Harley-Davidson Riding Academy - Day 4 - Part 3

After the driving skills test, we broke for an hour lunch, then resumed the classroom portion.  Today, we picked up supplemental information and "fun/games" that prove a point.

Supplemental Info

Sometimes a motorcycle won't trigger the car sensors for a red light.  In Indiana, you only have to wait 2 minutes and if it hasn't changed, then you can legally run it.  I researched this after the class and confirmed.  Here's an article, and here's the official Indiana House Bill 1080.

I don't plan on carrying adult passengers for awhile, but the kid info was interesting.  A child can be a passenger, but must be tall enough to reach the foot pegs.  And must have on helmet and full protective gear.  Also, if the kid isn't directly yours, even if you are grandparent, then you must have written permission of the legal guardian.

Indiana doesn't require a helmet.  (I'll be wearing one anyways.)  But some neighboring states do.  Some places sell fake "DOT" stickers that can be placed on lightweight plastic hats.  This way a motorcyclist and try to trick a police officer if pulled over and claim it is DOT approved.  That's ridiculous.

Don't drink and drive is obvious, or really should be.  What is also interesting is the caution in the handbook about having a drunken passenger.  Even if your a sober driver, a drunk behind you could seriously mess up your ride.  Good thing to keep in mind.

Fun & Games

They had a pair of "beer goggles."  These distort your vision so that you can't walk in a straight line.  We went through trying to walk a straight line with and without them.

There was the center of vision test.  Where someone looked straight ahead.  Another person slowed moved a large number card far out far into their center of vision.  The person looking ahead said when they could make out the number.  This is point out that you can only see directly where you are looking.

There was also the ruler drop.  A person drops a ruler and you see how quick you can grab it.  This is to point out reaction time.

The fun & games were nice points to drive home.

Written Test

The test is multiple choice.  Twenty questions and you can miss up to 5 questions to pass.  My advice carefully read each question and the answer.  Sometimes the question is tricky. You'll read it and be like A sounds good, B sounds good, wait a minute, what?  Other times, they might slip in a term from the handbook in a slightly wrong setting.  Most questions are straight forward, but some are trying to be tricky.  (However, high school level tricky, not college/genius tricky, don't over think it.)

A few of the questions were about how a motorcycle reacted.  The prior actual driving portion helped with that.  I was like I remember when I did that on the bike.  I know what it does when you do that.

There wasn't a time limit.  I went through the test, answered the questions I was sure on, and marked any I wasn't certain on.  Then I took a second pass through and answered the questions I wasn't sure on.  I looked up and no one had turned it in, so I went back to the start and re-read it all over again, slower this time just to make sure, not like I have anything better to do :)

Turning in the test and waiting for the results is nerve racking.  You think you did okay, but you know there's a few tricky questions.  Was C or D on question X the best answer?  As we finished, we could exit the room and talk to the others in another room.

There was something that made me feel good the whole time both the skills and written tests.  I took the course before buying a bike.  If I didn't pass or didn't enjoy it, then no big deal.  A few of the other guys did that in the opposite order - bought a bike and then took the class.

Results

After what felt like the longest time in forever, we go the results.  We all passed!

After that, the instructor went through the test question by question asking if any of us had questions on each one.

They gave us all official paperwork for the license branch.  That's all we need to get our motorcycle endorsement on our license.  And they gave us a completion certificate showing we did a MSF class.  They said insurance companies give discounts for that.  (Which is true, later I found out mine did.)

On top of that, they gave each of us a personalized certificate for something we had personally done.  For me, it was "Weaving Wonder."  I did bad on the cone weave in practice, but on the skills test, I did it perfect.

Then we got a free T-shirt, which my wife claimed when I got home :)  And we did a group picture.

I asked the instructor for any practice tips.  They suggested empty parking lots.

Next up, the license branch.  However, I have to wait a whole day, because the license branch in Indiana is closed on Monday.  Whoever thought that up?