Team Arizona's Beginner Riders Course (BRC)

Despite popular belief, riding any motorcycle or motor scooter above 50cc on public streets requires having a motorcycle endorsement on your license in the State of Arizona. So, if you're thinking of picking up a new Vespa, you will need an "M" endorsement on your license! The easiest way to get that endorsement is through professional riding courses. 

Joseph and Mo, from On Any Moto's marketing team, recently obtained their Arizona motorcycle license for the first time through Team Arizona's Basic Ridercourse (BRC). Joseph had previous riding experience years ago but let his out-of-state motorcycle license lapse and was interested in getting back to riding. Meanwhile, Mo's had no experience riding and wanted to learn for the first time. Check out Mo's account of the motorcycle course below! 

Working at a Powersports shop, surrounded by motorcycles all day, I knew I would find myself on a bike eventually. My only previous experience riding a bike was being on the back of my husband's Monster Energy edition Ninja, which he sold years ago, so I was excited but nervous to learn. As someone interested in learning but had zero experience operating a motorcycle, the Basic Ridercourse seemed like the best option. 

The BRC is a 2-day class with classroom time and riding time on a closed course. Team Arizona provides a motorcycle for your use, making it perfect for first-time riders who do not yet have access to a bike of their own. The course was created for anyone who has little to no motorcycling experience -- aka me! -- and they teach you everything you need to know, laying down the foundation for good, safe motorcycle riding. Once the course is completed, all you need to do is bring your certificate of completion to the DMV and get your motorcycle endorsement put on your license! No further testing is required. 

Going into the BRC, I was a little nervous. I was confident in my abilities for the course's classroom portion but was unsure about how riding would go for me. I was most worried about learning how to switch gears and use a clutch. I have never even driven a manual car before, so my understanding of switching gears was nonexistent, but everyone reassured me that it was easier to learn on a motorcycle than a car. 

Each day was split into two, with mornings dedicated to classroom learning and afternoons for riding on Team Arizona's closed course. During the classroom portions, we were taught different safe riding strategies and discussed the best way to tackle different real-life scenarios as a class. Classroom time was very engaging, with valuable discussions on motorcycle safety. Each morning we spent two and a half hours in the classroom before breaking an hour for lunch. After lunch, we reconvened on their course for some riding.

When signing up for the course, you give Team Arizona your height so that they can make sure a bike your size is available. They can also provide a helmet and gloves for the class, but I had some of my own. Ken at our shop had fitted me for a jacket, helmet, and gloves. The bike Sean picked out for me was the Suzuki TU250.

Now that I've completed the course, I can say that I'm glad the first time I learned to ride was in a closed lot with Sean (our riding coach) guiding us. I imagine that had I not chosen to take the course, I eventually would have learned in the shop's parking lot after-hours on a coworker's bike that I'd end up dropping because I had no idea what I was doing. Luckily, I chose the Team Arizona course!

Sean started from square one for the riding portion. He taught us to correctly identify our bikes' key components, properly mount, dismount, and properly start and turn off our engines. On the first day of riding, we first started walking the bikes in neutral across the lot with the engines off. We then moved on to "power walking" with the bikes on and in gear to get used to using the clutch and eventually graduated to riding in a straight line.

Sean continued us along with this progression until everyone got comfortable riding and turning around their bikes. We would get rest and water breaks under the shade between each exercise while he rearranged the cones to make up different courses for us to ride.

When we returned for day two, we finished up the classroom lessons for the course and took the course's written test portion. The test itself wasn't difficult so long as you paid attention during class, which was nearly impossible not to do as Sean made sure everyone engaged in discussion during class time. Once we all passed our tests, we broke for lunch and returned for the second day of riding. 

The second day of the course riding section consisted of more "circuits" where we could practice stringing multiple skills together, including cornering, quick-stops, riding over obstacles in the road, switching lanes, and more. Riding on day two was great fun for me because, at that point, it was more riding situations similar to those we would face in the real world.

Sean was a great riding coach and was very encouraging and patient whenever I started having a rough time learning a new skill. There was a period during the riding portion on the second day where I was having trouble with not putting a foot down during some of the tight-quarters turning exercises. I started to get frustrated with myself and nervous that I would not be able to nail this skill and fail the course. Sean was very calm and motivating. At one of the course's pause points, he stopped me, told me it was okay, and that I didn't need to rush. He had me pause a bit longer than usual, telling me to sit here for a minute and take a breath and that I could go for the next round when I felt ready. That extra pause and encouragement were all I needed as the next round was worlds better, and I ended up figuring out what I was doing wrong. I highly recommend Sean as a rider coach and can only have great things to say.

Towards the end of the day, once Sean taught us everything he could, it was time for the riding skills test! I was a little bit nervous about failing the course -- after all, this was only my second day on a motorcycle, ever! -- which made me nervous that my nerves would get in the way of my riding. Sean tested us on some of the more critical skills we learned throughout the last two days, so there were no surprises on the "exam." I am happy to report that I passed the riding test and received a certificate from Team Arizona to get my motorcycle endorsement!  

All members of the On Any Moto team passed with flying colors! Plus, the entire two-day course was a great team-building experience! I can't speak highly enough about Team Arizona and Sean for the great experience I had. I would not have wanted to learn motorcycle riding any other way. 

Of course, we had to end the class with a team photo. Keep an eye out for our album dropping later this year (just kidding). Big thanks to Team Arizona for having us out there and to Sean for being such a great riding coach!