Bay Riders Group

I contacted Jonathan to help me out with my first motorcycle purchase. I was buying directly from an owner. For a reasonable fee, Jonathan showed up at the owner’s place, did an inspection of the bike, did a test ride, suggested what a reasonable price should be (helped save a few hundred dollars), helped to make sure all the documents were in order, and answered emails with questions I had after the purchase. With his help I ended with a bike that rides great for a price that I was happy with. Great experience all around!

Had a private on-​street & in the lot scooter lesson with Jonathan. Had a great experience overall. Easy setting up the lesson starting with efficient communication through email. The lesson was very relaxed– Jonathan is very professional, calm, easy going, encouraging, thorough and full of knowledge. I felt comfortable learning from him. This was my first time riding on the street with cars around and I was nervous & anxious. Jonathan’s demeanor and attitude put me more at ease. We planned a short route, discussed driving tips (i.e.: specific obstacles like subtle cracks & sand, lane position), he followed close behind me watching my riding. We would then stop and I would get feedback/​tips and I could ask questions. Then we’d do another route. In the lot we practiced turns and weaving through cones. He would watch me the entire time. I learned how to drive up/​down hills & how to park the scooter. I definitely recommend Jonathan!

Are you interested in getting your California M1 motorcycle license by paying $ 250 for a 17 hour motorcycle safety course at 6am on the weekend? I sure wasn’t!!! Thanks to Bay Riders Group I got my motorcycle license by taking the free motorcycle skills test at the San Francisco DMV! With the awesome lesson I received from the Bay Riders’ instructor Jonathan, and the use of the 150cc moped I passed the test for the California M1 license with flying colors and it only took two hours of my time total. The DMV testing instructor said I had done better than anyone he had seen in a long time, which is great because I really was an inexperienced rider. I doubt that I would have passed if I did not get the lesson from Bay Riders Group. (the DMV testing instructor said he fails about 70% of the people who take the test the first time). Overall the lesson was incredibly valuable and enjoyably and I would recommend it over the California Motorcycle Safety Course to anyone interested in getting their motorcycle license in California!

Moving to San Francisco inspired me to start riding, and I couldn’t have asked for a better learning experience. Having never tried before, I had to start from scratch and Jonathan was always patient, encouraging, and understanding. After the two beginning rider lessons, I already feel very confident on the bike and am eager to continue improving. Jonathan also very graciously offers to help you purchase the right motorcycle when you’re ready, which is awesome. Highly recommended!

Needed a bike to pass my M1 test, and I am glad I came across this company. I got a one on one lesson at the dmv Course and he helped me get the confidence I needed to pass the test on the first try. The bike is super easy to use
(I ride super sport) and Jonathan is a great instructor. This is a great company and if you’re looking to rent a motorcycle for the test or just learn how to ride this is the company to go with.

Being an absolute beginner I was concerned whether it’s gonna work smoothly the first time, but it went really well thanks to Jonathan. He explained everything very thoroughly and clearly, so I felt confident knowing what to do. He also spotted some of my mistakes from the beginning, so by the end I was able to fix them. The motorcycle, Honda Nighthawk 250, is easy to maneuver and quite comfortable even for my 6’4″. From learning to balance to the sharp U-​turns went really fast. Looking forward to the next class to master my skills.
I knew I was going to love riding and I’m happy I was right. Highly recommend Bay Riders Group and Jonathan to everyone who wants to learn riding in no time.

I was very impressed with Jonathan the instructor and the company offerings. I highly recommend Bay Riders to folks who need to learn from scratch or like me get a refresher after a long time off the bike.
Very useful to learn correct techniques and adopt proper riding habits.
Highly recommend these guys and hope to use them again soon.

Had lots of fun. Was on time. Provided me a bike. And l was very knowledgeable. It was my first time on bike and made it really easy. I recommend to all new riders.

Jonathan helped me out with my M1 License. Pretty user friendly motorcycle to use, if you’ve ridden before you should have no problems using it for the test. After that he accompanied me to purchase my motorcycle as I felt I needed someone with experience to help me out since im new to the states and proceedures. Buy went smoothly as can be, just sold my bike with his help too!
Highly recommend as hes easy to talk to no hassle you can feel free to ask him anything if he knows he’ll definitely advise you regarding it!
Thank you again Jonathan!

I had a great experience with Bay Rider Group! First and foremost they were prompt to return my call. Secondly, as a woman I’ve had my fair share of condescending treatment in the auto industry so, naturally I was nervous that I may receive the same when taking the beginners class. Quite the opposite, Jonathan was patient and professional. When I needed clarification he took the time to explain things in different ways to help me understand.
I couldn’t be happier with my experience, nor could I recommend them higher! Especially for first time female riders!

Jonathan, man I can’t say enough. I took the MSF course, didn’t do too bad, but not good enough to pass, I missed by 5 points. Needless to say, my confidence was completely shot and I was feeling particularly low because I already purchased a bike, gear, insurance for the bike and permit. I was terrified of getting back on… After some thought, I decided ‘screw that, I just need practice’ I’ve never driven a stick before so shifting was (and still is) an alien concept to me. I’ve raced on 50cc’s before and loved it, figured that it can’t be that much different from a normal sized bike. Boy was I wrong, there is a difference, but the love of riding is still there. I had a private session with another trainer before Jonathan, those guys were awesome, patient, great instruction, clear and respectful. They were not very responsive though and although great trainers, not so good with communicating or returning calls or emails. I found Jonathan through ‘Thumbtack’, we scheduled a training at my location on my bike. He arrived on time and we got started pretty much right away.
Jonathan is an amazing instructor. This guy has no end to his patience or positive encouragement, clear, super chill, understanding and honest. He will let you know know what you need to do to improve and simply remind you when you are falling back into a bad pattern. He explained a few things to me about how my bike operates and a few things I can do to fix some of my mechanical issues and make my bike more comfortable to me.
There is not enough good things I can say about Jonathan… I am grateful I found him. Because of Jonathan I mustered up the courage to ride out on my own for the very first time on my bike, which I had for 4 months now and haven’t ridden at all. I almost even rode to work this morning, but figured I’d better get a few more sessions in with Jonathan to continue building my confidence as a rider and get some good habits ingrained.
Jonathan if you are reading this, I need you to know that you definitely made a difference in my thoughts on myself as a rider and saved me from selling my bike before I even gave myself a chance…
Thank you so very much.
You are the bestest!

Jonathan was very up front about what was required before my friend and I showed up for the class. My friend took the scooter lesson and I took the moto lesson. Jonathan was very patient and a good teacher. Thank you for getting us both great instruction on the same day and time.

I realized way too late that my motorcycle permit was expiring, and that I only had a couple days to pass the skills test. I realized even later that the electric scooter I was planning to test on was only good for an M2 license, not the M1 I was going for. Enter Jonathan. He was super accommodating to my busy schedule and got me a gas scooter I could test on, and gave me a pre-​test lesson as well so I could get used to it! The lesson was a great idea — he went through the exact test experience so I knew exactly what to expect, gave me critiques and pointers, and was very patient. I was pretty confident when the examiner had me do the exact things I had done dozens of times the night before, and of course I passed!

Very friendly and patience of a SAINT! I think to have a bad experience here you’d have to either not take instructions well, be a bad driver, or just be a douche.
Had my very first lesson with Jonathan, and I was pretty nervous. Even though, he explained everything very clearly and progressed through the lessons step by step. He’s thoughtful enough to teach you about not only the bike you are learning on, but how it compares to other bikes you may encounter in the future. He makes sure you understand each step and are comfortable with it before moving on, which made my nervousness go away quick. After just one lesson with him, I feel confident with my riding abilities because he was so knowledgable and helpful.
Also gives lots of motivation and cheers you on when you do well!
In general it helps to have experience with manual transmissions and actually understand what you’re getting into. Either way, I totally recommend these guys!

Don’t waste your money if you are truly a beginner or make it VERY clear and speak up that you are a beginner so you don’t make the same mistakes I did.
Took this class a year ago and thought it was my fault for purchasing a deal like this on living social. I told Jonathan I had no previous experience yet he partnered me in the lesson with someone who had years of experience and wanted some practice before getting a license in California. Needless to say, the class moved too fast, I dropped the bike at a stop, the clutch lever broke, and I lost my $ 200 deposit. ($ 100 for living social + $ 200 deposit = $ 300 for less than 1 hour of learning)
A year has passed and I finally worked up the courage to take a real MSF motorcycle class. It was $ 250 for the class but you get 15 hours of instruction. I’d say $ 250 for 15 hours was WAY worth it vs the $ 300 for less than an hour. The MSF class moved at a slow enough pace and let you feel the bike out before going around doing circles in a parking lot within the first 10 minutes.
That said, it was probably my fault for not speaking up and rescheduling for a time when Jonathan would be teaching 2 people of equal skills.

Went to Bay Rider’s Group because of the livingsocial deal and my dad and I had a lesson with Jonathan. We showed up late because it was on the other side of town and ran into Muni problems, but Jonathan was super accomodating. We ran through the low-​down on motorcycles in about 20 minutes and then we were riding.
Super patient guy, lets you go at your own pace, and a great resource if you’re thinking about getting into buying a bike and riding. Even offers to give you his stamp of approval on Craigslist bikes before you purchase.

I concur with all the others saying that Jonathan is an excellent, patient, and knowledgeable instructor. My boyfriend has wanted to learn to ride for quite a while and the living social deal right before Christmas got me over the hump to try it out with him. I was terrified going in, I’ve never been on a bike or driving a stick shift. Even though Jonathan could see the terror in my eyes, he got me on the bike first, repeated whatever I needed him to, and got me driving in circles… literally. I hope to go back for the next level of lessons with the boyfriend soon!
I would recommend this to anyone who is even considering getting on a motorcycle. Thank you Jonathan!

Still 5 stars. I got my motorcycle license last year. Took the motorcycle safety foundation course prior to doing so. I’d recommend that course to anyone about to get their license, but honestly, I learned about as much in my lesson with Jonathan as I did in the two day MSF course.
After riding around SF for a year or so, I decided to do private lesson with Jonathan to see whether I could learn anything that would make me a safer rider, and to make sure I wasn’t doing anything I shouldn’t be doing without knowing it.
Jonathan took me on a couple hour ride, after watching me ride around the block to get a general sense of how I handled the bike and giving me some pointers on parking on a slope and turning across MUNI train lines.
I learned a bunch of tips that I hadn’t thought about (that the letters and lines painted on the road are slippery, how to choose a path when riding in a group), and had a great ride. Very helpful, and just plain fun. Thanks Jonathan!

Great experience! Bought an intro class from Living Social and had a blast. No matter what your level of experience is, it’s easy to get up and going. Even if you have no intention of getting your license, it’s still a safe and fun activity. Jonathan is a great teacher — patient, thorough, and encouraging.
PROS
— Easy way to get familiar with motorcycles in a safe and controlled environment
CONS
— This is only the first step in several classes that you would need to take in order to get your license
TIP
It helps if you know how to ride a bike and how to drive a manual transmission.

I have used Bay Rider’s Group service of Motorcycle renting for DMV Test.
Do yourself a favor for your DMV Motorcycle test and forget the idea of using your big new shiny motorcycle to do the test. The smaller the bike the easier it is to do this test.
I am an experience rider, more than 10 years, but relocating from Canada to California, DMV requires me to redo all of my tests. I have my own motorcycle, but I repeat my self, go for a smaller bike, you will have all the time in the world to show off on your own bike.
Bay Rider’s Group is renting a small Nighthawk 250cc, it is perfect for the test. Yes you will look like a giant on it, but the circle on the circuit will look big on that bike.
The bike is not new, but you will ride it only for 1h and 5 minutes :) 1h practice and 5 minutes test.