Connecticut rider training classes now welcome scooters, which is great, but this hothead is upset about it. He’s worried someone passing the test on a scooter could someday ride a geared motorcycle without proper training. Sure, that’s possible, but every state I know of has always allowed people to take the motorcycle test on an automatic scooter, not to mention the fact that many (if not the majority of) Americans have automobile drivers’ licenses without ever having driven a manual transmission car. A scooter and a motorcycle have a lot more similarities than they do differences, and any training riders can get is great.
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I think BRC has always allowed folks to take the course on their own bikes as well. So theoretically, someone could passed the MSF course on a borrowed Metro, take the certificate down to the DMV for their M endorsement (if their State allows that, and I think most do.) Then they could go out and buy a Rocket III and kill themselves.
This article just seems like a motorcyclist whining about how scooters aren’t real motorcycles. This isn’t some new atrocity particular to CT (where I now live and sell scooters.) I think most folks who want to learn to ride a motorcycle, want just that, to learn to ride a MOTORCYCLE. They will turn their noses up, just as this author does, at the option to learn on a scooter.
The fact that scooterists are getting the option to learn on the ride they will be using is a good thing.
Illinois splits it at 150cc, so if you take the test on a 150cc or bigger scooter, you get a M-class (motorcycle) license, and if you take it on a scooter under 150cc, you get a L-class (motor-driven cycle) license. The test is the same (though the test track is a bit smaller for smaller bikes), so most scooterists try to take the class on a 150, just so they won’t have to go back and get an “M” endorsement if they ever decide to upgrade.
Maybe there should be a different license. M for motorcycle, S for scooter, R for retard who buys a 1200cc bike to wash and wax on the weekends or a liter bike to ride with their helmet tied to the side. And what would motorcyclists think if they were barred from riding scooters and faced the same fines/penalties for doing so (I can hear the mullet in disbelief now.)? Would they be barred from riding geared scooters too? So, what is a scooter again? Is it one of those electric wheelchairs?
The author is a snob, all there is to it. His arguments sound a little valid on the surface (as most snobbery does), but if you apply the same logic to motor vehicles in general we’d have different class licenses for automatic vs. manual and different displacement engines, and what do you do with clutchless manuals, etc. Imagine the resulting problems at state DMV/BMV offices when your vehicle doesn’t exactly match the specs for one of these artificial deliniations. Motor vehicle licenses and endorsements are minimum entry level taxes on the driver with a cursory nod toward knowledge of operating laws and very basic skills. If this guy were really concerned about motorcycle safety, he’d be calling for more stringent tests for all motorcycle riders. Here in Ohio you can get a temp certificate after only a written test and go out on the road on the biggest fastest baddest bike you can fit on your credit report. No proof of riding skill or experience required. Lots of riders never take the riding test, they just renew their temps every year.
As a Connecticut resident I can pass along a few more pieces of information. Some DMV officers have refused to allow automatic scooter to be used for the riding portion of the exam. It may not be legal for the DMV officer to do this, but it does happen.
So far only one BRC site allows a rider to take the class on a scooter. Furthermore the student must supply the scooter. The state was supposed to buy some scooter, but I don’t think they have been purchased and/or distributed to the BRC sites.
On a related note, I do not see how ride a 250cc Honda Rebel around a parking lot for a weekend qualifies you to hop on a Hayabusa or a Fat Boy.