glenfiddich
TravelsWithBarley.com
All those years of hot bunking on small warships. I’m doomed!
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Ca DMV skills test
- Thread starter mntngrown
- Start date
All those years of hot bunking on small warships. I’m doomed!
So my original post asked
My 1st post asked If anyone with an R1100S aced the Ca DMV skills test?. The guy I bought mine from said I should borrow a small displacement enduro etc. This R1100S does not , with my skill sets , want to do the DMV dog and pony show. After my post many people offered many suggestions but no one said yes I passed it on an R1100S no problem you incompetent bastage!. I practiced and practiced and when I swing by the DMV and just try to ride down the entry lines and do the circle I cannot with friction zone and counter weighting stay in that circle. I will take a class although having logged probably 50k miles on MC's I am beginning to feel that this test is not relevant to safe motor riding.
My 1st post asked If anyone with an R1100S aced the Ca DMV skills test?. The guy I bought mine from said I should borrow a small displacement enduro etc. This R1100S does not , with my skill sets , want to do the DMV dog and pony show. After my post many people offered many suggestions but no one said yes I passed it on an R1100S no problem you incompetent bastage!. I practiced and practiced and when I swing by the DMV and just try to ride down the entry lines and do the circle I cannot with friction zone and counter weighting stay in that circle. I will take a class although having logged probably 50k miles on MC's I am beginning to feel that this test is not relevant to safe motor riding.
pglaves
#13338
I am curious. Does anybody know how riders of truly big big bikes, HD baggers, Goldwing, R18 etc. get licenses in California?
m_stock10506
Well-known member
Jerry (The Motorman) Paladino, has training classes, sells training videos, and has plenty of free video content too. He has all kinds of students in the videos but he features big V-Twins in the videos. They make it through the weaves and circles with those big bikes. It's the same coaching you hear everywhere; head & eyes (turned), clutch in the friction zone and some rear braking.
pglaves
#13338
I have seen the videos of LEOs training on their big motors, and have seen the competition events for motor officers. So I know that with hours and days and weeks and months of practice, years of experience, and lots of drops amazing things can be done with big heavy bikes. But that does not address how relatively new riders will perform.
The cynic in me wonders what private contractor does the beginner schools in California and how they are connected to the state. If the state makes the on-bike skills test hard enough to pass but accepts the class instead they are inherently steering people to pay the contractor and take the class to avoid the hard to pass test. As in many things, follow the money.
AKsuited
New member
I doubt I would do all that well doing tight circles without a few practice sessions:
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Harry
If CA's requirements are similar to that of other states, taking the skills test through the state licensed contractor (such as MSF for most states other than CA) is definitely not a way to get an easier or more lenient test. As a returning rider, I took the full on MSF beginner course last summer, and they taught to a significantly higher standard than what my state's skills test requires. Our state test is no easier than what you have described. Though probably not the case in most areas, but in our area, most taking the MSF beginner course were like me, coming to the table with a fair bit of prior motorbiking experience, which helped a lot. After 2 days spent doing mostly far tougher skills than what was required, they then tested us for every single item on the state required skills test. At that point, the test seemed easy peasy. For a true beginner, a 2 day course is not likely enough time to learn enough of the skills, and there's a good chance the student will still fail the skills test. Our class was sponsored through a Harley dealership, so we had to take the class with metric Harley's which rather heavy, poor handling Harley's - not the most ideal learner bike.
I highly recommend taking the course, as a) you generally get to learn using a smaller/lighter/more agile bike (small Honda's are common), b) you don't have to fear putting their supplied bike down, and c) you learn the right way to do the skills. Once you have passed and got your license, you still need to practice on your bigger bike on your own.
Ok, now I have to tell my story. I started riding in North Carolina in 1971, no endorsement required. After a year in England, I moved to New York City in the late seventies and promptly purchased a motorcycle. NY required an endorsement so a buddy and I used a van to haul my bike to the testing site. The test then was to ride a prescribed route with the examiner observing from a trailing vehicle, which was the van driven by my friend. At the conclusion, my friend said that I was perfect with my signaling, stops, speed, etc. The examiner came over and dismissed my friend, then just stood there and waited. Finally, he said that I failed by not signaling, which I knew to be untrue. When I related my tale of woe to my boss, a life-long New Yorker, he just laughed and said that I was supposed to pay the examiner for an endorsement. He then called a friend who ran a motorcycle training school and set me up. I showed up, sat through a brief class, then rode an unfamiliar training bike around the block with the examiner following with my instructor. I don't know how much of my school fee went to the examiner (if any?), but I passed.
Doug
pauls1150
MOA #24991, south of Los Angeles
The California Motorcyclist Safety Program is administered by the California Highway Patrol, pursuant to California Vehicle Code section 2931, which established permanent funding for the program in 1994.
They work hand-in-hand with the Total Control training programs to provide the places, bikes, and schedule.
They work hand-in-hand with the Total Control training programs to provide the places, bikes, and schedule.
pglaves
#13338
Which explains the use of skills test elements practiced ad nauseum by motor officers.
r0ckrat
Active member
And having taken MSF in WA to get my license, and an IRC class from a Total Control school, I can honestly say that you learn more in TC than MSF. (The IRC is one step up from the BRC - in BRC they include starting and stopping and shifting. In IRC they jump that part, and you are expected to already be able to do the cone weave and keyhole circle.)
signed up
Closest location to me is a JC that explains that the money goes to the college and the instructor. Their classes fill up quickly. I just grabbed one 2 months out. I will still do more slow speed work and try the skills test at the DMV in the interim. I can get a refund if I cancel 3 days prior to the class. No boring Zoom class or two days of long commute. I am going to ask the owner of the little all in one engine shop in the DMV town near me, (1/2 hr.) if he will rent me one of his bikes on the day of the DMV test. The closest BMW dealer is over an hour too. I still like living in the boonies. ChrisinSC let me know how you do on your DMV practice if you try on the big bike.
Closest location to me is a JC that explains that the money goes to the college and the instructor. Their classes fill up quickly. I just grabbed one 2 months out. I will still do more slow speed work and try the skills test at the DMV in the interim. I can get a refund if I cancel 3 days prior to the class. No boring Zoom class or two days of long commute. I am going to ask the owner of the little all in one engine shop in the DMV town near me, (1/2 hr.) if he will rent me one of his bikes on the day of the DMV test. The closest BMW dealer is over an hour too. I still like living in the boonies.
ChrisinSC let me know how you do on your DMV practice if you try on the big bike.Yes, I did the test on a R1100S. It’s capable of doing the DMV maneuvers with ease.
What part of Ca are you in? Even if you’re far, if you’ve got good riding nearby, I could perhaps be persuaded to come up and teach you how. It would take just a few hours, max.
They either do the state approved course, or they take the test at the DMV. I’ve never encountered a bike incapable of navigating the DMV maneuvers.
How to do the (fairly basic) maneuvers required by DMV, it should only take an hour or two to learn, as long as the rider has some basics.. for example, can keep the bike upright riding in a straight line, and can execute a stop without dropping the bike.
motor10
New member
When I learned to do the keyhole I was told its all about head and eyes. You are almost looking behind you over your shoulder. You stay seated and lean the bike, keeping you upper body upright bending at the waist to counter balance. You need to enter into the circle on the opposite side of the entrance from the direction you plan to go. So, for explanation sake lets say you are going to do the keyhole counterclockwise. Start driving straight towards the entrance of the keyhole while slipping your clutch (keeping it in the friction zone) while setting your throttle at an appropriate RPM and applying the rear break with the edge of your foot. If you apply too much foot you will become less sensitive and begin being choppy with the whole process and then have to make adjustments with either the throttle or clutch neither of which you really want to be doing.
As you enter the bottom of the keyhole, stay in the friction zone of the clutch, while giving the appropriate amount throttle and using the edge of your foot on the rear break. Keep to the far left of the entrance. You then want to look right then lean the bike right aiming towards the first cone or edge of the circle where it meets the entrance. Stay as close as you can to that point to give yourself the most room to start your circle. As rear tire passes turn head and eyes as far left as you can and lean the bike to the left. Stay in the friction zone of the clutch, while giving the appropriate amount throttle and using the edge of your foot on the rear break throughout the exercise until you have completed your second circle. As you approach the exit turn your head right, look right then lean the bike right as you exit. Again the key is to turn your head and look far enough over your shoulder to complete a tight circle.
I hope I explained that well.
As you enter the bottom of the keyhole, stay in the friction zone of the clutch, while giving the appropriate amount throttle and using the edge of your foot on the rear break. Keep to the far left of the entrance. You then want to look right then lean the bike right aiming towards the first cone or edge of the circle where it meets the entrance. Stay as close as you can to that point to give yourself the most room to start your circle. As rear tire passes turn head and eyes as far left as you can and lean the bike to the left. Stay in the friction zone of the clutch, while giving the appropriate amount throttle and using the edge of your foot on the rear break throughout the exercise until you have completed your second circle. As you approach the exit turn your head right, look right then lean the bike right as you exit. Again the key is to turn your head and look far enough over your shoulder to complete a tight circle.
I hope I explained that well.
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