Academy of Motorcycle Operation

Fantastic experience: I'm going to miss going to the Glendale training sessions. Jacob and Laura were really cool instructors, lots of patience. Everyone in my class was really nice, no obnoxious personalities, or massive egos. The type of training bike used wasn't tall and heavy. I'm 5'5, slightly tip toeing with super flat base boots, and I was able to do everything just fine with the training bike. If I had the extra money for a second bike, I'd probably buy one of a similar type to remind me of the training bike, for nostalgic purposes. I will miss my training bike. The first riding day immediately followed by a zoom class was the most tiring part. So much information to absorb with little space in between. This was the toughest day for me. I left the course feeling super confident to the point that the first thing I did was take my bike out to the streets for the first time. Even made some friends along the way which was nice

Negative experience: Paid for a class Jan 19th, about 2 weeks after the fires in Altadena were done. AMO had full availability to sign up for classes, so I assumed they knew that the class location would be ready to use for the class. On the 22nd, AMO emailed to let people know that the upcoming weekend class would be cancelled until further notice. I've been emailing and calling for a refund since then—no reply/update. They emailed about a week after the cancellation making a vague reference to being able to "get into a class at a later date" on March 1st or after. Still no response about a refund. A woman I was able to get ahold of via phone said "we aren't doing refunds". I understand that there have to be reasons to avoid a refund when there are unforeseen circumstances (rain, etc), but this is different. I signed up for a class on a specific date that I was available to do it. After researching on my own, I realized that it should have been extremely obvious that the school in Altadena was still closed off by the city. AMO should have known this. Whether it was lazy ignorance, or they KNEW and decided to amass fees that they knew they would deny refunding, either scenario is negligent. The idea that they should be able to sit on my $425 with no concrete plan to reschedule something in a reasonable time frame is ridiculous. They couldn't deliver. Luckily I paid via AMEX so they were able to reverse the charge the same day (today) that I disputed the transaction. Do this class somewhere that is incentivized to care about you as a customer, like HD. These clowns are unprofessional.

Fantastic experience: Just wrapped up my course and I could not recommend it more. The zoom classes - led by Vince (who was knowledgeable and engaging, a natural teacher) - were interesting and informative and prepared me well for getting on the bike. G and Nemo were our range pros and they are both excellent at what they do. The sequence of lessons is well thought out and clearly effective -- I went from literally never having ridden a motorcycle to feeling confident on a bike, with both a solid foundation to build upon and an eagerness to build upon it. And this is entirely due to G and Nemo's skill, instruction, and patience. Summary: what I got out of the course is many degrees more valuable than what I spent to get it.

Negative experience: Took the class. A student ended up crashing into my parked car located at the class designated parking area. After promising me that their insurance company would cover all the damages, I was told a week later to kick rocks and hold the student personally responsible. So, in short, they are uninsured. They even made the student sign a waiver right after his accident, when I’m sure his decision making was questionable. You are better off going with a different company that actually has insurance just in case something like this happens. Ironic how irresponsible they are about financial liability, when they actually preach about it in the class. Look elsewhere.

Fantastic experience: Never ridden anything beyond a moped and I feel like I really got a good foundation from this course. Guillermo and Nemo were very professional and everything from the controls to shifting, to stopping to turning was covered about as thoroughly as it can be in a 3 day course. Like they say at the course though, definitely don't treat this as the end all be all....this class is just the beginning of the journey. Lots more to learn and rather be safe than sorry