Motorcycle License: Why & How
I have finally gotten my motorcycle license, and thought I’d tell me story about riding, from the beginning. Many people have expressed their negative feelings about me getting my license. Although there is some validity in that, none of them knew anything about my previous motorcycle experience. Side thought: would people react the same if I was a guy? Would they still feel negatively about it, but for different reasons, or that same reasons?
History
I grew up riding dirtbikes. I started on a little ATC, which is a three-wheeler, that was probably about 50cc. This was when I was about 4 years old. Then I had a two-wheeler 50cc. My dad always had a Harley or two, and we often went out camping in the desert to ride dirt bikes. His speed freak genes didn’t get passed down to me. I stopped after we moved out of my dad’s house, and although I have ridden on the back of a couple motorcycles since then, I have yet to drive one again. So now, every time I see someone riding a motorcycle on the street, I think “that will be me soon.”
Licensing Options
You can either study and practice, and go to the DMV to take the driven and written test. The other option is to take the Motorcycle Safety Foundations (MSF) course through the California Motorcycle Safety Program (CMSP). It costs $425 to do that, but the driving portion of the DMV test is waived, so you only have to do the knowledge test at the DMV. For the MSF course, you do two zoom classes for a couple hours, and two half days on the riding range. They provided everything, including the bikes, helmets, and gloves. However I did already purchase my own helmet and gloves, so I didn’t have to borrow those.
The MSF course was eye opening in so many ways. We started out with just rolling the bikes back and forth using the clutch. This helped us feel for the friction zone. Then we did a bunch of circles around the parking lot, using cones for pathways or obstacles. We started doing things only in first gear, then slowly started integrating second gear. That was when I really started to feel comfortable again, becuase second gear was so much more forgiving that first. The exercises we did included slow turns, fast turns, abrupt stops, wide turns, tight turns, weaving, swerving, navigating stop signs, and using your blinker.
Results
My biggest flaws when it came down to the final skills test were abrupt stopping and swerving. They didn’t mention that I hit the last cone on the swerve exercise, but I know I fumbled that exercise and barely made it. For the abrupt stop, we had to get into second gear and go 15mph, and stop at the cone. They measured how far we went. I accidentally skidded my back tire because I used too much rear break, which is a dirt biking habit that is tough for me to break. Using more pressure on your hand break and less pressure on your foot break is a very weird feeling to me that I’ll have to practice and get used to.
At the end when we got our results, we got a card that we can use for discounts at certain retailers. It secretly made me feel really cool to have a card to carry around for it too. There were a couple of people that didn’t pass the course. It was either because they put their feet down or they went too slow. Going too slow was the main issue for the people who lacked confidence throughout the riding range. The faster we went, the more stable the bike felt, and the more fun it was.
Next Steps:
To get to this point, I have fundraised, some on GoFundMe, and some by saving up all of my cash tips from dog grooming. Thank you to those who have helped out so far, including Zack (grooming client), my mom, Justin (boyyfriend), and Laura (my kindergarten teacher). However, I am still raising money for a bike, because even though I don’t have a lot of money, apparently that people care if I live my dream. Thank you for helping me make this possible.
Please consider donating to my GoFundMe or share it with a biker friend of yours who may want to help a new rider get on the road. Click the photo to the left to go there.
I am fully licensed and can’t wait to find a Honda Rebel 500 of my own. Shoutout to my friend Neal for passing as much motorcycle knowledge on to me as possible, and for letting me ride on the back of your bike while I am in limbo!
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you on my socials. Please donate toward my GoFundMe or share it on your socials!
-Gabi
