[RANT] Military Sportbike Riders Course

[NAKID]

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo......

I got a page 13 today stating that I am not allowed to ride my bike until I complete this course. It is a Department of the Navy mandate that all "Sport Bike" riders complete this course to be allowed to ride on OR off base.

#1 I think the fact that they are singling out "Sport Bikes" from any other type of motorcycle is ridiculous.  You can go out and buy a 400hp Camaro but don't have to take a different course than people who drive a Kia. (military personnel 26 and under must attend a generic driver's safety course) I understand that the Navy has had more fatalities due to a particular "type" of motorcycle, but why not take age into consideration like they due with the driver's safety course?

#2 Nothing in the instruction (OPNAVINST 5100.12G) defines what a "Sport Bike" is.  My insurance company considers it a standard.

#3 I have not been allowed the time to attend the required course (8 hours) due to my current course of instruction at IDC school. The next available class is right in the middle of my ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) course.

[/RANT]

[Charlief]

Soooooooooo........  are Harleys excluded?

Look at it this way... its winter now.  You won't be riding anyway.

[ducpainter]

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo......

I got a page 13 today stating that I am not allowed to ride my bike until I complete this course. It is a Department of the Navy mandate that all "Sport Bike" riders complete this course to be allowed to ride on OR off base.

#1 I think the fact that they are singling out "Sport Bikes" from any other type of motorcycle is ridiculous.  You can go out and buy a 400hp Camaro but don't have to take a different course than people who drive a Kia. (military personnel 26 and under must attend a generic driver's safety course) I understand that the Navy has had more fatalities due to a particular "type" of motorcycle, but why not take age into consideration like they due with the driver's safety course?

#2 Nothing in the instruction (OPNAVINST 5100.12G) defines what a "Sport Bike" is.  My insurance company considers it a standard.

#3 I have not been allowed the time to attend the required course (8 hours) due to my current course of instruction at IDC school. The next available class is right in the middle of my ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) course.

[/RANT]

So...

do the obvious and point out the details.

Then do the obvious...

what they tell you.

[NAKID]

I did, I sent an email out asking for clarification.

Also, If I wasn't going to do what they told me, I wouldn't have posted this as a RANT.

[DRKWNG]

From what I have heard down here (Pearl Harbor safety office), any motorcycle with foot controls that are not positioned forward of the rider's torso will be considered a sport bike.  Kind of (insert favorite descriptive word here)...

[rumble]

In regards to the course, I did recently read some scary statistics that between Oct 2007 & Sep 2008 24 Marines died in Combat while 36 died in Motorcycle accidents. And 80% of those Motorcycles were sportbikes. Apparently the Corps are taking this statistic very seriously

[Scotzman]

Congrats on IDC school
Before I forget, the instruction is on "H" now vice "G". Even though monsters are considered standard bikes, it's a sport type riding which I guess is supposed to be different from a sport bike. All riders are required to complete an advanced course-ERC for all non sport bike riders and MSRC for all sport style riders. As far as the age, the majority of accidents are with sport bike riders, but in the younger age bracket.

The military is required by the CNO to allow all motorcyclist the time off to complete these mandated courses, but being in a school especially IDC, that can be difficult. If you can find two rider coaches that are qualed for the MSRC, they CAN do it on the weekend. My command has a few rider coaches who usually do the courses on the weekend.

Good luck with school and trying to get the time off to do the course.

[DRKWNG]

The Navy is required by the CNO to allow all motorcyclist the time off to complete these mandated courses, but being in a school especially IDC, that can be difficult.

Fixed

[Scotzman]

Thanks, even being in the Navy, I often generalize.

[NAKID]

Yeah, reading over it, H is just a very minor revision on G, more like just an ACN change...

[CMDRDAVE]

From what I have heard down here (Pearl Harbor safety office), any motorcycle with foot controls that are not positioned forward of the rider's torso will be considered a sport bike.  Kind of (insert favorite descriptive word here)...

I spent a lot of time (hours) on the phone trying to get someone to answer this question, including the naval safety center.  No one could define a "sport bike".  Usually went like this "well, what bike do you ride?"  "A Ducati Mon . . ."  "It's a sportbike."  "Why?" "It's a Ducati"  I had heard of the foot position thing but no written definition.  Then I bought the 748, no more argument.

At my previous command I tried to pass off track school as annual "advanced rider training".  Worked great until the XO looked up Cornerspeed on the internet.

I was required to "declare" all motorcycles that I own (make, model, type, CC's, BRC, ERC, MSBRC, years riding) the first day I checked into my current command.  I put "Track" down under the 748.  And the next week I found myself discussing this with my local friendly O-5.  Including him asking me why I really need 3 bikes.  (sounds like my wife.)

I joke about being treated like a criminal for riding a sport bike in the Navy, but it is the truth.  And it keeps getting worse.  

My recommendation:  Put on some frame sliders and tell everyone they are highway pegs.
Or, we could just swap bikes?  Then you wouldn't be riding YOUR bike.

[Scotzman]

So...

do the obvious and point out the details.

Then do the obvious...

what they tell you.

This is actually a really good saying, especially in regards to the Navy.

[NAKID]

There's a paragraph regarding borrowed bikes...

[CMDRDAVE]

There's a paragraph regarding borrowed bikes...

Same requirements I assume.   I'm confident you can ride better than most of the students we had in our class.  Several had less than 500 miles on their bikes.

[NAKID]

That's the thing. No stipulations on miles ridden, years of experience, or age. Overall poorly executed instruction...