New Riders Needs Advice on M1 Exit Road Test

ricplayer

ricplayer

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Hi there, been lurking here for a while and need some suggestions from some experienced riders.

My question is....how can a person practice for the M1 exit road test if you cannot get insurance on a bike? I currently have my M1 and a small bike in the garage ready to go, just not plated because I cannot get insurance. Every insurance company I talk to will not insure my bike until I have an M2 licence. So how do I practice outside of the weekend safety course I plan to take? From an insurance standpoint, I have a very long history of an excellent driving record.

Can I rent a small cc'd bike for a day to practice?

Is there insurance companies that will insure your bike with only an M1? If so, who?

Hopefully someone on this forum has some insight.

Thanks!
 
The simple answer is an M1 exit course. They teach you everything you need to know and test you. Another person has recently posted that they did the MTO exit test and are now unable to find insurance as they don't have the course. Another huge plus for the course.

When did you get your M1? You can do the course before the 60 days are up and just submit the paperwork to upgrade to M2 after the 60 days from M1 have passed.
 
X2, take the course. You’ll walk away with your M2, you’ll be insurable, and you’ll have learned skills that can and very well may save your life some day.
 
Thanks for the replies, that will be happening.

What I want to know is, how can I practice riding outside of the training course if a person can’t get a bike insured with an M1?
 
ricplayer said:
Thanks for the replies, that will be happening.

What I want to know is, how can I practice riding outside of the training course if a person can’t get a bike insured with an M1?
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Catch 22.
 
X3 on the rider training. The MSF has your M1 exit test built in.
As far as getting practice before, as long as you live in a quiet neighborhood and your bike is pretty quiet, just ride around your street. I do think you will get more out of the MSF course if you already have mastered the basics (Ie. clutch control). It frees your mind up to absorb more info in the MSF
 
Sebi said:
As far as getting practice before, as long as you live in a quiet neighborhood and your bike is pretty quiet, just ride around your street. I do think you will get more out of the MSF course if you already have mastered the basics (Ie. clutch control). It frees your mind up to absorb more info in the MSF
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I wouldn't. Another recent post had someone get pinched riding their new plateless bike home and will now likely be walking the the next three plus years. The risk is just not worth it. Hopefully OP thought ahead a bit and got their M1 in the winter and now they are ready to go once they have the certificate..
 
On private property or in a closed course competition, yes.
but you are still liable for your own actions anywhere you go, it's just a matter of having insurance coverage or not!
 
GreyGhost said:
I wouldn't. Another recent post had someone get pinched riding their new plateless bike home and will now likely be walking the the next three plus years. The risk is just not worth it. Hopefully OP thought ahead a bit and got their M1 in the winter and now they are ready to go once they have the certificate..
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Yea, I hope it was thought out and he got it in the winter as well. OP can use his/her judgment on it; if you're on a traffic-calmed crescent for instance, practice all you want going round and round. Maybe check in with some of your neighbors to make sure you're not being a nuisance.
 
Yeah, don’t ride on the street or anywhere the police have jurisdiction under the HTA with an unplated and uninsured bike. All it takes is for one cranky neighbour to see you, call the police, and you’re in for a world of hurt, and enough dings on your driving record that chances are you won’t be able to get (or afford) bike insurance for a long time.

Do the course, get M2, get insurance and plates. You’ll learn what you need there. Bombing around the neighbourhood will just ingrain bad habits you probably don’t even know you have right now.
 
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PrivatePilot said:
Bombing around the neighbourhood will just ingrained bad habits you probably don’t even know you have right now.
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Not to mention that I find neighbourhoods to be a very dangerous place to ride. The majority of people are backing out of their driveways and many suck at looking (or they look and suck at yielding).
 
I read it as he just wants a place to practice riding without harassment and that's pretty sad if no such place exists.
 
Trials said:
I read it as he just wants a place to practice riding without harassment and that's pretty sad if no such place exists.
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Yup. Same problem the stunt riders have. Tons of work cultivating relationships and being fiercely protective of their spots and all they are doing is trying to improve safely.

It looks like insurance has moved the bar now and basically eliminated any riding prior to passing a course. When you functionally eliminate a whole step from graduated licensing, you have to wonder why it still exists.
 
GreyGhost said:
When you functionally eliminate a whole step from graduated licensing, you have to wonder why it still exists.
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That's actually a very good point and something that warrants further discussion. The M1 has lost its (idealized) purpose. It no longer is setup to allow new riders time to practice for their M1 exit but rather an unnecessary block of time which seemingly has no purpose.

In my opinion the entire motorcycle licencing system in Canada needs heavy overhauling. I think graduated licencing would be a great place to start though at this point we are on a tangent vs what OP was asking about.

OP, if you wanna play it safe, don't touch the bike till it's insured. If you deem it reasonably safe to take the bike around the neighborhood and practice in front of your house feeling out the friction zone, go nuts. Use your judgment and common sense.
 
Thanks for all of the replies. I have my M2, I'm asking for someone close to me.

First of all, riding without insurance is not going to happen, to much on the line to even consider that and its wrong.

@GreyGhost and @Sebi hit the nail on the head. They call it graduated licencing, but its actually not. At least with a G1, you can drive as much as you want under someone else's insurance, not sure you can do that with an M1. Heck, an M1 expires in 60 days. AFAIK, you cannot ride on an M1 anymore, insurance will not allow it. The system is truly broken.

Anyways, the person I am asking for is new to riding, never ridden a bike before, never driven a standard car before. My M2 safety training course was intense, they expected new riders to master the clutch/shifting etc in a few hours, then on to the course riding around cones, etc.

Knowing that you don't get a lot of time to get accustomed to the basic dynamics of operating a motorcycle (ie, clutch use, 1down 5up, finding neutral, balance etc). I was hoping she could rent a bike for a day, so we could practice in a parking lot, or maybe take a private lesson or two.

I know some of you will say, take the course, if you fail, redo the test. But there is still the fact that you can't practice on your own.

thanks all.
 
You could go to the extreme effort of getting a dirt bike and learn to ride motorcycles that way, but the problem there is you will might become addicted to dirt bikes and suddenly realize street bikes are just slightly boring by comparison :|
 
I was hoping she could rent a bike for a day, so we could practice in a parking lot, or maybe take a private lesson or two.

I know some of you will say, take the course, if you fail, redo the test. But there is still the fact that you can't practice on your own.
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You could loan her your bike. If he/she has her M1, it’s totally above board to loan it out, even to just ride in a parking lot under your instruction.

Nobody will rent a bike to a M1/zero experience rider, so that option is out.
 
Trials said:
You could go to the extreme effort of getting a dirt bike and learn to ride motorcycles that way, but the problem there is you will might become addicted to dirt bikes and suddenly realize street bikes are just slightly boring by comparison :|
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I actually thought about that.
 
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