taking DMV test

[skye_sd]

Hey all

I'm taking my DMV test on Thursday, can someone give me the overall course? And I'd like to know the size of the circles you need to ride so I can draw them out myself and try it.

Don't worry, I'm still taking the safety course too :)

Thanks!!
Matt

[Punani]

you can practice at the DMV they let you. good luck staying in the ciricle........its all about letting the clutch in and out...

[Decepticon]

If you take the MSF course you don't need to do the riding test just the written. :thumbsup:

[CPM F4]

Hey Matt,

Here's a write up I did a while back on the course:

The DMV has a course laid out for the riding test. Its a circle with two entry/exit lanes plus a cone-setup down the middle of the entry/exit lines. They'll ask you to ride between the entry/exit lines and then make a couple of circles and then exit the opposite lane that you came in. Your front tire can't leave the lines and you can't put your foot down. Then comes the slalom. Go through the cones and then through the circle again and come back slaloming in the opposite direction. You can practice on the course anytime the place is closed.

The good thing about getting your license this way is that you'll learn a lot about the balancing point of your bike and you'll get really good at controlling the throttle/clutch.

I'm not an expert by any means but here's what I've learned from my experience. The key things to remember:

Trail braking - Apply a slight amount of pressure to the rear brake as you're going around the circle. This will help to control your turn and speed. Use the rear brake and only the rear brake. The front brake will throw off your balance. It makes the bike stand upright.

Weight shifting - Lean the bike but not your body into the turn. Its easier to control the bike when your body is upright. If the bike starts to fall to one side too much, you can compensate by leaning the other way. This also helps to create tighter circles.

Look where you want to go - Its important to lay out in your mind where you want to go. The tendency is to look down to make sure that your wheel isn't going outside of the lines but if you point your brain towards the direction you want to go by looking ahead, you'll get there without any problems. I found this to be the key when exiting the circle. Its also a good thing to do when you ride on the roads.

Relax - Your body has to be loose in order to be able to balance. I found that I tended to stiffen up a lot and as a result lost balance control. By remaining loose, I was able to control the lean of the bike and stay between the lines.

Clutch/throttle control - I used this to help me balance the bike. I would let out the clutch and give some throttle when I felt the bike starting to lean too much towards the inside of my turn.

*************
* CAUTION !!! *
*************
It is really easy to lose control when doing this. You can:

1) stall the bike during a turn which is like putting on the brakes. This might cause you to drop the bike unless you immediately stand the bike up.

2) over rev the engine and release the clutch too much which will cause the bike to shoot forward. If this happens, immediately pull in the clutch, release the throttle and apply the brakes in a controlled manner. Don't grab/stomp on the brakes.

If you're not comfortable/proficient in this area, then a suggestion would be to practice a lot of starts and stops first before attempting to do circles.

Watch your speed - No, don't look down at your speedometer. Just keep it at a reasonable and safe pace. The slower you go, the tighter you can make your circles.

Practice, practice, practice - I hit empty parking lots a lot. I started by making large circles and then gradually tightening them up. I also used the parking lines as a slalom course.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

[skye_sd]

Thanks CPM!!!

Can you ballpark the radius of the circle?

I've been riding for over two years, just finally doing this, so I don't expect it to be too hard, but we'll see!! I won't be surprised if I fail...

Matt

[CPM F4]

It's been a while since I've seen the course so this is a complete guesstimate. The inner circle is about 10 feet in diameter. I remember that it was tight enough that my clipons were almost against the tank when I made the turns.

[Pathogen]

You might also want to think what type of bike you are going to use... smaller the better. Try to see if you can find a small 250cc enduro somewhere. Most of these bikes are super light and make turning a breeze. But like mentioned earlier... PRACTICE... and then practice some more.

[skye_sd]

I'm taking it on my 01 CBR600... Hm, maybe I'll use my friend's ninja 250... I just really like my bike a lot more :)

Matt

[ceptor05]

Go to http://www.dmv.ca.gov/ for the written portion. There are (2) two tests to practice with. About 10 minutes to do. Good luck. Also, please avoid the Normal Street course...it is downhill and very hard to pass. Go instead to Clairemont...very easy and flat.