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Sgt. Michael Barnes, assigned to the 78th Signal Battalion, practices a maneuver during the Basic Rider Course 1 at Yokohama North Dock, Japan, July 19, 2024. U.S. Army Garrison Japan recently restarted its motorcycle safety courses after a yearslong hiatus to train more riders. (Photo Credit: Sean Kimmons)
YOKOHAMA NORTH DOCK, Japan – U.S. Army Garrison Japan recently restarted its motorcycle safety courses here to make it easier for Army personnel to obtain a license and be prepared for when they hit the road in Japan.
New instructors Staff Sgt. Austin Dennis and Pfc. Dylan Lepper taught nearly 10 riders last week during the two-day Basic Rider Course 1, which also required some online training beforehand.
Riders must then attend BRC 2, a separate one-day course that provides more complex maneuvering exercises, before they can qualify for a motorcycle license. Both courses are now slated to be held monthly.
“We teach them everything – where the clutch is, where the throttle is and how to use them both properly,” Lepper said. “We make sure that they understand the basics and the physics behind moving the motorcycle.
“In the end, the goal is safety,” he added. “We want to make sure whoever is on the road follows everything they have to, and they go home safe after every ride.”
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Student bikers wait to conduct an exercise during the Basic Rider Course 1 at Yokohama North Dock, Japan, July 19, 2024. U.S. Army Garrison Japan recently restarted its motorcycle safety courses after a yearslong hiatus to train more riders. (Photo Credit: Sean Kimmons)
Dennis and Lepper, assigned to the 78th Signal and 311th Military Intelligence Battalions, respectively, recently graduated from the Rider Coach Course to become certified instructors.
After a yearslong hiatus, USAG Japan currently has four new instructors to teach Army personnel, who were previously only offered limited slots in courses at Yokohama North Dock that were led by Navy instructors.
Dennis, who has been riding for about a decade, said he jumped at the chance to help his fellow Army personnel gain confidence in their riding skills.
“A lot of people want to learn how to ride but they don’t know how,” he said. “It’s a scary thing at first, so it’s nice to be out here and help them learn and get them out there on the roads where they can be safe and have fun at the same time.”
On the final day of BRC 1, both instructors took turns demonstrating maneuvers, such as handling curves, merging into traffic and low-speed techniques, in a vacant lot while the students replicated them.
“Japan has a lot of tight turns, a lot of very [narrow] roads,” Dennis said, “so these skills are very important in order to make sure that they’re safe.”
Grace Fernandez, an Army spouse, was one of the students during the course. Since she hasn’t ridden a motorcycle for a long time, she said she joined the course to hone her skills so she can ride in Japan.
“A lot of people should take it,” she said of the course. “There’s nothing to be scared of. I was nervous coming here, but the instructors are really helpful, and they’ll make sure that you’re good [to ride safely].”
Once Fernandez gets her license, she said she looks forward to riding her bike in Tokyo while enjoying the sensation of wind rushing by her as she drives along the city streets.
“You know when you’re driving a car and the windows are down and you have the air in your face,” she said. “That’s kind of how it feels like.”
The course was the first time for Sgt. Michael Barnes, another student who is assigned to the 78th Signal Bn., to ever ride a motorcycle.
Spc. Jim Xiong, assigned to the 311th Military Intelligence Battalion, practices a maneuver during the Basic Rider Course 1 at Yokohama North Dock, Japan, July 19, 2024. U.S. Army Garrison Japan recently restarted its motorcycle safety courses after a yearslong hiatus to train more riders. (Photo Credit: Sean Kimmons)
After completing some exercises on a loaner bike, Barnes said the training, along with the required protective gear such as a helmet, gloves, pants and long-sleeved clothing, made him feel more comfortable with riding.
“At the beginning I was really skeptical about it because it can be a dangerous type of thing,” he said of riding. “But I can see that the Army is making sure that we can enjoy this hobby as safely as possible.
“Like with anything in life, there’s a danger to it,” he added. “You just got to learn how to enjoy life while also being safe.”
Lepper, an avid rider for almost 10 years, said motorcycles can also open people up to another lifestyle.
“I like to always think of it as a different mode of transportation,” he said. “Not a lot of people I know that ride like to be stuck in a car all the time. The freedom of the road and the wind hitting them … it just opens the sense of being.”
Lepper said he hopes the courses will attract more students who share a similar interest in riding.
And while the roads and rules may be a little different from in the United States, Lepper said Japan is a great environment for those new to the hobby.
“The best place to learn how to ride a motorcycle is Japan,” he said. “The rules for off-base [driving] are more in favor of motorcyclists and bicyclists.
“If I would have been able to restart, I would have loved to learn here first because it’s a lot safer and a lot of my anxiety would have gone away.”
(Editor’s Note: For more information on joining a motorcycle safety course, contact the USAG Japan Safety Office at 263-3768/5611 or email usarmy.zama.id-pacific.mbx.usagj-safety-office@army.mil.
Class dates are also posted on the USAG Japan SharePoint, for those with access, at https://armyeitaas.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/IMCOM-ID-P-USAG-Japan/SitePages/Safety.aspx.)
