Tips for NC BRC

So just finished up today, got a perfect score on both the range and book test. The book test was a joke; you can miss 10 questions of the 50 and still pass. The range would be a bit more difficult for people who haven't had any experience on a motorcycle before, but they walk you through it well. The only thing that should cause issues for people is remembering to look through the turn, and the figure 8 in the box.

So I'm off to get my license tomorrow. Something I noticed is I got conflicting coaching from both instructors; I took this with a grain of salt but with a new rider it may be confusing.

So while I'm here, just a few things for people wondering about the NC BRC test:

1. Don't sweat about the written exam. It's a joke. Seriously. Just read the questions in the BRC book once and you'll be fine. Someone who literally couldn't read the word "search" passed with an 86. You only need an 80. It is multiple choice and only A, B, and C. No D or E.
2. Stay loose and relaxed. You ride better that way.
3. The only things tested in the final skills test are quick stopping, figure 8/u-turn, swerve to avoid (right), and proper cornering technique. Stopping, swerving, and cornering are life saving techniques. If you go off the line with those, they cost more points. The U-turn is the hardest, and the one to screw up if you need to. It will only cost you 8 points if you completely botch it, and it takes 20 to fail. If you feel like you're going to fall, just straighten up and take the points. Dropping the bike is an auto-fail.
4. ALWAYS USE BOTH BRAKES TO STOP AND DOWNSHIFT TO FIRST WHEN STOPPING! This alone will cost you 15 points (depending on the instructor). This is for your safety.
5. Listen to what the instructors say, don't be nervous, and everything will be fine. We had some people who shouldn't be anywhere near a motorcycle, but passed with no issues.
6. Make sure you look through every turn, and roll on the throttle through corners. You will do other exercises like the S-turn, obstacle avoidance, weaving, and clutch control, but will not be directly tested on them, so don't sweat it. Those skills will come with the other exercises.

That's it for now I suppose. I was thrilled to get finished, and even with a more experienced rider such as myself, it is really good and recommended to practice these exercises in a controlled environment with someone else's bike! I'll post back on insurance discount rates I get for people wondering about that too.