Reddit mentions of Motorcycle Roadcraft: The Police Rider's Handbook

You are in England, right?

Go get a copy of Motorcycle Roadcraft: The Police Rider's Handbook

It is the most honest, frank, broad and informative guide to staying alive and in control on a motorcycle on the roads today that exists. It's the textbook for british empire motorcycle police.

I got a copy for xmas and the giver had to pay import tax and shipping from New Zealand, but they practically give these things away to locals. You can likely find the older edition in a bin or find someone happy to hand it down.

www.tso.co.uk for more info.

Motorcycle Roadcraft is also a good book for street riding

Motorcycle roadcraft: the police rider's handbook https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0117081884/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-I8YCbCXS95EM

^ I think that book has all the answers.

Here in New Zealand (road crash death rate about 9 / 100 000 per year for reference) I have a couple of close calls per year, riding about 10 000km per year. And by 'close call' I mean an occasion when hard braking, swerving or brisk acceleration is required to prevent a collision. And none close enough to cause more than a brief rise in heart rate either. That's way fewer than I had when commuting by bicycle BTW and close calls on the bicycle are generally scarier as well —Kiwi drivers hate bicycles on the road with a rabid passion and will force them into the kerb. A motorcyclist just might be a gang member and makes a bigger dent in the ute, so more caution is applied ...

Predicting that something stupid is about to happen and deliberately not being there when it does; or seeing dumb-arse stuff happen nearby is way more common. Probably a daily occurrence. Still working on the prediction skills, I'd like to get the close call rate down even lower.

You posted you did an MSF course, so that puts you in the US? Have a look at the MCRider channel on youtube —that has lots of tips on road strategy to help you predict what might happen and his videos are on your kind of roads. Other useful resources are 'The Science of Being Seen' and Roadcraft: The Police Rider's Handbook. Although the latter is a more 'drive on the left' and most applicable to UK/NZ type conditions, it does have useful tips on prediction and a system you can apply.

While skimming through YouTube vids you may encounter Yammie Noob, and it's not exactly the type of rider you should be learning from. Reckless, dangerous arrogant.

Chances are your instructor will instead teach you how to ride safely, how to make progress and how to avoid accidents instead of causing one.

Books are good in learning the basics (eg "Roadcraft"), but they won't substitute 1-on-1 session.