Topic: I finally got my license!!

[Trav-i]

I took me long enough to do it, but I finally passed the skills test today.   This was my second attempt, Saturday did not go as well as I had planned.   I left the DMV in a great mood till about 5 or 6 miles down the road when my bike started losing power and finally quit.   Once I got it restarted it ran bad lean till I got to work, and it's still not running right, so now I get to spend Saturday with my carbs again.

And all this happens a week before I take off to Barber with the gang.  Gotta love all the luck I have.

[domer]

congrats! i finally got mine last week, skills test sucks!

[j squared]

What does the skills tests consist of in California?  I am yet to take mine here in GA but wanted to see if they are pretty comparible in other areas.  For you Trav, which test was giving you trouble?  I have heard from quite a few people that the low speed stuff is the killer, even though they say 10-15mph its more like 2-3 haha.

[flybox1]

Skills test is included on the last day of the Beginner MC riding course, and if you pass, no skills test at the DMV is needed.  ya get your card right there! 
they test efficient braking, cornering, obstacle evasion, braking to a stop while in apex of a corner.  efficient counterbalancing(not countersteering) while performing low speed figure 8 in marked rectangle, weaving in cones( spaced close and far apart), etc...
The low speed counterbalancing while doing the tight radius figure 8 test was toughest....  especially for a newb learning throttle control while is jammed into right thigh..

[j squared]

Cool cool, just wondering if each state has its own testing requirements or if they are all the same.  Also if the MSC test was the same as the road test at the DMV.  In the GA booklet they go over 4 specific tests for a 2-wheeled cycle, and from what I have read about the MSC they do a LOT more than 4 skills.

  I know when took my driving test in California in 1996 I didn't have to parallel park, but part of the test was reversing for 50' next to a curb. Not so here in GA.

[Trav-i]

J my problem really wasn't with any of the tests, it was with the person administering the test to me.  He was a A-hole!  He had a serious attitude, and he let you know it (I don't think too many people pass on their first go round with this guy).  This time I got a really cool person.  I would say the toughest tests are the slow speed tests, I watched the guy before me blow the test BAD he stalled twice and put his feet down at least 3 times all on the first two tests, that is immediate failure.  I will just say this, it's not as easy as you think, take it on something small and nimble.  My CL350 proved to be about the perfect medium.

[Damfino]

I highly recommend the ABATE beginners skills course to anyone without their M endorsement.

1) It' relatively cheap. (Cost me $75 simoleons) 
2) You use & abuse, their equipment.  (Usually small cc motorcycles, perfect for this purpose)
3) As long as you're not a total screw-up, they're more likely to cut you some slack on the skills       
    testing than some newb off the street. 
4) You're likely to learn some things you didn't know or were unsure about. 

[Duke McDukiedook]

MSF course is a lot less painless and you learn WAY more.

[Damfino]

Oh Yeah!? Say's who??   

[j squared]

I just can't believe the course costs $250 bones, its retarded.  For something endorsed so heavily by the state you would think it would be cheaper.

[Trav-i]

A safety course is still on the list of things I need to do.  I want to take one next year, because I know there is still tons I need to know and learn.  And the hard way is probably no the best way.

Wow I didn't realize it was that much.  I thought it was cheaper too.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Oh Yeah!? Say's who??   

Says the guy that passed it in the first go around.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Mine only cost about $110US, look for courses at your local community college.

[j squared]

Yerp, and the locations are pretty spread out.  For me in Roswell, I have to go to Acworth or Lawrenceville it looks like.  But I think it is still worth it, just for the things I'd learn being a total novice rider.

https://online.dds.ga.gov/motorcycle/index.aspx

[flybox1]

Mine only cost about $110US, look for courses at your local community college.

yup!
$125, and 6 hrs class time (incl written test), 12 hrs on their 125 or 250's, on a closed course before mad skilz test and gradgeashun! 
instructors were way cool.
worth every simoleon!

[cobra2411]

I was supposed to take the Pa Motorcycle safety class last weekend, which includes a sign off on your license if you pass. Well I got stuck in traffic on my way and was 5 minutes late. I was told to go home and sign up for the next course and to be on time... I was pretty pissed off at the guy's attitude and he said I should have gotten there 30 minutes early. I told him if they wanted me to show up at 5:30 then tell me 5:30; everything I saw was 6:00... He countered with "You're life and safety should be that important to you that you should know to come early..."

I'm happy that I still have a job in this crappy economy. The worst part is that I have to wait 21 days till I can sign up again and there's only one class and due to work I can't go... So I have to wait till April... I get the whole be on time thing and I was trying to get there as early as I could. I had to fight with my boss to let me go and all I had to use as leverage was the paper that said 6:00pm...

So for now I still have my trial license. Of course I could just go to the DMV and do circles in a box...

Sorry for the rant... Congrats on the license.

[KeithTurk]

I'm an MSF rider coach....

Haven't taken any of the other courses... but I'd love to.

Each state has it's own requirements... here in Alabama you simply need to pass the written test.   

K

[Jordan]

Congrats on the license, just remember everyone else (sadly even other riders) on the road is trying to take you out (not to dinner either). And, no matter how long you ride you will always be learning new techniques to stay upright and alive.

[Trav-i]

Says the guy that passed it in the first go around.

Actually Dukie today was my second attempt.  I had a complete mental block last Saturday when I first took the test.  Oddly enough what really helped me the most was a lot of the skills in the test were compareable to those you use when mountain biking, which I do a fair amount of.  Anyway thanks for all grats guys, now it's on to pulling the carbs off the 350 so I can clean out all the lovely dirt my fuel tank has left in them.

Also J I took my tests at the Cumming DMV.  Just call ahead for an appointment, it makes things go a lot easier and faster.  Just make sure not to get the bald guy with the attitude.

Oh and +1 on people trying to kill you on the road.  I always remember that on my way out the door.  I have done a lot of road cycling in my day, and have had too many close calls to count.  So I learned quickly to keep an eye out for everyone else.

[flybox1]

I got stuck in traffic on my way and was 5 minutes late.

totally understand the need to send people home.  probably an agreement betweent he DVM and the people who put on the class which allows riders to skip the "official" skills test at the DMV.
this happened to a guy in my class.
freak snow storm the morning of the last day.  1"-2" is all. all of us in cars made it.  but this one young guy, 18 years old i think, riding on a R1 with a learners permit, came late.  had to redo the whole class.   he was riding circles around us as he was an up and coming racer.  sponsorships and all.  instructors knew he had all the skills.  anyway, in WA state, you cant take your riders test until you're 18.  he just turned 18, and wanted to be street legal. he just couldnt make it because of the snow...

[tramp]

glad you took the test
now your real skill learning begins

[patricke9]

Just got back from taking the test- I passed got a couple points taken off, put my foot down too early after the u-turn & didn't stop quite quick enough.  Then a stop of at the DOL (or as I like to call it- Hell) and I'm finally legal!

[Retro Rocket]

I did my test on a RD350 Yamaha 2 stroke, the clutch cable broke at the start of the test so i had to do the figure 8 and stop start and all the braking manoeuvres with no clutch. The driving instructor was a cranky old bastard but once he realised that i had done the whole test with no clutch he passed me instantly. That was the hardest test i have ever had to do.....

Mick

[mcuozzo]

I took the MSF course.  Had never ridden a motorcycle before.  Well worth the $$$.  Instructor was good, spent a lot of times on the bike.  Luckily we had good weather.  I live right near where the classes are held, and I've seen them hold classes in weather that would have made me quit.  Also nice not having to wait at the DMV to take the tests.  Just went in and handed them the papers and ten minutes later I had my M endorsed license.

And the women next to me in the class, actually flipped her bike (well the schools bike) over about 10 seconds after we were told to start them.  No kidding.  She went home...

[OLDHEAD]

what is all this talk about? license! you need a license now?