Training Wheels To Offer BRC Classes In Connecticut

BRISTOL, CT – There will soon be a new option for aspiring motorcycle riders wanting to take the Basic Rider Course in Connecticut and get an “M” endorsement on their driver’s licenses. The Massachusetts-based training school called Training Wheels plans to begin teaching BRC classes at a location in Bristol.

Training Wheels is targeting the end of May to be operational at 10 Main St. Students will learn on company-supplied motorcycles, primarily 349cc Royal Enfield Hunter models. “Our bikes are all brand new, fuel-injected,” company owner Rick Sigel said Thursday. “We have hundreds of motorcycles in our fleet.”

Sigel described Training Wheels as the largest motorcycle school in the country with 14 locations, including 10 in Massachusetts, and 70 instructors. “We’re going to be open seven days a week. We also offer private sessions, one-on-one to get ready for the course,” he said.

Training Wheels has been operating in the state for four years offering three-wheel training on Can-Am models at Gateway Community College. With the closure of that range that was also used by the Connecticut Rider Education Program motorcycle classes, the company shifted to find a site all to its own and expand its offerings.

The expansion of Training Wheels classes comes at a time when CONREP’s status is in limbo. Normally by mid-April, CONREP classes have opened for enrollment and classes have started. But not this year; apparently due to standoff between the program and Connecticut State Community College over pricing, which has shut out and infuriated prospective riders.

“It’s totally a surprise for us as well,” said Sigel, whose views Training Wheels classes as an alternative. “It’s not a competition here. We create skilled and confident riders.”

CONREP has charged $240 to take the BRC for the past few years, but wanted to raise the fee to $260 this year. CT State reportedly wants to charge $350, a 46 percent increase. The price of the BRC offered by Training Wheels is $479 but comes with a bonus – free entry into school’s five-hour BRC2 to polish skills sometime in the future. The fee for the BRC2 taken separately is $249.

“We realize most people take the BRC to get their license and they don’t come back for additional training,” said Sigel, explaining that the BRC2 “brings you to another level of riding.”

Taking the BRC is mandatory for wannabe riders in Connecticut and passing the class earns the student an M endorsement. Sigel, who started Training Wheels some 26 years ago, said about 10 percent of students don’t pass on the first attempt. Often it’s “because of nerves. They’re so nervous being in a group setting.”

That’s why the company offers a class called the Introductory Motorcycle Experience for $200. It’s a two-hour private session for newbies.

Sigel said expansion by Training Wheels into other parts of the state is possible in the future. “We’d like to open more (sites), sure,” he said. “It brings extra revenue for unutilized parking lots that were bringing in no revenue whatsoever.”

Meanwhile, the status of CONREP classes remain uncertain. As of Thursday night, registration hadn’t opened and at least eight classes had already been canceled state-wide. The only other option for taking the Basic Rider Course in Connecticut is at Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson in New London, which charges $395 but has a smaller class size than CONREP.

(Photos by Bud Wilkinson.)