BMWNEF Events Calendar

BMW Motorcycle Owners of Northeast Florida

2011 BMWNEF Sport Touring School (STS)

See registration info at the bottom of this page

It’s Spring time and just in time for the summer riding season BMWNEF's premier learning event, the annual Sport Touring School at JenningsGP in Jennings, FL. This will be our 9th annual Sport Touring School and will be held on Saturday April 9th. We had a very successful STS school last year, with sixty riders participating. If you have attended the school in the past, you already know that it is a fantastic opportunity to improve your riding skills.

It seems that every year we have a great turnout, but it is largely the same group of people. This year we would like to have a large turnout of first-time STS attendees and riders that haven’t attended STS in the past three years.

What is the BMWNEF Sport Touring School exactly? Some of you may believe that it is a day that you can get on a track and race or just go around as fast as you can for a reduced fee. Not so. The goal of the STS is to help the membership of the BMWNEF club improve their riding skills thereby increasing riding enjoyment and rider safety in a safe, relaxed, no pressure, enjoyable environment.

For you riders who have never been to the school, I'd like to take a little time to explain the goals of the school and perhaps to ease your minds as to the nature of the event. Most people have taken the MSF course. It is a great course for beginning riders, but it is limited by the fact that it is taught in a parking lot, at parking lot speeds. The MSF Experienced Riders Course is basically the same course, done on your motorcycle. After that, there is no other rider training to be found, unless you want to spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to go to a track / racing school. No other training, that is, unless you are a member of the BMWNEF. The BMWNEF Sport Touring School was created to provide rider training that goes beyond the scope of the MSF course. It allows you practice over and over again the same kinds of turns you will find out in the real world, whether on our local on-ramps, the mountains of North Carolina, or the Italian Alps. You will have the opportunity to practice these turns without the distraction of cars, gravel, dogs, or police.

You will be riding under the watchful eyes of our highly skilled and informative instructors. If you have been to a track / racing school, you know that the instructors at a track / race school are highly skilled, fast riders. They are good instructors, but they assume everyone wants to race motorcycles and they teach accordingly. On the other hand, our instructors are not only outstanding riders, but they are fellow club members and friends. They understand what you are trying to accomplish. They will teach you skills that will make you a better, safer rider on the street. I cannot say enough good things about our instructors. They are all volunteers and work tirelessly to ensure you have a safe, enjoyable experience.

The riders are divided into three groups based on experience and skill level. Classroom and riding sessions are tailored to each group to ensure the proper environment for learning. Each group will receive two hours of classroom time and two hours of mentored and monitored track time. Because the club officers strongly support rider education and rider safety, the Executive Committee has provided funding which reduces the price of the school to a mere $50.00 if registered before . Based on the going rates of typical track schools, our school would be a bargain at four times the price.

Compared with other advanced riding schools, the requirements for STS are minimal. We ask that you wear cordura or leather riding gear with the usual armor, a full face helmet, good gloves and boots. That’s it, no more than you should be wearing for a club ride. The bike requires no significant modification either. Make sure you have good tires, preferably with 75% or more tread left. And no oil leaks please. Tape over the lights and tape or remove the mirrors. That’s it. Nothing you can’t do the morning of the school.

If you have not previously attended, please give strong consideration to coming out on April 9th. If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail Dean Brown at twthinking@yahoo.com or call at (904) 591-7807, or talk to someone who has been to the event previously. There’s an entry form available below. Print it out and get it in the mail or register on line on the new BMWNEF on-line system. Please remember to print out a hard copy to sign and bring with you to the event. You must be pre-registered. Registration closes on April 8th.

Do it now.

We'll see you there!

Volunteers still needed for the BMWNEF STS event. We need help with assistant instructors/riding assistants, track video assistants (we will have video of the on track sessions this year) with riding and computer skills, and people to help setup the track training aids (cones and platform). Contact Dean Brown at twthinking@yahoo.com to volunteer.