Stopping?

[george formby]

I remember being taught in the car to apply the handbrake at a stop sign, which I still do & on the bike to have the sole of one foot firmly on the road. The reason for both is to remove any doubt that you have actually stopped & with the car the hand brake is also a precaution to stop you being shunted forward into traffic when you get tail ended by somebody who does not believe in stop signs.

[oneofsix]

I was taught, in NZ, to only ever put one foot down. There was discussion as to it being the right or left. Right is good if you are a short person on a heavily cambered road. Putting the right down allows you to cover the gears. In fact we were also taught that the right foot should be off the foot brake and going down as you stop.
Law is you have to where you have a clear view and nothing to do with numbers of feet. Also the basic handling skills includes being able to stop without putting any feet down.
I would recommend one foot down and a previous suggestion of stopping for a few seconds to give the assessor time to note that you have stopped during the test is a good one.

[KiWiP]

The stop junction differs from the give way in that there are additional hazards so the important thing the examiner is going to be looking for is that you apply additional observation. If you've

You must stop, turn your bike off, get down on all fours,

but don't make adequate observation you will fail. The important bit is the observation not the feet.

You could always ask the examiner before the test what the expectation is.

[St_Gabriel]

Just ask the examiner to clarify before the test starts. On mine he stated that one foot was fine as long as he saw the tread had stopped on the tyre. Ask them any questions before the test start, they arent out to trap you (or at least the one I had didnt appear to be)

Oh and good luck on Friday

[Berries]

I was always under the impression that the criteria for a stop sign was that your wheels had to stop moving. Cars & bikes.

+1. You have to stop, the number of feet in contact with the ground doesn't come in to it. For a test I would suggest a single foot down, in an exaggerated manner so the tester can see it. Personally I would say roll up in first and put your left foot down, but it might be different if on a hill. Big head check so he can see that as well, wait a good two seconds (for the tester, there is no length of time to mentioned in the legislation) then you're off. Generally there should only be a stop control if the visibility is really bad. Not always the case, but best to make sure it is safe to pull out.

[Gremlin]

And just to further confuse, I was chided for putting my foot down too early... So don't drag your foot, as such.

[PrincessBandit]

This is actually quite intriguing. When doing my tests I'm sure I'd have put both down, simply as a noob rider who felt safer with both feet on the ground while stopped. Now I usually put the right down (even though I was taught at SASS it should be left down and right on the brake [sorry Sis]) largely because I am short and have been caught out with a left slope before. It just feels more natural to me too. Dunno why.

I was always under the impression that the main thing at stop signs was to be completely immobile (for whatever the limit of time is) so as to not perform a rolling stop. (Which I have also been known to do... although that's more in the car rather than on the bike).

[p.dath]

I would recommend puting down one foot only, but make sure that it is visible to the testing officer, and stay stopped for a count of at least three seconds.

+1. This makes it obvious the bike has come to a complete stop.

You must stop, turn your bike off, get down on all fours, check if the way is clear.

[ellipsis]

...millions of years ago, it seems now, four of us were coming home through the city and we stopped for the lights...Pete, long gone from the planet now, pulled up to the far left of us and put his left leg out and it went straight down a drain that had lost its grate...his bike ended up on top of him and held him down the hole...he was covered in wet smelly shit and we pissed ourselves laughing so much that we struggled to get his bike off him ...the lights must have changed four or five times before we managed to get him out...

[Brown Bear]

Asked the test person if he required one foot or two feet down when stopping,when i went for my test yesterday.He said one foot down the other covering the brake is fine.So that's what i did.No problems passed easily.Maybe it,s time for KB to update there info on this.

[EJK]

Stop. Drop. and Roll.


In that order.

[Luckylegs]

Asked the test person if he required one foot or two feet down when stopping,when i went for my test yesterday.He said one foot down the other covering the brake is fine.So that's what i did.No problems passed easily.Maybe it,s time for KB to update there info on this.

What's the point of covering the rear brake, when you've got a perfectly good right hand and a full set of "mrs palmers finest" to use the front brake. I'd of thought using the front brake allowed you to keep the left foot free for gear selection which gives you the best of both worlds.

[Buyasta]

What's the point of covering the rear brake, when you've got a perfectly good right hand and a full set of "mrs palmers finest" to use the front brake. I'd of thought using the front brake allowed you to keep the left foot free for gear selection which gives you the best of both worlds.

Because it's a lot easier to ease onto the throttle and off the rear brake when doing a hillstart than it is with the front brake.
Aside from the odd commute at peak times when there will be long light cycles, at which time you may want to be in neutral so you can let go of the clutch, there doesn't seem to be much advantage to not being in 1st by the time you come to a stop.

[Luckylegs]

Because it's a lot easier to ease onto the throttle and off the rear brake when doing a hillstart than it is with the front brake.

No it's not

[Robbie_]

I was talking to a driving instructor, he told me (this is true for cars too) that what the testing officer does and what the police should be doing is watching your bike for the stop as they watch for when the suspension goes down and then back up at the front. (Think he said suspension, but 100% sure they look for the front of the bike to return up)