krusty kritter
2005-03-12 16:05:40 UTC
Somebody, in another thread, asked for the dimensions of the rather
small circle at the end of the keyhole at a California DMV motorcycle
skills tests, so they could lay out such a circle in a parking lot and
see what all the fuss was about amongst riders "unfortunate" enough to
have to prove they can negotiate it.
I've had my M1 endorsement since 1975, but I was *never* required to
traverse the DMV keyhole, the DMV examiner figured that I couldn't do
the circle on my Windjammer-equipped water buffalo, and didn't make me
do the keyhole. And I have my doubts whether I can do it now on any of
the bikes I currently own.
One poster to an older thread thought that the circle was as small as
15 feet in diameter.
There is such a keyhole at the local DMV here in Cowpoop. If you rode
around the circle, and could stay in the exact center of the circle, it
would be 25 feet in diameter. You would have approximately 12 inches to
either side of the exact center, so the "zone" inside the 3-inch wide
white lines is *about* 24 inches wide.
The inner and outer circles in the local DMV parking lot weren't
exactly concentric, the lines were a little smudged, and I don't know
if the DMV examiner would fail a rider whose front tire just touched
the white line.
I was wondering whether my FZR-1000, which, according to the owner's
manual, can turn a 22-foot diameter circle, would be able to go around
that DMV test circle. Theoretically it could, the forks wouldn't be
quite against the stops, but almost.
I haven't tried the circle on a motorcycle yet, but I had a *bicycle*
in the back of my pickup truck, so I used that vehicle instead.
I pedalled around it a few times to see if I could even do it on a
bicycle. Bicycles are even wobblier than motorcycles, in tight turns,
but I was able to keep inside the lines even in a right hand circle.
Right hand turns are especially difficult for beginning motorcyclists,
because you're trying to twist the throttle grip back toward you, while
pulling the right hand bar back also.
And the problem with riding a tight circle on a 2-wheeler of any kind
is when you're looking down at the ground to see where the front wheel
is going, instead of looking at the horizon for a reference to orient
yourself to.
The two-wheeler will fall over to the inside of the turn when you do
that.
So motorcyclists look at the pavement surface *before* the tight turn,
not during the turn. Who cares exactly *where* the front wheel goes, it
the pavement is clean and you don't run into a pothole or through a wet
cowpie on the parking lot?
The DMV cares, so don't cross the line...
small circle at the end of the keyhole at a California DMV motorcycle
skills tests, so they could lay out such a circle in a parking lot and
see what all the fuss was about amongst riders "unfortunate" enough to
have to prove they can negotiate it.
I've had my M1 endorsement since 1975, but I was *never* required to
traverse the DMV keyhole, the DMV examiner figured that I couldn't do
the circle on my Windjammer-equipped water buffalo, and didn't make me
do the keyhole. And I have my doubts whether I can do it now on any of
the bikes I currently own.
One poster to an older thread thought that the circle was as small as
15 feet in diameter.
There is such a keyhole at the local DMV here in Cowpoop. If you rode
around the circle, and could stay in the exact center of the circle, it
would be 25 feet in diameter. You would have approximately 12 inches to
either side of the exact center, so the "zone" inside the 3-inch wide
white lines is *about* 24 inches wide.
The inner and outer circles in the local DMV parking lot weren't
exactly concentric, the lines were a little smudged, and I don't know
if the DMV examiner would fail a rider whose front tire just touched
the white line.
I was wondering whether my FZR-1000, which, according to the owner's
manual, can turn a 22-foot diameter circle, would be able to go around
that DMV test circle. Theoretically it could, the forks wouldn't be
quite against the stops, but almost.
I haven't tried the circle on a motorcycle yet, but I had a *bicycle*
in the back of my pickup truck, so I used that vehicle instead.
I pedalled around it a few times to see if I could even do it on a
bicycle. Bicycles are even wobblier than motorcycles, in tight turns,
but I was able to keep inside the lines even in a right hand circle.
Right hand turns are especially difficult for beginning motorcyclists,
because you're trying to twist the throttle grip back toward you, while
pulling the right hand bar back also.
And the problem with riding a tight circle on a 2-wheeler of any kind
is when you're looking down at the ground to see where the front wheel
is going, instead of looking at the horizon for a reference to orient
yourself to.
The two-wheeler will fall over to the inside of the turn when you do
that.
So motorcyclists look at the pavement surface *before* the tight turn,
not during the turn. Who cares exactly *where* the front wheel goes, it
the pavement is clean and you don't run into a pothole or through a wet
cowpie on the parking lot?
The DMV cares, so don't cross the line...
