NS Motorcycle Test common mistakes
NS Motorcycle Test · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Treating a stop sign or red light as a yield when turning right or when the intersection looks empty, rolling through without a full foot-down stop.
Riders carry over car habits and assume a slow roll is 'close enough', and the bike's light weight makes a rolling stop feel stable, so the full stop feels unnecessary.
What to do instead
At every stop sign and red light, ride the drill: clutch in, both feet down, count one full second with the front wheel behind the line, then scan left-right-left before moving. Practise this in an empty lot until the foot-down pause is automatic.
Misreading pavement markings such as a solid white line between lanes, a shared centre turn lane, or a bike-lane symbol, and riding in or crossing where it is not permitted.
Markings differ from what riders learned in a car, and faded or snow-covered paint is easy to skim past at speed without decoding.
What to do instead
Before each ride, name out loud the markings you pass for the first few kilometres. Study the local handbook's marking chart until solid versus broken, yellow versus white, and shared-lane symbols are instantly recognisable, and treat any unclear marking as a barrier.
Entering a roundabout or uncontrolled intersection without yielding to traffic already circulating or to the vehicle on the right, then accelerating into the gap.
Riders focus on their own entry path and lean angle and forget that right-of-way is decided before the entry, and the narrow frontal profile of a bike hides approaching cars.
What to do instead
Approach every roundabout and uncontrolled intersection at a speed that lets you stop, look left and yield to circulating traffic, and only commit once you have seen the eyes of the other driver. Rehearse the yield decision verbally on each approach.
Following too closely because the rider uses the car two-second gap and does not add distance for wet roads, gravel, or a passenger.
Motorcycles stop shorter only on clean dry pavement; riders overestimate their braking and underestimate surface loss, and the small frontal area makes tailgating feel safe.
What to do instead
Use a three-second minimum in dry conditions and four or more in rain or on gravel, measured by counting when the vehicle ahead passes a fixed object. Pick a roadside marker each ride and verify the gap at least once.
Grabbing a fistful of front brake in a panic or on a wet or gravelly surface, causing a front-wheel lock or a low-side fall.
The instinct to stop fast overrides trained technique, and riders who have not practised emergency braking revert to a single hard squeeze instead of progressive pressure.
What to do instead
Practise progressive front-brake squeeze with light rear brake in a lot at 30 km/h until stopping distance is consistent. On poor surfaces, use more rear brake and less front, keep the bike upright, and squeeze rather than grab.
Skipping the pre-ride check of tyre pressure, tread, chain tension, and brake and clutch levers, and riding off on a cold or under-inflated tyre.
Riders assume the bike was fine when parked and are in a hurry, and the low tyre pressure that ruins handling is invisible without a gauge.
What to do instead
Run a fixed two-minute walk-around before every ride: tyres with a gauge, chain slack and lube, brake and clutch feel, lights and signals, mirror adjustment, and a quick lean test. Keep the gauge with the bike so the check has no excuse.
Looking at the front wheel or the road directly ahead through a corner instead of turning the head to the exit, so the bike runs wide or the rider brakes mid-corner.
Target fixation and the fear of leaning pull the eyes down and inward, and the bike follows the eyes, so the rider drifts toward the centre line.
What to do instead
Before each corner, set speed, then turn the head to look through to the exit and keep the chin up. Practise in a lot by drawing a curve and forcing the eyes to the far cone; the bike will follow the gaze.
Riding after even one or two drinks because the rider believes a motorcycle is easier to control than a car or that the fresh air will sober them up.
Alcohol lowers judgement first, so the impaired rider is the last to notice, and the myth that a bike needs less coordination than a car persists.
What to do instead
Set a zero-drink rule whenever you will ride, arrange a ride home or leave the bike before the first drink, and never accept a 'just one' from a group. Treat any alcohol as a hard stop on riding.
Sitting in a car's blind spot or riding beside a large truck's trailer wheels instead of being visible in the mirror or clear of the vehicle.
Riders assume being seen because they can see the car, and the narrow bike profile sits in the mirror's dead zone where the driver never checks.
What to do instead
Ride where the driver's mirror shows your helmet, pass trucks quickly and never linger alongside, and drop back or move ahead rather than cruise in a blind spot. If you cannot see the driver's face in the mirror, assume they cannot see you.
Riding with an expired or missing licence endorsement, no valid registration, or no insurance, and being unable to produce the documents at a roadside check.
Riders assume the bike's paperwork from last season is still current, or they buy a used bike and never transfer the registration or add insurance in their name.
What to do instead
Keep a photo of the licence, registration, and insurance card on the phone and check expiry dates on the first of each month. Before buying a used bike, confirm the transfer and insurance steps with the licensing office and complete them before the first ride.