My name is Vaquero and this is the first post I saw when I registered.

I don't know how the other Ride Like A Pro schools are, but I just took the one out in Los Angeles. It's a really good school, and the best part is that they have bikes for you to ride. They use old Kawasaki Cop bikes, and I jumped on that offer because I didn't want to drop my bike either, LOL!

The class follows the DVD really well with a few extra things like some lecture during break and lunch time. I consider myself a good rider except for that slow stuff, and the class really improved me. Even though we got to ride the KZs, the instructor Mark Paz did all the exercises on his big Electra Glide and made it look so easy. Class was about four hours and I paid $300. It was $150 for the class, and $150 for the bike which I think is so worth it cause I dumped that KZ at least three times!

Some folks rode their own bikes but I could tell that they were scared of dumping theirs too, especially after seeing me go over. One rider flew in from NorCal, and Paz picked him up at the airport, took him to the class and dropped him back the same day. The guy said it was cheaper that way because he saved on a rental car and hotel.

Any way I thought it was a good course. Like I said I don't know how the others are but the one in California is good, and they have bikes for you to ride.

Thanks for the welcome, I always liked reading MCN so I figured the web magazine would be good too.

I'm interested to hear what the NC class is like, maybe we can do a comparison of the two. The instructor Paz said to come well rested, and he was right. I was tired afterwards, like playing tennis for four hours. My neck and shoulders were pretty tired the next day from all the head turns. It's a lot of riding and doing stuff I never did before. It's not like a ride in the country, but it was fun. How many in your class? Paz takes a maximum of six. Does the NC class have a return policy? Paz lets the riders come back anytime inside of a year and repeat the course at no charge. I'll probably take it again next spring as a refresher before the riding season. I'm not sure if I will retake it on my bike, or pay the $150 and use his again. I guess I need to practice on mine first.

What kind of bike are you using? Some of the folks that used their own bikes did tape up the crashbars and remove the bags and mirrors. But even with that they were hesitant to lean the bike way over in a slow turn, and I guess I really can't blame them. Good luck and remember to turn your head.

Bring a bit of extra hose with you. If you tear some hose in a tip-over, you will have some spare material.

Personally, I like scuffed crashbars. Makes me want to meet the rider and ask if its a good story? Riders lacking scuffed bars make me suspicious that they might be poseurs with trailer queens. And really, really clean bikes creep me out.

And. Welcome to the for'm, vaquero.

nobody rides half as well as they know how.