Endorsement

My son got caught when he first got his bike. He was just going around the block to see how the bike runs and killed it a couple of times when a cop happened to notice him having trouble. I think it was $50 for no endorsement and $171 for no insurance. OUCH!

550A2 wrote:

ehhhhh, your not a dick dude.....
i know, ive heard it many times before.

But i do what i gotta do.

and about posting that, im not paranoid, they cant do a damn thing unless they catch me on my bike. period.......

Hey 550 when I was young and lived in Spokane I would get pulled over all the time. I think it was $50 for no endorsement. They would give you a ticket and send you on your way. :laugh: I used to rattle can my bike every time I got a ticket to keep them off me. The body work was about an inch deep with paint. :laugh:

I read an article in a mag where a guy on a rocket would use blue painters tape on his bike and helmet. He would on purpose do wheelies in front of the cops ,then haul ass and outrun them. He would go home pull the tape and go find the cop and ride by doing the speed limit 5 minutes later. I wonder if he still has his license? What some people do for fun when bored is unreal.

I got pulled over this spring with an expired licence, and no insurance papers (they were in my saddlebags at home). The cop was cool and let me go. I had to get my dad to ride the bike home for me, but no fine or anything. I was getting my MSF course and licence in a few weeks so he wasn't an ass, but he told me all about the fines that I would get, and assured me of a court date if they caught me again.

I am in canada mind you so things may be different.

Back in "76" a bunch of my friends and I went to a bar 30 miles down the road. We closed the place down and i hopped on my Z1A and went tearing down the road leaving my friends in the 70 SuperBee with a 440 in my dust.

Well,you know there would be a cop just waiting for a dummy like me. He hit his splashers and i pulled over just outside the city limits. I had an expired permit that was displayed upside down in my wallet.

About the time i handed the permit to the cop my friends pulled over behind the cop. The driver stuck his head out the window and said,"What's the problem Roy, If you go to jail we're all going to jail."

The cop eyes were shifting quicker than a shop lifter and he handed me My wallet and let me go. :laugh:

I'm a little bit older and a lot less bolder than i use to be. (Bob Segler's words)

I'm mostly legal now. Roy

Well, over here (Denmark), the first time you get stopped without a valid license the fine is $1,000!!

2nd time is $1200, 3rd time is $1500, 4th time is 2 grand and the 5th time is 7 days in jail - all assuming you just get pulled over routinely an no accidents happened.

We don't have endorsements or permits, either you have a full license or you don't.

But - what are the rules regarding a "learners permit". I know that in the U.K. you get a provisional license that allows you to ride a bike with a power limit, and no passengers. I always "thought" that in the States, a regular driver's license acted as a "learner's permit" for a motorcycle, the only limit being no passengers. Is this correct?

In any case, insurance is still required!

When I got my "learners permit" it was for a car with a motorcycle endorsement. In a car I had to have a licensed driver over 18 in the passenger seat. On the bike it was restricted to so many cc's or what they considered "brake horsepower" basically I could ride a motorcycle that was no bigger than a 150 cc motorcycle. Of course my first street bike was a Honda CL175 with the upswept pipes that exit under your leg, it was 25 cc's to large but I never got caught for that, I got caught for not having eye protection wearing a half shell helmet with no shield.

It would be a good idea to get endorsed.

The big thing I learned over the many years is that while those Beginners Riders Courses are good, they only scratch the surface of proficient and safe motorcycling. There are many differnt courses out there so try them all if you get a chance. Make regular practice part of your motorcycling life, and remember riding with your friends is NOT the same as dedicated regular practice. Anything that will keep you alive on the road is a good thing.

Like many I started back in the 70's when my neighbor taught me how to ride his KE100 dirtbike. After that I thought I "knew how to ride" and went and bought a Honda CB360T and then a KZ1000 LTD. I bought all the magazines and read all the books so I must have been a good rider. I did many long tours across country and felt real confident. Then in 1991 I had the opportunity to attend the LAPD motorcycle school and found out I didn't know anything about riding a motorcycle. All I had been doing up to then is operating the bike, but in reality the bike was riding me. My angels must have been real busy keeping me alive. When I finished I could finally say I knew how to ride a bike. The one thing they drilled into me was regular practice. Not just riding, but dedicating a portion of time to get out and work on one skill, be it slow speed full lock tight turns, countersteering or threshold combination braking. Even if it is 15 mins a month, practice is the key.

So take the beginners course and get endorsed. Then take as many other courses as you can find and on a regular basis practice what you have learned.

Once you start thinking that you "already know how to ride" and you don't need to take other courses or practice you have already started to decline.

Very well said Ironhorse

Limey wrote:

But - what are the rules regarding a "learners permit". I know that in the U.K. you get a provisional license that allows you to ride a bike with a power limit, and no passengers. I always "thought" that in the States, a regular driver's license acted as a "learner's permit" for a motorcycle, the only limit being no passengers. Is this correct?

In any case, insurance is still required!

Here in Kentucky you take a written test and get a permit. After 30 days you go and take a riding test where you take off and shift five gears up then five gears down then turn around and repeat. Roy

When I got mine 18 years ago in arkansas I took the written and the drivers test the same day went strait to the dmv and got the M endorsement on valid operators the same day. I was 16 at the time had been riding old cb500 twin for two years finally got caught giveing my little brother a ride to a ball game hwy patrol, nice guy really got licence before court date they threw it out no court costs or anything that was the better days for sure