DMV motorcycle road test with a sport bike?

[Kroze]

I'm just wondering has anyone ever took the DMV road test on a sport bike (Race Replica type) because I don't think it's possible.

Or at least you have to be a professional rider because it is freaking tough. The turning radius is very low on these bikes, the sitting position is not ideal, etc...

 

[jaha2000]

I did
No problem at all. The only thing thats tough is the figure 8 in the box.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

It can be done, but it's a LOT easier on a smaller less top-heavy bike. You might want to post on local motorcycle forums and find someone with a beater 250.

 

[twinrider1]

I did mine on an EX500. Sporty, but sane ergos; upright. I wouldn't want to do it folded up with extreme clip-ons and rearsets. Though, if you can't ride it on the test, should you be riding it on the street.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Just take the MSF course. Passing that exempts you from having to take the riding portion of the DMV test.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Just take the MSF course. Passing that exempts you from having to take the riding portion of the DMV test.

huge +1, well worth the money and you'll learn a lot of things you wouldn't otherwise pick up on. Plus if you drop the bike it's not your problem (other than during the test, which is an automatic fail.)

 

[RichieZ]

yea why not just do the MSF? its so easy, but that figure eight is even hard for me on the 250 honda rebel i did it on

 

[JulesMaximus]

yea why not just do the MSF? its so easy, but that figure eight is even hard for me on the 250 honda rebel i did it on

Hell, I don't know if I could do that figure 8 on my Ducati. I'm really good with low speed turns and u-turns but I've never had to do a figure 8 in real life.

 

[Throckmorton]

I thought the figure 8 was just a Vietnam thing like they showed on Top Gear

 

[the DRIZZLE]

I actually live a few blocks away from an MSF course so I go there to play around once in a while. I can do the figure eight on my SV without going outside the lines about 50% of the time. I would just do the MSF or rent a smaller bike to increase your odds.

 

[soccerballtux]

I'm just wondering has anyone ever took the DMV road test on a sport bike (Race Replica type) because I don't think it's possible.

Or at least you have to be a professional rider because it is freaking tough. The turning radius is very low on these bikes, the sitting position is not ideal, etc...

I did, foot down twice though. It was fine except for the tight U-turn. All you have to do is practice counterbalancing your weight to keep your weight over the center of the bike while you make the turn. I would have gotten everything right if I had known how to do this prior to taking the test (figured it out a few months afterwords), but luckily I passed anyways. Oh, and practice feathering clutch, that would have saved me as well. IE rev the bike to (whatever revs you need to start from a standstill), and hold it there, and practice very slowly engaging the clutch to give yourself just a little bit of torque.

Top heaviness definitely doesn't help. Hm. I bet doing it on an empty tank would be a lot easier.

 

[soccerballtux]

I did mine on an EX500. Sporty, but sane ergos; upright. I wouldn't want to do it folded up with extreme clip-ons and rearsets. Though, if you can't ride it on the test, should you be riding it on the street.

The street is for learning.

 

[soccerballtux]

huge +1, well worth the money and you'll learn a lot of things you wouldn't otherwise pick up on. Plus if you drop the bike it's not your problem (other than during the test, which is an automatic fail.)

it's a waste of money, you can read everything they will teach you for free in their yearly PDF release. It's 70 pages and very helpful. Save yourself the $250, be a man, and learn to ride without your hand being held like I (a man) did. Motorcycles are for people who want to be macho. Taking a class is not macho it is pussy. Don't be a pussy.

 

[twinrider1]

Oh wait, what was I thinking. Soccerballtux is right. I now think the OP is a pussy unless he takes the test on Road Dog.

 

[bommy261]

it's a waste of money, you can read everything they will teach you for free in their yearly PDF release. It's 70 pages and very helpful. Save yourself the $250, be a man, and learn to ride without your hand being held like I (a man) did. Motorcycles are for people who want to be macho. Taking a class is not macho it is pussy. Don't be a pussy.

wtf are you talking about? even the most experienced riders can learn something new. wanting to be a better rider is smart, thoughts of being macho and whatever other illusions you may have about riding is foolish.

 

[Greenman]

I'm just wondering has anyone ever took the DMV road test on a sport bike (Race Replica type) because I don't think it's possible.

Or at least you have to be a professional rider because it is freaking tough. The turning radius is very low on these bikes, the sitting position is not ideal, etc...

Do the MSF course, it's worthwhile, and you save ten percent on insurance right off the bat.

 

[Kroze]

I already got my license a year and a half ago using a scooter. I've been riding an 09 ZX6R for about 6000 miles now and was just pondering. I have gotten a lot better now compared to before. I think I can control the clutch/gas/brake well enough to go like 5mph w/o any issue. I was just wondering about the road test because whoever created it must have thought beginners are expected to be expert riders.

 

[PrelateBishop]

I did
No problem at all. The only thing thats tough is the figure 8 in the box.

+1

Got a perfect score too. A little practice goes a long way.

You can do it!!

 

[jaha2000]

I will suggest you take the MSF though. I had been riding bikes in the dirt for 20 years and still felt like i got a great deal of knowledge out of the class. Yeah you can get the book but are you really going to sit down and read that?

Depending on where you live its not that much. Only cost 50 bucks here in the great white north!

I took the MSF when i got my lic at first. Only reason i took the sport bike though the DMV course was when my buddy was down there doing his test and the dude asked if i wanted to see how i could do on the sportbike. You have to have very good bike control skills to do it on a sportbike.

 

[soccerballtux]

wtf are you talking about? even the most experienced riders can learn something new. wanting to be a better rider is smart, thoughts of being macho and whatever other illusions you may have about riding is foolish.

++++1 would read again

 

[hanoverphist]

i started riding daily when i was a teen, but never got my license until my wife told me she wasnt going to pick me up from a jail anymore. when i took my test it was a piece of cake, i had been riding the same bike for a few years at that point on a daily basis. it was a pretty large bike too, a 79 cb750. great balance on it tho, it would balance forever. nothing beats practice for the MC test. that said, if i had the cash id probably take the MSF just to get the updated info and crap like that, since i havent ridden regularly since 1998. never too old to learn something new. especially if it gives you a discount somewhere.

 

[Kroze]

i started riding daily when i was a teen, but never got my license until my wife told me she wasnt going to pick me up from a jail anymore. when i took my test it was a piece of cake, i had been riding the same bike for a few years at that point on a daily basis. it was a pretty large bike too, a 79 cb750. great balance on it tho, it would balance forever. nothing beats practice for the MC test. that said, if i had the cash id probably take the MSF just to get the updated info and crap like that, since i havent ridden regularly since 1998. never too old to learn something new. especially if it gives you a discount somewhere.

Well a CB750 isn't a Race Replica is it

 

[hanoverphist]

nope, not a replica. but it does have a long frame, small rake on the forks and a fairly large turning radius. its also heavy as hell, modified to sit like a cruiser instead of the original "cafe" style.

besides, the bike itself wasnt the point of my post. my point was get out there and ride the damn thing, practice the moves youll have to do for the test. the MCF is a good thing, but practice in real life situations beats all tho.

 

[JulesMaximus]

nope, not a replica. but it does have a long frame, small rake on the forks and a fairly large turning radius. its also heavy as hell, modified to sit like a cruiser instead of the original "cafe" style.

besides, the bike itself wasnt the point of my post. my point was get out there and ride the damn thing, practice the moves youll have to do for the test. the MCF is a good thing, but practice in real life situations beats all tho.

I owned and rode a '79 CB750 for about a year and a half. It sure was heavy. 650lbs by Honda's specs. Wouldn't want to attempt the DMV riding portion of the test on that beast that's for sure.

There's a reason smaller, lighter bikes are recommended for beginners. They are easier to control, more forgiving to mistakes, and they allow you to learn faster than you would on a heavier and/or more sport oriented bike.

 

[Greenman]

I owned and rode a '79 CB750 for about a year and a half. It sure was heavy. 650lbs by Honda's specs. Wouldn't want to attempt the DMV riding portion of the test on that beast that's for sure.

There's a reason smaller, lighter bikes are recommended for beginners. They are easier to control, more forgiving to mistakes, and they allow you to learn faster than you would on a heavier and/or more sport oriented bike.

You should try those figure eights on a V-Rod, just shy of seven hundred pounds and 34 degrees of rake on the front end. They just don't turn at 3mph.