Restricted license test? I'm looking for recent experiences

[Larksea]

Hi all,

can anyone share some recent restricted test experiences? What you had to do and so on?

I've had my learners for ages but just got a bike and want to practice what I need and sit the restricted ASAP in Auckland so I can get the clock ticking on the 18 month wait to sit the full test.

Got myself a Honda Magna 250, fricken sweet little cruiser. Was aiming for a HD but now I'm looking at the VF750 or maybe finding an old V45 Magna to update.

Cheers!

[arcane12]

Hi! I sat my restricted a month ago. It was in Hamilton, but the basics should apply.

I went through a number of side streets, left turns, right turns etc. Then I went out to an 80 km zone to a roundabout. After that I made my way back into a 50, down to do my u-turn, then out to a 100km zone and done.

Things to practice are staying below 50(!), obvious head checks - turn you head to check your mirrors, because he won't see your eyes moving! Making sure you are checking your blind spots for lane changes, and remembering to turn that indicator off. Finally good lane positioning.

I found my time in the car had helped sharpen my road rules, so I could focus on getting the bike stuff right and let the rest take care of itself.

There is a thread just below this one about the full test which is very simillar. My tester, when I asked him, said "The full test is basically the same as the restricted, only shorter".

If you are thinking on getting a LAMS bike before your test, make sure you get familiar with it, and ask the testing centre if it's ok. When I went in they had not had the offical word they were allowed to test people on the new LAMS bikes, so could have refused to let me sit it!

Good luck, and check those lights and tyres!

[Bradles]

My restricted was last week in Browns Bay, Auckland.
Here's what I did in the order I remember it:
Pre-ride
- WOF + Rego Check
- Indicators, stop light (front and rear brake separately), and horn checked.
- Presumably also checked L plate location, Tyre Tread Depth, and general road-worthiness
- Given a radio with a headphone that looped around my ear.
- Helmet on.
- Radio volume checked, it should be pretty loud if it has stayed on your ear.

Ride
- Instructor followed me in a car, instructions given twice over the radio in the form of "Take the next right, next right" "Turn left at the intersection, at the intersection turn left" or similar
- I was checking my mirrors fairly often and fairly obviously (head movement)
- Right turn out of testing station onto a side road
- Right turn onto a main road followed by a left turn onto another side road (basically straight but I indicated right and left just in case)
- Rode through a SCHOOL ZONE. Mine was in the middle of the day so I didn't need to slow down
- Turned into a cul de sac, instructed to ride to the end of the road and turn around (I indicated right and turned my head to check behind me as I had bee instructed to do so during a riding lesson) - Did this 4 times in a row on different streets
- Rode through a busy shopping centre
- Asked to turn left at a stop sign. Stopped with left foot on the ground and right foot on the foot brake then placed both feet on the ground.
- Turned right through a round about - Indicated right on entry, left on exit
- Asked to turn right at a stop sign. Stopped with left foot on the ground and right foot on the foot brake then placed both feet on the ground.
- Travelled straight through a round about. No indication on entry, indicate left on exit.
- Traffic light turned orange just before I went through, I proceeded, instructor came to a stop and asked me to pull over to the left and wait.
- Travelled into an 80km/h zone with 55km/h corners, slowed to 55 for the corners.
- Travelled into a 100km/h zone, pulled into a side street, performed another u-turn at the end of a cul de sac. Turned right onto the 100km/h road and returned to station.

Things that weren't done that I thought might have been done:
- Helmet standard wasn't checked (mine's a basic full face though so it doesn't really raise any alarm bells when you look at it from a distance)
- No road works
- No Hazard Identification
- No lane changes

At the end of the test I asked if the instructor had noticed any errors. He said He had not and said "You didn't fall off, that's the main thing right?". If he was at all serious I'm guessing that's the reason for 5 u-turns at the end of cul-de-sacs.

[PeloNZ]

I did my restricted a few months ago, in Wellington's Kilbirnie suburb. Here is the route I took: http://goo.gl/maps/BtNW7

[JimmyC]

Thanks for these replies. About to do mine myself.

[Larksea]

yeah thanks guys, good replies.

[Jacobite]

Sorry to drag this up again but I was wondering if anybody has experiences doing the Restricted test since the new test came in? Any specific things to practice and the like?


I wanting to do mine before January but really don't want to fail the dam thing!

[arcane12]

On a slight side note I did a rider training course and mentioned my test. I said it took around 25 mins, but I did not mention that I was just counting 'on the bike' time. The instructor at the training told me I got the quickie test. I think there is a bit of discretion involved (the 5 u-turns mentioned above) but having now seen the marking sheet I did cover everything. If I rolled in the pre-ride stuff, and pen waving it might have been 45 minutes from report in and shake hand to finish.

Interestingly the trainer asked if I did a hill start or hazard ID, which I had not. After seeing the check sheet, those items are not listed, so may be one of those older tests that some testers choose to keep in (that discretion thing again). I did not want to argue the point with him, and if it comes down to it not best to argue the point with your tester either! My tester mentioned that the Hazard identification was no longer tested, and the instructor seemed to think otherwise, I wonder who was right?

[Bradles]

Sorry to drag this up again but I was wondering if anybody has experiences doing the Restricted test since the new test came in? Any specific things to practice and the like?


I wanting to do mine before January but really don't want to fail the dam thing!

When did the new test come in? My test was in early November so that was after the LAMS bikes came in. Did the changes happen at the same time? I was under the impression that my test should have been the new test but I could be wrong.

[onelittlenurse]

Hi there,
I sat my restricted 2 weeks ago in Thames,
it took an hour from start to finish...
The guy looked my bike over and discovered my Rego had expired the day before (duh!) so he made me go and get more rego before we could carry on...
Rode around for best part of an hour, luckily I had read up on the Give Way rules before I went so there was no hesitating at the many intersections he took me thru..
He made me do Two U-turns in an INCREDIBLY narrow side street which had gravel on either side - I would never have done a u turn in such a place normally, luckily i had practised...

He gave me plenty of warning that he was going to ask me what hazards I had seen, and he wanted me to list such things as - oncoming cars, pedestrians, cars parked in driveways, side streets, schools,
I actually got two chances at this as I missed it the first time..
then we went out to an 80 k area and he wanted me to note the 'permanent hazards' by turning my helmet - i interpreted this as side streets..
and I passed so it cant have been that hard.
Just practice riding at 50k, and brush up on give way rules if youre not completely happy,

and ride like you own it

[Jacobite]

When did the new test come in? My test was in early November so that was after the LAMS bikes came in. Did the changes happen at the same time? I was under the impression that my test should have been the new test but I could be wrong.

That should have been the new test yeah, although I'm not sure.

Hi there,
I sat my restricted 2 weeks ago in Thames,
it took an hour from start to finish...
The guy looked my bike over and discovered my Rego had expired the day before (duh!) so he made me go and get more rego before we could carry on...
Rode around for best part of an hour, luckily I had read up on the Give Way rules before I went so there was no hesitating at the many intersections he took me thru..
He made me do Two U-turns in an INCREDIBLY narrow side street which had gravel on either side - I would never have done a u turn in such a place normally, luckily i had practised...

He gave me plenty of warning that he was going to ask me what hazards I had seen, and he wanted me to list such things as - oncoming cars, pedestrians, cars parked in driveways, side streets, schools,
I actually got two chances at this as I missed it the first time..
then we went out to an 80 k area and he wanted me to note the 'permanent hazards' by turning my helmet - i interpreted this as side streets..
and I passed so it cant have been that hard.
Just practice riding at 50k, and brush up on give way rules if youre not completely happy,

and ride like you own it

Thanks onelittlenurse, so u-turns and give way rules, the two things I'm the least confident at. Got to love Wellingtons screwed up interesections as well, that'll make life fun. Time to get some practice in then.

[JimmyC]

I sat my restricted a month ago and have been meaning to update this thread with my experience since I found others very helpful.

I did mine at the Kilbirnie test centre on what was one of the windiest of windy days... truly, Cobham drive was really bad, upwards of 90kmph gusts right across the road, and if I didn't have the test I would not have been out riding in that. My instructor did say to just take it easy around that area so it was good to know he was also aware of it. Anyway, thanks to PeloNZ above I had a reasonable idea on where we might go. Being a Miramartian myself I was pretty familiar with Kilbirnie and we did incorporate the route in PeloNZ's map. Hazards included a very narrow two lane road that would only be one vehicle at a time, with a car that had pulled in, not over, and wasn't indicating at all, pedestrians on side streets etc. Just become a visual sponge and state anything and everything you see, no matter how insignificant you may think it is.

Only had to do one u-turn after which I realised immediately I hadn't indicated at all during the execution... oops! After riding around Kilbirnie for a good 20 minutes we seemed to take in the entire eastern suburbs from there. First we went through Miramar via Cobham drive, observing the 30kmph limit through the middle of the shops, around Ira St to Strathmore, through the Seatoun shops (30kmph again), through the tunnel and around Seatoun for a while observing all the different give ways, stops, roundabouts and 30 - 50kmph limits. Then it was back through the tunnel, down Broadway and right down beside the airport, merging lanes (indicate and head check) in that gusting headwind. Right along the length of Cobham drive once more for good measure, another lane change, and back to base.

I passed, but he picked me up on my roundabout technique and my indicating, or lack thereof... it's one of my pet peeves actually but I certainly wasn't going to argue with him having passed. When going straight through a roundabout indicate right as you approach, then left as you're half way through on the way out. Personally, when I'm on the other side of a roundabout and I see someone coming toward me indicating to their right I stop for them since they have right of way. To have them then change to the left half way around pisses me off to be frank because I could have gone... anyway, I passed so I'm very happy.

Took my L plate off before I left the test centre, and rode for the first time feeling like I didn't have a target on my bike. I notice a tangible difference in the way motorists treat me now, but that's probably for a different thread.

[arcane12]

Umm, I think I followed what you were saying about indication on a roundabout.

lifted from the LTSA site:

If you are going 'straight' through a roundabout:
•don't signal as you come up to the roundabout
•signal left as you pass the exit before the one you wish to take. At some small roundabouts it may not be possible to give three seconds warning, but it is courteous to give as much indication as you can.

Also with other traffic on a roundabout, I usually try to judge the gap with other traffic. So if it's a normalish sized roundabout and a car is over the other side turning right, I will usually enter the roundabout. By the time the other car is at the middle of the roundabout I will be as well, so no chance to cross paths. Of course this is dependant on the size of the roundabout, the speed of him and me, and who is closer to the roundabout. If I am approaching the roundabout and he is on it, I will stop and wait.

[JimmyC]

lifted from the LTSA site:

If you are going 'straight' through a roundabout:
•don't signal as you come up to the roundabout
•signal left as you pass the exit before the one you wish to take. At some small roundabouts it may not be possible to give three seconds warning, but it is courteous to give as much indication as you can.

That's perfect, makes much more sense. Though still a little redundant on the tiny roundabouts in Miramar and Seatoun, I can't fault the instructor for pointing it out.

[f2dz]

Going for my restricted on the 5th of Feb, I'll try to remember to post an update here about what happens.

I went for a ride with an instructor and he reckoned my riding was good, just a few things he picked up on, and a few things here that might help other people or give them something to thing about.

- slightly rolling over the lines at giveways and stop signs (apparently they can mark you down for this)
- regular exaggerated mirror checks and blind spot checks
- putting your bike into neutral and putting both feet down at a stop sign while applying your front brake
- keeping a close eye on your speed
- familiarising yourself with the testing area, mainly speed limits
- covering your brakes when passing pedestrians looking to cross the road / children playing (shows you're ready for and anticipating the worst)
- coming to a stop too close to cars in front of you (in case they start reversing)

And the last couple things he suggested to me was to wear my clear visor instead of my tinted one, so that they don't think I'm a 'hoon' and so that other people can see where your eyes are looking, and to wear a reflective vest if you have one, for brownie points.

Some of this may seem a bit over the top, I know it does to me, but hey, if you pass it's all worth it.