motorcycle endorsement-driving tests

[Thumper]

Somehow, my endorsement was dropped when I renewed my DL about a dozen years ago. I had to take the driver test again. At the time, I had a GSX1100 Katana that had really tall gearing.

The guy wanted me to go as slow as I could but didn't tell me to slip the clutch. I could have done that. Fortunately, he passed me after arguing about it! The bike just moves out at idle in first!

So my son has been riding off road on the Bashan Storm for more than a year (and on the road). We put a smaller sprocket on the back, so it isn't so easy to drive slow! Off road, he puts his feet down when he needs to, no biggy. But he failed the driving exam once. We set up the cones for practice, but I am worried!

I don't want to get a big sprocket just so he can pass the driving exam, but might have to!!

[JerryHawk250]

Put smaller sprocket back on front. Much easier to swap and less expensive if you need to buy one. I use to swap front sprockets on my Hawk when i would go off road riding which was maybe once or twice a month. Now i just leave the smaller front sprocket on because I have the KPX and Vulcan S for the street.

[J4Fun]

When our kids were young, I thought it important to teach them stick shift in the car. They thought that’s easy because we were on a hill. When we got to the bottom I told them to turn around and go half way up the hill, then stop and then start out from there without going backwards …

[Thumper]

Both of my boys learned how to deal with the clutch on the motorcycle. Somehow easier than in a car!

The front sprocket is loose on the Storm. Here is my chance! I have to remove the cover anyway. I will pop in a teeny front sprocket.

[J4Fun]

My post somehow got edited, but precise control is a matter of practice. In fact with the motorcycle we used to get out in the street in our front yard and see who could drive the slowest between point A and B. Lots of fun…and gearing wasn’t a thought

[bigdano711]

The MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) that I went to in the SF Bay Area had a sea bin full of Honda Nighthawk 150's. My class was into double digits...about 15 give or take. By day two, we were in the single digits. A couple women dropped their bikes and never got back on, just walked away. Pretty sure a couple guys quit, too.

They had a figure 8 composed of two 5 foot circles. You had to have the bike moving, but very slow. To make the turn at such a tight angle you had to kick the bike over in one direction and sit on the opposite edge of the seat, like a counter balance. All while keeping the throttle at a steady 2000 rpm and JUST working the clutch. Of course, no putting your foot down.

The instructors told me this was the obstacle that separated the men from the boys. This is the one most people dropped their bikes. Just because you're not supposed to put your foot down doesn't mean you SHOULDN'T. People just went over real slow, rode the bike to the ground. smh The first time I tried it I started to go over and just put my foot down. Second time, I nailed it.

One of the instructors pulled me to the side and he told me every once in a while they get a natural like me. I told him I rode a little when I was a kid...bicycles, mini-bikes, trail bikes...but the truth is I never really rode a full sized motorcycle.

Skills from previous lives sometimes pop thru. Sometimes, I just know how to do stuff. Never done it before. Hell, the first time I pulled the cover off of my 486, I wasn't even close to scared and just looked at the internal components. I was able to identify most of them (HDD, RAM, PSU, mobo and processor, etc.) That movie Infinite with Mark Wahlberg kinda explains it.

[Mudflap]

When my daughter was 16 I took her to take the motorcycle driving test at the DMV. For one part of the test she was supposed to stop behind a line, accelerate as fast as possible then stop on another line. She was riding my CT90 with the Lifan 140. She did a great wheelie and stopped on the line. The examiner made a comment but gave her a 100% score.


When I got my motorcycle license in 1969, California had a 10 question multiple choice quiz and no driving test.

[Thumper]

I had originally upgraded from 428H to 520 on this Storm
OEM gearing was 17T/46T =0.3696 final drive ratio
New gearing was 12T/35T =0.3429 final drive ratio

https://www.chinariders.net/showpost...99&postcount=1

I got him a 32T because he wanted to commute on it. So the final drive ratio was pushed back up to 12T/32T =0.375 (higher than original!)

This dropped the revs, but made it harder for him to get through the driving test.

I can't go lower than 12T on the front, and the biggest JTR279 rear sprocket I could get was a 40T. This drops the final gearing quite a bit though!
NOW, It's 12T/40T =0.300 final drive ratio
I put a new chain on too (RK 520H standard).

It creeps much easier in 1st gear now. He is practicing slow rolling now and will retake the driving test. I mounted a Tusk DSport last year on this bike. Now this bike is a goat off road. Awesome!

[Thumper]

Here are a few pics from last year. This bike runs great. The DOT approved knobby (Tusk DSport) realy makes this bike a blast on the trails, and still tracks fine on pavement. I never mounted the air foil guides (tank "wings"). I still have them.

[Oldenslow]

Somehow I would prefer a rider learn to actually ride the bike, rather than modify the bike to make up for their lack of skill. Managing the clutch is an essential skill, not something to avoid...

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by Oldenslow

Somehow I would prefer a rider learn to actually ride the bike, rather than modify the bike to make up for their lack of skill. Managing the clutch is an essential skill, not something to avoid...

It is less about the clutch, and more about his poor balance.

After months of off road riding including driving on the road to the trail, he does fine. But whenever he drives slow, he just isn't too coordinated so his foot goes down to the ground. He does this at stop signs too, but always uses turn signals and he is a pretty good driver. This is just fine when we are on the trails too, and I couldn't care less if he puts his feet down when he is in a parking lot or negotiating slow speeds in traffic. It is fine with me if he puts his foot down. But the State police tester insists that drivers can creep at low speed and slip the clutch and balance with feet on the pegs. I disagree with this requirement!

Gearing it down will help prevent stalling (I think this concern is distracting him), and he can concentrate on balance.

I have never observed this thing or felt like it was an issue, but he just isn't that good. Dropping the gearing will help him get through the test, and won't affect his overall skills. He needs that endorsement on his license for insurance and so he can move on!

[Bikenut]

Learning how to work the throttle and clutch during slow riding is an essential skill. Yet, at least on the street, putting a foot down isn't a sin. As an (now retired from) Observed Trials rider I learned early how to work the throttle and clutch against the rear brake in order to help balance at a standstill. Then I learned how to do that but only using the front brake. Yep, the natural progression ended up using throttle and clutch against either or both brakes as needed.

Doing this properly can allow a rider to sit stopped through an entire stoplight (the trials riders really good at it could stop, balance, and talk with ya for as long as you wanted) and never put a foot down. It's a good skill to have and teaches balance and muti tasking (throttle, clutch, rear/front brake all at same time) but can be hard on the clutch if done too often. Although using that skill during an MSF class shouldn't hurt the clutch.

[J4Fun]

Thumper, looking forward to hearing your son passed the test! Great thread and brings back memories