|
They love that loving dog thing, it's like some old rider's lore made it onto the tests and got grandfathered in and propagated. They also made it a point to cover the dog contingency in my class and the workbooks, so I was prepared. Still waiting to deke out a dog. Today I rode home in some unexpected rain on the VanVan, and while I'll admit it's been a decade, and there's definitely oil on the roads, I don't remember my tires feeling quite so slippy in cautious low-speed turns. Are knobby tires by chance worse than street tires on wet streets, grip-wise?
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 01:20
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 06:22 |
|
|
They definitely have less grip but I've found the transition between having grip and being on the ground is much wider, there is much more warning and that's probably what you're experiencing
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 01:27
|
|
|
I took my test on my Monkey. I had excellent maneuverability and control, the instructor had a chuckle, and I passed. I'm now licensed for any bike lol
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 01:40
|
|
|
Another short (because after five visits to the DMV I am still unlicensed!!  ) ride to the UPS store. I have a modular helmet so rather than take it off I have gotten to the habit of leaving it on if it's a short stop in the store. But standing in the store I almost backed into another customer. That's something I would normally never do. I consider myself to have excellent situational awareness and generally always know where everyone is in a room that I'm standing in, and I always know when someone's pulling up behind me. The combination of not being able to hear as well and not having as much peripheral vision because of the helmet caused me to not notice that person had walked in the store and stood behind me. Also it's been happening a lot that I look in my bike's side mirrors at a stop light and notice a car stopped behind me that I hadn't realized was coming. So today's lesson is that the helmet impairs peripheral awareness and that I can't assume that my awareness will be as good as when I'm in a car, and I need to develop new habits of looking to my sides and rear and make sure I'm aware of cars in those directions.edit: If a dog chases you, get off the motorcycle and pet it. It probably is just sad because nobody wants to be its dog friend. Petting dogs makes them happy, this is widely known.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 02:05
|
|
|
You don't understand, random dogs will go into this freakout rage sometimes, they take your bike for a loud gurgling rabbit. that part's true When this happens you have to get into the dog's head as you pass, you make sure he knows that you see him, let him feel challenged, then make like you're about to do a U-turn. As the dog sees you've started to stand on the pegs a little and look back over your shoulder it will be certain that you're coming back around, and it will go all-in on a trajectory intended to deal a killing strike on your bike as it's heeled over and committed to forward motion exiting the turn (the dog knows you won't drop it). But that's where you sit back down and just haul rear end outta there, leaving the dog to feel stupid and angry.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 02:35
|
|
|
When you're doing your dog vector calculations presumably you need to take its mass and velocity into account. Like a Jack Russell is going to be a lot more manœuverable than a labrador but probably lower top speed.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 03:18
|
|
|
If it’s a greyhound you’re just hosed
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 03:28
|
|
|
You're a fighter pilot. Dogs are missiles. Strategy: Tight turns while scattering flares and chaff (dog biscuits) But the better strategy is to avoid detection in the first place.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 03:48
|
|
|
You explode the exhaust box at the dog. Scare it’s festive rear end
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 04:34
|
|
|
I'm learning so much from this thread
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 05:19
|
|
|
Vino posted:I FAILED THE WRITTEN DMV MOTORCYCLE TEST I had to do the written test but not the road test when I converted my motorcycle license from Canada to USA. I got the first four questions wrong, but was correct on all the rest. You are allowed to get four questions wrong before you fail. Lol. One of the four I got wrong was some stupidly worded question about what angle you are supposed to hold your wrist when using the throttle. My answer to that today would be "gently caress if I know, hold it so your hand is comfortable and adjust as needed" but who knows what they wanted or what I wrote. Another two had to do with lane positioning when making turns. I had been taught in Canada how important it was to always ride in the tire track, never in the center of the lane, and how to use blocking positions correctly according to the situation. So I answered accordingly. Nope, turns out in California the correct answer is always "the middle of the lane" regardless of the situation.  Can't remember what the fourth one was but I suspect something equally dumb.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 05:23
|
|
|
I also did get chased by a dog out in the country right after I first started to ride and I definitely panicked a bit and all I did was gun it. I was fine but maybe that was the wrong move!!!
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 05:24
|
|
|
I remember with being impressed with how the theory test I had to take was designed. Things have changed in the decades since I got my car licence, for the better. There were even a few video clips filmed from a helmet cam, like you were supposed to spot a car approaching a rural intersection from the right mostly hidden by foliage in order to understand the question. There were also static images with a bit of animation, like traffic lights blinking yellow. I came well prepared and only got one of the questions wrong, it was about the finer point of parking rules (which I still don't fully understand)
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 05:33
|
|
|
In passed my written test with a 100% but I set about trying to memorize what questions I could beforehand. A lot of studying for written tests is learning how to take the test. I took it with a ton of teenagers trying to get their driving permits. There was a lot of celebration and protesting at wins/losses. It wasn't until after I turned in my results that I saw they offered earplugs upon request. When I did my skills test, the first thing was the previously described figure eight. There were points for all the sections of the test that added up at the end. If you got more than 11 points or if you dropped the bike, you didn't pass. The goal was to have zero points. I was taking the test on a bike way too small for me so the figure 8 was a real challenge. I was so flustered that in the figure 8, I put my foot down once and crossed the line once. That was apparently 10 points. I had no idea. For the rest of the tests, I passed 100% with plenty of praise from the examiners each time. You know what they call someone who graduates last in their class from med school? Doctor.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 05:51
|
|
|
T Zero posted:You're a fighter pilot. Dogs are missiles. Strategy: Tight turns while scattering flares and chaff (dog biscuits) Pretty sure this is the Keith code
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 06:00
|
|
|
T Zero posted:You're a fighter pilot. Dogs are missiles. Strategy: Tight turns while scattering flares and chaff (dog biscuits) Sounds like what's really needed is a Wild Weasel operation to take out the launch site for all these dogs getting fired at you
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 06:22
|
|
|
years of playing various Road Rash titles taught me all i need to know about dealing with dogs you pop a wheelie while swinging a chain over your head with your right hand obv
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 06:24
|
|
|
Phy posted:Sounds like what's really needed is a Wild Weasel operation to take out the launch site for all these dogs getting fired at you F4E wild weasel callsign 'mailman' OMGVBFLOL posted:years of playing various Road Rash titles taught me all i need to know about dealing with dogs They will respect your skills and treat you with deference from there on, makes sense
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 06:42
|
|
|
Phy posted:Sounds like what's really needed is a Wild Weasel operation to take out the launch site for all these dogs getting fired at you Kennels are SAM batteries  Splash one bandit Anyway, eventually we'll all be replaced by drones.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 06:43
|
|
|
T Zero posted:Kennels are SAM batteries I mean there's no way you're evading SAM's with a b52
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 06:51
|
|
|
Sagebrush posted:Nope, turns out in California the correct answer is always "the middle of the lane" regardless of the situation. Yep, this is one of the ones I got wrong. California says you only have to avoid the middle of the lane after it rains when it hasn’t rained in a while, which in Los Angeles is basically one day per year. Edit: this contradicted what was taught in my California motorcycle safety training course, by the way! Ok I guess I wasn’t done complaining Edit2: Please Mr Sagebrush, something in the above dog discussion needs to be a new thread title Vino fucked around with this message at 07:59 on Jun 7, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 07:13
|
|
|
Verman posted:When the instructor described the emergency stop, he literally said "approach this first line at speed, in third gear, as fast as you feel comfortable. Only when you cross this line can you emergency brake using both brakes, and shifting down into neutral simultaneously while maintaining control of the bike and you can only put a foot down when you've come to a stop to show you successfully down shifted into neutral. I'm sorry, shift to neutral? While braking?  We had a pretty similar braking test except we were supposed to shift down to first.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 09:38
|
|
|
I know this is terrifying to hear as a newbie but the stark reality is that a lot of instructors are not good at their jobs or are structurally forced to teach garbage
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 10:13
|
|
|
There are zero (0) real-world instances when you need to hard brake AND get into neutral at the same time. Sometimes you just have to play their stupid games
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 13:31
|
|
|
My country has multiple different brake tests. In the emergency stop test, there's no shifting. You get about 12m to stop, there's no exact distance specified. The only important driveline related thing is that you don't stall the engine. Trying to find neutral while emergency braking is stupid as hell. In another test you have to brake firmly, but no emergency brake - while simultaniously shifting down to 1st gear. This is done in exactly 17 meter, no more no less. Kinda comparable what the authorities would like you to do when a traffic light turns amber on you with nobody behind you. It's a reasonably good test to show that you can brake, but also shift down to be ready to accelerate again if a light suddenly turns green again. When approaching a traffic light you always want to be in a gear, until you are going so slow that you can (and are going to) put down your foot. LimaBiker fucked around with this message at 14:26 on Jun 7, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 14:18
|
|
|
Vino posted:California says you only have to avoid the middle of the lane after it rains when it hasn’t rained in a while, which in Los Angeles is basically one day per year. This makes sense in bad test design logic. At some point you'll have learned that after a rain, the oils become a big risk, and the center of the lane is where car traffic has spent all year dropping the majority of it. Then they give you 4 options, 2-3 of which a person might reasonably argue, none of them being "some of the above". The test designer had this particular factoid in mind when they wrote it, needed to make some reasonably plausible wrong answers, slapped in some alternatives meant to trick you which had grains of truth, completely violating the principle that every answer in a multiple choice which isn't the true answer should be patently false, or at least critically flawed in reasoning. The CA DMV tests I've taken are what you expect from home-grown tests in grade school, and you end up choosing answers based not on the truth per se, but on the particular factoid you think they're trying to test for. e; to be clear, you probably are better off favoring the car tracks in rainfall. Rain or no the tires are more likely to be clearing debris from your path, and IDK maybe pushing away some of the oils too. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 15:54 on Jun 7, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 15:43
|
|
|
Neutral is for when the bike is parked.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 16:46
|
|
|
Russian Bear posted:Neutral is for when the bike is parked. I usually park in gear, seems slightly safer to me. I think you could have a moderately sized bike entirely without neutral and it would be OK. Sure you'd need a convenient way to lock the clutch in when doing chain maintenance and manhandling the bike around and so on but I don't really see why it's absolutely necessary when you have a reliable electric starter. With kick start only and carburation/choke and all that jazz it's probably another story.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 18:02
|
|
|
I was told in class to park in first gear so that the bike doesn't roll away on hills.Remy Marathe posted:This makes sense in bad test design logic. Yea I agree with all this, and I was thinking about it as I took the test and the test still confounded me because so many of the things in the test conflicted with what I was taught in the course, or were too ambiguous for me to guess properly. Going in for it again today if I can find the time somewhere in my day, wish me luck.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 18:09
|
|
|
Invalido posted:I usually park in gear, seems slightly safer to me. I think you could have a moderately sized bike entirely without neutral and it would be OK. Sure you'd need a convenient way to lock the clutch in when doing chain maintenance and manhandling the bike around and so on but I don't really see why it's absolutely necessary when you have a reliable electric starter. With kick start only and carburation/choke and all that jazz it's probably another story. I have to roll my bike and man handle it to its spot after i jump off, so that's the only time i use it.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 19:16
|
|
|
eh. stopped at red lights, I would often switch into neutral.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 20:08
|
|
|
At lights that I know will take a while, yeah
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 20:10
|
|
|
i know this is the newbie thread but come on. y'all can't seriously be acting like you don't need a neutral gear. rolling the bike around working on the chain or rear wheel letting the bike idle without sitting on it relaxing your hand while you're stopped at a stoplight flipping the fuel cock, refastening your gloves, scratching your nose, or doing anything else at all while you're stopped it's a critical part of the transmission and no the clutch does not replace it. (yes i know the official rule is that you don't shift into neutral when you're at a light because you need to be ready to immediately take off in case of emergency. i think that logic is flawed for many reasons and instead i just split up to the front and sit between lanes. that's safer)
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 20:18
|
|
|
Sagebrush posted:i know this is the newbie thread but come on. y'all can't seriously be acting like you don't need a neutral gear. Yeah this
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 20:43
|
|
|
All this gear/neutral talk and no mention of electric bikes? What I remember from my LiveWire demo ride is no neutral, no gears, which I suppose makes sense in an EV
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 21:07
|
|
|
Sagebrush posted:i know this is the newbie thread but come on. y'all can't seriously be acting like you don't need a neutral gear. Need is a really strong word. Is it nice to have? Sure is! I use neutral every time I ride, I like having it (except when I find it by accident when I want 1st or 2nd), but I honestly don't think I need it. Suppose you have a locking thingamajig that holds the clutch in and releases it again whenever you want it to. Now you can do all those things, albeit not quite as good since there's a tad of extra drag in the transmission. You can also turn the engine off and start it again at the push of a button or two if you want to scratch your nose or adjust you left mirror or just stretch a bit at a redlight or whatever, it's super easy - arguably easier than getting the bike into gear in fact, which as we all know can be a bit of a hassle sometimes. I don't think I ever need to leave my bike running when I'm not sitting on it even if I sometimes do. I don't have a petcock. Is it a good idea to build a fuel burning bike without neutral? Probably not, but it would still be a functioning bike able to do all the cool bike things that make bikes awesome without it IMO. This is not a hill I'm willing to die on or defend vehemently but I just don't think it's a superduper important or critical feature.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 21:30
|
|
|
Try pushing a large, cold bike around with just the clutch pulled in and get back to me
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 21:38
|
|
|
Slavvy posted:Try pushing a large, cold bike around with just the clutch pulled in and get back to me Or kickstart it like that lol
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 21:39
|
|
|
That's why I specified I was talking about a moderately large bike with electric start only, but yeah, for sure.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 21:51
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 06:22 |
|
|
It can be a small, light bike. My old KTM250 was almost impossible to kick start cold, in gear
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2023 21:55
|
|