Failed motorcycle road test today

After always having owned sport bikes the Rocket is a handful at slow speed manoeuvres. Compared to a sport bike the steering is sooo slow with the extra rake on the front end and the fat tire out back.
 
Is this test compulsory in some places around the world?

To get a license at all you have to pass maneuvering tests and the like in most nations. The US is very lax compared to most, for cars as well.
 
Hmmm I'll have to check on it then. Find out the places in my area. I have found a friend that will allow use of his Honda Rebel if I need it. That would be cheating I suppose. Time is what I have a hard time with. My new job is not allowing anything happen to my plans. They didn't really like me taking time off to go to the DMV yesterday. They acted like it didnt matter but I could tell. I work six days a week with every other Saturday off. Anyways .... I still have a hard time understanding how going that slow maneuvering proves anything. I have put 20,000 miles on my Roadster, and who knows how many on my other bikes I have rode through the years and never once have I had to maneuver that slow to do dodge others, go through parking lots, parking decks and so forth. Passing that test really doesn't prove anything to me. Who in the hell is going to veer in and out of cones and do wacky stuff like that in normal daily driving? To me if you put yourself in that type of situation you shouldn't be riding a motorcycle. If they wanted to get "real" they should have gravel laid out there somewhere and have you turn around in it to really prove something. I mean things that motorcyclist encounter on a daily basis that can really mess your day up. So I learn how to veer through cones, turn around in a small box then forgot about it and never use that capability again?

All perfectly good points. The slow ride course, most are based on the MSF Alternate MOST test, are admittedly not the best representation of real world riding. It is mostly there for the convenience of the state licensing board. Back in the day in Texas, if you wanted to take the motorcycle test, you had to supply you, your motorcycle, and a car with a driver. The State Trooper would ride in the chase car and would instruct the driver to honk once for the rider to turn left, honk twice for the rider to turn right. You could fail your motorcycle test if your chase car driver rolled through a stop sign. As you can tell, it was a rather inconvenient testing method. States adopted the closed course out of convenience. The rationale was that if you had enough skill to pass the slow test, then most likely you could handle the open road. Like I said before, "Anyone can ride a motorcycle fast. It takes skill to ride one slow."
 
If you take the MSF course they provide the small displacement bike.
The killer, tight figure 8 maneuver is easy on a small bike. (trick is to look where you want to go, full head turn, don't look at the ground)

Be aware that if you are 6 ft or over, your hips are gonna ache like hell after a while cause the seat is so low on the little bikes..
Note If you drop the bike during the test you fail, no exceptions. (At least in NJ, USA)
 
The tester follows behind you to see how you drive, he'll give you directions to go to a certain place and stop, then have you do your circles and figure 8s. And everything about the follow car and driver must be legal, and show all paperwork, or automatic fail.
 
Back
Top