High Park - Honda Rebel - hello there | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

High Park - Honda Rebel - hello there

galka said:
Oh, nice! I will be booking a bundle with them - "Road -worthy course and M" together but early next year not this one (don't feel like i might pass it yet). I would love to hear from you when you do your M with them!
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Had the course/test the other day. The in class (online) stuff was pretty straightforward, but a good refresher.

The practical day was long, but informative. Talk strategies, ride a little, talk about more strategies and ride some more etc. They do a good job of informing you what's going to be on the test, so you know what to prepare for. As long as you're doing the basic stuff (checking mirrors, blind spots, scanning intersections/hazards etc) any semi competent rider should be able to pass.

They said you can make up to 25 errors. 26, you fail. And that more likely a fail comes with a more serious violation (going through a stop sign etc). Nobody gets perfect apparently. I got 5 errors, which I'm happy with. Yay me. Full M license 😎

Feel free to ask about anything I didn't cover.
 
Chameleon said:
Had the course/test the other day. The in class (online) stuff was pretty straightforward, but a good refresher.

The practical day was long, but informative. Talk strategies, ride a little, talk about more strategies and ride some more etc. They do a good job of informing you what's going to be on the test, so you know what to prepare for. As long as you're doing the basic stuff (checking mirrors, blind spots, scanning intersections/hazards etc) any semi competent rider should be able to pass.

They said you can make up to 25 errors. 26, you fail. And that more likely a fail comes with a more serious violation (going through a stop sign etc). Nobody gets perfect apparently. I got 5 errors, which I'm happy with. Yay me. Full M license 😎

Feel free to ask about anything I didn't cover.
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Hello and congrats on your M license! Thanks for the good summary, too!

I wonder how many miles/kilometers you put into riding before getting into the M licenses exam? And how much of it was on highways?

The reason I am asking is that at some point quantity must have tuned into quality rides, right? I have done 3,000km this first summer, half of it on highways. Will def do more next year prior to getting into an exam sometime around May. Didn't get any tickets so far, wasn't been stopped by the police for any violations (yet).
 
galka said:
Hello and congrats on your M license! Thanks for the good summary, too!

I wonder how many miles/kilometers you put into riding before getting into the M licenses exam? And how much of it was on highways?

The reason I am asking is that at some point quantity must have tuned into quality rides, right? I have done 3,000km this first summer, half of it on highways. Will def do more next year prior to getting into an exam sometime around May. Didn't get any tickets so far, wasn't been stopped by the police for any violations (yet).
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Thanks!

I've had my (first) bike and M2 now for just over 2 years, and I'd say I've only put on roughly 5000km. Rarely used the bike to commute to work. And I'd say a good mix of Highway and local roads. Mostly in the city, but a fair bit outside the city on more rural roads.

As far as the M test, the highway part was the shortest. On ramp -> get up to speed -> merge -> complete a lane change -> go back to original lane and then off ramp at the first exit. The one thing I'll add to that is my instructor was pretty reasonable with it..in the sense that, if there was too much traffic and for some reason I couldn't change lanes, he wouldn't hold it against me. Whereas if you go with MTO, who knows if you'll recieve the same leniency.
 
Interesting! I don't commute much to work - still on that mostly remote arrangement and even if I had to, it adds up to a max 16 km per day total to my daily trip (unless I take a really long way around on my way back home lol)

For the M test and highway portion - what you say sounds reasonable. My main concern is accelerating to the required speed on the highway in a required slot time - Rebel 500 is not the fastest horse in the stable :)
 
Sorry, forgot to ask - on a highway, are you required to take the defensive position in the lane? And if you change into a middle lane after the merge, what would then be the right position to take before you get out of this lane back into the right one prior to the exit?
 
I did it on a 400, so it should be a breeze for you. Also, the course I did the test ends up being on a Sat around 2pm let's say. So traffic wasn't bad. But if you go through MTO, on a Monday, if you don't get a good time slot you might have a harder time.

And actually now that I think about it, one of the others in my group had a Rebel as well. Not sure if it was a 300 or 500. Also not sure if she passed, because I was the first one to go haha.

I don't know if this is universal, but the way RTI taught it is that if you're in the right lane, you should be in the left tire track (hwy or regular road, same applies). If you're in the left lane, or middle lane l, you should be in the right tire track. So, after getting on the on ramp the furthest you'd be going over is to the right tire track of the middle lane. I hope this answers your question.
 
I think I have already settled my mind around NOT going via MTO for my M exam :)

Chameleon said:
I don't know if this is universal, but the way RTI taught it is that if you're in the right lane, you should be in the left tire track (hwy or regular road, same applies). If you're in the left lane, or middle lane l, you should be in the right tire track. So, after getting on the on ramp the furthest you'd be going over is to the right tire track of the middle lane. I hope this answers your question.
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Perfect - thank you!
 
So, this is a recap of the first year of riding:

Done 3,348 km since the moment of getting the new bike this spring. Have been riding mostly casually but have also done a fair share of highways.

Honda Rebel 500 behaves well on the highway - I haven't had any issues with it in this past season. It rides a steady 110 km/h (or 100 in a hundred's zone), with no wobbles (so far).

The fuel economy is amazing on the highways: it gets as low as 3.8l per 100 km. In the city traffic, it creeps up to 5.1l per 100 km. I haven't run out of gas yet once to test how far I can actually get on one tank; didn't record the total mileage driven on one tank yet.

I haven't changed the oil yet.

Bad habits:
  • I keep tagging behind large trucks as it helps break the wind (i desperately need a windshield)
  • I drag my left foot on the asphalt while coasting to the red lights (not sure why)
Good things I learned from other riders:
  • always stay in first gear at the street light/ by stop signs. I haven't had a need to escape any situation yet but I can totally understand why it is a good habit - people don't see my matte black bike and me in a black outfit (although I added a reflective stripe across the back on a jacket) well when it gets dark
  • always think two stop lights ahead and think on behalf of all drivers ahead, behind, and by your both sides
  • ride with an emergency contacts sheet on you
  • research my future rides, take note of gas stations (map them ahead on maps.me is very helpful) and have phone numbers of motorcycle tow companies operating in this specific area. I haven't decided if I actually need a CAA or not. I probably need it for the next year when I will start venturing further and further away.
  • getting roomy saddle bags was the best decision, so far
  • I learned about myself that I enjoy solo rides more than group rides but I feel more secure riding with a group
Moto-meet-ups:
  • getting out of my shell and approaching people (what do I know about bikes, really, I kept asking myself and what could I add to any of those riders' conversations, with not having much experience in riding?..), making friends was hard but it was totally worth it.

Overall conclusion: I should have bought me a motorcycle 20 years ago. :)
 
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galka said:
So, this is a recap of the first year of riding:

Done 3,348 km since the moment of getting the new bike this spring. Have been riding mostly casually but have also done a fair share of highways.

Honda Rebel 500 behaves well on the highway - I haven't had any issues with it in this past season. It rides a steady 110 km/h (or 100 in a hundred's zone), with no wobbles (so far).

The fuel economy is amazing on the highways: it gets as low as 3.8l per 100 km. In the city traffic, it creeps up to 5.1l per 100 km. I haven't run out of gas yet once to test how far I can actually get on one tank; didn't record the total mileage driven on one tank yet.

I haven't changed the oil yet.

Bad habits:
  • I keep tagging behind large trucks as it helps break the wind (i desperately need a windshield)
  • I drag my left foot on the asphalt while coasting to the red lights (not sure why)
Good things I learned from other riders:
  • always stay in first gear at the street light/ by stop signs. I haven't had a need to escape any situation yet but I can totally understand why it is a good habit - people don't see my matte black bike and me in a black outfit (although I added a reflective stripe across the back on a jacket) well when it gets dark
  • always think two stop lights ahead and think on behalf of all drivers ahead, behind, and by your both sides
  • ride with an emergency contacts sheet on you
  • research my future rides, take note of gas stations (map them ahead on maps.me is very helpful) and have phone numbers of motorcycle tow companies operating in this specific area. I haven't decided if I actually need a CAA or not. I probably need it for the next year when I will start venturing further and further away.
  • getting roomy saddle bags was the best decision, so far
  • I learned about myself that I enjoy solo rides more than group rides but I feel more secure riding with a group
Moto-meet-ups:
  • getting out of my shell and approaching people (what do I know about bikes, really, I kept asking myself and what could I add to any of those riders' conversations, with not having much experience in riding?..), making friends was hard but it was totally worth it.

Overall conclusion: I should have bought me a motorcycle 20 years ago. :)
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Congratulations on the 1st year, and wishing you many more safe years of riding

Re: the bad habits- Dragging the feet, is that a habit you might have picked from bicycling from way back?

CAA membership came in handy for me last year while playing this game. Its worth it for the peace of mind, and available if ever you might need one.
 
Thank you!
Foot dragging could be inherited from bicycle riding, you are right about it. I need to work on it in the next season.
wolfpack27616 said:
CAA membership came in handy for me last year while playing this game. Its worth it for the peace of mind, and available if ever you might need one.
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Ah! That makes sense - I will check their prices then, thanks for sharing.
 
voyageur said:
Doctor's dangle... I do it sometimes to make me feel better lol.
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...and now I learned a new phrase, "doctor's dangle"! Google search helped me with the following explanations of why bikers do it:
  1. Lowers the center of gravity while braking
  2. Moves more weight to the rear of the bike
  3. Improves the body position of the rider and makes the rider more planted
  4. Increases aerodynamic drag and acts like an airbrake
Interesting!
 
galka said:
...and now I learned a new phrase, "doctor's dangle"! Google search helped me with the following explanations of why bikers do it:
  1. Lowers the center of gravity while braking
  2. Moves more weight to the rear of the bike
  3. Improves the body position of the rider and makes the rider more planted
  4. Increases aerodynamic drag and acts like an airbrake
Interesting!
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Under normal riding circumstances, you will be putting yourself at risk if you do that. I would keep my legs on the peg until the bike comes to a stop. My above comment was meant on a lighter note. If you're racing, all of the above + looks cool. :)
 
@galka congrats sounds like a good first season.

I installed a windshield on my Rebel 500 and it made a huge difference! Much more comfortable over long distances.

There are a ton of options out there, so my only recommendation is stay away from the cheapest stuff.
 
mimico_polak said:
@galka congrats sounds like a good first season.

I installed a windshield on my Rebel 500 and it made a huge difference! Much more comfortable over long distances.

There are a ton of options out there, so my only recommendation is stay away from the cheapest stuff.
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Thank you! Do you have any specific recommendations or a couple of options to look at? I gravitate to a narrow design but am unsure if it would be a practical choice.
 
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