Texas Motorcycle: Turning & Cornering Practice Test

Question 1

What causes many of the crashes in which a motorcycle leaves the road on a curve with no other vehicle involved?

Accepted Answer

Running wide because the bend was taken faster than the rider could hold — Riders who arrive too fast run wide and meet a fixed object or the oncoming lane. Read each bend before you commit: some hold a steady radius, some open up, some tighten, and some come in a series.

Answer

Riding too far away from the center line

Answer

Braking gently before the bend

Answer

Looking through the bend toward the exit

Question 2

Where should you direct your eyes as you ride through a curve?

Accepted Answer

Through the turn toward where you want to go — Look through the turn toward where you want to go. A motorcycle tends to go where you look, so keeping your eyes up and ahead helps you hold your line.

Answer

Down at your front tire

Answer

At the vehicle right beside you

Answer

Back over your shoulder the whole time

Question 3

How does your body position change in a slow, tight turn compared with an ordinary turn?

Accepted Answer

Let the motorcycle lean while you keep your body upright — In an ordinary turn rider and machine lean together at one angle. Down at parking-lot speeds you counterbalance instead: hold yourself straight and let the motorcycle alone drop into the turn.

Answer

Lean your body further over than the motorcycle

Answer

Lean body and machine equally, exactly as in any other turn

Answer

Stand on the footrests and lean back

Question 4

When should you change gear if a turn is coming up?

Accepted Answer

Before you enter it, and very smoothly if you must shift while leaned over — Settle the gear on the way in. A jerky change while the machine is leaned over sends an abrupt shove of power to the back wheel, and that is enough to break traction.

Answer

Halfway through the turn, at full lean

Answer

Only once the machine is upright again

Answer

Gear choice makes no difference in a turn

Question 5

When you must swerve to avoid an obstacle in your path, you should:

Accepted Answer

Separate braking from swerving, and do not brake while you swerve — Braking and swerving at the same time can cause a loss of traction. If you need to do both, brake before or after the swerve, not during it. Swerve by pressing on the handgrip in the direction you want to go.

Answer

Brake hard at the same time that you swerve

Answer

Turn the handlebars sharply to change direction

Answer

Lean back and coast through the obstacle

Question 6

What is a good four-step method for taking a curve on a motorcycle?

Accepted Answer

Slow, Look, Press, and Roll — Slow, Look, Press, and Roll: reduce speed before the turn, look through the curve, press the handgrip to lean, and roll on a little throttle to steady the bike through it.

Answer

Brake, Coast, Drift, and Hope

Answer

Stop, Signal, Wait, and Go

Answer

Speed, Stare, Grab, and Cut

Question 7

When is the best time to slow down for a curve?

Accepted Answer

Before entering the curve, while the bike is upright — Do your braking before you enter the curve, while the motorcycle is still straight up. Braking hard in the middle of a lean can cause the tires to lose their grip.

Answer

In the middle of the curve while leaned over

Answer

After you have already exited the curve

Answer

There is no need to slow for curves

Question 8

At normal riding speed, what makes a motorcycle lean and travel to the left?

Accepted Answer

Pressing forward on the left handgrip — Press the grip on the side you want to go: pressing left leans the machine left and takes you left, pressing right does the mirror image. The faster you are moving, the more lean the same turn requires.

Answer

Pulling back on the left handgrip

Answer

Leaning your shoulders left while the machine stays upright

Answer

Sliding your weight onto the right footrest

Question 9

You have to swerve around debris in your path. What should your body and your eyes be doing?

Accepted Answer

Stay upright with knees against the tank and feet planted, eyes fixed on the gap you are aiming for — Let the machine drop beneath you while you stay upright and braced, knees on the tank and feet planted. Your eyes belong on the gap you are heading for, and a press on the other grip brings you back on line afterward.

Answer

Throw your upper body hard toward the escape side and watch the debris

Answer

Stand up on the footrests and stare down at the road

Answer

Lock your arms straight and keep your eyes on the obstacle

Question 10

With no traffic around, which line through a curve gives you the best view and the gentlest radius?

Accepted Answer

Begin wide, drift inward past the middle of the curve, then move back out to exit — Entering wide opens up your line of sight and flattens the effective radius, so a steadier speed works. Holding the middle of your lane all the way through is a fair alternative when you want the earliest look at oncoming traffic.

Answer

Hug the inside of the curve the whole way through

Answer

Ride the outer edge from entry all the way to the exit

Answer

Follow the painted center line around

Texas Motorcycle: Turning & Cornering practice test

Study questions with answers

1. What causes many of the crashes in which a motorcycle leaves the road on a curve with no other vehicle involved?

2. Where should you direct your eyes as you ride through a curve?

3. How does your body position change in a slow, tight turn compared with an ordinary turn?

4. When should you change gear if a turn is coming up?

5. When you must swerve to avoid an obstacle in your path, you should:

6. What is a good four-step method for taking a curve on a motorcycle?

7. When is the best time to slow down for a curve?

8. At normal riding speed, what makes a motorcycle lean and travel to the left?

9. You have to swerve around debris in your path. What should your body and your eyes be doing?

10. With no traffic around, which line through a curve gives you the best view and the gentlest radius?

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