Bikes and Bros.

[dmmcd]

As some of you know, my brother bought a 2009 XF200 from Zug, and he has been putting the miles on it. I convinced him to take a MSF course, and I said I would do it with him. I took the ERC (experienced rider course) a few years ago, and so I thought this would be a good experience for him. They now call it the BRC2 (basic rider course pt. 2), but it is the same thing.

We met at my house early in the morning and set off for the class site, which was about 45 minutes of great traffic free twisty back roads. A very nice ride. The course is all parking lot instruction and drills. We never got out of 2nd gear, but they are good skills to learn. They go over basic maneuvering, weaving, that sort of thing. We did various radius turns, obstacle avoidance, quick braking, and other things like that. At the end of the course, they do an evaluation, and if you pass, you get your license. I already had my license for 8 years, and I already completed the course a few years back, but I still got another course completion card with no points deducted (perfect score!) My brother also got a perfect score and got his license.

The XF200 is the perfect bike for that sort of parking lot work. It handles amazing, can easily do a figure 8 in the small box, stops super quick, and is very light to throw around. We had a lot of fun, and I think my brother learned some good skills. The instructors were very impressed with our bikes and asked what they were. After telling them, they asked where they could get one... There was another guy in the class with a Suzuki DR200, and we were comparing the bikes. The engines look VERY similar.

Awww, aren't they cute...




At the course: (The dealer has invested heavily in the CanAm Spyder line...)