is the one time in life when you absolutely must be SELFISH and think of only yourself, Being on a motorcycle unless you have a passenger and it’s absolutely them!
Saturday we hit the course with Derrick and Diane~ They are one hell of a team! They really compliment each other very well out there. Though both are great teachers, each has their own way of explaining things, giving different perspectives. I learned so much and had a blast. There were a few in the class that seemed to struggle and they NEVER gave up on them. P. S. Diane is a BADASS! Loved her teaching attitude… you can do it if you LISTEN to what we’re telling you!
Sunday was Derrick and Mike~ Another great teaching duo. Mike saw me struggle at the figure 8 in the box but do well on everything else (pretty much) He stood right next to me and walked me through it as I rode. He ran next to me yelling out the instructions and I GOT IT!!! I was so excited! Wow, it was so worth the $ 250. I already have a Harley and I left there feeling much more comfortable and confident that should something arise I could, STOP abruptly and or get out of the way!
NEVER ONCE did anyone say after the two day course you’ll be an experienced rider, now go and ride free!!! I have read that allot of people on here saying they’re disappointed in that. That is plain stupidity. You need to take the time and practice the skills they have given you. If you have no experience going into it… guess what now you have two days of basic skills now go get your experience and STOP blaming it on the instructors! (Morons)
I started in the neighborhood and slowly went a little further and a little further. I’ve yet to hit the freeway yet but I know that time will come really soon BECAUSE I PRACTICE!!! I take responsibility for my learning and utilizing what they have taught me. I really appreciate their effort and teaching skills. I learned SO much and had a blast!!!
Thank you all.

Took this class almost 5 years ago at the Hayward/​Newark locations. I came into this having never rode a motorcycle before in my life. The classroom instructor was very knowledgeable and helpful. The riding portion of the class went smoothly and the two instructors there were helpful as well. They were very concerned about our safely. They constantly made sure all our gear was worn properly, caught me without my helmet strap a couple times.
At any rate, I ended up passing the course (as well as everyone else there) and I’m still riding today.

Took this class awhile back. Loved it. First time on a bike. They gave me enough confidence and skill to buy a 1000cc for my first bike. I’m sending my family and friends here.
Hayward/​Newark

Took the Basic MotorCycle Safety class 19, 21, 22^nd of February 2015. First the positives. All the instructors remained focused and available to the students. Timely in both positive re-​enforcement and compassionate corrections. They managed to walk the fine line between being personable and maintaining authority and control. Good Job to all. Special mention to Kelly who did a lot of the heavy lifting instruction wise.
Classroom content was good all useful even if some parts like a unit on the wisdom of driving sober were just plain common sense and could have been omitted in favor of other topics perhaps not so obvious.
This was either the first or second class taught with the newer and more difficult format. The driving section was the full 5 hours for two days. As a novice rider I will say it was a serious challenge. Make sure you are rested and good physical conditioning is very helpful. I can not over state this. This class is no cake walk. I dumped my bike twice during training. Both times my fault. Immediate assistance was rendered.
I now know much more about what a truly good rider should be able to do. I got a serious ego check and I am fully aware of how much practice I still need. I highly recommend this class and company and I feel it was a REALLY GOOD VALUE.
OK so here is my gripe and its a little unreasonable at that. Some of the bikes are in pretty tough shape. The selection is a little limited for people that have body types and sizes that fall outside the Norm. But I get it, the bikes get rough treatment and it would be very costly to have a motorcycle boutique for students to browse and get a custom fit.

I had an overall positive experience learning the basics of riding a motorcycle. I’ve never ridden before and passed.
It’s not very difficult to pass the evaluation, but with that said, it will help to practice more (at parking lots or a quiet, non-​busy neighborhood) to gain confidence on the streets. I certainly don’t feel well-​prepared to ride around on busy streets or highways in the city. BUT I feel like I know well enough to ride around less busy areas since the riding portion of the class only happened in parking lots and not in the streets.
It will also help to know how to drive a manual transmission car. It’s not necessary, but it will help transfer the knowledge to understand the friction-​zone on a clutch and shifting gears.
The course consisted for 1 classroom day and 2 riding days on the range (parking lot).
The classroom day was fairly dry, but lasted about 3 hours instead of the advertised 5. We didn’t go over everything we SHOULD know, but did go over everything we NEEDED to know for the range. We were given a book, so we can always go back and read it to learn the things we didn’t learn in the class. We essentially learned mostly from watching videos and some study questions.
There was a written test at the end of the classroom day, but it’s absolutely nothing to worry about. The study questions were essentially the same questions on the test. In fact, the instructor said that no one’s failed in the 12 years he’s taught the course.
The range portion of the course was actually quite fun and consisted of various exercises riding around cones. Some of the things taught/​practiced: braking, swerving, corners, u-​turns, and shifting.
Some advice: just listen to the instructors. If you happen to mess up or yelled at, don’t get flustered.
The motorcycles used for the class were all 125−250cc and ranged in age/​condition. There were two new Honda CBR sport bikes. The rest were older supermotos and cruisers.