Rider training and conflicts of interest
thejimmy asks about the potential conflict of interest in having HD provide riding training. True, but MSF also has a large conflict of interest as well. They are largely funded by the motorcycle industry, and their executive director is also the executive director of the Motorcycle Industry Council (the "voice" of the industry). In fact, if any of you subscribe to Motorcycle Consumer News (which I heartily recommend), you will have seen their series of articles examining the "dumbing down" of the MSF training program in order to get more customers for the MC industry.
Personally, I say make training mandatory, at full expense. When people have to pay, they typically take it more seriously, while if it was subsidized or free, they would tend to discount the value of the training. The type of people I see avoiding training (mid-life crisis sufferers or squids) typically spend more on chrome or tires than the cost of a good training program, but would probably benefit most from training.