Not a whole lot to say here, but that's not a bad thing. The class moves alot faster than it feels. If you're pretty green, it's difficult, but every instructor I had was supportive. Started off at the SF course, and didn't pass the skills test which was a bummer. But they have an amazing retake option where you get to run the entire course again. So basically, I got 20 hours of training by taking the course twice and paying once. Highly recommend the Vallejo course, as SF and Alameda use the brand-new, twitchy BMW 310R's which were not easy to handle. read more

6 months since I passed the class and still have not received my DL389 in the mail. I've wasted so much time making phone calls to their office trying to resolve this, most of which go unanswered. Their email address office@motorcycleschool.com cannot accept emails. Go elsewhere. read more

Instructors don't care if you pass. Take your money somewhere else that cares. Failed just because I didn't turn my head enough. I don't see the majority of the bike riders on the road turning their heads. Other than that, the class was very informative. read more

Do not apply for the sf class!!!!!!! I signed up a couple months back When they said there would be Available classes in San Francisco. I paid the $350 and did this online Class for 6 hours for nothing. They Emailed me 1 day before the deadline For a refund. Luckily I checked my email that Night cause I would have been out $350. Either Way just go to a different school these people Don't deserve your money. read more

Very disappointed with this training center. I took the class in October 2020 and the fact that it's June 18, 2021 should show how patient and understanding I have been with their office. I completed the riders course and completed the erider course and received a 88%(B). I have been going back and forth with their office, specifically working with Barbara to figure out why I have not received the DMV DL389 certificate needed to get my M1 license. I was told the office was small and that they were having issues. Then I was told my DMV DL389 had been shipped and that it must have been lost in the mail, "We did send out some paperwork to you quite a while ago. I'm afraid it sounds like it was lost in the mail, and I'm so sorry about that! The postal system has been under a lot of duress, and the Bay Area was already a challenge in regard to mail delivery even before the pandemic and the fires. We are hoping we can get this issue resolved for you." Back and forth, lie after lie and months go by and I still have not received my DL389 and I still cannot ride my motorcycle legally. I emailed the office on Tuesday since again I was assured I would receive my DL389 in the the mail and I had not received anything. Today a woman by the name of Carolyn informed me that I would not receive my DL389. She claimed I had not completed the online course. Was told I would have to take the course all over again and that I would not have a set schedule but would have to standby for the riders course, meaning I would have to take time off work and drive to Alameda, but the training would not be guaranteed if no one missed their set appointment. Denied a refund, denied a set training schedule, denied any accountability for their mistake. $350 plus the hours wasted taking the online course and doing the on-site training. I think it maybe worth my time in small claims court. At least it could help prevent this from happening to anyone else. read more

Bay Area Motorcycle Training - ERider Report Card - Driving Schools Near Me - San Francisco, California

WASTE OF MONEY Took the class in Alameda with Sue and Ricky. The first day it seemed that Ricky didn't really enjoy his job as he seemed annoyed that none of us knew how to ride, literally why we were there. The second day I was told I couldn't participate due to my boots not fully covering my ankle (they were at mid ankle) even though I wore them the day before and there were two men wearing plain tennis shoes not covering their ankles. I asked how to reschedule and if I would have to pay a fee to which he responded "I don't know not my job, email the office." I emailed the office to which they replied if I wanted to finish the second day I would have to pay $100 to be on standby, no guarantee I would be able to participate. So I asked for a partial refund in which they replied they could not do. Basically they want your money, you pay $350 and if you can't participate you have to pay $100 and hope they send someone else who paid full price home. Seems pretty scammy to me. read more

I am updating this with details, I was rushed and angry when I wrote my last review. TLDR: a detailed account of what happened, and if you want to know where a good safety course is, I will be leaving a review on the better course I attended. I had scheduled to come here because they had the soonest openings. The schedule was confusing, because every other class listed on their schedule had a notice on it that said the e-course (online course to fulfill thame classroom hours) was required. The class I chose did not have that written on it, so I assumed there was something in person so compensate. The hours on the schedule didn't really reflect that though, so I tried calling a couple times to ask about it and they did not pick up. At the time I was partaking in classes that took 60-70 hours a week of my time, and working for 5-10 hours on top of that. Therefore hey, I didn't think to set a reminder to call AGAIN. I got an email with the pre-course information. It was a mess, a giant glob of text that wasn't well organized. I read through it twice. I live in Sacramento and stayed at my friends house in Fairfield so I get could get to the morning course in time (they stress at any point possible to be there 15mins before the start of the class or you won't be accepted. Why not just schedule for the time you expect people to be there?) My friend has been riding for years, I showed him the email and asked him to read over it to ensure I didn't miss anything. Being that this friend audits budgets and is recognized for being thorough, I felt he would do a careful job of reading it over. He said I looked prepared and also noted that the email was a mess. I arrive to the class 15 mins early and the instructors are about 40minutes late. I eventually noticed that everyone else was carrying more papers with them than me (I just had the signed waiver). When I asked couple of people about it they told me that it was their proof of passing the ecourse. One man mentioned the same scenario I went through, which was confusion over scheduling and the e-course. He didn't get an answer when he called either, but at least he thought to email and eventually received a response pointing him towards the e-course link. Another woman said she had done the e-course at the last minute because she didn't see the link initially, both of these people couldn't find the ecourse link, because guess why? The email was slop. So I wasn't accepted into the course. With the time investment I had put into this during a critical time (broke busy student needs a vehicle). I was a bit upset to say the least. The only option this company gives to remedy this is to stand-by in case there is an opening, with a time limit on how long that is valid of course. I emailed the contact information and told them the situation. I received some snarky answers, and then finally I just told them that their instructors being as late as they were is actually illegal since a certain amount of hours is required of them. So that even if I took the class, it would be illegal. In response to that I got an angry email telling me that it was not their fault that the class started late. I left it at that and told everyone everywhere about my experience here. ANYWAYS I waited 3 months for my load to lighten and I was able to go to a different motorcycle safety school, and the difference in professionalism and policy was stark, to say the least. I'll be writing a review about them later if you care to look. read more

I paid for a basic motorcycle training class with 6 hours of online classroom instruction and 10 hours of riding time. After I registered, I never got a confirmation email or nothing but my credit card was charged. I waited around and tried calling them a few times but never got to a person. I finally get hold of someone a mere 2 days before the in-person class begins and after some attempts finally get my email with a link to the online class and the rest of the instructions for attending the in-person class. When I registered the class, it was supposed to start at 11:45AM. I was planning to show up at that time and planned other events before that. In the confirmation email that I received 2 days before the in-person class, I suddenly notice that I had to be there 15 minutes early at 11:30AM. I couldn't cancel or move around my prior engagement at this point. So I try to do the best and was rushing around to get there on time but showed up a few minutes late to the class. They straight up ask me to go back and come back another weekend because I was late by a few minutes for the 5 hour class! I was pissed but whatever I was late so I figured I'll call their office and book the in-person classes for another weekend. So I call them and now they tell me that re-scheduling costs $150 more and I will go on "standby" where I have to show up for each scheduled class and will only be let in if there's another no-show or last minute spot that opens up!!! The craziest thing is this policy is NOT on their website and it was NEVER communicated to me in any of their emails - I feel like I was duped into paying for a service with a company that wouldn't know what customer service was if it slapped them straight across their smug faces. Avoid this disaster of a business at all costs! Lost my money and didn't get any instruction! read more

I paid for their classes so I could receive my DL. 389, ever since I have done the class and obviously gave them my money. Zero communication, no one picks up, no one answers emails. DO NOT ATTEND THIS CLASS!! I've talked to others who've attended the class and some have had zero problems and others not so much. I had to make a complaint to dmv, had multiple lawyers go to the office to pick up my documents because I've had little to no time since my class was in MAY and is now AUGUST. So far the only thing that clears my mind about this place is, situational scam. Being the only black person in the class, and others I've talked to being people of color, it's pretty disappointing!!! Horrible. read more

Took the 3 day training course and have to say this school is all about safety! Which is of course the most important I had this wonderful lady called Barbara Harwell who was such an amazing instructor. She was also a instructor without a partner but still took time to calm the group down and chatted with us plus helped us individually if and when we needed it. Before her I had another instructor who was just all about screaming at people and freaking the heck outta BEGINNER riders out which literally does not help. A lot of the instructor seems to have zero to no patience with new riders which I understand they deal with so much, but still to lose patience and start screaming at someone instead of telling them what they did wrong is the wrong approach. I do recommend this school to everyone because I have ridden before and the stuff they teach you is so important and also will save your life one day! The school itself needs to change some things up and talk to some of the instructors other than that 5 stars. And 10 stars to Barbara Harwell for being such an amazing instructor read more

Bay Area Motorcycle Training - Greatest motorcycle instructor ever! - Driving Schools Near Me - San Francisco, California

It's a nice location for a class with good views and the instructors were great. I had never ridden before and was a bit nervous getting on the bike at first. They walked through all the steps to get safely moving and then build on every skill we learned with more and more challenges. Before long I was riding comfortably and confidently. There were a lot of good things about the training: Focus was on safety first Gear was taken seriously Fundamentals were stressed (ride with your head up, look into the turns, relax your body, etc) Instructors were clearly talented riders and gave good demos and explained things clearly. A couple of things I'd have enjoyed more of: More repetition with some of the turning/leaning skills. This would be hard with limited time, but if the class allowed it somehow, getting more comfortable with leaning and body position would have been great More time for discussion and debriefing after exercises. How did I do with that skill? They coach you as you go, but getting some 1:1 feedback during the day would help a lot in identifying weaknesses and targeting ways to improve upon them. So... more feedback as we went through it would have been great. Otherwise I'm riding now and having a blast and have signed up for extended ride time classes, I like it so much. read more

Bay Area Motorcycle Training - Sweeeet riding crew in Alameda - Driving Schools Near Me - San Francisco, California

Having never ridden a motorcycle before, it was definitely exciting to come into the two-day course. Quick shoutout to instructors Cy and Colleen, who are obviously extremely passionate about motorcycling, it's a huge part of who they are, and they have endless knowledge about it. By the end of day one, I had gone from never sitting on a motorcycle to feeling comfortable and confident with basic riding and shifting techniques. The second day covers more advanced skills like swerving, weaving and proper cornering technique. It's a firehose of information, but once you get comfortable with keeping upright, where your eyes are and shifting, it's easier to relax and have fun blasting around the track. That all being said, the course is pretty heavy-duty. In the two-day class, you're looking at 12 hour days, and being up at 5am to get to Alameda on time. There are only quick breaks during the classroom portion and the range, and not long for lunch either. Be sure you read the email too, because when they say they ride rain or shine - the truly, freakin' mean it. Our first day on the range turned into a full-on downpour with freezing winds. It got so bad that even the people with rain gear were miserable and soaked by the end. Good training I guess, but it took a long time to feel anything in my fingers after that. Another criticism is that the nature of the state-mandated instructions they have to read out. They have to blast through a massive amount of information without very much context. It's definitely not a holistic approach to riding theory. The instructors did their best to get through their instructional cards, but not even Sir Laurence Olivier would be able to make it all very compelling. Doesn't help that the motorcycles are straight trash either. At the end of the day, you'll get out of it what you put into it. The instructors are great, and the final evaluation is a cinch. I felt like I did pretty terribly and I passed. Shoutout to the instructors and the rest of the class, this will definitely be a good memory. read more

All the email communication is convoluted, odd emails with paragraphs upon paragraphs or ranting text with only tiny tidbits of (apparently) important information buried inside. The location straddles between a range and Alameda College, but many people were late because they went to the range instead of the College one day, or when they arrived at the College they couldn't locate an email that stated the room #. Range instructors are what you'd expect, stressed out and frustrated but generally nice enough. They passed a very young student in my class that dropped her motorcycle all weekend, stalled out at most starts, couldn't handle most of the exercises, and did most things wrong in her riding exam. That was quite a shocker. Somewhat poorly mismanaged and they'll give anyone that can walk a DMV waiver, but it's the Bay Area's only option so just roll with it. read more

I just finished the 3-day course in Alameda and was very pleased with my experience! John, Eric and Ki Ki were all professional, helpful, patient, encouraging and relayed the course information in a clear and meaningful manner. I'm sorry some folks in previous reviews had a negative experience, but it seems everyone in my class received a solid foundation for future riding and were treated fairly. It was great to see those with little or no experience on powered two wheels gain skill and confidence with each passing exercise. It really speaks to the solidity of the course itself, as well as to the proficiency of the instructors. I have been riding mopeds and scooters for 35+ years and am super appreciative to have learned how to do things the "right" way, and picking up a new skill (shifting) was something I'd never thought I'd do, so I'm pretty stoked. Highly recommended! read more

Jackhole instructor. Equally dick business refused to refund class fee. This outfit provides no value. read more

I paid $350 for a class in December 2020. They cancelled the class a week before it was to start and said they would refund my money in 5-7 business days. It is the middle of February 2021 and still no refund. They won't return my phone calls or emails, unfortunately my only recourse is to sue them in court since the bank transaction was so long ago. So now I get to waste even more of my time and money to bring them to court. read more

Unprofessional and questionable business that is enthusiastic to take your money but will dodge your phone calls when you'd like to get a refund. read more

The actual classes were good and went well, instructors were very nice, however, once I completed the class it took them over a month to get me my certificate, I emailed them plenty of times over the weeks but didn't get a response for nearly 4 weeks, so I almost felt like I had been scammed but fortunately in the end I did get the certificate. it was a big hassle and I recommend you go somewhere else if you're looking to take MSF as these people have terrible processing times etc. read more

5 stars for passing me! :) Others have covered the main things about the course but here are a few tips for the ladies based on my experience: 1) Wear sunblock and bring it with you even if its overcast; the helmet is gonna rub off the sunblock you already have on and if you are anything like me you'll look like a burned dalmatian after 10 hours out there. 2) Bring gum; sure, you should also bring water like they tell you to but drink at your own risk, that porta potty did not look very savory to me and the gum worked well to keep me from getting dry mouth over all that time. 3) Wear waterproof mascara; it can be very misty out there (the air was so moist it was damn near raining on us at one point). That and you are bound to get that sunblock in your eyes applying while the helmet it on. 4) Don't plan on going anywhere right after the course, you will be tired and hat hair does not begin to describe the do you will have after 5 hours in a helmet. But really, this is the only rational thing to do if you are interesting in bikes. I think it is even a good idea to take this class if you are simply planning on being a passenger regularly, it will will give you insights that will help you be a better passenger and overall become more aware of what it takes to ride a motorcycle safely and the dynamics involved. The only danger is to your wallet 'cause when you complete this you be wanting your own wheels for sure :) FYI Info - The Bay Area training group is part of the larger California Motorcyclist Training Program whose official web site is http://www.ca-msp.org/. The national organization is http://msf-usa.org/. In addition to the basic course there are experienced rider courses available (which are not endorsed by the DMV). They require that you have the license already and furnish a legal/registered/insured motorcycle. Supposedly the experienced class is custom tailored and geared towards any skill level - I can't vouch for it personally... yet ;) read more

Bay Area Motorcycle Training - Next up! (on a bike ironically called "Eliminator") - Driving Schools Near Me - San Francisco, California

Problem with my instructor. so my first day, class started 30 minutes late. on the second day it also started late, instructors started to call for our names around 6:45am and instruction started almost 7:00am. before i keep going with my review i have to say that i am dyslexic. sometimes my eyes read something and my brain understand another thing and I did a mistake. I saw that schedule at least 4 or 5 times and I was 100% sure that class started at 6:45am instead of 6:30am. So on my last day I arrived at the range 6:46am and while I was pulling over my group was walking towards the range. So technically I as just on time, I was late but I got there before instructions started, I didn't interrupt the class. Here I am running to catch up with my group when Antony came towards my direction and said he wasn't gonna let me do the class because I was late, I tried to convince him to not do that with me but he didn't want to hear me. From that moment I knew that something that I was expecting to be fun and exciting would become a problem. I sent an email to complain and of course that the only answer that I got was a lie from Antony and I can prove that he is lying because I recorded a video while leaving so there is the time and location on the video. It is extremely unprofessional to apply the rules only when you want. It felt like a rip off just to pay to reschedule the class and not only that, on my first day I was told that we would be late if we got at the class after they closed the gate or if we got at the range after the motorcycles were running... It was not easy for me to pay for this course and it won't be easy to pay to reschedule it, not only the money but the shifts that I lost and just because my instructor choose to be harsh instead of nice. read more

Scam, if your instructor is Peter you might as well run away!!! He kept the class 15 minutes behind, because he was slow and gave confusing directions. Friendly guy, but I think his advice is cliche' and redundant-- for 250$. I passed the written test with 94%, so I think I have a good grasp of the basics. But I'm not sure "didnt use SIPDE on one turn" is going to save my life. Also, learning to brake on a loaner bike is good, however, learning how to brake on MY bike might actually save MY life. But this class won't allow begginers to use their own bikes...and I don't want to get better at riding bikes older than my mom... (BTW Learning how to ride a junker that dies after a Single Saturday won't save your life either. Their Nighthawk wouldn't start, after the first excercise, so I had to use a rusty Sym with a loose clutch-- after that...it was an awful six hours...) Peter treated us like eighteen year-olds who HAD to be there-- and I am 32 years old with a gs500, so I really dont appriciate someone charging hundreds of dollars for acronyms I can find on the internet for FREE... fyi. 4/6 ppl in my group failed; clearly students had more diffuculty in Peter's class that morning... Zero people in the other classes-- that morning-- failed. [Don, Dave, Ken, Barb not sure who was teaching, but I got really good advice from them.However, I honestly think Peter tried to scam me--by being overly critical-- so I might waste another day of my life riding abused 250s-- with bent handle bars-- at 7am in the morning.] One woman in my group was a single mother with two kids-- spent 500$ and FOUR days of her life to ride motorcycles-- failed twice... now she needs a drivers license to rent an electric scooter-- 500$ that could have gone to xmas presents. ;( I did the math, and the dmv charges 35$ for 3 attempts on your own bike. 500$ would get you forty-three attempts at the dmv-- and you only need to pass that test once. Additionally, I can pick the day, and a bike capable of 60mph--unlike a busted ass 125cc scooter--487ccs here I come! :) Good place to go if you need to learn the basics, but Im not paying them to berate me-- for not being perfect on my second day of (legal) riding. It sounds kinda like a scam, since the students can't even choose which counselour-- subjectively-- chooses if they wasted another 250$ (21 attempts to pass), or 100$ (9 attempts to pass to a test that will only improve their skills (btw). And if you fail, and go "standby" you are not allowed to pick the day you show up, so its a big scam for people who can't afford motorcycles... Ill save my money and pass the dmv test now...thanks for the basics! but I really wont learn anything NEW by going back! I didnt even have to do this...so thanks for showing me what rusty 250s are like. DMV 1 day, mission accomplished; God Bless every1 with a nintendo switch. :) read more

I have a love-hate relationship with this place. It was the first place I ever rode a motorcycle, and although I came out confident with my abilities and ready to hit the road, I'm assuming I taught myself some things, because I had a somewhat mediocre experience here. There were 2 instructors (rider coaches) on the day of our first range. One was extremely kind, patient, and smart, the other was bitter, rude, and likely knew about as much as I did about motorcycles at the time. Throughout the day he berated and scolded the class, and picked on certain people more then others. At one point he overfilled the gas tank and yelled at the rider when the engine hesitated. Really? Aside from some attitude issues, I'd say the staff did a decent job teaching me the basics of riding. I was able to pass the test and ride away confidentially, and for the first time, legally! I hope they get rid of that old white man with sunscreen on his nose, cause once they do, this place would get 5 stars from me. read more

Bay Area Motorcycle Training - Driving Schools Near Me - San Francisco, California

Before going into detail I'd like to shout out to Kevin McGee! He is such an amazing instructor. To all those that are interested in learning how to ride and the safety of riding - I'd highly recommend him. Took this course in July and failed because I was scared of riding. Mostly because the concept of counter steering and leaning was very new to me. I had doubts that I would pass the class the second time around, but trusting Kevin and his teaching method - I PASSED!! I am so happy that I didn't give up and I'm also grateful that Kevin was my instructor. Thank you so much for believing in me and giving me confidence that even a noob like me can ride. To whomever wants to get their endorsement or learn how to ride- I would highly recommend this program. If you get Kevin as an instructor - just know that you've gotten lucky! He is amazing and makes the learning experience easy. It's hard to learn and also have fun but not with him! Good luck everyone and be safe. read more

I'm a big fan. Just took this class (twice, failed the first weekend). I learned a LOT. It's not just a good course for getting a license - it really helps improve riding skill. I wasn't experienced, had never ridden a motorcycle and only a handful of times ridden a scooter - and one of those times I'd crashed. So I needed to get training and the license, with an intention of riding scooters (never motorcycles) in Asia in the future. I thought the instruction was great - I especially learned a ton the first week with John, Eric, and Kiki. I was pretty terrified the first week and I was on a Honda Rebel - which I've since heard from others is a monstrous bike for my size, which might have partially explained my trouble, particularly on the slow turns exercise. It wasn't until the second week that I discovered (online) that BAMT also offered scooter courses - and I asked if I could take the course on a scooter the second time. It was 100 times easier - both the experience, but also a much lighter, more nimble bike, without stalling and dealing with the clutch. I was a million times more comfortable and less stressed on the second weekend. And I guess the added riding time was helpful - I could start to intuit things instead of thinking them through. I felt like everyone here loved their job and was passionate about motorcycling and totally committed to making us better riders. I also loved the admin support - Angela in the office rocks. My feedback to BAMT is to ask if people are aiming to learn for motorcycling or for scootering - and give them the option for the appropriate bike, not just automatically assign everyone motorcycles. Once you start with a bike for the weekend, you're stuck with it - even if you have trouble with it. And they don't give ANY feedback or guidance to you in choosing an appropriate bike, they just tell you to pick a bike (both weekends). That's one of the essential parts of starting out right - getting a good fit and appropriate bike. That's the only reason my review isn't a 5. Oh, one other issue - and they passed one person I thought was a bit of a hazard on a bike while withdrawing from the course two people who were slow but never lost control of the bike and didn't strike me as hazards. I'm way more concerned about yahoos who lose control of bikes out in the street than I am of someone who putters along but has control of the bike. So just know if you're too slow in your laps and exercises during the course, you're likely to get pulled before testing or fail the test. read more

This is a fantastic course for beginners! I took the two day series. We had the pleasure of having Dave and Don lead the class each on separate days. The closest analogy I can think of for these two would be Dave as the father figure and Don as the uncle who's seem some crazy sh*t. They're both fantastic. Dave is incredibly humble and takes his time to explain the concepts. He's not afraid to admit that he's not a professional teacher or that he doesn't know something (which was only one thing that I don't even remember). My favorite thing about Dave is that he always pauses for questions and you can tell that he really takes his time to listen then explain. Don tells everything the way it is. Short and sweet. You could tell this guy's been around the block and seen some stuff. One thing I wish Don did was scan the room for questions though. Our first driving instructor was a bit of a hard a$$. At first I was pretty scared but then I realized that she probably did it to trigger a fight or flight response. It made you kind of scared to mess up but when you followed her instructions you would feel very accomplished. All of the riding exercises seem to flow very well into each other. The instructors even did a demo to make sure you understood what to do. Admittedly, there were some things I still couldn't do when I finished the course. Like counter weighting and taking off from a stop sign but overall it's very passable. Overall I'd highly recommend this course! read more

I think everything has been covered by all the previous reviews, so I'll throw out my perspective as a scooter driver. The class session was great, easy to follow, very informative, and ended an hour early. Wicked. The stuff I learned there was key to passing the DMV test; it was so much better than the DMV manual. The riding course? They don't take any shit. And they shouldn't. If you're here to show up late, screw around, not pay attention, not put in the effort, or are just plain dumb, guess what: no one on Earth wants you on a motorcycle on the streets with the rest of us. You'll be roadkill and may take one of us down with you. So don't be offended if you get kicked out. This is dangerous stuff and we don't care about your excuses! That said, I thought the teachers were fair and nice. The weather was freezing and windy, just miserable, but the class went by pretty quickly and I learned a ton. Great safety drills, just smart stuff they make you do over and over, stopping and swerving and turning. I learned so much. I was a total beginner and thought the class was the appropriate for my level. There were plenty of girls in my class, on motorcycles, and they all passed their test. Everyone did, except for a guy that fell off his bike during the test (which they warn you up front is an automatic failure). I called in advance to request they have a scooter for me, and no one gave me any guff about it. I'd recommend this if you want to use a scooter, rather than requesting when you show up on the course. Bottom line: I took this course, passed my test, bought my Buddy scooter and now I'm riding around the city cautiously but with confidence I can get myself out of some jams based purely on what I learned here. Definitely recommended! read more

Bay Area Motorcycle Training - My loaner scooter! Worked great! - Driving Schools Near Me - San Francisco, California

I had taken this course a while ago, before Yelp existed, the classroom and its instructor was great. I passed, no problem. However the behind-the-wheel section was terrible. Since there was such a large group, 24 students at that time, we were broken up into two groups of 12. I unfortunately was in a group where the instructor was terrible. While waiting around to be signed in and assigned a motorcycle I overheard my instructor say, "I don't want all of these people to get licenses and be on the road." That's a red flag that he's going to do a terrible job teaching and that is what he did. I was a newbie to riding a motorcycle. My motorcycle kept stalling and instead of teaching me how to keep it from stalling he yelled at me for being incompetent for not knowing how to keep the motorcycle running. My guess is the motorcycle was poorly maintained hence its constant stalling. And then when we were going through the exercises he barely showed us how to do it and, again, yelled at anyone who had a little trouble. Another newbie rider also had trouble keeping her motorcycle from stalling and he yelled at her. At one point she got really annoyed at the instructor and kind of yelled back her bike keeps stalling and she's trying her best. I was so put off by the instructor I decided to skip the second behind-the-wheel class and eat the cost of the class. I know Bay Area Motorcycle Training could care less about this as long as they got the money. Find another motorcycle training company, they might be better. read more

This course is definitely worth taking if you are brand new to motorcycles. For $250 you get 1 day of in class learning and 2 days of riding. The classroom session was gruesome. The reason why I say that is because it is an night time session from 5-10 PM. Make sure you bring lots of snacks. There is a liqueur store and Burger King around the block. At the end of the class there is a little test to make sure you were paying attention which is cake. The next two sessions are during the weekend. It was amazing how much I learned from the beginning of the weekend to the end. I came from not even knowing where most of the controls of the bike are located to swerving around "UPS trucks." There is also an evaluation at the end of the riding weekend which I luckily passed. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone that wants to learn how to ride. read more

Bay Area Motorcycle Training - Nice big riding area - Driving Schools Near Me - San Francisco, California

The course was a great experience, but I've had an extremely poor experience after passing the course. I took the course back in September 2019 and it is now February 2020 and I still have yet to recieve my certificate that allows me to get my motorcycle license at the DMV. I have called and followed up via email half a dozen times and no one has gotten back to me. The customer service has been absolutely horrendous. I spent a whole weekend and $300+ to receive this certificate and it has turned out to be a waste of time and money. I do not recommend. read more

My friends and I had a great experience on Alameda this weekend. We had rescheduled easily from when classes were canceled during San Francisco covered restrictions. We did the reading and showed up on time. Two of us had never driven a Vespa or a motorcycle before, so different skill levels. Eric, Brendan and Dima were clear and communicative and gave each of us individualized feedback both while we were riding and in between exercises. I was confused about many concepts as they seemed counterintuitive, and there were points where I did poorly, but they coached me through to success. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to ride again. read more

As many other 1-star reviews warn, do not waste your $ and time on these clowns, but If you book BAMT classes anyway: 1. call your Credit Card company and ask about 'Disputing a Charge' 2. purchase classes with your credit card and be prepared to Dispute BAMT's charge My dispute: This training is marketed to new rides and it is *NOT* effective for new riders. I suffered two instructors that should be allowed near anyone new to riding: - Pierre: struggles to speak clearly (important when competing with 12 motorcycle engines, construction noise and through helmets), but worse, he's just not interested in teaching. My experience with an exercise: 1st attempt, Pierre said something unidentifiable about speed; 2nd attempt, I understood that Pierre wanted more speed; 3rd attempt, nothing: Pierre was on his phone and couldn't be bothered. - Ray: berated the class as if we were incarcerated at San Quentin, sped-read the riding lessons like they were his worst chore, was dismissive of questions and was annoyed when asked to elaborate (sadistically, we had to listen to his song-and-dance about how we enjoys his job). Also, this program is extremely strict about attendance: if you are a second late, you fail. Kinda fair, since lessons are regulated by the state. However, we began each morning at 6.30am, but, the sun didn't rise for 45 mins. So, we sat in the dark and waited, both mornings, for the sun to rise, 45 minutes later. TLDR; Poor planning, worse execution, pathetic riding instructors. read more

Good stuff. Educational, fun, entertaining, and fun. Yes I said fun 2x, but they do such a great job with course. Those 4-5ish hours go by quick. Great instructors, very knowledgable. I did the SF class and I highly recommend it to anyone, even if you already know how to ride. And if you don't know how to ride... well then this place will teach you right. 4.5 stars. read more

Bay Area Motorcycle Training - Fuel valve and choke instruction - Driving Schools Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Yo what's up Yelpers. Just finished the beginner classes and I just want to get the word out about this school. Alian and Barb was my instructor and they were great very loud and clear I understood what they wanted. We have a class of about 25 people and everybody passed the class. Wonderful experienced instructors to help you learn how to ride. I highly recommended this school. Don't hesitate to enroll! read more

Bay Area Motorcycle Training - Staging area for Bay Area Motorcycle Training - Driving Schools Near Me - San Francisco, California

I just finished their beginner motorcycle class. I took the three day course (vs the weekend only class). All the instructors are super friendly and are really committed to helping you succeed. The classroom instruction is a bit dry, but the instructors do a good job of trying to make it engaging and interesting. Sometimes the information was hard to contextualize since I've never ridden before. However, the instructors do a good job of trying to make things make sense. The first classroom session finished about 45 minutes early and the second one finished right on time. Definitely read the handbook before the exam; it'll make the test way easier. The range instruction was amazing! There were 6 of us in the group and our instructor was Alain. He was incredibly friendly and you could tell enjoyed teaching. He was knowledgeable, a great instructor, and the feedback was extremely helpful. I had a great time and learned a lot from him. The first range session wrapped up at 11am - an hour earlier than they said it would take. The second one finished about 30 minutes early. It seems they add a bit of buffer on the schedule for all their classes. read more

Previously had a rocky experience rescheduling my class because it was not 1 week in advance. DO NOT MAKE THAT MISTAKE But, since taking the class I wanted to share the following: Pros: -Instructors were fantastic (shoutout to Don, the OG) -super informative, very professional in dealing with dangerous classmates -went in unsure of myself, came out confident in my abilities to protect myself Cons: -our group size was way too big, did not get enough practice on the bike. But since this is the most exciting and informative part, it holds good weight in this review Overall, if I'm a smaller class size would have been 5 stars!! read more

THE GOOD First and foremost I have to say Chris and Pierre were great course instructors however the company as a whole really needs to get their sht together. THE BAD Second, they sent out about 4 or 5 different confirmation emails all of which having incorrect and conflicting information. They did confirmation calls because they knew that they messed up and that everyone would be confused. HOWEVER MISSED MANY STUDENTS when doing these calls. Several other students as well as myself never received the confirmation call prior to the class in order to correct the false information they gave out. How did I make it to class on time? My friend who was also taking the class called me morning of in a panic (at 625am) telling me I needed to wake up and get my azz down to DNA pizza (located at 375 11th street) by 6:55am, where for some reason the class was being held instead of the place they normally held class. In two of the many email confirmations I received i was instructed to be at *371 11th* street by *7:25am.* Thank goodness I got that call from my friend because according to the email (and if you didn't notice MANY of the other Yelp reviews) you will be charged the nonrefundable full amount of the classes regardless and if you want to reschedule it will be an ADDITIONAL $200 The class in my opinion was at a ridiculously early time. The instructor talked longer about anecdotes from his own life and about the structure of a helmet than he did on the majority of things such as, how to use the actual motorcycle, where the gears are, how to turn, how to shit, etc. When it came to the written portion of the test the instructor turned a blind eye on whispers and basically all the other cheating behavior that ensued. Good for all the people who didn't pay attention or read the DMV handbook bad for all the people who are on the rode with insufficient knowledge of the rules of the road. THE WORST On the last day on the range all students get tested on the competency of the skills they learned during the two days. In the class next to mine their was a rider who during the course of the last day had fallen not just one time or two times BUT 7 DIFFERENT TIMES. I was under the impression that if a rider fell once or twice during the day they would not pass mainly depending on the circumstances. This rider then took the test at the end of the day and WAS PASSED BY THE INSTRUCTORS. Another rider who had never fallen, not even one time over the course of the two days then on a fluke fell during the "final examination." HE WAS NOT PASSED. This to me is insane, a rider who could not over the course of two days competently demonstrate the ability to ride was PASSED because they did not fall during the "test portion" of the class yet a rider that did express competency during the course of two days but fell one time during the "test portion" failed. THIS CLASS IS A JOKE AND A MOCKERY OF WHAT TRUE MOTORCYCLE SAFTY IS. THIS CLASS JUST ALLOWED AN INCOMPETENT STUDENT THE ABILITY TO BECOME ANOTHER CASUALTY STATISTIC. Instructors Betty or besty and joe or whatever their names are need to be severely reprimanded or fired IMMEDIATELY. This isn't kindergarten where you pass even the worst students because it's just informational babysitting. These skills determine the outcome of life and death situations. The Asian guy (I'm sorry to put it like that but I cannot remember his name even though he and Chris were my instructors for day 1 on the range) failed half of his students. I'm not saying that I agree or disagree with this but I never once noticed any of his students fall during the course of the day. I am glad that he felt comfortable enough to fail students that he did not believe should be on the road and needed more practice. How can their be such a great amount of inconsistency between instructors? GET IT TOGETHER PEOPLE. read more

Bay Area Motorcycle Training - CORRECT TIME, INCORRECT LOCATION. - Driving Schools Near Me - San Francisco, California

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They stole my money! The instructor showed up over an hour late. I assumed the class was canceled, not being able to get ahold of anyone I left at 730 for a 630 course. They will not refund my money and they will not reschedule my course without paying again. They have no respect for people's time. Do not trust them, save your money and go somewhere else! read more

I took the basics class (to waive the DMV parking lot test) and it was great! I took the weekend class. It started super early (had to get out of my house at 6:15am) and there's no mercy when you're late. The class consists of a powerpoint presentation for 3 hours in the morning, and then an outdoors training for ~4 hours in the afternoon. The instruction is actually quite rigorous - a handful of people failed! One person dropped their bike on the first day and got up laughing. Another fell the next day and left on an ambulance. A couple more bikes were dropped, but they all got back up and finished the course. I had Dave and Barb as my afternoon instructors, and they were amazing. There were no injuries in our group, and everyone passed. Prior to this weekend, I had a year of experience driving a Vespa around London, and a couple private lessons with Monkey Moto School to get over my fear of geared machines. Seeing how many gave up and didn't show up for the next class after the first one, how many dropped their bikes and/or failed, I'm glad that I didn't show up unprepared. That said, a lot of people rode a motorcycle for the first time during this course and passed just fine. As for the DMV test waiver, they mail you the certificate instead of giving them out to you right afterwards, so don't make the mistake of making a DMV appointment right after the course like I did and make one for about two weeks afterwards. read more

They are aggressive at getting your money. Its run like a DMV in that regards. You are just screwed and there is nothing you can do about it. Classes are great and something about driving around in circles over and over again improves your riding. They are however a bit remedial if you have any experience but it's still good practice. You can try to practice on your own instead and just go to DMV for your test, but you probably never will practice. This school is worth the time for the one or two things you walk away with. As subtle as they may seem, they could be life savers. read more

Let me start by saying this is NOT the place to come if you have never mounted a motorcycle. It's a fast paced program to refine skills. I enjoyed my time here and even learned a lot although I am not new on a bike. read more