2 Wheel Safety Training

Negative experience: Location : Ohlone College (Fremont Location), Instructor : Pierre If you don't have a friend that has a bike that can help you outside of class, and you never had any riding experience, and never ridden a car with a manual transmission. I highly recommend you do not take this class with this school. First, imagine that you never ridden manual before, and now you are learning for the first time, not only is the parking lot angled at a slope, which makes it harder, you are expected to learn how to shift up and down the gears in 45 minutes. If the person in front of you stalls, you have to stop, if you mess up, now the guy behind you has to stop and everyone gets messed up because you need to have speed to shift or else you will stall. I was in a class with 4 people total, and WE WERE ALL struggling with this,. You had to take off (people were still stalling on taking off on 1st year), and then when you reached the 1st set of cones, you were supposed to shift to 2nd gear, then to 3rd gear on the next set of cones, and then back to 2nd gear on the next, and back up on the 3rd, and repeat. IMAGINE how bad this would be if the class was bigger. There are many people who have riding experience already who take this class, so the people with zero experience will look like the odd-ones who are unteachable. Luckily ALL 4 of us struggled, otherwise one or two of us might have been sent home. YES, you can and WILL be sent home for slowing the class down, so imagine if there were 12 people in the class, and you were struggling and stalling the bike, and making everyone behind you wait. The instructor was very concerned and said that he didn't think we would be ready for the next exercise and that he was supposed to end the class there and send everyone home. Because we struggled to go fast enough, I have gone 40+ miles per hour on dirt bikes, my issue is not that I am afraid of going fast, it's learning the clutch and shifting that is holding all of us back. He kept commenting on speed being the problem, saying that we need to go faster to shift (WE KNOW), but the problem is NOT that we are afraid to go fast, it's the clutch and gas coordination. REMEMBER, you are learning how to shift and clutch control, WHILE being uphill slightly. I am 100% sure that if this class was bigger, I would have gotten kicked out for "slowing the class down", it's only because our class size was only 4, and EVERYONE was struggling. When were all struggling on the shifting up and down exercise, the instructor told us that he should end the class right there because we have spent extra time and still didn't get it. The instructor wasn't that good at teaching, he would just read off the instructor handbook, and then expect us to know what to do. During one of the exercises, the instructor came up to me and saw that I was stalling a lot, he told me to put some gas in, I tried to ask if I should let go of the clutch or leave it pulled, and he tried to say "LISTEN, YOU ARE NOT LISTENING", and didn't even give me a chance to ask anything, overall throughout the class, I felt like he didn't really explain things well, he just read from the instructor handbook, and we were sort of left to figure out things on our own, he would often stop you and talk to you about how to correct or improve, which was good. Now I will talk about the good things, I would say the instructor wasn't that bad in terms of attitude, he was actually very patient when we stalled the bikes many times, he never got mad at us for that. When all 4 of us struggled, he stopped everything and asked us each one by one what we were struggling with. I do believe he has good intentions, and that he wanted us all to succeed and to have safe riding habits, but his teaching practices were not that great, and his choice of words were not the best.

Fantastic experience: Everyone from start to finish was amazing! Dave did the zoom class Thursday night really took the time to help make sure everyone knew what to expect and what to bring and super informative on every thing to know the weekend crew skip and Greg we’re just as amazing took the time to make sure everybody knew properly how to ride the bikes and would answer questions whenever someone had one the way they taught the class made it feel like everything was safe when riding in the range and that there wasn’t intentional danger! Highly recommended

Negative experience: Very bad experience. The instructor has very bad attitude and very rude. She didn't use polite language at all. When I read all the reviews about they are just trying to cancel you and asking for more money to a so called reschedule. all things are clear now. It's fraud. 教员非常没礼貌，她一点礼貌用语都不说，下面的评论也都说了，因为他们把你的课取消之后（不管是多小的问题），他们都会直接把你踢出去然后给你一个所谓的折扣价，让你重新付款。这根本就是骗局。

Fantastic experience: Took their 2 day motorcycle safety course. The online session are pretty simple but informative and comprehensive. I really enjoyed the practical lesson, you'll have to learn quick and not fuss over your mistakes in the moment to take in everything instructors say. I had a lot of fun and would recommend the Ohlone location. For the in person sessions I must acknowledge that you do spend a lot of time sitting on the bike doing nothing. However after riding for over a year I understand , the riding range needs to be completely clear of debris for new riders every exercise and the bikes needs to be prepared and inspected every session. Know your traffic and come early. When I practice in alone it takes time to check a parking lot for loose gravel and my own bike for issues. These classes take a long time to set up and much effort to ensure the safely of students.

Fantastic experience: Absolutely loved the intermediate class. Sue was amazing!

Negative experience: Intro course at Gavilan was not a great experience.

Fantastic experience: I had the best training experience at TWST over the weekend. Starting with the office manager, Joi, who gladly helped me reschedule the training multiple times due to medical reasons. The training was conducted by Chris, Dave and Pier who were all patient and attentive to our individual behaviors.They also made the training fun while still ensuring safety at all times Overall, Kudos to the team and keep up the good work. I'll be coming back for my advanced training as well!

Negative experience: Unprofessional

Positive experience: Sent me to the wrong location which was very stressful especially due to the strict rules on arrival time. Pierre was an absolute a*shole and did not even bother to teach. He had a sense of superiority and seemed to think that because he had been riding for 20 years, he was entitled to screaming at everyone. He was just barking at the students on what they were doing wrong and not saying how to fix it. David on the other hand was very helpful. He listened and provided very useful tips that overall improved my safety and my driving abilities. Had David not been in the course, I would've likely came out with little to no knowledge on how to improve my mistakes.

Fantastic experience: I was a bit worried before the class since I am only 5'2" and 110lbs. The instructor assured me that I will be able to ride a motorcycle well and indeed I did! I was given a honda rebel 300 during the practice and my feet could comfortably touched the ground and I could move the bike with just a little bit of efforts. Overall, both the classroom and range sessions are informative, not just for the test but also for your own safety on the road. I am glad I took the class!

Fantastic experience: I've never ridden before and I find myself a bit clumsy, but I really like bikes so I pulled the trigger. I picked the school because it was closest to me. On the first zoom call my group's instructor was Chris and he walked us through the theory fast and efficient by emphasizing on the most important information and engaging every person in the group into answering questions. This helped me a lot to pass the written test, I made only 2 mistakes. He also clarified my concern about my high tops if they ok for riding. Next day on the range at the smaller group (6 people) we met instructor Randy. The right sequence of exercises and clear instructions from Randy helped me and the whole group pick up basics of riding surprisingly fast! While I was performing exercises I was given personal recommendations and reminders which greatly helped to reduce mistakes and improve my riding. It was really nice of Randy to take every of us a picture and send them to us! On the second zoom call we met Andrew. He has a racing background and he gave lots of information about traction in different conditions besides just going through the material. All 3 instructors I met were very professional, knowledgeable and positive. The education program is excellent in my opinion. I'm not only passed riding and written test but also learned a lot on how to ride safe! That was a great experience and a great weekend! Thank you so much, Chris, Randy and Andrew!

Negative experience: Instructors in this training don't seem to understand that you are learning and that you might make mistakes sometimes. Training was going very well, I had finished the first day, and second day classroom as well as the written exam. at the end of the first exercise in the second day, I did a mistake and instead of pulling over in staging area (Despite they have waved that signal correctly), I pulled over next to instructor. Instructor kicked me out of the class and wouldn't listen to me explain myself at all. but rather kept claiming that I was trying to run him over and that I might cause safety issues for others. Really frustrating experience and waste of hard earned $350.. Location: Ohlone college, Newark

Negative experience: Least professional riding course. First day of riding instructions threat us to kick us out if we were not in time. Then made us wait in the range for an hour. Second day it rained (as being forecasted). They made us be in the range for 2 hours under the rain to cancel the class half way through. Their office had 0 flexibility to re-arrange the class giving us weekend times in 1 month (2 months since we booked)! You won't have a good experience here

Fantastic experience: Okay so I've been riding on and off for almost thirty years both dirt and street. I thought I didn't need this course and was trying to take the one day course for a cert. I'm glad I took the full beginning course. These guys rock and make the day go by fast. I learned much more than I thought I would and I'm sure it's going to help on the road. My attitude is quite different now thanks to Chris and Dave. Great class and thank you for flunking out those that are not ready. Let's keep the roads safe! Hope to see you in Yosemite soon!

Negative experience: This is by far, the worst experience I have ever had in my life. They basically just STOLE the $350 from me. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE choose another business for motorcycle training. I was registered for a three day course, where class session was done in Zoom. I did not receive any email with the Zoom link, and called the office phone number, which directly went to the voice mail. And when the class started, I try to search the Zoom link in my email, and finally found it in the spam. It took me some time to set up the Zoom (I have not used the Zoom before). And by the time I finally able to connect to the Zoom meeting and waiting for permission to join, the instructor simply kicked me out, and I cannot join again because Zoom said 'You were previously removed'. I had to use my phone to setup the Zoom again, and try to connect the second time. This time, the instructor let me in, but he sent me a chat in Zoom said that I was too late, he had to kick me out, and asked me to call the office the next day to reschedule. I thought fine, I will just reschedule. The next day, I called the office, it still went to the voice mail directly. I called several time and had to leave a message and wait for the call back. When I finally get into the call with a lady, she told me that I was late and I had to pay additional $200 to reschedule, and she did not care about any issue I had with Zoom. Now, the worst part is, I want to continue my current course (two sessions on the weekend), but she said that I could not take the following course since I was late for the first one. It is ridiculous, I paid $350, and I cannot attend any of the course just because I was late for the first Zoom class. I had the Motorcycle Permit from DMV, and is legal to drive, so why the hell I cannot attend the range course in the following session, which I paid for. In addition, she mentioned in the phone that there were other students on the list that had the same issue as me. Clearly, people are having issue with the Zoom class, and it is understanble during this Covid time. Instead of showing care for people, they just want to RIP the MONEY from you, and kick the student out of the class to get free money. $350 is not a small amount, especially in this covid situation. The least you could do is to help students reschedule, but they are trying to rip extra $200 out of you. In the end, I just spent $350 for NOTHING!!! WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!!

Negative experience: By far, and without a doubt, the LEAST professional riding courses I've ever taken in my ENTIRE life. (I've taken motorcycle classes in Tacoma, Washington, been riding in Australia, and Hawaii, and was hoping to take and pass my CA riding class so that I could learn the rules of the road for California as well as acquire my license). Now, the riding portion itself on the range, not the most professional, but still, not the worse. 2 instructors attempting to scream over the sound of running bikes while wearing masks (megaphone guys, they aren't that expensive). The worst part though, hands down and second to none, would be the instruction portion "taught" by Joi M Davis. To start, when signing up, you're informed that you'll receive a zoom invite 24 hours prior to the meeting (fear not, she's sends it out to you 1 hour and 20 minutes before the class is intended to start). Next, she had the audacity to say that no bathroom breaks would be allowed (where as the other instructors had no problems with letting students put a coffee cup up as a status or going black for a minute to go to the restroom), but, the very worst of all, was the fact that, WHILE WE WERE SETTING UP THE CONNECTION BEFORE CLASS STARTED she kicked students out of the class. Students that paid good money to be in the class (who are trying to coordinate the technical challenges of having to suddenly do motorcycle classes online and not in person) are not only kicked out, but when asked for a number to an office to coordinate this further or get a refund, she became unresponsive and ignored the number to her that was sent out prior to the class. (Literally a number that worked prior to class, suddenly starts sending all call to voicemail right away) Now, if all that wasn't bad enough, a student is unable to proceed to the second day of riding without this class. So, not only are you not able to proceed, but you now have to rearrange your future schedule to try and coordinate a NEW time months in the future to try and finish the second portion. If you have the chance, the desire, and the money, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE spend your money on a different set of instructors somewhere else; these ones just aren't worth it. Cheers, Stephen D. Marlow Attached is a photo of the email that arrived 1 hour and 18 minutes before the class was supposed to start, and the second is a photo after being kicked for connection issue (whereas in the notes it clearly says you have 5 minutes to try reconnecting and I wasn't even given 1 minute-not that I lost the connection at all) EDIT TO THE OWNER: What are you talking about? I followed all the rules as stated and produced on your website and followed them well. Your overzealous instructor kicked me from a zoom class. Lastly, I appreciate the response on here where you attempt to make it look like I'm at fault, whereas on yelp reviews you left a note asking me to contact the office so you can make things right. A bit of mixed messaging there.

Fantastic experience: Took the course at gavilan college. Totally worth it ! Adrienne and Dave are very good at making you overcome your fear and become confident about riding !

Fantastic experience: Lisa was an amazing teacher and gave me a lot of tips to be a better rider. Defiantly coming back for the intermediate course later!

Fantastic experience: Took the course at Mission College. If you see reviews about people getting booted from course or having to pay again to retake the course it is at fault of the student. From day 0 when you register the rules, DRESS CODE, emphasis on being on time is there. I had an amazing time during this course and can tell you it is easy to spot a driver who took this course and actually practices the safety techniques they teach. I feel 110% more confident being on the road. Those who have been driving for long periods of time or just trying to get the M1 endorsement tend not to do well since they think(and may be in some aspects) more knowledgeable than the instructors. I had great instructors who took time to answer every possible question and stayed after class a few minutes longer to help others. Worth the money. PAY ATTENTION, DONT BE A KNOW IT ALL! GO IN WITH A BLANK MIND.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic spot to get your M1 training and Intermediate & Advanced training!

Negative experience: This is the worst run school I have ever been to. I have paid the full tuition twice and still have not completed the class. The first time I had a migraine and they would not let me reschedule without paying the full tuition again I wanted to take the second day class anyway just to learn they would not let me even though I paid for it. So I paid the full price again. I showed up at 7:30 and they told me that my sdpot had been taken. After complaining they let me stay. I have ridden motorcycles for 25 years. The first day it was pouring rain I figured they would not have us ride in the rain but they did. We were forced to do simple things that someone who had never seen a motorcycle do for hours in the pouring rain and freezing cold. 2 of the students were having a lot of trouble and only needed someone to spend 5 minutes of one on one time with. The instructors let them struggle, I could not take it anymore so I asked if I could help them because I could do it, and they were struggling. Their response was no that is what we are here for. Sure enough both students ended up giving up and quitting. Witch is sad because they will most likely never try again to ride a motorcycle. After hours of not learning anything new and being completely soaked and frozen, class ended. I went home tried to warm up drank Theraflu and went to bed. At 6 in the morning the next day I was sick as hell, but I got up and got to the class by 8am. The instructor would not let me take the class. So now I have paid in full two times for the class and all I got out of it was an illness and doctor bills. If they tell me I have to pay for the class in full for the last day I will be really upset

Fantastic experience: Prior to taking the training, I had only ever been a passenger when I was a kid. By the end of the first day (I took the 2 day course), I was confident in my ability to use a clutch. The instructors were very accomodating and concerned about our safety as they knew we may be riding on public roads soon. I signed up for extra ride time since the course was a little crowded due to slower riders. I had a great time :)

Fantastic experience: Great course! I am new rider with zero experience and don't even know how to drive a stick shift. I took the 3 day course. The first day, the instructor go over safety, gear and increasing your road awareness. Second day is course and class. Third day is all course with the skills evaluation towards the end of the class. I had great instructors. They have the ability to train all ranges of experiences! I took an extra hour of ERT to get more comfortable with riding. It was worth the money as it is a smaller group and the instructor will focus on something you want to improve. Shoutout to the instructors! Great range of different teaching styles that fit me perfectly.

Fantastic experience: A fun experience and the instructors were nice at Gavilan college. Just be sure to be on time, it even says that you should be 15 minutes early. Was riding on the black honda crf 230m, very fun bike. One of the bikes that my friend was riding on had a broken speedometer so he couldn't tell the mph he was going but wasn't a big deal. Also make sure you have the proper riding gear.

Fantastic experience: Great class! Before the class I've never ridden any kind of motorcycle. The instructor were were very friendly and helpful. Gave me the skills and confidence to go out riding by myself in traffic. Would highly recommend to anyone. I will be back for the intermediate class I am couple months.

Negative experience: Sent an email for pricing and availability, or where to look on website for such information. No response yet. :(

Fantastic experience: I honestly do not get the lousy reviews. The courses was very straightforward and the teachers were excellent. In fact, the teachers did everything they could to ensure that that students passed the course. Believe me this is no small thing given that some of the folks who started the course would not have been safe to ride a bicycle. I use what I learned in this course every time I ride my motorcycle. The focus on safety was very important given that riding a motorcycle safely is one hell of a lot more technical than I had imagined based on riding a dirt bike 30 year ago. For those who can't pass the written test, I am not sure what to say. They work so damn hard to get the material across you just must be hopeless at taking any kind of written test. All of the instructors were fantastic. Highly recommended.

Negative experience: Could you please update the phone number, it's not working.

Negative experience: First day, excellent a lot of info. Second day. Riding was good. However, motorcycle speedometer was broken I told instructor when they told me to go faster about 15-20. How could I know if it was broken. I asked to switch motorcycle. It was denied and of course it is always a good reason from the instructor to tell you NO! Third day and last. New instructors, little feedback or nothing at all, I guess they were worry about smoke break! Yes smoke break! I pointed out about the speedometer again because they told me to go faster than 10 mph. How would I know if speedometer was broken. Training time I think it was good because I did not have any feedback. Even when I asked I was told that I was doing well.About the test. I did not pass the riding test, 96% written test, so lost my money. Need more practice. How where. 75 to retake it. Ummm It I should not be charged anything. About half group did not pass. You should have a riding practice only 4_5 hours at least. Eight hours at the riding class sound a lot but remember there are 12 more people also trying to learn. It is better to practice and Go to DMV and save money. I agreed with Alexander.

Positive experience: So, I took the 2 day course just over the last two days. It was at the Mission College location in Santa Clara. Only after I registered did I read the reviews and like you I freaked out a little. But now I give them a solid 4 stars (4.5 if that were possible). I had three great instructors - Joe, Omar and Alvin. Joe is kinda like a hippie cowboy. Refreshingly old school SF. Very positive and helpful and really the guy you want to hop you learn at the very beginning. I think a little hands off on the course. Omar - a younger fellow, also very helpful, funny and again a great teacher for newbies. Alvin - also a great teacher, but a different kind. He seems like a great advanced teacher. I had him both in class and for the riding exercises. In class he gave a lot of extra info that was very insightful, but a little confusing. I feel like it would have made more sense after I 3 months or so. On the course, he was almost exactly what you need on the second day. Someone who gives individualized and applicable feedback. I would definitely take a course with these guys again. Maybe in a few months after I buy a bike. The only thing holding this back was there were just a couple too many riders. So it made it a little full and hard to really push my skills. Some people were too slow (though that's better than too fast). Also, my one big concern is that you have to sign a waiver. Which makes sense, riding. Motorcycle is dangerous. But there's one clause that states that you won't sue even in case of their negligence. When I saw that I almost canceled right then and there. In the end all was fine, but that one aspect was disconcerting. Otherwise A+

Negative experience: Worst business ever seen in Bay Area. All their rules are aimed to kick you out of the class or gain additional charges. If you need waiver - go and get if from other school for same price there at least 3 other places without those strange policies. At Mission College they don't have their own parking so you have to pay or will get a 35$ ticket. If you will be late no matter why - they will ask you contact office, and office will just ignore you and you will not be able to reschedule you class, so you will waste you 300$. If staff will not like your sneakers - again, you will waste 300$. Bikes which they offer for ranges - crap with worn clutch / brakes. Best option is to go to DMV lot on weekend. Practice for 30 minutes. Pass driving test. Save 300$ for better gear. Tell a friend.

Negative experience: I was 15 minutes late for the first class, and they didn't allow me to attend the course. So I lost $258 for nothing. I already have a driving license and have been driving for some years. I just wanted to attend and learn something new. I am pretty sure this kind of places just tries to find the smallest of excuse to either fail you and earn more money.