Posted: 1/19/2008 1:25:53 AM EDT
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What is on the driving part? What did you have to do on the driving part? Thanks Mark |
uh....drive the bike You had to go over the parts of the bike including the stop cock for the gas tank. You had to go through the gears, show that you used your turn signals, start and stop, and go in a figure 8 without putting your feet down. Just show them that you are in control of the bike. I was able to go to the driving test facility a few days before and watch a cycle do the test. I suggest you do the same so there are no suprises. Good luck and don't forget your helmet, eye protection and gloves!!!!! |
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I would suggest taking the Motorcycle Safety Class. It's 16 hours long and well worth it. When you are finished you take the test on their little 250cc bikes and it's a snap. I don't think I could ever do it on my V Star 1100. Everyone in my class passed except one woman who layed it down in the hard braking test. Sign up early because the classes fill up many months in advance. Any questions let me know. |
| Take Newcomer's and others advice. The MSF class is the easiest way to get your license. The class is free and you use their little 250s. When I took the class out of 40 people only one failed their test. If I tried to take the test on my Ninja I wouldn't have passed. Plus most insurance cos will give a discount and depending on what kind of bike you get it could be pretty substantial. |
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I also think the safety course is a great idea. Heck, even if you're not going to buy a motorcycle its a great course to take just to learn to ride one. Best part is that its free. Here's a link: www.pamsp.com/ |
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For what it's worth When I took my motorcycle driving test in 1986 I lifted my full helmet visor up when I came to a stop on the driving course until the tester said it was okay to start up and go through the intersection. Dummy me failed to put the visor down before moving away from the stop sign and the tester busted me and failed me that day. I took the test the next day I believe and the visor stayed down the whole time. I to this day have a habit of raising the visor on the helmet when stopped and sitting in traffic. I always put it back down before pulling away from a stop or I put the visor down before the first to second gear shift. (Sorry, I always wear helmets on a motorcycle. Saved my face once, but did fracture my cervical vertibrae at C3) I'm assuming helmets are still required for the driving test even today?!?! |
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If you can ride your bike well, you can pass the operating test. I don't know about helmets anymore, but just make sure everything works on your bike. You will be asked to show the operation of your lights and controls and then be expected to use them correctly throughout the test. There are a couple of stops, a couple of turns that require signaling, a serpentine (S) curve, a stall where you will be required to do a figure 8. There is more than enough room to do the 8. Just practice doing some of those without putting your feet down before you go up for your test and you will be fine. I know some guys who have been riding for years and they all said they got something out of taking the MSF course including their license. That is still the best way to go, but just taking your test is no big deal. |
| I know a guy that did every thing great then pulled up to the instructor and the instructer said good job see you in two weeks you forgot to put your face mask down. Another was wearing shorts and didn't even get to take the test they just told him to go home. It's not too bad just pay attention and practice the 35mph break slam and figure eights. |
I hit the curb and stalled my bike during the "figure 8" portion of the test and I still passed. Turns out I did my figure 8's in the wrong direction, which meant that there wasn't enough space to complete one between the two curbs. The officer testing me told me to do them the other way and finish the test. I figured he had to fail me so I did them, whipped through the rest of it, and rode out of the test area. The officer looked at me and said, "Shit, once you got going in the right direction you did it as well as anyone else." Then he stamped my permit and sent me on my way, 16 and licensed for the road. So I bought a milkshake at McDonalds and rode home with a milkshake in one hand and the throttle in the other.
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I took the MSF up in Bensalem about five years ago. There is no way I could have passed on my sportbike. On the state’s little 125cc, the course was a snap. I aced the driving course, as did my wife. She did however beat me on the written exam. She aced the exam, I missed one lousy question. She still rubs it in to this day… For what it’s worth, don’t sweat the figure 8 box. Just before we all took the driving exam, the instructor let us in on a little scoring gouge. You can drop something like a total of 15 points, and still pass the test. If you break outside of the lines of the box during the figure 8, it will cost you 5 points. If you put a foot down during any part or the course including the box, it will cost you an additional 5 points. With that said, if you think you are going to bust the box, and that it might cause you to put down a foot; simply drive straight through the box and do not attempt the figure 8. You can only be docked 5 points. YMMV… |
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After years of driving around on a permit, I got my license last summer. I took the test at the Huntingdon license center. The lady had me demonstrate the controls of the bike, then had me ride around Hoss's parking lot. She had me do figure-8s (when asked about the size, she just said, "You don't have to wreck the bike doing small ones, but don't use the whole parking lot"), had me weave in and out along the ends of the parking lines ("pretend there are cones here"), then accelerate to 20mph and stop as close as possible to the parking line where she was standing. If I'd have known it would be that easy, I would've taken it ten years ago. ETA- I had been on the roster to take the MSF course with my wife and a buddy of mine, but I couldn't find my permit. The guy running the test was decent enough to let me sit in the first day of the class, and then go get a replacement permit before the next evening, assuming an alternate didn't show up. As my luck goes, three alternates showed up, so I figured, "fuggit, I'll just go take the test and be done with it.". |