My 42-Year-Old Friend Failed His M2 Exam | Page 4 | GTAMotorcycle.com

My 42-Year-Old Friend Failed His M2 Exam

That would be 6, so no. Here's the excerpt, not to say that we do this now, but we have in some places.

"Alternative Surfaces
If at all possible, it is advantageous to allow the students to experience some simulated real-world situations. Riding on grass, dirt or gravel where available (and allowed) is encouraged if it can be done safely.

Potholes and Road Imperfections
Potholes and road imperfections can be included to impart reality to the exercise. Demonstrate to the students how bare(sic) their weight on the foot pegs at the same time as elevating their body slightly from the seat.
Be generous with your "thumbs up" and your smiles.

Start from a Stop on a Hill . . . "
Lol yeah right. Fat chance I would ever let them do alternative surfaces. Their brains are already exploding from using all 4 limbs at the same time.

No thanks
 
For what slow clutch rear brake?

Certainly a real world application, but I can teach them just as easily on a nice flat chunk of asphalt.
Starting from a stop, on a hill. Excellent for skill development.
The lot in Hamilton has a nice steep hill near the storage container. Fantastic for a stop and go on a hill.
 
Starting from a stop, on a hill. Excellent for skill development.
The lot in Hamilton has a nice steep hill near the storage container. Fantastic for a stop and go on a hill.
We teaching hill starts at Georgian. Most lots don't have actual hills so we'll pull on the back of the bike to act as "gravity". Not perfect, but they learn the concept.
 
Starting from a stop, on a hill. Excellent for skill development.
The lot in Hamilton has a nice steep hill near the storage container. Fantastic for a stop and go on a hill.

As someone who did their M1/M1X at Hamilton - that lot is great, there's elevation changes, room for some sweeping turns and to get some speed.... Great location to get started, for sure!
 
IMO a big factor with the M1X/M2 exam is that people are not just learning to ride. They are also learning how a manual transmission works. Getting used to a motorcycle is new enough, and if you have no concept of how a clutch or gears work it's an added thing your brain needs to keep track of. The weekend riding time you get is nowhere near long enough to develop a muscle memory for shifting, so your brain is partially managing that on top of the riding skills you are learning.

That said, when I did my M1X course there were definitely some people there who were...spatially challenged. I wouldn't want to get in a car with them.
 
IMO a big factor with the M1X/M2 exam is that people are not just learning to ride. They are also learning how a manual transmission works. Getting used to a motorcycle is new enough, and if you have no concept of how a clutch or gears work it's an added thing your brain needs to keep track of. The weekend riding time you get is nowhere near long enough to develop a muscle memory for shifting, so your brain is partially managing that on top of the riding skills you are learning.

That said, when I did my M1X course there were definitely some people there who were...spatially challenged. I wouldn't want to get in a car with them.
When I see an idiot driving 90 km/h in the fast lane of the 400 with his/her chin against the steering wheel I wonder who was the bigger idiot who passed him/her at the Ministry. They must have been bribed.
 
Both riders were mostly ok although the woman decided that riding wasn't for her and dropped out.

This is a very unique thread.

I'm in my mid-40's now, and I've been riding for an extended period of time, both on-road as well as offroad.

I have found that offroad people make the transition to street riding MUCH more quickly than the average person, and they usually excel in "emergency" type situations and are able to keep their composure better when needed (ie: slippery conditions, emergency braking etc)

That said, I've had the many opportunities to ride dirtbikes/motorcross with friends that started on the street first.
A few of them quickly sold their dirtbikes, some getting injured the first time out, others just finding it too difficult for them.
They were not able to manage the dirtbikes very well, even on what we would consider beginner terrain.

I find it very strange that the gentleman the OP speaks of struggled that much in a parking lot. Most of the M2 bikes are very beginner friendly with very linerar throttle response. Perhaps his dirtbike experience back home was not as good as he pretended it was.

JMO
I also rode off-road with enduros for 15 years before jumping on a 1996 Katana and almost killing myself because the thing doesn't turn on a dime and it's hard to maneuvre. This guy jumped on a heavy cruiser from a 125cc dirtbike.
 
MTOHP.COM offers a course named, More riding time.
You show up at lunch or earlier on Sunday and then do the test again
 
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To this day I’m baffled how a guy during my M2 course could endo a Virago 250 during the emergency stop drill…baffled.
Maybe it was me in your course lol, did it with RTI down on cherry street, dont know if anyone remembers but the RTI guys used to stand in front of you as extra incentive to stop in time. I'd been chatting with the instructor for that one so we were pretty friendly at that point, and I had 20 years experience so giving me 100 feet to stop from 20kmh wasnt really very exciting or very "emergency", he must have thought I looked bored or something for the first few runs. On the last run he waited until the last possible second to throw his hand up, I dont know how far I was but it definitely felt like less than 30 feet, going maybe 60 or 70 at that point in fourth gear, I slammed the brakes with everything I had, backwheel left the ground for sure, almost dumped it, eyes the size of dinner plates im guessing. Thankfully I managed not to crash and didnt hit him, but he had a good laugh and I definitely was more humble for the rest of the course lol.
 
Maybe it was me in your course lol, did it with RTI down on cherry street, dont know if anyone remembers but the RTI guys used to stand in front of you as extra incentive to stop in time. I'd been chatting with the instructor for that one so we were pretty friendly at that point, and I had 20 years experience so giving me 100 feet to stop from 20kmh wasnt really very exciting or very "emergency", he must have thought I looked bored or something for the first few runs. On the last run he waited until the last possible second to throw his hand up, I dont know how far I was but it definitely felt like less than 30 feet, going maybe 60 or 70 at that point in fourth gear, I slammed the brakes with everything I had, backwheel left the ground for sure, almost dumped it, eyes the size of dinner plates im guessing. Thankfully I managed not to crash and didnt hit him, but he had a good laugh and I definitely was more humble for the rest of the course lol.
i never do that to students, same as 'swerve drill'. it serves no purpose other then to facilitate broken bones and broken bikes.
 
Maybe it was me in your course lol, did it with RTI down on cherry street, dont know if anyone remembers but the RTI guys used to stand in front of you as extra incentive to stop in time. I'd been chatting with the instructor for that one so we were pretty friendly at that point, and I had 20 years experience so giving me 100 feet to stop from 20kmh wasnt really very exciting or very "emergency", he must have thought I looked bored or something for the first few runs. On the last run he waited until the last possible second to throw his hand up, I dont know how far I was but it definitely felt like less than 30 feet, going maybe 60 or 70 at that point in fourth gear, I slammed the brakes with everything I had, backwheel left the ground for sure, almost dumped it, eyes the size of dinner plates im guessing. Thankfully I managed not to crash and didnt hit him, but he had a good laugh and I definitely was more humble for the rest of the course lol.
Wow that’s not cool at all! This was at Humber though so it wasn’t you.
 
Yeah I agree, I personally wouldnt do it to someone else, but its a funny story for me at least and nothing went wrong. I probably needed a bit of humbling, I was a dumb kid back then. That was the second and last time I ever endo'd a bike. First one happened when I was 8 following my dads friend on his CR250 with my dinky little 80cc, going way too fast for my brakes and the weight of that bike, and I full endo'd trying to match a turn I didnt expect him to make, slid across the road before wrapping my back around a yeild sign. Cant grow hair on my left arm thanks to that one lol.
 
Is there a reason people don't challenge the exam?

It's super cheap and super easy.
 
I assume he means, go to the mto. Do their road test.


Sure. Go for it. You may pass, and get a license, but no safety course certificate; which is what most (if not all) insurance companies have to see to give you a quote that you may... be able to afford.

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I assume he means, go to the mto. Do their road test.


Sure. Go for it. You may pass, and get a license, but no safety course certificate; which is what most (if not all) insurance companies have to see to give you a quote that you may... be able to afford.

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above that, many (if not all) will not insure you without one..period. I've had 2 students come to us who already had M2s from the MTO, still had to do the course to be offered insurance..
 
Sure... MTO has about a 40% fail rate as well, FYI.
What is the fail rate in the course? I assume it is pretty low (and that most of the fails will be predicted ahead of time barring the occasional auto-fail where they fail an element)
 
What is the fail rate in the course? I assume it is pretty low (and that most of the fails will be predicted ahead of time barring the occasional auto-fail where they fail an element)

Very low fail rate in the M1 Exit courses.

Most of the curriculum is designed around the M1X test, and most schools often over-teach above and beyond what's required of the test. The students will basically practice each section of the test, over and over again during their exercises. By the end of the course, both the student and the instructor will pretty much know whether they will pass the M1X test before even attempting it. If they are competent and do fail, most of the time it's because of nerves, and there are techniques that the instructors are able to use to overcome performance anxiety.

My school in particular has a free re-test policy where our "M1X" students who do not pass the skills test can come back anytime after the course, get some free coaching and take the parking lot test as often as they like. It's basically a guaranteed 100% pass rate, provided they put in the work and eventually learn the skills required to pass the province's testing criteria.
 

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