A Word About the IL Rider's Exam

[MNeedham73]

The written part: Easier than hell.

The riding part: Ridiculous unless you're riding something like a 250cc bike.

Went to the Secretary of State's office Tuesday afternoon to take the test to get my license.

Aced the written test.

Failed the riding test. The maneuvers they want you to perform are not designed with big bikes in mind AT ALL.

First maneuver is a sharp 90 degree left turn. The lines you have to stay in between are only about 2.5' apart. Actually made it through that one, then stalled the bike and nearly dropped it heh.

Second maneuver is weaving through a set of offset cones. Set up something like this:

O


_____O


O


_____O


O

Sorry, but a 700 pound cruiser is NOT designed to be that damn nimble. No matter how hard I tried to keep the bike moving and upright, it just wasn't going to happen.

I did a perfect U-turn though lol.

Oh well. Will have to try again with my bike or see if any of my friends have something much smaller I can take the test with.

:friggin:

The thing that cracks me up is that I rode 20 miles each way in afternoon rush hour to take that stupid test without a bit of trouble lol.

[ethics]

If you have a friend with a scooter, use that. I told you that the box test was not easy at all, even with a 250cc bike. :)

[MNeedham73]

Yeah, I'm going to check on that. If no one I know has one, I'll see if there is somewhere around that I can rent one for a couple of hours lol.

[ethics]

MSF also provides a 150CC bike with an hour of training for (I believe) 60 bucks.

[Brazbit]

I strongly suggest testing on the bike you ride daily. You don't want to be on something you are not familliar with. As for the idea of a scooter be sure to check whether your state has license classes or not. In WA, at the time I took my test, the classes wer 250 and under, 500 and under, and unlimited. Had I taken the test on any bike available to me other than my Gold Wing I would not have recieved a license that permitted me to ride my Wing.

As for getting a big bike through the test I can tell you the space is tight but not impossible. Go to the testing course when there are no test going on. Place some cones and practice, practice, practice. Before long you will be doing just fine.

If your testing location is particularly nasty check the ones in surrounding communities. I attempted the test the first time at an unscouted location and it turned out that location was on a highly crowned parking lot. I arrived 5 minutes late and so was unable to prepare my bike I had to immediately do the test after a 2 hour ride (only location in the state that did the test on my birthday.) The crowning of the parking lot exagerated all my turns and I was stressed so I failed my first attempt. When I did my retest We found a nice location that had been repaved the year before so the lot was in perfect condition and I passed with flying colors. We did not use the local testing ground as it hadn't been paved in 20 years and always had bits of loose gravel, from the auxillary gravel parking lot nearby, on the course.

So: Practice, Practice, Practice and Location, Location, Location.

It really is worth putting in the effort to pass the test on your own bike. Even if the bike weighs 850 pounds and is fully dressed with faring, saddlebags, foot rests, extended pipes, and a trailer hitch. Do you really want to have to go through life forced to admit being unable to pass the test unless you were riding a 50cc scooter? :rofl:

(I probably put in 12 hours or more of practice just to be confident that I could get the Wing through the course.)

[MNeedham73]

Heh, in Illinois, as long as it's over 150cc, you qualify for a full motorcycle license.

[ethics]

Do you really want to have to go through life forced to admit being unable to pass the test unless you were riding a 50cc scooter

I doubt it really matters. As long as he knows how to ride in real life situations, he is golden. That's not to say he shouldn't practice, but I doubt any one cares what bike they used to pass their test in.

[MNeedham73]

The guy that sold me my bike, who has been riding his entire life, used a scooter to pass the test when he moved back to IL.

Leon's right..no one cares what you pass the test with.

[Brazbit]

Leon's right..no one cares what you pass the test with.I promise some do. I did. But if it means nothing to you so be it.