Bike license exam coming up!

[Yellow]

Today I did my last 2 hours at the moto-school after 5 months of riding on my own; so now I can (finally!) book a date for the exam. They said the next possibilty is the 7th April (everybody wants to ride as spring is here), so I will book an exam for that date tomorrow.

The exam is actually quite tricky, there are a lot of manouvers that you need to perfom without putting a foot on the ground (slalom, 8's, riding on a narrow board, 10 meters at min 12 seconds, panic braking). You have two attempts, but all the steps need to be correct in one of the two attempts...

I'm gonna do the exam on a Kawa ER-5 (belongs to the school), it's much lighter than the Kat and easier to handle at low speeds... but sucks big time in comparison to the Kat on the freeway

I keep telling myself that this will make me handle the bike much better at low speeds, but still I feel the pressure to get it all right on the exam day... it costs an arm and a leg if I have to do it again (about 100 euros every time). Wish me luck! I'll be practicing with the Kat as much as possible (see this PDF for a description of the manouvers if you're interested).

Do you have to do these kind of things in the US or Canada too, to get your license?

[trinc]

slow speed balance can be tricky - the transition of on-off throttle is key. If the bike doesn't transition well try to keep the throttle cracked open a bit and drag the rear brake.

good luck

tim

here is our test in oregon

http://www.odot.state.or.us/forms/dmv/6367.pdf

section 5.2 has the picture of the course.

[WildKat]

its all gonna benefit you in the long run..everything you run through can only help improve your skills. Just be calm, dont panic, and just do ur thing, and you'll be fine. Taking tests can suck, because you feel like the pressure is on. Even if you are comfortable w/ ur skills at the time.

[Yellow]

slow speed balance can be tricky - the transition of on-off throttle is key. If the bike doesn't transition well try to keep the throttle cracked open a bit and drag the rear brake.

The thing is I have to go as slow as just balancing on the edge of propulsion with the clutch (while slightly dragging the rear brake and keeping the bike balanced with the knees) - the throttle is not to be touched... It's tricky but really good balance training (useful since I lane-split all the time).

[1BlueKat]

Do you have to do these kind of things in the US or Canada too, to get your license?

Depends on what state you live in. I know the testing is more involved in California than it is in OKlahoma. I had to perform some of the same tests you will be confronted with while I was testing. However, where I live now in Oklahoma, they dont test like that at all.

[The CyberPoet]

Re: Bike license exam coming up!

Do you have to do these kind of things in the US or Canada too, to get your license?

These days there are motorcycle-specific exams in every state (although they vary from state to state); when I got my first license, the motorcycle license was a no-test add on for $3. I took it just to have it in case I ever wanted an MC later.

The German exam, however, was a bear, and the instructors' license exam was 10 times harder.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Katgirl]

Good luck Yellow!! That sounds wild!

[SweetLou]

Practice, Practice, Practice... And good luck!

[lucky6man]

just do a wheelie its sure to impress and get you a pass.

[Yellow]

just do a wheelie its sure to impress and get you a pass.

Yeah right! Goes well with the concept of "defensive driving" they are pushing for in the theory books...

[Haggisman]

Just keep practicing and you will do fine I am sure!!

[md86]

slow speed balance can be tricky - the transition of on-off throttle is key. If the bike doesn't transition well try to keep the throttle cracked open a bit and drag the rear brake.

The thing is I have to go as slow as just balancing on the edge of propulsion with the clutch (while slightly dragging the rear brake and keeping the bike balanced with the knees) - the throttle is not to be touched... It's tricky but really good balance training (useful since I lane-split all the time).

Yup , that's what I do ! Probably hell on the clutch , but I like trying to go really slow like that .

[kulbiker]

I never took my test on my motorcycle. I took it on a 60 cc two wheeler moped. The law ( at least in the US) does not mention anywhere that you have to give the test on the bike youre gonna be riding. It could be any motorized two wheeler classified as a motor-"cycle"........the course is a breeze with the moped and I saw huge hulks who were prolly gonna ride a Harley later that evening take that test on that small teeny weenie moped and pas easily. I bet my ass they could never do that "8" on a 1000 pound v-twin.....never....I dont care if youre Evil Kneveil himself. The testing lady was smiles and joking with all of us. we rented the moped from a local bikes store for 100 dollars an hour and split the price between ten of us that took the test on that single moped....all of us passed in one go. Now I dont know how it works in Europe...but here thats how it worked.....

[Yellow]

I never took my test on my motorcycle. I took it on a 60 cc two wheeler moped. The law ( at least in the US) does not mention anywhere that you have to give the test on the bike youre gonna be riding. It could be any motorized two wheeler classified as a motor-"cycle"........the course is a breeze with the moped and I saw huge hulks who were prolly gonna ride a Harley later that evening take that test on that small teeny weenie moped and pas easily. I bet my ass they could never do that "8" on a 1000 pound v-twin.....never....I dont care if youre Evil Kneveil himself. The testing lady was smiles and joking with all of us. we rented the moped from a local bikes store for 100 dollars an hour and split the price between ten of us that took the test on that single moped....all of us passed in one go. Now I dont know how it works in Europe...but here thats how it worked.....

Won't work here - to get a license for > 34 HP bikes you'd need to do the exam on one... and in Sweden it would need to be 750 cc or bigger.

If you do the exam on a > 125 cc but <= 34 HP you get a > 34 HP license after two years of riding.

(there are also power/weight ratio constraints)

[Zukiman]

Good luck Yellow. You will do just fine. Here in Georgia you have a learners (written test) for 6 months, then you can take the physical test (Basic stuff) pass, and get your license, or you can take the MSF course at Fort Gordon and automatically get your license if you pass. I took the MSF course for the knowledge and insurance discount.