Failed riding test

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oxbow1 · #31 Unread post by **oxbow1** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 2:24 am

I wouldn't worry about failing the test, just take it again.
people make mistakes,thats why the put earsers on pencils.

there is no shame in not succeeding the first time you try something.

dean owens · Sat Jul 05, 2008 2:26 am

Ivan M wrote:Keep on living life in the slow lane then. Maybe you should learn to ride upside down on the off chance that it will save your life if you "need" to be able to get out of the way in a "gravitationally challenged" way.

well, since you know best how to ride i suggest you start your own riding school. you can just teach people the skills they need to know rather than all the worthless ones. i'm sure your students will smoke everyone else's.

don't get ticked at others because you failed. slow maneuvers are the hardest but are very important. anyone can ride fast and in a straight line.

oh, and don't blame the instructors for your riding illegally. you actually might want to rethink riding a bike. i don't say that because you failed. i say it because your attitude stinks and can very easily get you into trouble.

Ivan M · #33 Unread post by **Ivan M** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:39 am

I'm the first to admit that I'm not a very experienced rider. You're posting in the "new bikers" section of the forum in case you hadn't realized.

Actually, slow maneuvers are not very important. Do they help develop other skills? Perhaps, but going 5 km/hr you can't even counter-steer. In fact, there was no counter-steering on the test, which I'd say is much more important to safe riding than weaving 5 km/hr through cones.

It should also be mentioned that I haven't ridden at such low speeds except during the test and afterward when I was practicing for the next test. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that going 5 km/hr is a great way to overheat your motorcycle.

If stinking attitudes got people killed, this world would be a better place than it is. Unfortunately, my motorcycle is my primary method of transportation and regardless of how smelly my attitude is, it will continue to be so.

Thumper · #34 Unread post by **Thumper** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:49 am

Ivan M wrote:Do you want a low speed medal?

Well, if ofblong doesn't want one, I do. Anyone can make a bike go fast; simple physics keeps the bike upright. It takes practice to get a bike to dance at 1-2 mph. I worked hard to get some decent slow speed skills. So yeah, I'll take a medal!

Ivan M · #35 Unread post by **Ivan M** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:58 am

Thumper wrote:
Ivan M wrote:Do you want a low speed medal?
Well, if ofblong doesn't want one, I do. Anyone can make a bike go fast; simple physics keeps the bike upright. It takes practice to get a bike to dance at 1-2 mph. I worked hard to get some decent slow speed skills. So yeah, I'll take a medal!

I'm not so bad now myself. I've practiced by throwing bits of garbage on the street at five foot intervals and weaving through them. The most interesting bit of garbage was an orange-neon jump rope handle, which I'll send to you in lieu of a medal.

Thumper · #36 Unread post by **Thumper** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:59 am

Ivan M wrote:I'm the first to admit that I'm not a very experienced rider.

Ivan M wrote:Actually, slow maneuvers are not very important.

Um...thank you for bolstering your first statement with the second. Experience will tell you that any moron can get a bike to go fast, and that your skill lies in learning to operate it at the slowest of speeds. If you can't maneuver that bike at sub-parking lot speeds, if you don't have that much control of your friction zone, throttle, and balance, you're simply not going to be the best of riders.

If you want to be really good, you'll learn to work that bike at snail speeds. It's from where your talent will develop, the point where you go from being just ok to being skilled; anything less and you're just another wannabe with a bike.

Ivan M · #37 Unread post by **Ivan M** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 6:08 am

Well as I said, they may have some relevance in learning other skills. However, you can't deny that nobody rides normally at those speeds. It's what I'd call an impractical sort of learning and as a test it's not a very good gauge of how a person rides their bike on a daily basis.

As for being a wannabe, well if that's your title for a guy with not much experience that enjoys riding and uses his bike for commuting rather than simply pleasure purposes, then I will gladly accept it.

Ivan M · #38 Unread post by **Ivan M** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 6:16 am

I'd already noted that low speed riding is more difficult. I'd equate it to trying to learn calculus in an attempt to figure out your grocery bill. Helpful for building certain skills? Sure. Necessary for day to day riding? Not really.

If you want to become great at riding motorcycles at low speeds, that's entirely your prerogative. I'm of the opinion that it makes for a poor riding test.

dean owens · Sat Jul 05, 2008 7:15 am

well, good luck buddy. you clearly know more than most. way more than your instructors. so much that i'm wondering why you're posting in the new bikers forum. please, please would you open a school and teach everyone from your wisdom?

i don't doubt your desire or love for riding. i won't call you a wanna be. i just think that you're impatient and the fact that because you failed a part of the test that it's worthless - basically that it's someone else's fault - is a pore and dangerous attitude. i wish you all the best. stay safe and enjoy riding. but don't get made at others because you don't have a certain skill yet. work on it. i don't use emergency breaking everyday. but it's a skill i practice and is very important. it has yet to be important... but one day it will be and i'm sure i'll be happy i developed that skill. oh, and i've yet to have to ride over a 2x4 yet. sure happy that was something that was taught in class. even though i haven't had to use it yet, it's a pretty important skill.

again, enjoy.

Ivan M · #40 Unread post by **Ivan M** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:15 am

Where did I say I knew more than my instructors? As for whether the test was good or not, it wouldn't be the first time that the gov't mishandled things. The entire test was low speed going through cones, how does that prove a person is ready to ride at regular speeds or even highway ride? Every time I point out how idling through cones should not be the basis for getting a license, you say I have a bad attitude or I think I know everything.

I'm a practical guy. I drive a practical bike. If I'm going to get a license it should be because I can drive on the road like a normal human being, not for going through cones like a slug.