CMSP Tales & KLX 300D Upgrades
- Fred
- Mar 30, 2025
- 40 min read
Updated: Nov 11, 2025
After roughly a decade of contemplating a return to motorcycling, I concluded that I indeed wanted to dive back into the world of Enduro-style motorcycling - on an electric two-wheeled chariot, though the specific choice remained undecided but favoring the Surron Sport Bee enduro North America model.
There are many options available in this category of electric dirt bikes by the way.
If I had been permitted to do this electric motorcycle lark of mine, obtaining a California M1 License would not have been required, despite the fact that they can actually be licensed for road use if you feel the need.
She who must be obeyed (my good wife) though, was having none of my electric bike ambitions and so I went the more expensive gas-based motorcycle route after some further contemplation on the matter.
The challenging part of that decision tree (for me) was the obstacles it threw up for me to overcome. The first being becoming California legal from a license to drive POV to ensure everything was kosher and legitimate for the road segments involving riding the bike to the actual Enduro trails I was focusing on.
This quest actually turned out to be quite the epic saga and I had to readjust to the pertinent realities I faced as the snake twisted and turned along the journey and path I was on.
Fortunately one of my genetic traits is bulldog tenacity and sticking to a set goal come what may...
According to Marcello, one of the two instructors from the 2-day CMSP course in Pleasant Hill that I attended on April 5 and 6, 2025, 65% of riders in California are not licensed.
This statistic is concerning and makes me wonder about the actual reasons behind this reality.
I believe the problem here is a complex mish-mash that involves paperwork, a deep dash of ridiculosity and time.
Paperwork and bureaucracy as we well know can be fairly dreadful, and as for the pass rate on the CMSP course, it's quite something else and the DMV lollipop test alternative option at the scale it is set at is pretty ridiculous, depending on what equipment you are using for this quest, IMHO.
More on that as we go here...
This DMV lollipop test should work for all and any motorcycles and it clearly does not, added to which the design of many motorcycles (tightest turning circle possible) and the size of the pilot of some motorcycles also brings impossibility of the set task to the table.
It is simply not physically possible for some not average sized motorcycle pilots on some types of motorcycles to do this DMV lollipop test as laid out.
However, on the other end of the scale I have also recently discovered a motorcycle that makes the actual lollipop test so easy, it’s a serious joke (turns out this is the case on some other motorcycles as well).
I recently added a 2009 Buell Ulysses XT to my garage and out of interest took it to the Pittsburgh DMV to sharpen my biking skills with this machine using the same principles I used on the KLX300 platform.
To my total disgust, the whole lollipop test set was so easy on the Buell that it was not even a challenge! It was eye opening though, considering the wrestling I had to do to get the KLX300 through it.
I have had 84 successful consecutive lollipop test runs on my Buell to date (just to check that the first 42 I did were not a delusional fluke).
I did not have much luck on any other Japanese bike with this lollipop endeavor by the way, though the Aprilia RS4 and the Ducati V4 are just as easy as the Buell platform.
To date the easy motorcycles to put through the lollipop test regime are the Buell XB series, Aprilia, Ducati and the KTM Duke 390 platform.
Whenever I get a bike to ride the first thing I do is take it to the DMV course and try it to determine it's ease of handling capability.
I have tried two dozen or so different machines by the time of writing these updates.
Throughout my life, I have earned numerous motorcycle training and advanced course certifications from various military and civilian training organizations in the U.K, Germany, and South Africa.
I genuinely believe that these were so good that they should equate to a US license.
It is a fact that you can drive almost anywhere with an international driver's permit!
As such I am struggling to understand the roadblock to issuing licenses based on other countries licenses if they meet or exceed US standards for licensing and US standards are pretty lax in comparison to the EU.
I actually made use of this international driving permit rule myself by carrying my South African and UK driver's license with me at all times in case I was ever pulled over by the CHP.
Current California law states that an international driver's permit is not necessary if you have your motorcycle license from International driver permit qualifying countries in your possession and that document is in fact recognized as a legal driver permit here in the USA.
I actually drove a car in the U.K on a South African driver's license for three years and there was nothing the metropolitan police could do about it, even though they knew I was skirting the boundaries of the laws.
If you are a multinational, someone who is a citizen of more than one country who works in them both part of the year does actually fall into some cracks you can take advantage of with regards to international driving permits and such, so there are some things that are grey areas in terms of your foreign license being valid in the USA.
In my case with reference to the U.K and moving there from South Africa, I found that it was not so quick or easy to book a car driver's license test in the U.K back in 1996 when I moved back to the U.K from South Africa and I knew I was not going to be staying on the Muddy Island long either.
This was a clear example of ministry of silly walks type bureaucracy getting in the way of pragmatism.
When I came to the USA in 1998 it took exactly 4 hours of effort down at the DMV to get my licensing sorted and legal.
I presented my South African drivers licenses and just needed a written test to be issued a drivers license for a car.
I should have added the motorcycle license but the separate written test I was not prepared for dissuaded me and this was a mistake on my part - in hindsight. They did offer it at the time.
My U.K Motorcycle BMA training was the prize motorcycle training achievement from my point of view and I then thought I could switch to it if I ever went that way again.
I must say I had elected to never ride a motorcycle again while I brought up children as my flying was my spare time hobby and then it became golf which I also used to overcome serious injuries from flying a glider into a redwood tree.
One of the advantages of living in an American Progressive state full of illegal and undocumented alien invaders is their sanctuary city leniency and tolerance for this sort of licensing thing if I ever need to take advantage of it, had precedent to the political agendas of the DNC to take advantage of.
When I arrived in the USA back in 1998, the FAA granted me my different aircraft ratings based on my British and South African licenses, so I'm intrigued that obtaining the motorcycle license was such a comparatively difficult task!
However, some 30 years later, with minimal riding experience for 30 of those years that I was not a regular bike rider, the reality of it all meant that doing a suitable motorcycle training course once more was actually a rather splendid idea, all things considered!
There is the matter of what can be done versus what is right that I had to be happy with to bake into the enchilada as well!
I must mention that the dire road conditions in California, combined with the generally rude and inconsiderate behavior of car and truck drivers, all make riding motorcycles here a pretty hazardous undertaking, all things considered.
I've ridden quite a bit in the USA on my various international Motorcycle licenses, using a Kwakersaki 250 road bike and an Indian Scout.
My Moto Guzzi rides in South Africa, before I stopped riding regularly, had ABS braking from 1985 onward so some Japanese machinery having ABS is pretty Meh for me.
My KLX300 is sans ABS because I believe its lightweight design doesn't necessitate it.
However, oddly enough, the Kwakersaki KLX230 does actually come with ABS braking as an option.
To be honest, on enduro trails, ABS braking can be rather dangerous, and I prefer separate back and front independent braking myself on such terrain on a Dual Sport motorcycle.
It was with these various factors in mind percolating inside my sole surviving synapse, that I reluctantly enrolled for said CMSP training course recently.
I looked at it as a necessary adventure that was the right thing to do.
At first, I was not really expecting to learn anything much that was new, as motorcycles are still motorcycles and I have owned a lot of them and not just road bikes.
Riding motorcycles in South Africa was a very dangerous endeavor outside of the main metro areas because there are a lot more things over there that can potentially kill you than that which lurks out here in the wild of California.
Drivers in Johannesburg and California pose nearly identical risks in terms of danger and road rage levels from other motorists, but Californian roads are significantly worse than those found in South Africa.
They have absolutely no idea how to build proper roads in California by the way and you can see that by the sudden potholes that appear with even moderate rainfall.
Sudden potholes appearing in rain means you do not ride a motorcycle in the rain in my book at any rate.
Neighboring states to California, bizarrely, all know how to build roads, and the quality is instantly noticeable when you drive out of California onto any of its neighbors' roads.
The hint that you've transitioned from California pavement to Nevada pavement, for example, is auditory; you immediately notice a shift from loud tire noise to a smooth and quiet experience on the better Nevadan surfaces.
Your kidneys start sending messages of thanks and relief to your cerebral cortex as well when on the better tarmac.
I often idly wonder about the real cost to Californians of the dire quality of roads, as the wear on tires and loose road debris hitting windshields from heavy truck tires etc. does seem quite significant to me.
I have lost more windshields on my cars here in California than I did in 27 years of riding in Africa!
Anyhew, back to the subject of my CMSP adventure and training course from earlier this year, which I had to do to complement my written license requirement within 12 months from obtaining the motorcycle license temporary permit so that I would be legally licensed to ride in California.
Said CMSP training adventure consists of two parts by the way.
The initial requirement is a mandatory online training course that lasts approximately 6 hours.
You must finish this course entirely before attending the 2-day session at a CMSP range close to your residence or within driving distance without needing highway access during daylight hours.
I ran into a few folks who thought the e-online part was optional and found that they were not admitted to the class because they did not complete it before the 2-day class commencement.
Apparently, reading skills among the general California population are at rather dire levels based on how many such specimen I ran into at the DMV, who confessed they had not done this part because they did not bother to read the CMSP email.
The current cost of this CMSP course at NorCal Moto is $425 and is held over various calendar spots they offer. Budget another $200 for the follow-on retest when you fail out of the 2-day piece by the way!
You need an A grade on this e-learning online class piece that you can do from any suitable computer that is armed with a html5 browser like Firefox by the way.
As mentioned, you qualify for the 2-day range training on the specified Saturday and Sunday you paid for, only after you have successfully finished the online training course.
You need to appear with all your paperwork and signed forms with your permits and license with Insurance etc. 15 minutes before the course gets underway which is usually before first sparrows (before the sun comes up).
Do take your course result printouts with you as there were cases where they argued with a few folks that it was not done but they had the printouts to prove contrary.
While the paperwork is checked they also check your boots, helmet and clothing attire, so do not turn up in beach sandals or trainers on your feet because they will show you the exit from the facility pretty darn quick if you do.
I had Chinese motorcycle boots and they gave me a hard time over them thangs but they are actually pretty comfy for my deformed feet.
I had explained on the phone to the NorCal Moto folk that I had a catalog of serious injuries from flying my Polish Glider into a redwood tree in 2002 and for that reason I wore what I could actually get to fit on my post accident mangled feet.
The Pleasant Hill CMSP NorCal Moto training location is located in the overflow car park of the local Diablo Valley College on Golf Course drive by the way.
The weekend before my CMSP appointment, I went searching for it and only found a blue unmarked shipping container with a chained closed porta potty on the DVC overflow parking lot.
There are no signs indicating that is actually the NorCal Moto training facility but it is, so make sure to leave early and to arrive with plenty of time to spare.
Turning up late is not tolerated.
I concluded this container was the spot from NorCal moto website photos in case you wonder how I concluded that piece of the puzzle.
As mentioned, the motorcycles utilized for this CMSP Jolly Jape consist of a combination of 150cc and 200cc single-cylinder Chinese bikes produced by a little known in the West manufacturer called Lifan.
The speedometer location on the Lifan KP 200 tank, in my expert opinion, is dangerously flawed, and the instrument cluster information on the tank serves as a major distraction from riding this particular two wheeled pig, especially if you want to focus on other potential hazards via scanning the road ahead while riding.
If I were to purchase one (should I ever somehow get stoned on very powerful LSD), I would certainly move that item to a standard instrument cluster position, and that leather strap on the tank is plenty freaking ridiculous.
What, the feck, is that all about exactly?
The Lifan KP 200's suspension isn't suitable for individuals over 200 pounds either, and it handles poorly, imitating a drunken pregnant warthog on inadequate tires right from the outset.
These Lifan KP (stands for Killer Pig?) Master 200 Motorcycles will not be well suited to you if you are very short or very tall like I am either by the way.
They had some smaller 150cc Lifan KP monkey bikes as well for really short ladies and that looked very good for the midget class peeps.
As mentioned, I attempted to convince them to let me do the training on my own bike, but they were not enthusiastic and strongly opposed it.
Therefore, I decided to go along with their approach to see how it would turn out.
This turned out to be an error on my part, and I should have been more adamant about using my own bike from the beginning, I knew better.
I had already decided beforehand that if I didn't pass their test, I probably wouldn't go back and would instead opt for the DMV lollipop skills test.
FYI NorCal Moto insurance does not allow a machine greater than 500cc to ride on their ranges, so if you have a big bike and harbor a CMSP ambition using it, forget it at Pleasant Hill - look to Livermore to accommodate your ambition there..
I think a Grom or the Kwakersaki 125 is a perfect machine for this jiggery japery for the five CMSP tasks you have to do on this course.
For taller folks the Kwakersaki KLX230 ABS is probably the near perfect machine for CMSP antics and is a great bike for learning the basics on if you take the get a learner bike first approach to motorcycling.
It's also a really great green trails machine by the way.
You just cannot be short for such a Dual Sport arrow, IMHO.
I suspected from a great many online reviews that I read when doing my homework that this CMSP program is more about generating revenue than anything else.
It does have its flaws, but then again it is also a business.
After my own training course experience, I had formed my own conclusions about this CMSP matter that sides with that a slight bit (in some cases) but to be fair, a lot of folks seemed to think they should have passed but just did not have the skills or time on a bike to be considered road safe.
If I were a California lawmaker, I would limit the learner motorcyclists to 400cc machines, mandate they had to drive on a temporary permit for 1 year brandishing L plates like they do in the U.K and then have them pass a proficiency test to demonstrate safe handling and operation before they even get to the CMSP training class.
I would also change the law for scooters allowing car drivers to operate any scooter up to 300cc in size and disallow all scooters from the M1 category.
Scooters are actually very dangerous machines and smaller people using them to get M1 licenses and then jumping on stuff like Triumph 1800 behemoth machines are making a de facto order for one finely crafted pine box that they will use for their final journey to six feet under.
The prerequisite expectation this particular CMSP outfit states on their web site is the ability to ride a bicycle but they need to think about that one long and hard.
This sets unrealistic expectations in noob minds that this is just a motorized bicycle kind of a deal and motorcycles are NOT just a motorized bicycle kind of a deal.
Maybe back in 1921 this was the case, but in 2025 these things are a pretty advanced kettle of fish compared to early motorcycles which did indeed have primitive engines strapped to reinforced bicycle frames.
Engines and gearboxes have to be managed, and defensive driving is not even covered on these CMSP courses.
I concluded long before I even passed the CMSP retest that the 4 weeks of dedicated catch up time I was intending to put in on my own KLX machine was critical to my own personal riding rust elimination and getting back up to the required level had to be done and bear in mind that I drove on four continents for 17+ years in my youth.
The point of the CMSP is to reduce deaths on motorcycles by a large number and a lot of people have no business being on a motorcycle in any event, based on what I saw with my own eyes while on my CMSP training adventure and several others I have gone out of my way to casually observe.
Going from riding a mountain bicycle to driving a six-speed motorcycle with a manual transmission is not even in the same ballpark, never mind the same reality.
More work has to be done on defensive survival strategies for beginners while out on the streets while mounted on a motorcycle and this CMSP training endeavor does not cater to this aspect at all.
Tricks of visibility and positioning and assuming all cars are out to hit you has to be the mindset when on one of these things.
Already, in the few months since I have been riding regularly again, I have encountered car drivers who just totally ignore motorcycles and treat them like they are bicycle riders or somehow totally invisible.
I have one driver on my street who does not even look right for oncoming traffic before turning left. This specimen is definitely going to end up in a pine box after a cement truck rolls right over his dumb ass one day.
There is another older Asian lady here in Oakley who smiles at you while ignoring focus of actually driving her large Chrysler Van class SUV safely.
She does not stop for traffic lights or stop signs and I have concluded she is actually legally blind based on how she ignores things like this when driving about the Brentwood and Oakley geos.
I have followed her for hours on my KLX just to confirm her driving abilities beyond question.
Being back on a bike again arms you with this sort of sixth sense anticipation about other drivers like this lady doing the worst possible things imaginable and presenting motorcyclists with substantial risks.
You have to assume they will do the worst thing possible and anticipate a response to their stupendous dumbosity.
You also start to build a database in your head of the perps and their cars in your locality and formulate strategies for your own safety when encountering these multitudes of morons.
I also have to mention here that there are also a good few Harley riders out there who should just be banned from two wheels for life based on what I have seen them do while riding their gear.
The shit I have seen some of those types pull make me marvel they have not been chlorinated from the gene pool yet. It is just a question of time though....
In terms of riding motorcycles on freeways in the Bay area, I have to sadly share that a rush hour commute onboard a motorcycle is sadly worse than playing Russian roulette - odds wise.
I have also seen a few CHP officers do some pretty darn unsafe things while riding their large BMW gear that also boggles my mind somewhat.
I am asking myself if these guys have a mandatory motorcycle officers training course curricula like we had to do in Europe.
It sure does not look like it based on the things some of them get up to.
For some reason the really older and seasoned ones seem to have all the right skills, demeanor and attitude but I am not sure if the training was better back then or if their age and experience is the factor here.
The good ones are all very calm, steady types and their eyes tell a million stories about them having seen it all while fully expecting something new and unexpected.
Marcello and Alfonso are quite good instructors by the way, but this is offset by the noob dropping and stopping Olympics they cater to which is not so good for refresher riders coming back after a few decades away like I was.
These two also argued with each other about doing stuff which was not good for students to see, they should keep that for when all the students have gone and they debrief each day.
Actually, I contend that this drop and stop Olympics aspect is even more challenging for beginners trying to master riding a motorcycle safely.
Hopefully, your other class mates will not be as bad as my lot were if you do this CMSP training lark!
At the time I had the temporary license, permit, and insurance to ride my own bike, I wanted to arrive for the CMSP on it and actually use it and I had good medical reasons for having this view.
NorCal Moto cannot accommodate people of my dimensions bearing my exotic list of medical calamities on their current equipment!
Legally, reaching the Pleasant Hill NorCal Moto facility by sunrise was an issue for me since my temporary permit did not allow for driving in the dark or on freeways until you are fully licensed.
Do pay attention to that sort of detail if you take your own motorcycle there for the course in the Winter or early Spring periods by the way.
You will also need a DOT certified helmet, which they can provide if you don't have one, FYI.
However, you must have appropriate clothing, shoes, gloves, and a rain suit in case precipitation happens to fall from the sky.
Oh, they also sent one guy home for the long pants he was wearing not being suitable, they do advise jeans but I actually advocate proper riding pants with the protective knee pads, but that's just me..
NorCal Moto store their Lifan KP motorcycles in a blue shipping container next to a porta-potty on site in said car park.
I think all the Lifan KP 200 gear should be parked inside of a porta potty of their very own, cause IMHO, them things be a bit on the crappy side of life.
In terms of suitable gear, I bought myself a suitable armored motorcycle jacket, 2 pairs of motorcycle ankle boots, 2 pairs of armored motorcycle gloves and did a lot of practice riding around my home vicinity in Oakley, Brentwood and East Antioch to get ready for said 2 days of what I thought would be useful refresher training.
I also have sets of motocross gear for dirt antics with race boots.
It all looked rather splendid on paper at any rate!
I went to cycle gear and bought a Bilt one-piece rain suit as well as I did not have one and it was threatening to rain the weekend when I was booked to do this CMSP range training gig!
When I tried it on months later it was way too short and totally useless and I do not ride bikes in the rain in any event unless it is a dirt bike on a motocross track.
I do like mud on an MX machine!
I was never this organized with motorcycle gear when I rode in the African bush or in North Wales when I was 16 by the way (I did not have the money back then).
The CMSP e-online training course piece was very good apart from a few low viz examples they showed on a small square of computer screen.
This is my only complaint on that CMSP e-online training, but it did help a lot, and it was a great refresher course for me.
While doing this training I also upgraded my KLX300D motorcycle a fair bit with better components and pieces here and there.
I acquired a new custom seat, an AS3 Performance gear shift lever, foot pegs, and installed Bark Buster protectors. I pressure washed it multiple times, lubricated the chain, and purchased new tires along with more appropriate riding gear.
I also had custom throttle and clutch cables made for it as the standard ones it came with are not long enough if you lock the steering full left and full right.
Doing the lollipop course does not need the bike clutch or throttle to be changing when the steering is locked either left or right.
I also adjusted the suspension for my weight and totally transformed the bike while I was at it.
The ISR footpegs I acquired for it dramatically changed the rideability of the KLX and motorcycle boots were the biggest pain in the ass for me to sort out for riding it as well but these are essential as I drove it 131 miles in just Hoka trainers and can tell you what a bad and painful idea that was and is!
I also found the suspension settings for the KLX online and was amazed at the difference it made to the ride.
The guy I bought it from was a skinny 115 lbs. guy by the way.
The KLX did not like deep sand like my old Maico liked deep soft sand and I almost had a few over the handlebar experiences or side falls because of sand.
It might have been the front tire though, I changed them both from D605 to D606 and the difference was stark but not perfect.
I actually was on the D606 set front and back and I still did not like the front. I believe a Pirelli MT21 is the answer here.
In any event, back on Saturday April 5th I turned up early (6:23 AM) at NorCal Moto's range inside the DVC overflow car park (at the mid rear section of the top part) in Pleasant Hill for 2 days of said CMSP training with my car and helmet, boots, jacket, rain suit, snacks, water and gloves in the trunk.
To say I was underwhelmed at this 2-day CMSP experience would be seriously understated by my limited powers of articulation!
Approximately 10 minutes into the training though, I clearly understood that I was on the wrong course.
This realization hit me when we maneuvered the motorcycles from one side of the range to the other while seated on them, but with the engines off, resembling a group of kindergarten children on tricycles.
In my first year of school in South Africa they took us all to the local driver test range for basic road rules training and we all piloted three wheeled tricycles and had to do the same things a car did on the traffic range course roads we were all swarming over - it had working traffic lights, stop signs and typical road hazards with Zebra crossings and such.
Doing this side to side duck wobble reminded me of this tricycle training lark I did when I was 5 years old - the whole thing was rather Monty Python style ridiculous!
The Lifan motorcycle equipment they have for the task was a problem for my particular dimensions and aircraft accident injuries and the waddling was excruciating on my left femur and left ankle after a mere 25 yards.
If you are of average build and dimensions these Lifan bikes are just fine for the task by the way.
If you are going to do this sort of training on any motorcycle it is imperative that the machine is at the very least adjusted somewhat for your particular dimensions before you start riding it.
This is why I had asked if I could bring my own KLX300D in the first place!
They were completely opposed to this idea, arguing that it would be more suitable for their equipment when I contacted them to discuss it prior to conducting their training.
If they had adjusted each one to the rider it would have been a different thing entirely by the way.
It turned out that I was in fact vindicated and completely right on the subject of using my own motorcycle, adjusted for my dimensions.
The second issue, which quickly turned into a significant challenge, was that the other student bikers had a wide range of skills, from being familiar with riding to having never ridden a motorcycle before.
Only one of them had any street smarts and he was riding a Honda CBR600 illegally but this was where he had gained what street smarts he had built up.
There is nothing like actual drive time on the road to experience it all and build up your skill and experience levels by the way, it's just a fact of life.
Most Americans struggle with mastering clutch operation and gear shifting, and in our group, five people repeatedly stalled and dropped their motorcycles, two really sucked and the rest were kinda OK.
The weight and low speed maneuvering is also nothing like a bicycle and comes as a shock to people who drop the bike when trying to do bicycle type shit on it.
The average person cannot do bicycle type shit safely on a motorcycle!
It rapidly became clear that five of us were all being held back by the least skilled riders, as we had to stop every time someone stalled or fell, which literally happened about every 90 seconds!
As a result, I just did not get my $425 worth out of this CMSP training lark.
The range rules they shared with us was that you cannot pass by anyone who was struggling, and so consistency was always getting interrupted by this continual start, stall, drop and stop bollocks as you patiently waited behind the stallers and droppers to get their shit together.
This is frankly speaking not acceptable to all the people who put down $425 to do this training in good faith of getting the requisite time in on doing the various exercises.
I estimate 80% of the time I had on my course was wasted by the drop and stop Olympics of these particular noobs.
It was immensely frustrating and infuriating for me to be waiting impatiently for these noobs to get their shit together and I felt I was being robbed of my paid for time to get the reps in that I needed - by the literal second.
To be fair, out of curiosity these past 6 months, I have actually driven to the NorCal Moto test site several times on several different motorcycles to see for myself what other classes have been like and I have not seen one that was as bad as our one was while doing this.
Obviously, my group suffered this malady, so there is no guarantee your class will be good or bad but most of them I observed actually seemed to be ok.
After having this CMSP experience for myself, I can definitely say this sort of training is vastly inferior to the BMA training I had in the U.K back in the 1980's.
They have a set curriculum that takes you through the five CMSP test tasks and you do them all day one and some repetition on day 2 before they spring the test on you.
One of them is accelerating to 20 Mph and braking within a certain distance.
I was kinda pissed they passed some of the people doing this when they were driving like old age pensioners at 7 Mph and stopped almost immediately within the limit they set.
They were women and their weight and low speed was not even a test when pulling the brake at 7 Mph!
I doubt few people can stop this KP 200 machine anywhere near the limit if they are actually at 20 Mph and weigh 220 lbs so my advice to anyone on this training is do not go over 12 Mph.
At roughly 11 o'clock (AM) on day 2 of the CMSP, which was Sunday the 6th April, Marcello, one of the instructors announces we are now being tested for all the training bits we just did the previous 2 days.
I was not happy about the lack of reps and my readiness for this at this stage of the game either by the way.
I struggled with the clutch bite on my Lifan 200 machine for slow speed work and despite doing all the cone weaving right in the lessons (with difficulty), on my turn with the testing phase I completely screwed up the speed and the clutch work on my machine and halfway through the cone weaving I overcooked the power and got out of position and screwed the rest of it up completely.
I later concluded that the practice exercises for this had been a rolling start after an arced turn positioning exercise (two things in one exercise) and the actual test for this was a standing start and much slower.
The instructor kept yelling at me to lean forward and get 90 degrees from upper to lower arm but my injuries from my aircraft accident make this impossible without proper bike handlebar pre-setup antics.
Normal weaving I could do, but one of the cones from a standing start required nimble balance and weight transfers as it was deliberately offset, which does require you to have the right setup from a standing start.
From a rolling start, it is totally different, because you have the required forward motion.
The lessons we had were from a moving start which is as useful as tits on a bull as the actual test is from a standing start.
The course did not give us reps from a standing start and this needs to be amended (por favor).
There is also another trick to doing this particular test that you need to know about.
As you approach each cone from the left or the right you need to imagine that the cone is 18 inches to the outside of each cone you are rounding.
If the bike is going around the cone to the right you need to aim 18 inches further right, the next cone will be left and for that you need to aim 18" to the left of where the actual cone is.
This seems animatedly wider and it is, but trust me, this is the trick to it and you also need to be in fluid motion at a slow pace - 3-4 Mph is about right and you will get to near losing balance on the middle offset cone you are so slow, but you cannot stop, if you do you will put a foot down and fail and likely also fall.
If you do this test on a Lifun KP 200 and get out of position you are screwed, so practice it a lot - it has to be perfect on this pig!
After you try it six or seven times, it is dead easy, and on a dual sport KLX300 it is much easier even if you get one cone wrong to recover from it and that offset cone is where it will go wrong.
As I said, on the Lifan KP 200, once you make one mistake in this standing start weave exercise, that's it, you are done. There is no getting that pig back on track unless you have hundreds of hours positioning one around an obstacle course like the CMSP range with nobody else slowing you down while you practice it over and over again either.
After the cone miss bollocks, I lost all interest in what now felt like complete physical torture, and I was just rushing through the remaining testing bollocks as I knew I had failed and was now just hoping the whole excruciating affair would just come to an end.
You really need a fair bit of practice on these particular small Lifan KP 200 machines to get all of this right and your confidence built up by the way!
As you cannot rent or borrow these (they are not licensed for the road) this is a problem and largely pointless in any event.
I just looked at the Turbo Powersports web site and they are selling these KP 200 machines for $2899 and they have the instrument cluster where it should be as well.
There are much easier machines you can acquire to do this on though.
Serious starter machines will be Honda Grom, Kwakersaki Z125 Pro (a Grom like machine) and the Kwakersaki KLX230 ABS variant for the taller folks. These will all run you about $4500 all in.
I advise noobs to buy used bikes and not new ones. Cycle trader has a lot of them listed.
I bought my KLX this way because they wanted $8100 for one out the door and after mods that would have cost $10,750.00.
My KLX was a 21 model, had 2300 miles on it and had some mods already. The $4500 I paid for it left me with $3500 for mods and was a much better deal.
A CMSP training group in Livermore allows you to bring your own machine on their CMSP courses from the outset, and in hindsight, I should have gone there instead of Pleasant Hill.
You cannot seriously expect to properly manage a Lifan KP 200 machine that has not been setup for your dimensions and seating position on these CMSP range courses either by the way.
In the debriefing, the other instructor whose name was Alfonso told me I had not passed but that they could see I could ride and with some personal coaching could pass their test and that they would help me, but it sounded like a proposal for some custom like thing all over again to be honest.
It was not by the way, it all worked out fine but I was suspicious!
I think if I had time on a properly adjusted machine then sure, but on their Lifan gear? This is highly unlikely!
For this reason, I had been intending to ride around a bit more on my own KLX machine and practice cone weaving as well as doing the DMV lollipop course on my own bike until I was skilled enough to pass it!
The first order of business was to adjust the KLX300 for my dimensions properly and fine tune it.
I did in fact do a lot of this tuning and even rode my machine back to the NorCal Moto range and rode their range 2 for 2 hours practicing all the stuff bar the cone weaves (nobody was there, and my cones are too big to transport on my bike).
The NorCal Moto Range 2 experience was a totally different story on my bike, set for my dimensions by the way!
As I stated, unless you are of average dimensions, these CMSP Lifan KP 200 series bikes are not very useful, and all students should have the handlebars and such adjusted for their arms before the course commences regardless of their average dimension ranges.
Having generic sized handlebar risers and an allen key or wrench with the right sockets before the training starts is not a biggie in terms of time to set it up.
They did this on each of the BMA BMW R100RT motorcycles on the British training way back when in the mists of time, and it did not take the technician long to adjust the handlebars and controls for each rider either.
We were all sized for the bikes the Sunday before the training started the following day by the way.
Although I am 6ft 3, my legs are what they call standard length, it is my torso that is extra tall, I had to accommodate for this fact when I first learnt golfing, surfing, skiing and snowboarding activities.
I fit the BMW R100RT perfectly for this BMA training purpose before I started the training which was a game changer.
After the CMSP Sunday April 6th failure, I decided to go and try the DMV lollipop on my KLX300D the very same day and it was indeed far more difficult than I thought but I did manage two flawless runs on the serpentine test and three on the normal one after 90 minutes of attempts.
I did this every single day after 5 PM for two weeks in the weekday and 3 hours each Saturday and Sunday and I got quite good at this DMV lollipop test after a few weeks!
It has given me the finer control nuance skills, there is no doubt about that at all!
I was going to do the proper DMV lollipop test on that Yamaha Vino scooter but the CMSP became plan A after it was clear I would never manage that ambition.
The skills and techniques they taught on the 2-day shindig did come in handy for my further 1 hour 30 minutes of lollipop practice at the Pittsburg DMV though and after 2 weeks of daily practice sessions I was master of that game.
I will admit that it was at first difficult doing the two lollipop tasks on a Dual Sport machine, but I pumped up the tires and did a good few adjustments to make it a whole lot better.
I am sure that familiarity and skills to do it with repetition on a properly adjusted machine that I drive all the time will in fact solve the lollipop test problem.
I spoke to some of my British Motorcycle training pals in the U.K about this the same evening I failed out of the 2-day CSMP course, and they told me the whole CMSP thing is viewed by them as a bit of a joke.
They actually ran a few similar styled trainings themselves a few years ago (CHP sent some folks over with motorcycles and officers at some point) and found they had to have an instructor leading groups of no more than 3 students at a time on a separate range that had more than twice the dimensions the CMSP folks use to be effective.
They also did not use Lifan KP 200cc motorcycles for the demo either!
We had 12 students on this CMSP lark and 7 of them had zero prior motorcycle experience.
The UK BMA training folks expect all students to be able to ride a motorcycle with 2 years minimum riding experience and be able to operate the clutch and gears without stops, stalls and falls that was too long in duration to recover from.
I think this 2 day CMSP program should have a learner driver course prerequisite before students qualify to go on what we did these past 2 days and they need 6 months regular riding experience to go with the requirements as well.
They need to also remove all mention of bicycle riding ability, it is not the same thing at all and sets the wrong tone.
Although it's been 30 years since I last rode a motorcycle regularly, I rode from 16 to 34 years old as my sole mode of transportation on various sized road bike machines - I had over 23 different motorcycles in this period.
I started out on a Suzuki B120P, graduated to Honda CB200E, then a Honda 250 Superdream N, then a Moto Morini 500 sport, Yamaha XS750-D, Yamaha YB100 (long story), Yamaha XS400 US Custom, Moto Guzzi V50 Monza, Kwakersaki Z400-J, Custom Kwakersaki Z500, Kwakersaki KH400, Kwakersaki KH500, Kwakersaki KH750, Yamaha XJ650, Yamaha XS750-E, Yamaha XS750-SE, Yamaha XS750-F, Yamaha XS850-SG, Suzuki GS850-G, Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans MKIII, Maico 500, Yamaha XJ900 4BB1 & Yamaha FJ1100.
I also owned a Vespa 175 scooter, a horrid Hardly Movingson 1200 Wide Glide, Van Veen OCR1000, BFG 1300 Odyssey, a Laverda 500 Montjuic and a Kwakersaki KZ1300.
I owned these latter machines less than a week before I gave them away. They were all suicide machines, especially the scooter and the Van Veen.
The point here is that I had a good few machines when I was an active motorcyclist.
Oh, I also had a gutless BMW R45. In fact, I still own the 850 Guzzi and the BMW R45 which are in a shed in Cape Town somewhere near Kommetjie.
I also had a 2nd job where I rode a BMW R100RT and then a BMW K75. I rode 50,000 miles on each of these machines doing that courier side job between 1985 and 1994.
Stalls and restart failures happen on new gear, even with my past experience, I had 2 stalls myself on the Lifan KP 200 those 2 days of the CMSP thang, but I did not hold up anyone more than 10 seconds when I did, and I certainly never dropped the bike.
One thing that did get me was the side stand down not allowing the motorcycle to go into gear. I see most modern motorcycles have this annoying trait!
Stalling and falling happens on unfamiliar gear while doing strange low speed tasks but it is not reasonable to tolerate as much interruption as I experienced on this CMSP experience these 2 days and I would never recommend experienced folks getting back into 2 wheels with 5-10 years riding experience to ever do this training with noobs either, because it's totally ridiculous to subject them to that constant noob stopping, starting and dropping Olympics BS.
I did relearn a few useful things on this CMSP course though, I just needed to practice them somewhere on my own and get the hours and reps on my own machine, which I have now done.
I am quite confident I am back to my former level with the riding I have done these past 6 months.
Obviously, a KLX300D is a very different machine riding experience to an FJ1100, but I think this KLX was the right platform for me for that M1 license task!
I did want to upgrade to the KTM 390 Adventure R though....Cept KTM seem to be in a lot of financial trouble at the minute. They have been bought by some Indian company called Bajaj or something like that.
After much contemplation I sadly decided to sell the KLX300D in July as NorCal regulations and places to ride in the dirt are not like SoCal.
I had to drive it to Bottle Hill near Sacramento to even get on good dirt and then drive home again after riding it in the dirt.
This seemed like marathon stuff and it was.
I chanced upon a Craigslist add for a 2009 Buell Ulysses and bought it for $3500 in late July after much dithering.
The Ducati Desert machine looks also very nice though, but the price tag was a problem.
When I did my BMA UK training in 1981, if you dropped the BMW R100RT you were on, the course for you at that point was over.
There were exceptions - based on conditions - we had one guy hit black ice on the course one morning and he lost it and was allowed to carry on.
The CSMP training I did had three people that should have been asked to leave after 25 minutes of their dropping antics and they did eventually ask one of them to exit after 3 hours.
I dunno what the reluctance is all about - its impact to ther students as well as their own safety - not the fact you have to give them their money back. They should say only 50% refund if it turns out that you're a dangerous clown.
You can tell in 15 minutes who is safe and really a danger to themselves.
We did our BMA training with British army military police and civilian metropolitan police officers who were going to be motorcycle mounted on a permanent basis and they all knew how to ride already.
I have a big problem doing this CMSP training with people who do not know how to operate the machinery.
A CMSP course is not where you learn to ride a bike for the first time ever unless it is specific training course to operate a bike for the first time AND EVERYONE ON THE COURSE IS IN THE SAME SKILL BUCKET.
That is not fair to the other students who want to pass their M1 test.
Not to say that the spectacle is not entertaining as an observer and not another student, but as another student, it is real frustrating.
Our BMA training course by the way was 10 days long with classroom stuff with the riding lessons and video to review mistakes we all made at each stage post mortem style.
There was nothing we did on that BMA course that we did not cover these past 2 days from a basics point of view but the BMA training circuit we drove on had stop streets, traffic lights and places to make emergency stops as well as weave to avoid road debris and other cars in a hurry and it was very big, about 4 times the size of the entire car park the CMSP range was inside of in fact.
The outside driving track was 2.43 miles in total as well and you had to get to 50 Mph for some of the training steps.
This training facility was just outside of Birmingham in the U.K.
We did emergency stops from 15, 30, 50 & 70 Mph for example.
This is one of the reasons they only want little bikes on these CMSP mini range training affairs.
The 50cc Venom fare would be much better for this purpose IMHO and it has an automatic gear system. This would prevent the ab initio noobs from the start and stop olympics in my humble opinion.
I feel that for the CMSP training to be effective, they need to remove the zero experience riders from the course for it to be useful to everybody trying to master the training tasks and get their task training reps in though.
Either that or have separate classes for ab initio noobs and another one for people with past experience (counted in 5 to 10 years minimum).
I was pretty disappointed with my overall CMSP experience and more to the point I feel I was cheated out of the $625 it cost me as well.
This is my 2c on the matter.
I looked at a few videos the other day where several folks were dragging their rear brake for speed control on the lollipop test with CHP officer commentary supporting and praising this practice.
The CMSP instructors kept contradicting covering throttle and brakes which I just do not agree with.
In any event, a few days after failing out, I sent NorCal Moto a long email cataloging my long list of injuries and also set about adjusting my bike for the lollipop test at the Pittsburgh DMV and practicing it endlessly with adjustment tweaks here and there.
I also looked up tire pressure for a Dunlop D605 front and rear for my weight and they suggested 33 psi front and back.
After trying a few settings, I went with 31.5 front and 32 rear and it sure changed the road manners a whole bunch.
The lollipop needed a new approach though but it was easier to keep the bike controlled if I looked ahead a little bit.
I did overcook a few turns and almost dropped the bike once (oh the shame that woulda induced!), but after another hour I got to the required harmony level PDQ.
My control of the machine had scaled up dramatically on a daily basis by the way!
In the meantime, I got a return email from NorCal Moto stating that they had no idea as to the tone and scale of my list of challenges and that they would in fact accommodate me on my machine for the May 4th re-test.
I also reached out to a guy with a Yamaha Vino scooter and thankfully met him to practice the day before an actual DMV test booking that I had made at Daly City DMV.
It turned out that riding that Yamaha Vino around the lollipop course was near impossible and 3000 times more difficult than on my own KLX300D!
This was surprising, until I did all the math.
My legs kept hitting the handlebars on the circles and I could not make the little Yamaha scooter go in a straight line at all.
I rode the KLX every day for a month and it made a huge difference to my proficiency level.
Unless you are a very small person do not ever attempt a lollipop test on a scooter!
For enduro trails riding I will probably drop the PSI to 21/22 and pump it back to 31.5/32.5 with the aid of one of those portable pump thingamabobs.
I also bought a tire gauge with a flexible hose and pressure relief valve at Auto Zone for $28 and discovered gas station pumps also needed flex hoses for the rear tire air pumping ambitions.
A lot of them have that rigid iron that will not fit over the valve as the angle and length of the stem are just way too long for some 18" motorcycle tires.
I was literally gob smacked how much better the KLX is on the road @32 PSI. It literally feels like a laser scalpel now!
I serviced the KLX fully myself the other day and it revealed a lot of bitches and niggles about this motorcycle that you don't really notice until you start looking at the ergonomics and cable setups et al..
Changing the KLX spark plug required a 1/4 to 1/2 convertor on my small wrench and was a real bitch to swap out.
I had to remove the seat and side covers to get to the air filter and noted a KDX snorkel had to replace the KLX one on a future service and I would probably do an EJK Fuel flow convertor at that time as well.
I was waiting for the bits to arrive as of May 10.
I also put in an NGK Iridium spark plug instead of the standard CR8E one and that has made it run better, but I did not have a tool for the plug gap. I suspect it could run better at .7 than out the box which is .8.
I also intended to do a Delkevic exhaust upgrade on it with the new EJK EFI flow computer but I sold it before that came about.
On Thursday evening I hired that Yamaha scooter from the Scooter guy for a practice run for my DMV M1 riding test and boy am I glad I spent $100 on his Yamaha Vino rental before I did this test!
As I am 6"3 @218 lbs and I have a long upper body, I soon ran into some serious control issues on this Scooter thing that I coulda drawn and sketched out with some basic math if I had been of a mind to do my homework properly beforehand.
It's all about center of gravity and where it is when I am onboard a scooter.
On a scooter a guy my size and dimensions has to have a center of gravity well over the handlebars but if you perch forward the steering gets blocked by your knees.
I had handlebars colliding with right knee issues and when I sat back the circle control thing went out the window.
I practiced for 1 hour 30 minutes and it was clear I would not get it any better anytime soon and immediately felt my own KLX was way better for this task by a 400-500% margin!
I am way more effective on my KLX Dual sport motorcycle at the Serpentine test and the right to left lollipop circle and exit than on any scooter.
The Honda scooter is a joke, its natural turning circle is just not small enough for any Lollipop test quest.
I walked one through the course to demonstrate to an examiner that it was not capable of doing the turning radius.
To demonstrate the science of the center of gravity position forward or backwards on the KLX I purchased some Tusk 30mm risers for my Kwakersaki and went to the Pittsburg DMV to give them a whirl.
It was swings and roundabouts and took some getting used to! It was still way better than the Yamaha Scooter by the way!
The risers were outstanding for the circles but piss poor for the straight-line stuff!
I had been contemplating taking the risers off and doing a few comparisons at the Pittsburg DMV to see which is best for the lollipop test quest.
I suspect I will be pulling them off, as lower puts the weight forward and this is where you actually want it for the straight-line control on this stupid lollipop test quest!
When I examined the brake and clutch cables at full steering lock I could not believe how bad the stretch was on the dealer setup of this machine.
I re-routed everything as a result of this crud and advise you examine the setup for whatever bike you are going to try doing the test on.
On Sunday May 4th I did the $200 add on training with an older ex CHP guy with the name of Dave.
Dave gave great tips on the serpentine test from a standing start, having us aim 18" to the left or right of the cones we were rounding.
That wuz a good tip, it actually works!
He also advised looking ahead on the braking test and some spots to gawk at on the leaning and turning in corners stuff.
There were 5 of us in attendance for the re-test lark, two folks plus me were from my previous course, some young Japanese teenager and an older guy I had never seen before were also present.
5 in Total seemed like a nice number but this was still crunched but a lot better than the 2 day drop and stop Olympics with 12 of us.
Nobody dropped a bike and we only had 3 stalls and one idiot with a side stand down (me) which cut the engine off when it went into gear.
I also looked at the 2-day students there for their Sunday final test and tasks gig and observed that none of them dropped their bikes like our crew did on our 2-day shindig.
A lot of the new CMSP training folks still failed their 2-day test though and some immature ones stormed off with loud revving cars like assholes when they were told they had failed out.
The older guy with us in our group was recovering from a stroke and he was a great old guy with lots of stories to tell.
To cut a long story short, we all passed our re-test!
I was so freaking relieved it was just not funny!
I almost cooked the weaving test again but recovered by doing some balancing gymnastics I had been practicing the 4 weeks between the 2 day and the re-test!!
Oh Yay, Oh Yay, Oh Yay!! I am gonna have me a Partaaaayyy!
I also drove back on the 680/4/160 freeways to celebrate my pass as I was now legal!
My KLX300D Kwakersaki at the CMSP re-testing event!
Note the bikes they trotted out for the retest antics were the Lifan 150's which I would never have been able to ride, so it was a goodness thang that I rode my own one!
Mucho thanks to Dave and Marcello by the way!
Hasta La Vista compadres, and if I don't see you through the week, I will see you through my visor!
Look out for a long bodied nutter on a Red Buell Ulysses if you are ever cruising in the East Bay or find yourself on one of the many off highway 160 levees!
I have been disocovering all manner or quaint roads and advenures on the many shitty roads that follow the Sacramento River all the way to Sacramento!
By the way I did shell out over $5000 for advanced race riding instruction on my Buell at Laguna Seca in September and this was a truly fabulous advanced training experience.
I have come a long way since April this year!
I have also racked up over 10,000 miles riding on a good few adventure riding group events on various motorcycles including my own and I was on the Moto Morini event in Nor Cal and have been invited to France for a Ducati Launch event next May.
To all those CMSP noobs out there contemplating the DMV lollipop test or this two days of CMSP investment, I would say get your own machine - 230 to 390cc in size (I think the KTM 390 Duke is ideal for most people) and realize that doing it properly on a machine you can operate proficiently either way is key to your success with this M1 license endeavor.
These can be had for $5,899.00 base MSRP and based on the testing and time me and a few different sized bikers spent evaluating different bikes to do this M1 lark on, this is an awesome platform for the M1 license lark in our combined opinion that is.
You do need the experience on a smaller platform before you trade up to something bigger and better for adventure riding on or off road.
Jumping on a bigger machine without the smaller machine experience is statistically speaking a pine box sort of endeavor, if you know what I mean.
Aircraft pilots for example do not start training on 747 jets because thats a real stupid idea.
Jumping straight on a Suzuki Hyabusa as your first bike is also that sort of stupid.
You have to accept you need to start small to stay safe, it's a numbers and common sense game.
Ride safe! Be Alert and always assume the car borne idiots are doing their best to kill you!
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