Got my M endorsement today!

[jmazza]

Took my skills test today and got my full M endorsement on my license!

The examiner asked questions about MPG of the Buddy and then after the cone weave / U-Turn she said "wow, is that thing THAT easy to handle or are you just THAT good??"

Of course I told her it was all me but then I patted Buster on the head and thanked him for being so nimble.

[Christy]

congratulations on being legal!!

[jmazza]

congratulations on being legal!!

Thanks! I felt a little less guilty speeding on the way home.

[ericalm]

When we took the MSF it was amazing to see how much more maneuverable the scoots were than even the small course bikes. Those figure 8s everyone dreads? A breeze!

[Kurzer]

CONGRATS!!

[jmazza]

When we took the MSF it was amazing to see how much more maneuverable the scoots were than even the small course bikes. Those figure 8s everyone dreads? A breeze!

Yeah... the MSF is still on my list, but it's been a hard time scheduling and my permit was about to expire.

But yeah, I can't imagine doing even the cone weave on a huge bike, but on the Buddy it's so easy. I've done figure 8's as well - don't know what size they need to be but I've done pretty tight ones.

[jfrost2]

Cone weave in the MSF is alot bigger than the state test, but the final day, they give you like 8 feet cone weaves where you really gotta lean into it. It isnt hard, just remember to ride and steer with your eyes.

[Sharon]

What suggestions do you have for doing the weave/cone test? I've been practicing like crazy...sometimes good, sometimes not. I went for my skills test last week but didn't pass (CONES!). I've tried slow, faster, closer to beginning cone, etc. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[jmazza]

just remember to ride and steer with your eyes.

Nope, I use the force and keep my blast shield down.

Buster knows what to do. He's the one who passed the test.

[MFrost]

Hi,
I also had trouble at first with the cone weave, but after practicing a few times & experimenting I got the hang of it. I found that if I just rode the throttle
off and on it gave me enough force to weave thru each one perfectly without tipping the bike or hitting a cone.
I ended up getting a perfect score on this part of the test. Unfortunately on the sudden stop portion I hit a patch of gravel and skidded.
I about gave my son ( jfrost2 )a heart attack since I was taking the test on his bike.
Mike

[Christy]

i didn't have any problems with the cones unless I looked down towards them. as long as i kept my head up and looking past them and, essentially, going straight with just little leans (presses into the handles) and kinda swerving around them.

[addictionriot]

Congrats

[jmazza]

What suggestions do you have for doing the weave/cone test? I've been practicing like crazy...sometimes good, sometimes not. I went for my skills test last week but didn't pass (CONES!). I've tried slow, faster, closer to beginning cone, etc. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi Sharon-

Have you tried to give some throttle while keeping a little back brake on? This would be the equivalent of riding the clutch (friction zone) like you'd do on a motorcycle.

The movement of the engine helps keep you upright, while the brake slows you down. It's a great way to get through all the slow maneuvers. Just mess around with maintaining your speed with the left hand (back) brake, while giving some gas.

Another tip is don't try to go too tight around them- there's a lot of distance between them, as you come around one cone, head for the edge of the next one instead of trying to cut too quickly. If you cut too quickly, you'll clear the cone with your front tire but nick it with your back.

If all that fails, close your eyes.

[Sharon]

Thanks for those suggestions and JMAZZA, I loved the "close your eyes". Does that go along with my "oh, S---T" comments I've been saying as I miss a cone? Seriously, good suggestions which I will try tomorrow.

[jfrost2]

Look at the cone ahead, not the one right by your front wheel, just keep looking to the one ahead and lean left and right, you'll magically just weave through them.

[jmazza]

Thanks for those suggestions and JMAZZA, I loved the "close your eyes". Does that go along with my "oh, S---T" comments I've been saying as I miss a cone? Seriously, good suggestions which I will try tomorrow.

Yeah the one that helped me the most was the line to take. Check out this image below, you see how the line takes you far around the cone you are swerving around to the edge of the next cone? That will keep your back tire from hitting. That was my problem when I first started practicing.

[Racenut]

I race autocross in my car, I'm hoping that will help

Attack the back of the cones. If you wait till you get to the cone to start turning, you're already too late.

[Sharon]

How far to the right/left do you set the next cone from the previous cone. You know, to make curve shape as opposed to a straight line of cones. I find the straighter the line, the easier I can execute around the cones...the wider the curve the more difficult.

[jfrost2]

They are about a foot apart from being perfectly straight. I'd go to your BMV and bring your own tiny soccer cones in your pet carrier. Doing it yourself in your street could make you practice for the wrong thing. You could master it in your street, but when you go to the real test, their set up may be slightly different.

[jmazza]

They are about a foot apart from being perfectly straight. I'd go to your BMV and bring your own tiny soccer cones in your pet carrier. Doing it yourself in your street could make you practice for the wrong thing. You could master it in your street, but when you go to the real test, their set up may be slightly different.

Yeah, according to the diagram I posted they are 2 feet apart total, or 1 foot to the left/right of the center line.

I tried to practice with them a bit farther apart just to be sure.

[redcass]

Congrats to you and Buster!

[Sharon]

Thanks again for the measurements. What is BMV?

[Christy]

Thanks again for the measurements. What is BMV?

other states call it the DMV (department of motor vehicles)

bmv = bureau? of motor vehicles, maybe?

[madtolive]

cones! the staggered cones were what got me! ::shakes fist::

as for the regular weave, it helps to remember to concentrate on leaning your body and pressing down on the handlebar end to weave, and not trying to "steer" through the course. "look, lean, press, roll!" as when you ride through curves.

[Syd]

I sometimes 'practice' by swerving around the dotted lines on the frontage road I commute on. Very often I am the only vehicle on the road, it runs between sound walls so no one can see me, and swerving around every other line at 45+ is just fun. I can usually manage a half dozen or so before I hit a line.

[jmazza]

I sometimes 'practice' by swerving around the dotted lines on the frontage road I commute on. Very often I am the only vehicle on the road, it runs between sound walls so no one can see me, and swerving around every other line at 45+ is just fun. I can usually manage a half dozen or so before I hit a line.

Yeah I practice around manhole covers. But it's amazing how the two skills (fast swerves and slow weaves) are so different. I had been swerving around manhole covers thinking I'd be getting some practice in on the slow weave but nope!

[Sharon]

One final question: how slow should I be rolling through the cones. I tried creeping, using a little throttle, and alternating. Any thoughts on that?

[Christy]

One final question: how slow should I be rolling through the cones. I tried creeping, using a little throttle, and alternating. Any thoughts on that?

keep the speed steady instead of slowing and speeding up...that makes it WAY harder.

everything in my MSF course was around 15mph...except for the fast breaking where we had to speed up to 20 and then apply fast break without dropping or loosing control and w/stopping in a certain measured distance. oh, yeah, and the one time in class (not on the test) that we had to get up to third gear.

[Sharon]

OK...keep the speed steady. About what speed, obviously not 15 mph?

[Christy]

OK...keep the speed steady. About what speed, obviously not 15 mph?

why not 15? if 15 seems fast to you, then shoot for between 10 and 15.

Scooters and motorcycles will balance themselves at around 10mph. if possible, don't go under that because it will make the test MUCH harder than it needs to be.

the test isn't a slow-race...it's not designed to see how competent you are at balancing (though there is one small part of that). The tests primary design is to make sure you can handle very basic skills that you'll need in real driving situations. You'll need to be able to do most maneuvers going at least 10mph.

[ryder1]

Congratulations on passing!

[Kodos]

Congratulations! I'm taking my test tomorrow; the part that always freaks me out is the u-turn. I somehow lose all riding confidence when I have to do that, convincing myself that I'm going to topple over.

[jmazza]

Congratulations! I'm taking my test tomorrow; the part that always freaks me out is the u-turn. I somehow lose all riding confidence when I have to do that, convincing myself that I'm going to topple over.

Well the dumbest part is that it's a u-turn to the RIGHT. Tell me when you will ever u-turn to the right while riding?

But- the 24' space to do it seemed HUGE when I did mine. I'd been practicing u-turning in the space of two normal parking spaces (normally 9-10' wide each) and so I must have looked like I was u-turning on a dime in that 24' space.

[Kodos]

Wow! Any tips from the U-Turn master?

[ericalm]

Wow! Any tips from the U-Turn master?

Practice!

U-Turns and tight circles are a combination of lean and speed. If you feel your self tipping to the inside of the circle, you're going too slow. If you veer to the outside, you're not leaning enough. The best way I know to control this is by dragging your rear brake (staying even on the throttle, but applying a little brake pressure to control your speed) and counter leaning (you stay upright or lean away from the curve, allowing you to lean the scoot further at a slower speed and have more control over the lean).

HOWEVER: I don't know about other states but CA now requires that all test maneuvers be done at 10mph or under and that you complete the circles/turns without braking. The test administrators are usually not so strict and let a lot slide from what I've heard. Still, it's nearly impossible to do like this, even if you've aced the MSF (in which case you could skip the test anyway).

[hcstrider]

jmazza: Congratulations on passing.

Sharon:

The Maryland motorcycle skills test focuses on controlling your scooter/motorcycle at a very slow speed. For example on one section of the Maryland test you are required to travel a straight line inside of a 2 foot wide lane for 60 feet. The examiner times this portion of the test and if you travel the 60 feet in faster than 12 seconds then you automatically lose 5 points (You are only allowed to lose a total of 12 points). To successfully pass this section of the Maryland test you must be traveling at 3.4 mph or slower. I know this because I really struggled with this section of the test and had to practice, practice, practice this until I could balance the Buddy while traveling 3.4 mph or slower. The Virginia skills test is probably different but looking at the Virginia motorcycle skills test, they seem to have a similar emphasis on controlling your scooter/motorcycle at a low speed.

As for the cone weave, I did this at about 5 mph which seemed recklessly fast compared to my 3.4 mph straight line test. The 5 cones were placed in a straight line exactly 10 feet apart and my technique was to go about a foot wide of the cone so that I would not risk knocking it over. Maryland doesn’t care how fast/slow you weave through the cones, they only want to see: do you knock a cone over, do you skip any cones or do you put a foot down. Because they were not grading me on how quickly I weaved through the cones my technique was to weave through the cones in a slow, controlled speed. I can not count the number of times that I practiced the cone weave but I could do this maneuver in my sleep.

Ironically, when I finally passed the skills test (on my third attempt), the only points I lost were on the fast stop. For the fast stop I was not travelling at exactly 15 mph (Yes in Maryland they time this section of the test and you lose points if you are traveling faster or slower than exactly 15 mph). I blame these lost points on the inaccuracy of the Buddy’s speedometer.