I knew the trooper when I went for my endorsement. We talked a bit about the bike I was buying then he said be careful and handed me the papers to take to the DMV.

 

Jason
I had read your thread on this a while back and also had a buddy use my bike for the test(not his harly) I know I can ride fine but was worried about putting a foot down or something silly. I found the test to not be as hard as I expected but I also noticed that the tester was pretty leniant and let a few people stray outside the lines. Sounds like your tester was a nun.
I now have to coach the GF to get here confident to pass the test. She is worried about it becuse she has dropped the bike twice. Once when she just got the bike doing a slow speed u turn and the second time she dropped it kind of hard by brakeing to hard and slid downt he road a little. I am not sure if it was front brake lockup or rear brake lockup and its a sensitive subject so I am not asking.

Anyone know of any good advise/instructions to give concerning hard braking? She has the SF so the front brake is pretty strong.

 

My wife on her 7 day old 09 klx250s laid it down. Panic stop not looking far enough ahead, using far to much rear brake. Now she has learned that the front brake is her best friend, and now uses the term 'stoppie' when she has to perform a quick stop. Not that she can perform one but it explains the emphasis on how to use that front brake when needed.

 

LOL, I just dug up and read that thread again...good times. I recalled the incident pretty well, although being slightly off on a few things. Go by my original post, being it was fresh in my mind when written. But what I said here was close enough.



Theres only one thing I can say about this. Make sure to instruct the person on being in the proper street riding stance. Sitting in the appropriate area on the seat, usually the middle. Sometimes slightly favoring the front. Feet on pegs, knees bent and facing forward. Back and head straight. Both hands on the bars. Firm grip, but not a death grip.

Apply both brakes evenly. Not so much back brake as to allow the back wheel to skid, and not so much front brake as to cause the bike to kick forward....or worse, do a stoppie. Make sure to keep the practice area free from debris, gravel, etc. Make sure to practice this on pavement. I think I may have posted this before, but for more advanced teaching, I always use the helmet on the ground. You may not want to do that for a beginner though. Drawing a chalk line on the road will suffice at first.

 

Thanks Jason. Will work with her on it. I just really dont want her to drop the bike in practice or the test as I dont want her to get hurt. But then again I do want her to be able to stop under emergancy. Along with the above above advice I plan to try and ease her into it.
Cheers Jim

 

The test here was completely ridiculous. All under 15 mph stuff weaving through cones, etc. The examiner couldn't properly explain the correct route, so I was failed on one section when after successfully managing the cones I stopped on the wrong side of a straight line. I passed on my sf, but was very amused with the poor guys on their Harleys who didnt stand a chance. There is even a guy making a living renting scooters for the test (yes it is permitted to use a scooter) to guys who own big road bikes. There were 3 scooter renters, 2 harley guys, and guy on a gold wing or something, and me. Only me and 2 of the scooter guys passed. Bureaucracy in action. The writted test is just as bad. The state needs to correct the grammar.

 

Maui thats what I was thinking also. If the motorcylce test is so difficult for even a vetran rider like Jason or a guy who safely rides a Harley everyday to pass on the bike they own, but an inexperianced rider on a scooter can manage it then the test itself needs to be examined.
I'm sure a few people borrow an easier car for their cage driveing test but not an apreciable percentage.

I have another related question. Here in Guam your Car driveing license from any state can be converted to a Guam license at normal renewal prices and an eye test. But any endorsements are dropped. In other words all stateside motorcycle, CDL, & cheaufers licenses are valad if you are a visitor but are null if you need to get a new license. Is that the case where you are from or is a motorcycle endorsement transferable?

 

i moved from Rhode Island to Florida to North Carolina then back to Rhode Island, and the motorcycle endorsment followed along...

 

Not a problem.

I'm a huge advocate in starting out as easy as possible and working your way up slowly and comfortably. If you don't think she can handle the task at hand....no shame...just ease it up. Better to be safe than sorry. You also want to make it easy to build confidence as well. mind set is everything. But not so easy to be over confident. Because then when things get crappy you think you can do things that are beyond your ability, and thats bad.

 

So it is probably as I expect. Job justification makeing everyone get a new license.

Cheers Jim

Thanks again Jason. BTW the stuff is just about here.