Back when i was a kid ( 18 ) i got my motor cycle license. Just had to take a written test + drive the cycle around the block. After several yrs i let them expire.

Last wed. I took the written test , past it A+. Now in IL. you have to drive in a small rectangle area , dodging 5 orange cones + 3 other test which are not all that hard , I'm thinking.

I took my swing up yesterday to run threw the course so in hopes of taking the test this week. Well , now I have a small problem.........I couldn't get the swing to dodge all the cones , you know like tring leading a horse to water.

My swing acted the same way. Know matter how hard I tried she wouldn't do it , she must be half jackass.

Now I think I need to locate a much small cycle to past this test. PRAY for me !!!!

Gary,
A smaller bike might make it easier, but don't people take those same tests on Goldwings and pass?

Are you familiar with friction zones and slow speed maneuver drills?
Maybe this is a challenge to improve skills?

Dan

Watch and learn!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NegpNBY7DIc&feature=related

Amazing control.

It can be done. Practice, practice, practice. The MSF course is a good place to gather a bit of extra practice. If you are an experienced rider the Experienced Riders Course is still a good place to gain some additional insight or simply to reacquaint yourself with the principles.

You should also be able to take the MSF Basic Rider Course, use their bikes and most states waive the riding test with a valid certificate of completion.
Many insurance companies also offer a discount for riders who have passed the BRC.

Pass it on bike you plan use in streets. Of Course can be done---Learn gas/brake coordination, remembering SilverWing has linked brakes--- slight gas use brakes as balancing aid, look where you are going. Thrust yourself around cones. SilverWing is not hard to ride.

Otherwise basic rider course from MSF.

You can also practice on own.....but you need to know how to do right way.

Rider tests in US are not hard.


John Grinsel

I have never felt the urge to quote John Grinsel before, but this one time he has an indisputable pearl of wisdom.

"Pass it on bike you plan to use in streets."

It is absolutely the safest thing you can do.

Dan

The S'wing is fully capable of passing any of the standard DMV drive tests out there. The guy testing in front of me when I took the road test on my Swing passed the test with only one cone nudge, and he was riding a Harley Streetglide --a pig of a bike, that he rode through the course with one less fault than I did on the scoot. (I rubbed two cones.)

You need to get out and practice slow, controlled riding. Go to youtube, and search for "ride like a pro" and similar videos, which will go over basic techniques for the type of riding you'll need to do.

Some general pointers I can give are:
1) NEVER look down in front of you at the cone or line, ALWAYS look where you want the bike to go. Look into the turn or through the cone path you're heading towards, not the cone you're going around.
2) Keep the rear brake about 10% applied. When going slow on the Swing, keeping a slight pressure on the rear brake works very similar to keeping a motorcycle in the 'friction zone' which helps keep the scoot's clutch fully engaged.
3) Practice tight U-turns. You should be able to make a complete U-Turn on the Silverwing in about 18' or less space. Practive on a side street, or better yet in a vacant parking lot --parking stall lines are generally 9' wide, so if you can enter just inside one stall line, and make your U-Turn within the outside line of the next stall over, you're doing good.
4) PRACTICE.

You can do it!

I don't know anything about driving test lane in other states but IL. 30' wide 70' long. The nose cone test, every other one is off set 18" which makes it a little harder for me. I'm sure with alittle more practice I can do it.

I was going to take my test to day but after the storms we had lastnight it's on hold for another day. Maybe tomorrow. My the way my Givi airflow shield is coming today.

Wow, skills?

When I took mine in Virginia (yes, it was about 20 years ago) all you had to do was drive around the block in front of the DMV.

I was told the written part was challenging though, in fact when I loaned my bike to a friend to take the test (I rode it there and waited for him outside) he walked out with his head hung low. He failed the written part and never even got a chance to take the driving part.

When I passed my test in the UK we never had a cone type test.

We had to carry out a U-turn at slow speed normally on a narrow street without placing a foot on the ground. Sounds simple but it was probably the biggest failure of slow speed testing.

I took my road test in 1967. Helmet radios were just being introduced for testing. The tester followed behind me in a car and was to relay his instructions to me as we drove through heavy urban traffic. His instructions were:
"If the radios fail, which they probably will, I'll honk at you. One honk turn left, two honks turn right."

The radios never did work, and after the first honk he disappeared from my rear view mirrors. I drove around the block to meet him back at the parking lot of the testing office. He showed up 5 minutes later, and said, "Well, you made it back safely. You obviously know what you're doing. Go inside and get your motorcycle licence."

I can honestly say, compared to today's mandatory motorcycle safety course combined with 1 written and 2 graduated road tests, that I learned nothing about the safe operation of a motorcycle. Yes, I could shift gears, brake, balance, and counter steer with the best of them, but I had no idea as to the SAFE operation of a bike. Yes, I rode shirtless and helmetless as a teenager. But who didn't? Thank goodness during that time that I was lucky enough to avoid any accidents.

Hello.
I took my light motorcycle licence (up to 125 ccm) and it automaticly extended to unlimited ccm at age 18.
Even in the old days (and onwards) the rule number 1,2 and 3 was/is never to loose rev on the engine.
On other vario scoots i held in the front brake, and then zoom off.
How will this work on honda´s combined braking?
I have also noticed your speed limit is not allways 55 mph or am I mistaken here?
Maybe different speedlimits in different states ?

Here in WA State, one of the hardest elememts of the bike test is braking.

(If I remember correctly), you must bring the bike up to no less than 25mph, but no more tha 30. Maintain for five seconds, then stop in a six foot box.

Wrong speed, fail. Brake too early or late, fail. Early foot plant, fail. Sushi and wine at the ballpark, fail. Ok, I made that one up.

If you watch your speedo, you miss the box. You watch the box, you miss the speed. I did it on my old 250cc Tank, but that day I saw some guys fail that part of the test. I wouldn't want to do it again.

Yeah, I did the same thing. Re-tested yesterday (written) & today (road test)after 20 years with no license. Just bought a Swing & had to get my license back.

I live in Kansas & we have the same slow-speed requirements. Four different manuevers & none were easy. I passed it, but just barely... Like you - I had particular trouble with the cones.

I took my road test today......not a perfect score but I passed !!!!!!!

Congrats!

Great going Gary!!

Well done!
A Pass is a Pass.

Congratulations on passing. If you did it on the Silverwing, more congratulations!

I took my skills test about a year ago on my Chinese 150 scoot. 12" wheels and 240 lbs weight make it easier to handle than they Silverwing. It also had front and rear disc brakes that stopped on a dime. I still knocked over one cone - they put down those one-foot tall cones instead of regular height ones. They drop out of your peripheral vision easily.

And to answer the poster from Norway, speed limits in the USA are set by the individual states. Highways are usually 65-75 mph, but some states are running 80 mph limits now (western USA is pretty big, with a lot of distance between cities).

The highest speed limit that I have seen in the USA is on interstate 10 in west Texas it was 85 MPH.

My skill test I rented a Yamaha TW 200 from a Honda dealer 70 miles away. Lucky me the license building was just across the st. The other 3 dealers didn't have ins to rent a mike out.

You know that bike had elect start & she made me kick start it,at this day & age ? I suppose if I had used a model T with elect start she would of made me use the crank .