moron license

[CyberRebel]

Hi, I'm Steve, I live in Baltimore, I have an A15 which is my first street bike, and I am new to the list. I thought I'd give my input on what it's like to do a license test on the KLR, since I just took mine last week. The first and by far, hardest thing to do on the test is the "Slow Ride." There is a box painted on the ground that is 60 feet long and only 1 1/2 feet wide. This box is painted so that it goes up and over the crest of a small hill on the course. You must ride through the box without touching any lines or putting your foot down, and you must stay inside the box for a minimum of 12 seconds. Even though I am running a 14 tooth countersprocket, it was very hard to go that slow and I was only in the box for 11.84 seconds on my first attempt. (BTW, I failed the test the first time) This got me 5 points out of a total 12 points. The next part of the test is all one maneuver (the instructions for this are all given at one time and everything is then done non-stop). You ride up to where there is a concrete-walled box approximately 10' x 10'. You make a right turn into the box, a left U-turn inside the box, and a right turn out of the box. You then ride down to the corner of the course where there are two lines about three feet apart marking a sharp right turn. You must make the turn inside of the lines without allowing either tire to touch either line. You then proceed to a stop sign on the opposite corner. Here you must stop, look both ways as if in traffic, signal for a right turn, and make the turn. You are immediately in the cone weave, where there are 5 cones spaced 10 feet apart. Weave through the cones without stalling, putting a foot down, or hiting a cone and you've finished this manuever. None of this was too hard on a KLR. The next part is a shifting and braking exercise. You must ride the length of the course, upshift to 2nd, downshift to 1st and stop with your front tire completely inside of a 3' long by 5' wide box. Next is the Quick Stop. This is the one that got me. You are allowed to skid the rear tire if necessary, as long as you maintain control. Again, starting at the far end of the course, you must accelerate to between 12 and 15 MPH, and upon reaching a certain mark on the ground, stop as fast as possible. There are marks on the ground every foot. The examiner times you with a stopwatch to find how fast you were traveling and then checks a chart to see how much distance you should have stopped in. It's basically 1 foot per MPH. I didn't know how fast they wanted me to stop and was 10 feet over the mark, and at 1 point per foot, I failed the test. That and the 5 points for the Slow Ride gave me 15 points which is over the 12 point limit. Following that, you ride to a stop sign at the end of the course, cross the street and park in a designated spot at which time the test is over. WARNING!!!! I saw a guy pass all the manuevers without getting a single point, and then fail at the very end. What did he do, you ask? Well, he stopped at the end with his front tire ON the white stop line at the stop sign instead of behind the line and the examiner automatically failed him! Anyway, as I said, I failed the first time, mostly because I didn't know what to expect. I passed 2 days later, losing only 1 point in the process for stalling the bike between manuevers. Conclusion.... I strongly recommend taking the MSF course, but it won't start up again around here until spring. I went to one of the MSF practice courses and practiced for about 4 hours before taking the test again, and it worked wonders. I will be taking the course in the spring anyway, because I am a new rider and don't really trust my abilities around traffic yet. Lots of stupid fourwheelers out there! As for the DMV test, keep in mind that I am a Class 'A' CDL tractor-trailer driver, and have alot of dirt bike experience and still found it to be the most difficult driving test I've ever taken. Hope this info helps. Steve [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Devon Jarvis]

Be thankful that your state seems to take licensing motorcyclists seriously. Here's my test in NJ in 1989- Motorcycle on starting line, then without dabbing, stopping, or hitting a cone, weave through cones for 60ft, make the figure-eight painted on the parking lot, come back through the cones and stop with front wheel just behind the starting line. Then, exit DMV parking lot, make right turn, make left turn on next road 100ft away, make legal u-turn, come back. All while stopping and signalling properly. Yes, that's right. Start the bike, cones, figure-eight, cones, right turn, left turn, u-turn, here's your license. In retrospect, if I had taken the MSF course (didn't even known about it for that matter) I would have been spared at least three of the times I fell off, maybe more. Devon A15 CyberRebel wrote:

> > Hi, I'm Steve, I live in Baltimore, I have an A15 which is my first street bike, and I am new to the list. I thought I'd give my input on what it's like to do a license test on the KLR, since I just took mine last week. > The first and by far, hardest thing to do on the test is the "Slow Ride." There is a box painted on the ground that is 60 feet long and only 1 1/2 feet wide. This box is painted so that it goes up and over the crest of a small hill on the course. You must ride through the box without touching any lines or putting your foot down, and you must stay inside the box for a minimum of 12 seconds. Even though I am running a 14 tooth countersprocket, it was very hard to go that slow and I was only in the box for 11.84 seconds on my first attempt. (BTW, I failed the test the first time) This got me 5 points out of a total 12 points. > The next part of the test is all one maneuver (the instructions for this are all given at one time and everything is then done non-stop). You ride up to where there is a concrete-walled box approximately 10' x 10'. You make a right turn into the box, a left U-turn inside the box, and a right turn out of the box. You then ride down to the corner of the course where there are two lines about three feet apart marking a sharp right turn. You must make the turn inside of the lines without allowing either tire to touch either line. You then proceed to a stop sign on the opposite corner. Here you must stop, look both ways as if in traffic, signal for a right turn, and make the turn. You are immediately in the cone weave, where there are 5 cones spaced 10 feet apart. Weave through the cones without stalling, putting a foot down, or hiting a cone and you've finished this manuever. None of this was too hard on a KLR. > The next part is a shifting and braking exercise. You must ride the length of the course, upshift to 2nd, downshift to 1st and stop with your front tire completely inside of a 3' long by 5' wide box. > Next is the Quick Stop. This is the one that got me. You are allowed to skid the rear tire if necessary, as long as you maintain control. Again, starting at the far end of the course, you must accelerate to between 12 and 15 MPH, and upon reaching a certain mark on the ground, stop as fast as possible. There are marks on the ground every foot. The examiner times you with a stopwatch to find how fast you were traveling and then checks a chart to see how much distance you should have stopped in. It's basically 1 foot per MPH. I didn't know how fast they wanted me to stop and was 10 feet over the mark, and at 1 point per foot, I failed the test. That and the 5 points for the Slow Ride gave me 15 points which is over the 12 point limit. > Following that, you ride to a stop sign at the end of the course, cross the street and park in a designated spot at which time the test is over. WARNING!!!! I saw a guy pass all the manuevers without getting a single point, and then fail at the very end. What did he do, you ask? Well, he stopped at the end with his front tire ON the white stop line at the stop sign instead of behind the line and the examiner automatically failed him! > Anyway, as I said, I failed the first time, mostly because I didn't know what to expect. I passed 2 days later, losing only 1 point in the process for stalling the bike between manuevers. > Conclusion.... I strongly recommend taking the MSF course, but it won't start up again around here until spring. I went to one of the MSF practice courses and practiced for about 4 hours before taking the test again, and it worked wonders. I will be taking the course in the spring anyway, because I am a new rider and don't really trust my abilities around traffic yet. Lots of stupid fourwheelers out there! > As for the DMV test, keep in mind that I am a Class 'A' CDL tractor-trailer driver, and have alot of dirt bike experience and still found it to be the most difficult driving test I've ever taken. Hope this info helps. > > Steve > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > Checkout Dual Sport News at > http://www.dualsportnews.com > Be part of the Adventure! > > Visit the KLR650 archives at > http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 > > Post message: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com > Subscribe: DSN_klr650-subscribe@yahoogroups.com > Unsubscribe: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > List owner: DSN_klr650-owner@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[Swampy]

"You could probobly put a monkey in an automatic car and they'd pass the American drivers test..." I like this quote, pretty realistic, but then there's another reality in Florida. You can be 90 years old and legally blind, but if you mail in your renewal you get another one! So it makes you wonder about the last election when the folks in West Palm couldn't figure out a ballot, but they can drive a car to the voting booth. One other thing about the MSF course here in Florida. I understand (from my stepson who took it) that if you take the MSF course and pass, it exempts you from the state road test so all you need to do is go down to the License office and take the written test, show 'em your MSF paperwork and walk out with a license. Then when you're 90 years old..... Swampy Sunny Tampa Bay Bucs vs Bears, who knows...