Welcome worlds latest licensed MC rider

[tribal]

I would like to introduce one of the latest Rocket riders to get his MC license:

ME!!! Yippie!

After street riding for over 35 years, ~200,000 miles and completing rides in all “Lower 48”
Continental US States on my 05 R3 I am now legal.

1983 - bought an ‘80 Yamaha Maxim after leaving military. Good times.
1988 - 5 week trip on 550cc from NY to Florida.

Other bikes came and went...

2005 - bought 1st Rocket and put 125,000 miles on her riding around North America - U.S. only :^(
2018 - traded HD Sportster for 2nd Rocket and put 10,000 miles on it.

2019 - got a MC permit, passed the MSF 1 day course on my Roadster, paid NY DMV $13 to get official MC endorsement to my drivers license!!

Top 10 Reasons I finally got legal:

1. My lawyer told me a few years ago that, while technically I do have insurance, they wouldn’t be obligated to actually cover an unlicensed operator if I crashed.

2. The Adrenaline rush riding near police I got in my younger days has turned to paranoia and production of negative stress related hormones-it’s just not fun anymore.

3. Achieved my goals of 100k, lower 48 etc.

4. Cost of tickets has gotten out of hand. 1st in 1984 was $50, last in 2014 was $225.

5. By law, police are obligated to prevent you from getting back on the bike if they catch you. Luckily that only happened to me once and double lucky it was in my city and a friend could come get it.

That would have really sucked when G-Man and I got stopped in the California hills at RAA Tahoe passing in a blind turn at high speeds. Somehow we rode away with only a 20min lecture from the CHP.

6. I would like to cross into Canada to ride their beautiful country, attend events over the border and eventually ride to Alaska.

7. I can now do demo days and test ride bikes before I buy them.

8. I can now rent a bike if I go back to Hawaii or visit other countries.

9. I could also ship mine elsewhere in the world to ride exotic foreign lands.

10. It no longer seems cool considering the former reasons.

MSF tips:

1. DO NOT take the MSF class on a Rocket with Darkside car tire!! Lots of tight cornering skills and figure 8 in a box test. I almost didn’t pass the practical exam!!

2. Take it on an enduro or something under 650cc.

3. Rather than take the advanced class on your own bike, opt to take the beginner class and they supply a small 250/300cc Honda Rebel or similar bike.

4. Practice.

5. Practice some more.

6. Relax. You can’t make tight maneuvers if you are tense and nervous. Unlike the standard DMV road test, the MSF instructors will work with you and let you have a second try on some parts of the road test (unlike the all or nothing approach of the state run tests).

7. Pay attention, you may actually learn some valuable skills.

 

[phar2slo]

Well done on passing your test.

I had my licence removed from me because I had just enough to drink to be on the legal limit if I had had a motorcycle license. But alas I didn't have that one at the time. Fast forward 20 years and I started on a learners permit then restricted finally got full licence.

Think all up was $430.00 + Cost of a brand new 250cc Yamaha virago.

Ten years later have never been stopped on the bike. And I have a great big blue beast.

And I just love it.

 

[scot in exile]

Took you long enough In Florida if stopped car or MC and you do not have a valid license no way in hell are you driving away sorry let me correct that you will be driven away straight to the pokie, also in Florida you will fight tooth and nail to get anything from the Ins company if you are noit legal and quite rightly so
We have students show up all the time on their bikes to take the MSF motorcycle course and the next time they get to ride the bike is when they show a valid license in fact we have stored bikes for a few weeks before

 

[Mike188]

Welcome from South Australia
Congrats on getting your licence

 

[tribal]

Took you long enough In Florida if stopped car or MC and you do not have a valid license no way in hell are you driving away sorry let me correct that you will be driven away straight to the pokie, also in Florida you will fight tooth and nail to get anything from the Ins company if you are noit legal and quite rightly so
We have students show up all the time on their bikes to take the MSF motorcycle course and the next time they get to ride the bike is when they show a valid license in fact we have stored bikes for a few weeks before

Yep, I shipped my Orange one to Orlando again for Daytona Bike Week for the 4th time and rode 2,700 miles while there but it seemed different this year (in a bad way).

I know they are stricter there so I try to behave and go with the flow.

I had a great time but I felt like I was running out of luck po-po wise and the crash-wise with all the whacko-s swerving in and out of traffic and cutting me off (without using blinkers of course) when I was doing >80 with barely a two car length gap.

That was the last straw and I started the licensing process as soon as I got back.

It almost fell apart though.

I asked a fellow rider a week before the MSF class to escort me there in case they were monitoring that legality and he said "Yes, I've got your back".
I reminded him 2 days before and called him again the night before and he said he would be at my place at 7:45 but asked for a wake up call to be sure.

7:15am no answer, 7:30am voice mail, 7:40am text - no reply, 7:50am no answer. 8am no-show and I had to leave for the class.

No time to get a backup who has an MC license... He had my back alright - my backside that is.

He was still hungover when he texted me at 10:30 stating "I f-ed up, sry". Mo-fo. My fault I guess as he sounded drunk when I called him Friday night.

10 of 10 riders showed up alone so we all got lucky.

1 kid kept stalling out and could barely drive in a straight line so they booted him and made him call his father for an escort home and told him
to switch to the Basic foundation course.

The rest of us passed and I'm sure they all went to the DMV today or will go ASAP so they can ride solo without fear of getting in trouble.

I must admit that my ride today was a bit less stressful.

I estimate I invested US$279 and around 17 hours between studying for and taking the MC Learners Permit Test, taking the on-line MSF E-Course,
attending the MSF class and commuting to both locations.

That's a small amount of money & time for the peace of mind it will bring over the riding years to come.

Plus I was bored and needed something to do.

And here's a Maggie Valley related side story:

Lady Luck was truly by my side when I was running the Dragons Tail a few years ago.

The Tennessee coppers radar-tagged me doing 61MPH in a 30MPH zone and when I handed them my auto license they didn't notice it didn't have the 'M' endorsement.

I was crapping my pants trying to figure out how I was going to get the bike out of confinement after they towed it but they let me go with only a warning ticket and
said to behave myself in TN for the remainder of the year.

I should have gone and bought $1K worth of TN lottery tickets that day!

 

[Ishrub]

.......10. It no longer seems cool considering the former reasons. .............

Good story etc and I like to see them all, but when has it ever been cool or useful to not have a licence?
If they may potentially fine you or take the licence away, why add a whole heap of potential angst, charges, accommodation, transport and insurance risk etc by not getting one?
Besides if you had a bingle w/o insurance involving major injury to you, or injury or death to others, you could face bankruptcy even if not the cause of it.

 

[barbagris]

Here you wont get insurance without being licenced. The cops know if the vehicle is uninsured with all these 'puters. No insurance or licence - you'll be locked away for a bit. AND - they'd probably take the car licence off you for a year minimum. Don't think I could live with that sword over my head.

 

[MIG]

CONGRATS!!! on your achievement and thank you for sharing your story. As a RiderCoach, I had one gentleman getting his license after 40 years of riding. Seems he had saved up and purchased his dream HD...and didn't want to lose it. I haven't had a chance to coach in some time but hope to get back to it once we finish our move to Miami this fall.
-MIG

 

[phar2slo]

Here in New Zealand for some stupid reason insurance is not compulsory so it pays to have full cover because you never know if the person that hits you has any insurance.

 

[tribal]

Yes, that's the rub - riding illegally is not and has not really ever been cool.

I think it has historical ties in the U.S. to being a rebel and bucking the system (whilst singing Macho Macho Man?).

There's a serious loophole here in the States around this topic.

I never understood how I could go into a dealership (1st Rocket was even in another state) , buy or finance a bike, buy insurance for it over the phone, fax the insurance card to DMV, get a registration card and a license plate, have the dealer attach an inspection sticker to said bike and let me ride away (sometimes the same day) without asking for my MC license or knowing if I even knew how to ride ----- but I did it many many times.

It doesn't seem possible with all the interconnected computer databases these days but I did it again just a year ago.

The DMV knows I've been ticketed over the years for unlicensed operation of a motorcycle and yet they give
me the ability to repeat the offense. It's as if they're setting people up to fail. Strangeness indeed.

When you're young and broke and have nothing to lose (and think you're invincible?) you pay for the state mandated insurance but never plan on using it so the next illogical
step once you discover that it is actually a useless contract is to justify it by thinking you weren't ever going to use it anyways.

They're more than happy to sell you a policy and take your money. I wonder if they just assume that because the state gave you a registration that you have a licence
or if they just don't care as they won't have to pay out if things go awry and get to keep all your $$ premiums. That's kind of sadistic so I hope its the former.

The DMV collects more cash twice annually by making you re-register and re-inspect the bike to make sure everything is safe and in order - except the driver.

But I digress - as a former rebel reformed into a law abiding citizen I recommend that all you other license deprived riders go get one soon.