Has anyone failed their motorcycle license test?

[He Man]

in BC Canada where im from the testing goes like this.

written learners license. something like 30 questions. pass that and you can ride on the road but only with a person over 21 who has there full motor license called class 6, within their vision. example in a car or another motorbike riding with you. 0 alcohol, no passenger, no highway, only daylight riding.

you can then take a parking lot test whenever you want. a course through cones a such. now your allowed to ride by yourself everywhere including highway, but still with no passenger, night time riding or alcohol.

then 1 month from passing your learners you can take the road test. you have a 1 way radio in your ear, instructor with tell you what to do for approx 30minutes of riding. watching your every move, lane position, shoulder checking is very strict.

pass that and you have your full class 6. i never failed any of mine. but i can see how a lot of people would fail the road test.

when can you ride with alcohol? 

[elyk]

when can you ride with alcohol? 

full license only 

but when it comes to bikes the most id have is 1 beer. in Canada the legal limit is .08 i think.

[Wonked]

The circle test is designed more to test your ability to maneuver your motorcycle in tight quarters, not simply go around in circles - it's actually a good test.

I'm of the opinion that if you aren't great at parking lot speed handling, it's highly likely you won't be great at high speed maneuvering either.

Full disclosure: I'm not exactly great at low speed stuff either. But, I did pass my test the first time (Georgia).

[somegirl]

The circle test is designed more to test your ability to maneuver your motorcycle in tight quarters, not simply go around in circles - it's actually a good test.

I'm of the opinion that if you aren't great at parking lot speed handling, it's highly likely you won't be great at high speed maneuvering either.

It's not a bad skill to have, but it would be nice if they tested people's ability to ride on roads and deal with traffic too.

[pitbull03]

I felt the circle test only tested my ability to ride a motorcycle for the circus extremely slow with the steering at full lock. 

It has no real world practicality IMO.

MSF basic and ERC tests are much better suited for the real world.  If the circle is such a good test, then why hasn't MSF used it?  I'm convinced the CA test was designed by someone who's never ridden a motorcycle before.

[LA]

Yes I failed to pass the driver's test.  My bike ain't so good in a parking lot.

I just got back off Mt. Pisgah on the Blue Ridge Parkway, two hours in the pitch black darkness of night on those bad ass switchbacks and survived - probably a better test than I got in the parking lot at the DMV in Seneca, SC.

LA

[kopfjäger]

I felt the circle test only tested my ability to ride a motorcycle for the circus extremely slow with the steering at full lock. 

It has no real world practicality IMO.

MSF basic and ERC tests are much better suited for the real world.  If the circle is such a good test, then why hasn't MSF used it?  I'm convinced the CA test was designed by someone who's never ridden a motorcycle before.

Clowns on bikes

[T. Rush]

As I remember the MSF and a figure eight instead of a circle. That way you had to shift your ars from right to left and feather the clutch.

[Bun-bun]

I passed my test in VA twice.
I took the test when I first moved to VA in 1987. It was completely Mickey Mouse. The instructor had me follow behind a car that she was riding in to give someone else a driving test. Got back to the DMV and she said "You passed" and that was it.
Over the years I quit riding while my son grew up, and let the M portion of my license lapse. When I went in to get it renewed, they couldn't find the record, and I had to get a learners permit, wait the 30 days, and take the whole test again.
This time, it was the cones in the parking lot, and it was tough! I passed, but I sure didn't ace it. A good friend just took it and failed. He rode on his learners permit until the day before it lapsed, took the test and failed. Now he has to get another learners, and says he'll take the MSF course.

[Speedbag]

Wow, this thread brings back memories. I failed my first attempt at my endorsement....big time.

At the time I had a custom bike that I knew damn well wouldn't do the cone weave without collecting said cones. So, a friend had a little Yamaha 400 that needed resurrecting and we brought it to my house; the deal was if I helped him get it running again I could use it for however long I wanted and take my test on. So the tank got drained and flushed, and the carbs were cleaned out. The little guy ran like a champ....until the day of the test, naturally.

On the day of the test, I got to the site and as fate would have it something (rust, I think) decided to break free somewhere in the fuel system and the bike sputtered once or twice. Great. But it progressively got worse. By the time the test began, I was working the throttle and clutch like a madman trying to keep the thing running while doing the test. I actually made it through the cone weave and to the turn at the end when the pluggage became terminal. The 400 stalled and I had to put my foot down. End of test.

Second time through I made it with flying colors (and a better running bike).

[mojo]

Didn't fail, but almost everyone in our class had problems doing the figure 8 and staying inside the box.  One guy said it was impossible to do (we had 250 Nighthawks), so the instructor got out his V-Max and "schooled" us.  That bike barely seemed to fit the box, but he went through a few times without a problem.

[dusty]

Very impressive.  I used a 250 Nighthawk also and did ok, but one guy brought his "bagger" and just couldn't do it.  Not easy for sure and don't know if I could do it on my monster.  Not easy for sure.

[Michael]

Very impressive.  I used a 250 Nighthawk also and did ok, but one guy brought his "bagger" and just couldn't do it.  Not easy for sure and don't know if I could do it on my monster.  Not easy for sure.

I took a ERC recently and the little box was hard with my Monster, but not impossible.

It's very tricky because a Monster doesn't have the same turning that even a big Harley does. So to do it, you have to lean away from the turn a lot (shift your whole body over), and then rev high and feather the clutch to control the speed, and only use your back brake to slow.

[dusty]

Sounds a little tricky, but I'll try it (just to see if I can).  Thanks for the tip.  Wish me luck.   

[Raux]

if i remember right you can't touch the brake. but i may be mistaken