Re: California DMV Motorcycle Driving Test

 


Out of curiousity for those of us that don't
live in California, does anyone know what the
test course dimensions are?  I vaguely remember
someone some time ago saying the inner circle
was about 20' in diameter and that there was
about 2' between the two lines.  Is that about
right?

--alan

 


AlanL wrote:


I measured the Kalifornia lollipop here in Kowpoop last year and then I
rode my mountain bike around the silly thing several times. At first, I
thought it was really weird that I was having a difficult time with the
bicycle on a course intended for testing motorcycle riders for tight
turning skills, but I got pretty good with the bicycle, so I will have
to try it on my dual sport machine one of these days.

The circle is 25 feet in diameter and the zone you must stay in is two
feet wide. Check your owner's manual and you'll probably see that
almost any motorcycle has a turning radius of around ten feet or less
so the diameter of the California lollipop isn't the problem.

The test is unnatural, however. It has nothing to do with what a rider
has to do to negotiate tight turns or to ride in traffic. We do not
look at the ground immediately in front of us to maintain our
orientation, we look toward the horizon for reference. We become
disoriented when we look at a featureless patch of pavement directly
ahead of us.

The California Highway Patrol teaches its motor officers to maintain "a
high horizon", IOW, raise their eyes to a point where they can use a
more distant level surface for orientation.

In order to make a very tight U-turn, the officer is trained to look
towards his tail light, then raise his eyes to the horizon, and make
his turn.

Positioning your weight on the outside footpeg and learning to slip the
clutch is a good drill for turning tight circles. If the bike begins to
topple toward the center of the turn, you already have your weight
toward the outside of the circle.

Some sportbike riders with clip-on handlebars and perimeter frames with
wide gas tanks may find that they have very little space between their
hands and the gas tank when the bars are turned to near full lock.
They'd be better off on a bike with tubular handlebars mounted in the
standard position.

 

alt.scooter,rec.motorcycles,alt.motorcycles,alt.motorcycle.sportbike:

Which is why you shouldn't look there :-)


It depends a bit on the bike, but on almost any bike you shouldn't have
to slip the clutch. That said, I always do it as well because it feels
to me like I have more control. But when I see really experienced riders
making a very narrow U-turn they don't slip the clutch, regulate speed
with the rear brakes and lean over a lot into the U-turn. On a light
bike I can do that, on a heavy bike I have a mental block that I need to
work on to be able to do it as well.

    Mike

 

On Fri, 16 Dec 2005 14:54:02 +0000 (UTC), mike_schenkSPAM@planet.nl
(Mike Schenk) wrote:


I'd like to challenge that statement.

I've taken both the CA DMV keyhole test (and failed all three times)
and I've taken the CA MSF class (and passed without breaking a sweat),
albeit on different bikes.

The motorcycle I used for the CA DMV keyhole two years ago was a
borrowed Imperial Blue 82 Honda CM450E and the bike used for the CA
MSF Basic RiderCourse was a rented candy apple red two-tone with white
Yamaha Virago 250 (late model).

In the CA MSF U-turn box, I didn't slip the clutch at all (that I
remember) and neither did anyone else as far as I remember. But, I
sure as daiseys remember almost smoking the clutch on the CA DMV
keyhole. Personally, I don't see how it's possible to regulate your
torque on the keyhole without holding the clutch in at least half way
or even three quarters to the handlebar.

I'm sure someone might be able to idle low enough without the bike
getting jerky (once it starts jerking, you're out of the loop and you
get no second try) but everyone I practiced with said to keep it in
second and rev the gas as high as you dared and use the rear brake for
speed control with the clutch barely engaged the entire four laps of
the 25 foot circle.

I leaned my body to the outside of the circle (quite uncomfortably)
and basically closed my eyes as I tried to keep my radius constant. I
always failed coming out of the second turn. I could hit that only
about 50% of the time and my luck wasn't with me on my third try at
the California DMV. (The first two tries were used up just learning
what the course was and what the testing requirements were).

I'd like to defer to others on this newsgroup as to whether it's even
possible (or likely) that one can pass the California DMV keyhole
without slipping the hell out of the clutch???

 



I would not be surprised at all if no one actually passed it
on a larger bike, although the DMV guy looked me straight in
the eye and swore all kinds of people pass it and on big bikes
too..

I think he lied.

Phil Scott