The licensing test was 10 questions that I finished in 45 seconds.
Examples from the test.
If you are involved in an accident while on a motorcycle you are.
A. Less likely to be injured.
B. More likely to be injured.
C. Equally likely to be injured.
A piece of equipment that is not allowed on your motorcycle
A. Headlight
B. Horn
C. Siren
The minumum age to carry a passenger is
A. 16
B. 18
C. 21
The last one was the one I actually missed. Having a license is indicative of nothing except the ability to read and having paid the state their fee. I’m not going to debate the merits of the test, it’s there, I passed it.
Insurance. I rode 15 miles without it. I was willing to accept the responsibility for that action. Not justification, but there are thousands of drivers who by choice never have and never will. Save your outrage for something that does actually justify it.
You don’t, and by the tone of your post, it appears that it’s by choice.
I’m quite capable of stopping and maintaining control. Starting back up without letting off the clutch too fast is a bit trickier. And I doubt that two rolling stops dinged my karma too badly.
Others disagree. You want to piss in a thread, hop on over to the pit and open one up.
I’m not trying to piss on your thread, but usually licensing involves a demonstration of skill as well. I don’t think he was referring to your ability to answer multiple choice questions.
I’ve been renewing my learner’s permit since 1999. I missed the question about where the most gravel accumulates on the road. I don’t feel like reserving a spot 3 months in advance and driving for an hour to get to the road test station to prove I’m ready to start riding the motorbike. I’ll just step over to where Projammer is in a moderately supportive kind of way.
Well, Projammer said he’s going to take a training class, and a lot of those classes, assuming you pass, count as the driving portion of your test, so I don’t think that’s an issue for him, ultimately.
As for you, it sucks that you’d have to wait that long to get in to take the test, but the hour ride should be part of the fun, no?
And it’s not a case of karma, but if your machine control is so poor that you daren’t stop for fear of having trouble starting again, what the sheyt are you doing on the public highway? Not thread-shitting, concerned for your well-being. :dubious:
I had to have a good laugh at some of these stories. I work in the customer service department of a Japanese motorcycle manufacturer, and we share fun stories of people who have had similar problems. Examples include dumping bikes on their way out of the dealer’s parking lot, newbies who can’t get their bikes started, parents who can’t believe a bike was sold to their gullible (adult) child, or adult children who can’t believe someone “tricked” their elderly parent into buying a motorcycle. And all of this is the manufacturer’s fault for building the bike. Yup. It’s my fault and I’d better fix it.
Please don’t be embarassed. At least you’re taking personal responsibility. Consider yourself mature enough to admit it. And thank you.
…and me? I haven’t got my license yet, but I intend to take the class & start small. Maybe a scooter. And build my way up to the big cruisers. Vrooom!
I’d like to apologize a little for the tone of my last post. I’d been in a bit of a bad mood and that was just my initial reaction to a post that really added nothing to the thread and sounded far too self rightous.
I now have license, insurance, and tags. Which basically means I have a new piece of plastic, a new piece of paper, and a new piece of metal. The sum total of which completely cuts the legs out from under the previously mentioned outraged post without adding anything to my experience or abilities to ride safely.
The initial ride to my house took place miles out in the country where seeing six cars on a 15 mile drive is a lot. The stop signs I rolled through have a clear line of sight for a half mile in any direction. As I’ve said, my skills are rusty. The only remedy for that is practice.
So later today I’ll take my shiny new bits of authorization out around the countryside to knock off some more rust. And I’ll be taking the class in July.
I can validate this statement since I was there. And yes, I was a little peeved when he got the bike because my confidence level quickly deminished when it took him several minutes to figure out how to start the bike (I believe my reaction was something like "you bought this WITHOUT starting it up and taking it for a spin?!?!) Yeah, I know, the naggy wife-thingy came out. But it was out of concern - I love riding, I grew up with family who rode. And with it, the accidents as well.
I was amazed and disappointed in the Ark state licensing program for motor-bikes. In Neb, you had to take a written AND driven test before getting one which, to me, makes sense. Written tests are all about book-learning, not hands on learning.
I’ll jump on the bike once he’s finished the riding course in July and only after a few jaunts around the back roads of the country (which means I need to get a helmet as well - although they are not required in Ark and Texas over the age of 21)
I wholeheartedly apologize for being self righteous and outraged in my previous post.
In hindsight, I shit in your thread and acted like a jerk. Fundamentally, I was a bad doper.
I mistakenly put myself in your shoes. I shouldn’t have.
My own sense of personal propriety would not have allowed me to operate a motorcycle (even on a short ride) before insurance and the other administrative tasks that you’ve since completed were in place.
While extremely small, the risk of being injured and/or injuring someone else while without insurance would have made the act of riding the bike a no-go situation for me.
However, that’s my own personal hangup.
We all establish our own threshold for risk tolerance and we’re all different. You are an adult and you are perfectly capable of making your own decisions about what risk and consequences you are prepared to accept.
Congratulations on getting your new ride. Enjoy yourself.
I knew Arkansas didn’t require helmets (most states don’t anymore). I had no idea they allowed people to get a license by passing only a written exam. That’s just criminally stupid.
I’ve checked. Arkansas does require a skills test. Not sure how I lucked into getting credit for the full test without it. Maybe the administrator thought I had done the driving portion for some reason. She didn’t ask and it didn’t occur to me to mention it.
Could be a grandfather clause – here in Quebec, anyone who got their automobile driver’s license before somewhere around 1980 automatically got motorcycle certification.
Last year they realized that was really dumb, so they’re taking steps to eliminate all those motorcycle licenses in the baby boomer crowd by making people pay extra for them.
Congratulations on your huge bike. I’m looking to get into the market for a new bike. I’m moving to the desert and my old 84 Magna is a Santa Barbara machine. Every time it gets above 80 she gets cranky. I’m currently lusting over a Triumph Bonneville. Best part? My girlfriend more or less insists that I buy a new bike before we move. Score!
ETA: In California you can ride all you want without a passenger and during the daytime after having passed only a written test. You have to wear a helmet, though.
