Welcome to MSTA-GA University! Our page dedicated to motorcycle safety and the continuing education and improvement of the motorcyclist.

We all love an inherently dangerous sport! GA MSTA emphasizes Safety and Education, but no one’s going to tell you how to ride your ride. Ask for feedback and you’ll get it. But Safety is all about awareness. We want to create an environment that gets riders talking about safety and the latest education around riding. Ultimately the rider is responsible for his/her safety but there are many things we do as a group to get members discussing Safety and Education. If you’re talking about it you’re thinking about it. If you’re not talking about it and not looking for ways to prevent accidents, you won’t prevent them.

Most motorcycle accidents are preventable and caused by excessive speeding. Other causes include, impaired riding, distracted riding, poor maintenance and lack of protective gear (dress for the slide). With riding in a group, RULE #1- DO NOT FOLLOW THE BIKE IN FRONT OF YOU TOO CLOSELY. You don’t want to ‘PUSH’ riders in front or hold up the group. If you’re feeling ‘PUSHED’ by the rider behind you, wave them around and let them pass. We ride in a staggered formation on main roads and single file in the twisties and other hazardous situations. The leader rides in the left third of the lane, while the next rider stays at least TWO SECONDS behind on the right third of the lane; the rest of the group follows the same pattern. Single file is always necessary on corners, bridges and any other potentially hazardous situation. Most of us live and ride by THE PACE. Here are some other things we do as a chapter to promote safety and education:

Rallies, Lots of Rallies... GA MSTA has a couple of rally’s per year that we host, other close by regions have multiple rallies as well. It’s not uncommon to have fifteen or more rallies to choose from all over the USA. So if you’ve been wanting to go on a long or short trip there’s probably a rally for that! It’s always safer to ride with others. And nothing improves our skills more than frequent riding.

Member feedback... The great thing about rallies is that friendships are built and we talk a lot about motorcycles, share tips, and discuss tricky situations that we miraculously recovered from. There’s nothing like going through a declining radius curve too fast and wanting to stand the bike up. Ask Tommy Victor, one of our Master Ride Leaders, about it, and he’ll tell you to lean your shoulder into it and maybe review trail braking.

Maintenance... As we stand around talking about our bikes there is much discussion about what we’ve done recently to our bikes: maintenance, farkles added, things that help cagers see us better. And there’s always someone with a tire gauge and pump for that last minute check of your tires.

Professional instruction... Several members attend The California Superbike School at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama at least once per year. This is a first class organization that teaches you to go fast, safely. Reasonably priced at $600-$800. You can bring your own bike or rent their newest BMW’s for a couple of hundred dollars. All the equipment needed is available as well. The more classes you take there are opportunities to ‘work a corner’ for free lessons. (See Photos)

Riders meetings. A last minute reminder usually occurs before heading out. It’s good to acknowledge all riders within your group and listen up for any known hazards (deer crossings, wet leaves, ice in upper elevations)

Videos, Podcasts, Youtube and webinars... There is a host of educational materials on our site to help you become a safer rider. Just click the link of one that interests you.

MSTA GA Safety Spotlight... Feature articles, links or topics of the month are published on our dedicated safety spotlight page. Click HERE to checkout the page, but don't forget about the other great resources below!

THE SCRIPTURES...

Three of the holy books. If you have not read, neigh, studied these texts...we suggest you do. They are available for purchase at lots of book sellers (the most popular of which is linked by clicking). Some members even have group copies that are floating around in saddlebags or nestled comfortably amongst other water closet reading material available to be passed round like a hacky sack at a 'dead show.

THE NEW TESTAMENT

Total Control

Lee Parks

THE OLD TESTAMENT

A Twist of the Wrist

Keith Code

THE QURAN

Proficient Motorcycling

David Hough

IF'N YOU HATE READIN'...

You can still do some learning by paying attention to some of the better instructional videos and YouTube channels available for consumption. We have curated a few of our favorites below.

DanDan The Fireman

CanyonChasers

Motojitsu

MC Rider

A GREAT ARTICLE TO READ AGAIN AND AGAIN, EVERY SO OFTEN! CLICK BELOW AND ENJOY!

SAFETY SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS & WEBSITES

We have gathered some great resources below that contain some excellent information of which all safety conscience motorcyclists should be aware. Click on the logos or titles to dive deeping into your safety journey!

LEADING THE WAY...

With half a century of best practices and research under the belt, and esteemed partnerships with over 30 DMVs and the US military, Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) continues to improve the ride for riders across the nation. Education is equal parts competence and confidence, and those elements inspire freedom to command the saddle and savor the journey.

Classes and topics from basic skills to advanced riding are offered at affordable prices. Explore the site to see what might interest you!

Motorcycle Research Group at VTTI

GATHERING THE DATA...

In 2007, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) founded the Motorcycle Research Group with the objective of applying VTTI’s multidisciplinary research capabilities to real-world motorcycle riding. The group was born out of a history in transportation research, concern about the increasing numbers of motorcyclist fatalities and injuries, and the excitement of a surprisingly large number of VTTI engineers, staff, researchers and family who are riders. The Motorcycle Research Group focuses on the rider and his or her machine while considering other factors in the surrounding system. We do research for both public and private clients. With the help of study participants and customers, we’ve collected hundreds of thousands of real-world miles in approximately half the states in the U.S.

RIDER TRAINING ORGANIZATIONS & WEBSITES

These are some of the organizations we have great experiences with or feel there is great value in what they do for motorcycling safety and skill. We urge you check a few out by clicking on the logos or titles for links!

PROVIDING THE TRACK TIME...

Fact: Step-by-step advanced rider training did not exist before Keith Code began his first one-on-one courses in 1976. What happened after that? From novice street riders to factory racers, riders trained by him rapidly improved.

For decades, expert riders have proclaimed riding to be 90% mental. Keith is credited with breaking the sport down into its essential components and bringing real understanding to riders in all categories. His books, videos and schools were the first to make that knowledge available to everyone. His step-by-step approach will make sense to you. Each skill builds on the last and creates a complete package of control and confidence.

As mentioned above, some of our members see great value, and great fun, in the school, some recent pics of the crew below:

Our State Director

Puttin' in Laps on the Viffer!

The Paddock

Barber is Simply 1st Class!

Usual Suspects

Tommy, Eric & Bentz...3 of GAs Finest!

HONING THE STREET SKILLS...

Ken Condon is an respected author, teacher and riding coach who brings a wealth of knowledge to the motorcycling community. His website and book series "Riding in the Zone" are very popular with street riders who look to take non-racing oriented track training on Sport Touring or ADV bikes. The site features free webinars, articles as well as a store to purchase any of Ken's publications.

TRACK & STREET COME TOGETHER...

Riding a motorcycle is a pretty intuitive activity. It’s not much different from learning to ride a bicycle when we were kids. While it’s easy to learn, motorcycling is difficult to master. If we really want to be good at something, we need to understand the best practices that drive the activity: what the best riders in the world are doing, and how we can incorporate those lessons in our riding. Champ U provides the theory, explains the engineering, provides you with the drills, and offers a professional resource to develop your motorcycle skills with real-world drills.

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