Harley-Davidson Riding Academy - Day 4 - Part 2

Skills Test

The MSF Rider Course lists the skill tests as "To assess basic skills using a cone weave, normal stop, turning from a stop, U-turn, quick stop, obstacle swerve, and cornering maneuver."  Here's how each part went.

There are 5 sequences where you have to demonstrate what we did, like the U-turn in 20 feet, cone weave, swerving, quick stop, and a short circuit course.  Each of us went through one at a time.  I was last in line.  This was good and bad.  I got to see someone else do it, so could understand what we're trying to do and where the common mess ups are at.  Bad, because it gave me more time to fret over it, think over it, and so on.  Being in the middle of the line would be ideal.

Quick Stop

You have to go fast and then stop as quickly as possible.  They are making sure you properly used both the front and rear brake.  I think I did fine on it.

Obstacle Swerve

You have to go fast and then swerve to the right of cones a few feet before and then come to a stop.  Here is where you have to use counter steering.  You are going fast, so you push in the direction you want to swerve.  The push actually turns the handle bars in the opposite direction.  I know, don't question the physics.  Think bugs bunny.  I think I did fine on that one too.

Cone Weave

There are little cones lined up in a straight row, about 12 feet apart or so.  You have to take the bike back and forth throw the cones without touching any of them.  The key isn't to look at the cones.  You want to look at the space next to each cone, and then once you are about there, start looking to the next space after the next cone.  Here is a good example of pacing of the class.  In practice, I had just started getting this.  I was coming close and with more practice could have nailed it.  Apparently, I was right, because on the test, I nailed it perfectly, better than any of my practice attempts.  They awarded me "Weaving Wonder" due to this feat.

U-turn

You start off and do a sharp right turn.  That was easy after the first day.  Just look where you want to go.  The challenge was the second part.  You have to drive into a twenty foot wide rectangle and make a U-turn.  My memory is hazy due to the ending, but I think I was doing well at first.  I think I had it in the line or very close to it.  But just as I was completing the turn, I looked down to where I was supposed to stop at.  I suppose I was so used to doing the S-turn and needed to think just U-turn.  But, when you look down, in a U-turn, your bike goes down.  My bike didn't fall, but started to.  I put my foot down and gave it throttle.  I did both really quick without thinking.  My heart was pounding.  The instructor called me lucky.  Lucky, because if you drop the bike in the test, you automatically fail.  I will admit that threw me off a bit for the rest of the test.

My advice on the U-turn is keep your head up.  If your worried that you can't make the turn in the space, then go out of bounds.  It is better to take the point hit on going out of bounds, then to drop the bike and fail immediately.

Side note, the bike won't fall once it is moving.  But in a U-turn, your going very slow, barely moving to make that tight turn.  And when you slow down and lose momentum and start to come to near a stop, it is at that point that the bike can fall. Never completely come to a stop in the turn.  The greatest risk is at the end of it, when you've already spent all your forward momentum.

Cornering Maneuver

I should have nailed this one.  I did well on it in practice.  You start off taking a curve and are supposed to reach a high speed.  (I forget the exact target.)  Then slow down (but don't stop) and take another corner around and come to a stop.  Honestly, it isn't that hard of a test.  But...

I was last in line and trying to forget about the U-turn incident.  I kept hearing "remember go fast" as each person went ahead of me.  And I over thought it.  I kept thinking go fast.  So when it was my turn to go, I went fast, far too fast, faster than I did in the whole course.  I nailed the first part.  But I was in way too fast for that second curve.

I knew that as soon as I midway through.  I went wide, off the track and did a giant curve off to the side.  Cursing under my helmet the whole time.  And then looped back into the track and finished it up.  My instructor wasn't happy with me to say the least.

I told my Uncle who drives bikes daily to work on the interstate.  He said he was proud of me for the quick thinking.  I messed it up by going too fast, but when presented with something that would have made me crash - taking a sharp curve too fast, I evaded the obstacle safely.  Also, even in that U-turn, when I was coming to a stop, I acted quick.  I need to learn more skill and practice more.  But I'm glad I've got the quick thinking reflex.  My skills are going to lag until I practice more and build it up.

Results

Honestly, it was a bit of a blur after my high speed curve escapade.  My head wasn't in it.  I remember I passed, but not by much.  But hey keep in mind, a day ago, I had never driven a motorcycle or a dirt bike, and my bicycle is the simplest model they make.  I went from that, to passing.  Even if I hadn't have passed, being able to do all that or even come close in only 12  hours of practice is impressive.

Road ready?  I don't think anyone who completes this test, perfect even, is prepared for the road.  This is just the basics of motorcycle operation.  I feel like I'm prepared to practice more.  I'll start in empty parking lots and work up to some low speed roads and just see how I progress and my comfort level.  Also, keep in mind, all you need to do to be street legal is take a written test for the permit and then you're allowed to drive in daylight with no passengers.  I look at like a license to learn more.

What if I had failed?  My advice is go into this expecting to fail and expecting to have to re-take it and expecting to have practice far more.  Because even if you pass, you need a lot more practice.  This is just the most basic start.  If I had failed, I would have just taken a written test and got a permit and then re-taken the class again later.

The most important thing of this class to me was to know if I enjoyed motorcycling or not.  Is it for you is important question before spending thousands of dollars on a bike.  And it taught me the basics of operations, so I could go and practice more.  And it gave me a license, so now I'm legal to venture out and practice where I'm comfortable.