Foo - Going for my Motorcycle license today

Yep, going for the road test, which I hear is very easy here. I ended up having to take a written test, which I assure you is not easy when you have to study it in Spanish (not my native language) and take the test in Spanish as well. I passed it first time, barely. All our workers are in awe since almost no one passes it the first time. It was definitely hard though.

The road test is pretty simple, just follow the leader and don't do anything stupid, like run a stop sign, which is what fails most people down here, since they tend to ignore stop signs thinking they are optional. :rolleyes:

I am taking the test on an ATV, since that is considered a motorcycle here. Though I have a motorcycle (more like a dirt bike), I will be using the ATV a lot more and your license reflects engine size, so I have to use the ATV to get the higher license.

Why is it when you are nearly 50, are you still nervous about taking a road test!? Wish me Luck!!!

Motorcycle licenses are for sissies... Just sayin' :innocent:


Good luck, treedude! Just don't hit anything! ;)

Motorcycle licenses are for sissies... Just sayin' :innocent:


Good luck, treedude! Just don't hit anything! ;)

The next time a motorcyclist gets flattened by a motorist and the driver doesn't even get a traffic ticket, don't be surprised. The only thing more idiotic than society's attitude towards motorcyclists and bicyclists is the attitudes of two wheeled pilots themselves. If it were up to me, riding a motorcycle without the right licensing would result in a long license suspension. Here in NY State it's minor offense. I would also mandate Motorcycle Safety Foundation training to get an m/c license.

If it were up to me, riding a motorcycle without the right licensing would result in a long license suspension. Here in NY State it's minor offense. I would also mandate Motorcycle Safety Foundation training to get an m/c license.

The cleaners called and said yer Brown shirt is ready for pick up.
Ive ridden since 1974 and never had a licence. Ive raced sportbikes and
off road events in central PA. Ive ridden a chopper across the state .
I can handle any bike. Why does a piece of paper make you any more qualified ?
Why not focus on making it more difficult to slaughter vulnerable users instead
of making them conform to idiocracy.
The only law I might enact would be something, I dont know what, relating to selling
sportbikes to first time riders.

The next time a motorcyclist gets flattened by a motorist and the driver doesn't even get a traffic ticket, don't be surprised. The only thing more idiotic than society's attitude towards motorcyclists and bicyclists is the attitudes of two wheeled pilots themselves. If it were up to me, riding a motorcycle without the right licensing would result in a long license suspension. Here in NY State it's minor offense. I would also mandate Motorcycle Safety Foundation training to get an m/c license.

More than licensing, I'd prefer to see people actually choose motorcycles based on their experience. As you know, back in the 60s and 70s, a huge bike was a liter. That's chump change anymore... New riders go out and get the 1200 or 1300 cc bikes and immediately kill themselves. Jeez, wonder why. Even the 600cc rockets are faster than almost anything up into the 80s. I find that ridiculous.

Oh yeah, to stay on topic...Good luck CRTD ! :) You'll be fine ! :thumb:

You'll do fine....knock 'em dead!

Oooops, I mean break a leg....

Arghhh... :lol:

In Washington state, it is estimated that 50% of all motorcycle riders do not have a motorcycle endorsement. So last year, a law was passed allowing for immediate impounding of your motorcycle if you are pulled over and do not have a motorcycle license or endorsement. As a result, the local MSF classes and the Licensing motorcycle test appointment schedule now have a several-month long waiting list.

good luck and don't gun it with the clutch engaged....save that for red lights after you get the license

The cleaners called and said yer Brown shirt is ready for pick up.
Ive ridden since 1974 and never had a licence. Ive raced sportbikes and
off road events in central PA. Ive ridden a chopper across the state .
I can handle any bike. Why does a piece of paper make you any more qualified ?
Why not focus on making it more difficult to slaughter vulnerable users instead
of making them conform to idiocracy.
The only law I might enact would be something, I dont know what, relating to selling
sportbikes to first time riders.

More proof that cycling and motorcycling are in a Perpetual Idiot Contest.

It's a toss-up.

OK, here's your first test:

What does the green 'neutral' indicator light on your m/c speedometer tell you when it is illuminated?

OK, here's your first test:

What does the green 'neutral' indicator light on your m/c speedometer tell you when it is illuminated?

Isn't that the stoplight-hot girl next to you-gun it light?

Buenas suerte mi amigo!

Isn't that the stoplight-hot girl next to you-gun it light?

dang! my bike didn't have one of those....:(

Isn't that the stoplight-hot girl next to you-gun it light?

While incorrect, we can actually accept that answer in this room.

But we would encourage a stab at the correct answer.

The green light was removed to save weight, as were the brakes, and muffler and the mirrors.

While incorrect, we can actually accept that answer in this room.

But we would encourage a stab at the correct answer.

means you have permission from ceiling cat to gun it, no matter that the traffic light is red.

On my bike it means I MIGHT be in neutral... but not always.

OK, here's your first test:

What does the green 'neutral' indicator light on your m/c speedometer tell you when it is illuminated?

Are you a clutch-in-at-the-lite, countersteer, "had to lay it down" rider ?

The next time a motorcyclist gets flattened by a motorist and the driver doesn't even get a traffic ticket, don't be surprised. The only thing more idiotic than society's attitude towards motorcyclists and bicyclists is the attitudes of two wheeled pilots themselves. If it were up to me, riding a motorcycle without the right licensing would result in a long license suspension. Here in NY State it's minor offense. I would also mandate Motorcycle Safety Foundation training to get an m/c license.

I agree, as easy as it is to get licensed you'd think more people would do it just so they aren't the one getting the ticket when a cage hits them. :rolleyes: Definitely makes dealing with insurance easier. Nationwide tried to pull every dirty move possible when my neighbor ran over my bike but I ended up getting paid. I can only imagine how much worse it'd have been if I'd not had my license or endorsement.

Nobody knows the correct answer to the green light question.

There's a shock.

Idiots.

Enlighten us, please.

Nobody knows the correct answer to the green light question.

There's a shock.

Idiots.

It tells you that the bulb is not burned out.

it tells you that the bulb is not burned out.

Correct!!!!

Correct!!!!

Do I win anything that (a) won't kill me or (b) won't cause me to look absolutely foolish in front of the opposite gender? :o

You win a seat in The New Matt™ Spin Class, which starts at Nyack Bicycle Outfitters at 8AM on Sunday mornings. When he's not racing.

Enjoy!

Holy Pharding, Batman :eek: :eek:

You win a seat in The New Matt™ Spin Class, which starts at Nyack Bicycle Outfitters at 8AM on Sunday mornings. When he's not racing.

Enjoy!

Thank you! If I get down to NY with my bike on a Sunday, I'll let you know in advance and we can suffer together.

The green light was removed to save weight, as were the brakes, and muffler and the mirrors.

Lowd pipez sayv lievs!

Thank you! If I get down to NY with my bike on a Sunday, I'll let you know in advance and we can suffer together.

He's my own team mate and I can't hold his wheel. God help them in Central Park Sunday.

Congrats on the license, and FWIW....

http://thetandemlink.com/FARS_NTHSA.png

To avoid being a statistic on a future NTHSA FARS update, the following are recommended reading:

Hurt Report (http://www.clarity.net/~adam/hurt-report.html)

Emergency Braking Hurt Report - Street Survival
Two Seconds And Counting
By Jim Quellet (http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/streetsurvival/0508_crup_emergency_braking_hurt_report/index.html)

Good luck to the OP.

I was grandfathered in when they started MC endorsements here around 1980 (meaning no test required). I've kept the endorsement by simply paying a few bucks every renewal, but haven't owned a bike since 1988.

If the system was worth anything, they'd have taken my endorsement away.

Getting a license won't make you a safer or better motorcyclist. Separate issue in my view. But not really. Because if you have so little regard for traffic laws that you ignore the licensing requirements, it's much more likely you're a squid and an accident waiting to happen. But that's not so much a reflection on you as it is on the fact that in most states it's really no big deal if they catch you riding without a license. It speaks to the fact that our governmental attitude is that if you get killed on a motorcycle you deserve what happens to you, so who the F even CARES if you have a license.

And frankly, who can blame them?

Getting a license won't make you a safer or better motorcyclist. Separate issue in my view. But not really. Because if you have so little regard for traffic laws that you ignore the licensing requirements,

What does a license have to do with traffic laws ? :twitchy:
The stat chart above speaks volumes. If anything, the Safety Course
ingrains people with a sense of security that can be dangerous in
real life, on the road situations. Ive known people who have ridden
for two years and signed up to be an instructor. Yeah, a two year
vet is going to be able to tell a guy with 25 years or so how to ride :rolleyes:

...The stat chart above speaks volumes....

Without knowing the ratio of licensed to unlicensed motorcyclists on the road, the above statistics tell us nothing about any relationship between licensing and safe riding.

Without knowing the ratio of licensed to unlicensed motorcyclists on the road, the above statistics tell us nothing about any relationship between licensing and safe riding.

Very True. I was able to ride 28 safe years without a MCL.

Very True. I was able to ride 28 safe years without a MCL.

Nick Alkemade, Alan Magee, and I.M.Chisov

Look them up. Gives you an idea of the value of personal testaments.

The stat chart above speaks volumes.

This is the one that really speaks volumes....

Take note of which group has seen the most dramatic increase over the fourteen years covered by the table.

http://thetandemlink.com/nhtsa_fars1.png

So, did you find group with the disproportionate increase? Considering motorcycle registrations have also doubled over the past decade, it should come as no surprise. However, what may come as a surprise is that the fastest growing age group isn't the under 40 riders stunting on crotch rockets...



http://thetandemlink.com/nhtsa_fars2.png

What does a license have to do with traffic laws ? :twitchy:
The stat chart above speaks volumes. If anything, the Safety Course
ingrains people with a sense of security that can be dangerous in
real life, on the road situations. Ive known people who have ridden
for two years and signed up to be an instructor. Yeah, a two year
vet is going to be able to tell a guy with 25 years or so how to ride :rolleyes:

Licensing is at the very core of all traffic laws. The chart of course is meaningless without statistical context. Utterly meaningless. And individual anecdotes are meaningless as well. On the other hand, anecdotally, your attitude and general thinking does underscore one of the reasons so many motorcyclists end up dead.

MSF courses are essentially aimed at new motorcyclists. Not guys who have been riding for 25 years. If the licensing laws had any teeth (and they never will) you would have had a license because riding without one would have been too risky. It's not. You don't care. But that's OK, you're a pinhead, I expect that. What's upsetting is that the STATE doesn't care about anybody on two wheels.

If you're stupid enough to ride a motorcycle, they figure you deserve what happens to you. And after reading some of the moronic thinking reflected in this thread, they may simply be helping to do Darwin's work.

With that in mind F all those stupid helmet laws, and remember, Loud Pipes Save Lives.

Without knowing the ratio of licensed to unlicensed motorcyclists on the road, the above statistics tell us nothing about any relationship between licensing and safe riding.

I believe it's something like 20% unlicensed vs 80% being licensed. So, if you run the numbers the unlicensed riders account for something closer to 27% of the fatalities vs. licensed riders accounting for 73%. The number of riders who have received formal training (MSF) is something like less than 5%.

Gawd, I never would have thought that unlicensed riders were so common. I wouldn't even have considered it. Oy.

I've been riding for five years. I strongly feel the MSF teachings have saved my noobie ass dozens of times, and I'm neither a spasz, or unfamiliar with two wheel traffic strategies and sensibilities, coming to motorcycling @ age 46 with about 30 years of driving and 20 years of heavy road cycling (in plenty of traffic) experience. The MSF teaches you what to watch out for in terms of traction, cornering, etc. In my MSF course they threw out two people who they felt WERE total spasz cases. It takes a modicum of athletic coordination to ride a motorcycle. It's not like driving a car, and not every aspiring motorcyclist seems to quite get that.

If it saved an older more mature noob ass that many times, what would mandatory MSF instruction do for all those 20 year old squids? Maybe less of them would wind up in the friggin weeds, eh?

F that. Let 'em die.

Gawd, I never would have thought that unlicensed riders were so common. I wouldn't even have considered it. Oy.

My neighbor is a cop. He says 90% of the squid speeders he pulls over for reckless riding are unlicensed kids under the age of 25.

I strongly feel the MSF teachings have saved my noobie ass dozens of timesDitto. The MSF course was an excellent experience. As a never-ridden-before novice going into it, I learned a lot, and gained enough confidence that when I finally sat down on my own bike, I was having fun (not reckless fun, just fun) right away. And I haven't destroyed it yet!

Also, not only did I learn a lot, but some of the guys I talked to had been riding for years (or decades), and were still getting a lot out of the course.


My neighbor is a cop. He says 90% of the squid speeders he pulls over for reckless riding are unlicensed kids under the age of 25.Well, that's... encouraging. http://www.bikeforums.net/mysmiliesvb/mysmilie_15.gif

I do agree with the lunkhead above on one score: the only way to REALLY learn how to ride is motocross, racing, in other words, extreme motorcycling. I've been riding my Honda for five years, and I think if it came to high causality m/c handling I'd be toast. Of course I use everything I've learned to AVOID those situations, I have ABS brakes, and I try to do what they taught me in the MSF course. I figure you get ONE chance to crash your motorcycle, but you may not get two.

Licensing is at the very core of all traffic laws. The chart of course is meaningless without statistical context.

The chart is the statistic.

Never trust the green light... ever.

The neutral light on my CB750SS didn't work when I got it but it wasn't anything that I missed... it is a newb mistake to trust that green light as you might find yourself being launched forward when release the clutch.

I am thinking that I am due for a mid life crisis... I found the attractive younger woman and now I think I need a motorcycle.

I still have the class 6 endorsement for motorcycle and the police here do take a mighty dim view of unlicensed and uninsured riders... every spring they run a massive check stop program to make sure riders are properly covered.

When I drive a car, I hate cyclists and motorcycle riders. You all suck. When I ride my bicycle, I hate cagers and motorcycle riders. You all suck. When I ride a motorcycle, I hate all cagers, but cyclists are fun to terrorize (j/k). Still, you all suck. The important thing is that I'm still alive. (But do I deserve to be, is that the question?) Oh, uh, maybe this isn't relevant to the thread. I just wanted to say it.

I've only owned newer Hondas. The green light has been reliable for me.

When I drive a car, I hate cyclists and motorcycle riders. You all suck. When I ride my bicycle, I hate cagers and motorcycle riders. You all suck. When I ride a motorcycle, I hate all cagers, but cyclists are fun to terrorize (j/k). Still, you all suck.As a pedestrian, all of you wheeled individuals are a plague.

YOU TOO, ROLLERBLADERS

The chart is the statistic.

Statistical analysis would appear to be beyond your grasp.

Loud Pipes Save Lives.