Many of the riders I meet in Colorado don't have a motorcycle endorsement. The road test used to be very difficult. The beginning was easy. The rider had to do two upshifts, weave between six cones, ride a straight line while keeping the tires in-between the double yellow, and then brake while coming toward the tester. Simple, but then came the hard part.
The rider had to do a figure-8 in the width of a car lane. After you did one direction, you had to reverse, and go in the other direction. The handlebar was against the stops while you had to balance, give it gas, brake, and slip the clutch. If your foot touched the ground, or the tire went outside the lines, you failed.
I had a learner's permit for several years, because I twice failed the figure-8 test with my 76 Suzuki GT750. I finally rented a Yamaha 175 and passed the test. So many people failed, they just got rid of the figure-8 part of the test. Did anyone else have a hard time with their local test?
