The Most Motorcyclist
THE MOST MOTORCYCLIST
ROUNDUP
Races of all kinds have been run to see which motorcyclist is the fastest. What with Olympiads and Superbiker races being held virtually any rider can prove that a motocrosser or a road racer or a flat tracker, for instance, is the best racer. But what about the best rider?
Discount pure speed for a while and think about control. Braking. Steering. Put them together and throw in a few other skills and it adds up to how well a rider can put a motorcycle exactly where it should be. If a rider has an adequate ability to put a motorcycle ju~t where it should be, he's going to be a safer rider than the person who hasn't mastered all the required skills. And that's the idea behind the MOST test.
Designed by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and tested by more than 40,000 motorcyclists in California, the MOST test, or Motorcycle Off Street Test, is de signed to measure basic riding skills. The original MOST test included eval uation of starting
and moving up a hill, making a sharp turn, accelerating in a turn, slowing in a turn, making a normal stop, making a sharp turn, a hard stop, an obstacle turn and stopping quickly in a curve.
All of the test sections are based on real-world riding experi ences. They test skills that motorcyclists need to ride safely in ordinary conditions. But creating valid tests is only one re quirement. MOST was also developed to fit in a small area and to be scored easily and reliably.
To demonstrate the test the MSF invited mem bers of the motorcycle press to a test facility in Fullerton, California where we could take the test and watch others take the test and score it. Only two of us showed up with motorcycles, but the experi ence was surprising. Just hearing about the test and seeing the lines painted on the pavement only made us suspect the whole idea.
Because the Full erton site is set up for MOST H, a sec ond generation version that doesn't provide facilities for> starting on a hill, we began by making the sharp turn. Starting with the front tire on a painted spot, the rider must get the bike moving and immediately make a sharp righthand turn, staying within the 5-ftwide painted lines. The lines continue to curve to the right and narrower lines, 3 ft.wide, guide the bike around, while accelerating, until a cone marks the stopping point. The front wheel of the bike must stop within a small square at the end of the curved path. Any deviation across the lines costs the rider three points for hitting the line and five points for crossing the line. Putting out a foot while going around the corner costs a point. Then the rider turns around and goes through the sweeping curve in the opposite direction, this time slowing down while making the lefthand turn. At the end there’s another box for the front wheel to park in after a smooth stop. Skidding a tire here costs a point and both directions are timed with below-average runs costing additional points.
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The fast turn is easy for any experienced rider. Two rubber strips at the beginning and end of the 8-ft.-wide turn record the bike’s speed and if it’s too slow points are lost. Other timing strips record the speed in the quick stop, the obstacle turn and the quick stop on the curve, while the scored gets a chart that shows equivalent maximum stopping distances. The stopping is normal straightahead stuff. You’ve got to use the front brake hard on these or you won’t stop short enough and you lose a point for each foot over the maximum. The obstacle turn, however is the tricky part. Just after passing over the timing strips a light will flash at the far end of the test area. If the light is to the left of your path, you must swerve around a line to the left, if the right light flashes you go right. It tests your reaction time and your ability to make fast turns. This one also appears to be the toughest test for experienced riders. It was on this section that MSF President Charles Hartman spilled his KZ900 when he first took the test and it was here that I saw the light and made a fine emergency stop just in front of the lines I was supposed to have swerved around. Even the motorcycle cop who followed me through missed this one, so we both finished with five points lost. A passing score is no more than 12 points lost.
Before taking the test we were told that motorcyclists like the test, something we found hard to swallow. After the test I agreed. The individual tests really do reflect normal riding conditions and the test, really can tell a rider what skills he is good at and which ones he should practice.
Just as important, the scoring is uniform and the people who give the test like it because the scoring is objective. Either the bike went around the lines or it didn’t. The stopping distance is marked on the pavement and the electronic timing equipment takes care of the lights.
Right now a few states have adopted the MOST. And more states have adopted the MSF’s motorcycle operator manual and written tests. This is where we all come in. By contacting our state motor vehicle departments and encouraging’ them to adopt the MSF’s licensing programs, we can have better riders. We can be better riders.
As for the proof, the motorcyclists who passed the original California MOST test had 21 percent fewer accidents than those who passed the standard test. With figures like that, if the MOST test had been in use around the country already 1000 fewer motorcyclists would have died last year.
Steve Kimball
