This morning I hopped onto my bike and headed for the parking lot where I took the MSF course a couple of years ago. I started attempting figure-8s inside of the blue box (much more difficult on a 750 than on the 125s they gave us to use back then), and noticed something interesting. The "box" is delineated by solid blue lines. Then, off to one side, there are some dashed-blue lines, appearing to denote an enlarged box. Then there are some dashed-green lines on one side and at one end of the box, appearing to denote an even larger box.

Do any of you know what the "extended blue box" and the "green box" would be for? Figure 8s for larger bikes (not sure if the size of the box for doing them increases with the size of the bike or not)? I looked on the MSF site, and didn't find an answer. Any rider coaches out there with the answer?

--FA

At my course I was told they were for larger bikes, but the a motorcycle cop came along on his big Harley and did the figure 8 in the same box we were using with our Buell Blasts so who knows....

When I took the MSF Experienced Rider Course everyone had to stay within the blue box lines to "pass". (Some people were taking this course to waive the driving portion for their operator's license test here in CT.) A couple of guys on big Harleys did it with no problem (after coaching).

On my VN750 I "missed" on my first attempt, but after the coaching tips from the instructors I was able to do it several times more with no problem. The next spring I went back to the course and had difficulty doing the figure 8 in the box. It takes practice on YOUR bike to maintain proficiency.

I recommend that everyone take the MSF ERC on their bike own even if they have had the Basic rider training course. Besides improving your skills on your bike, the rider coaches help you improve more than you could by practicing on your own.

We had to do it within the "larger" blue box first and once we all got comfortable doing that, we had to do it in the smaller blue box. I'm not sure what the green box is about...