[dhgeyer]

During my (VERY) brief career as an MSF Ridercoach (instructor) the same thing happened to one of our students. Young man, never had any trouble all the way through, model student, natural leader, crashed on the swerve exercise. Everyone was amazed - students and instructors. It was kind of heartbreaking for all of us. This guy was one of the few people in the class that I really felt comfortable about giving a license to. Unfortunately, dropping the bike in any way, form, or manner during the test is an automatic failure. No leeway.

Don't worry about the bike. If it's like all the other states, they're donated by the manufacturers/dealers. I never saw one that hadn't been dropped several times. A lot of them were missing mirrors, so you had to pretend to check a mirror that wasn't there on the lane change exercise. The MSF is a consortium of manufacturers/distributors with (imagine this, what an amazing coincidence) the same address, board of directors, and personel as the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) - the industry's trade group. The MSF has been criticized heavily by some for designing their Basic Rider Course with the intent of making sure as many people as possible get licenses (in most places passing the course is either how you get the motorcycle endorsement, or one way of doing it). It is exactly like putting a group consisting of Toyota, GM, Ford, and Chrysler etc. in charge of handing out drivers' licenses to teenagers. Yes, I know they are state programs, but they are heavily subsidized by the MSF, including the donation of all course materials, materials used to train the instructors, and the bikes are donated by the MIC members. So the states, with a couple of notable exceptions, teach what the MSF dictates, exactly the way the MSF dictates.

Anyway, I digress. I would strongly suggest that you retake the test ASAP. It's amazing how quickly you start to lose what they crammed into you in three days. The whole course is like cramming for an exam. You can pass an exam that way, but it's not the best way to learn the material. And don't beat yourself up too badly. It happens.