Modern Vespa

Just wondering if anyone can think of big space where I can practice going in a circle for the DMV road test. I tried practicing at the Culver City DMV on my lunch hour and they kicked me out!



(Please, no posts telling me to take the MSF course; I've been riding quite a bit and would like to try it on my own first).

Any mall parking lot early on a Sunday morning. Must be a bunch down your way.

Go down to the beach just after sunrise. There are huge empty parking lots w/ no-one there and a moto will easily fit through the barriers.
Santa Monica - Ocean Avenue/Bicknell or Ocean Ave/Hollister have easy entrances to the parking lots.

That's where I take peeps down for practicing.

Ah, great idea, thanks.

Depending on where you are in LA, the two places that come to mind are the Rose Bowl and the Santa Anita Racetrack....
If you are closer to the West side have you tried: The Great Western Forum (or what ever it is now), the Home Depot Center, or maybe the Collesium?

The DMV in Long Beach doesn't chase you out on Sundays, or they didn't when I went over there.
Good luck!

(sorry, I just noticed you were in Venice!)... don't know if my suggestions will help....such a congested area!

I use to live near cal state LA and taught my brother to ride in their parking lot w/o any problems.

Also, you can look for some of the warehouse areas and look for large expanses of asphalt there. Just watch out for the stunters and drifters who are looking for the same.

Now go take a MSF course! Right now! Sorry couldn't help myself.

Hope you find a place.

There's a lot off Cahuenga South/Ventura that's usually only used for remote Hollywood Bowl parking. Pretty level. Malls and shopping centers before hours are also good. There's a freestanding Macy's near me at Laurel Canyon and Erwin with a huge lot that's 80% empty at all times. (Used to be a mall but got torn down after Northridge so now its just a gigantic lot.)

When she got her scoot, I took my wife to the Red Line Metro lot across from Universal City. Very little traffic on a Sunday.

There are one or two DMV lots in the area that haven't been fenced off yet. From what I hear Pasadena is still open but the course is kind of cramped. The Van Nuys lot may also still be open. They used to have the course painted there, but I've heard they're no longer testing at that office, so they may have painted over it to use as parking.

I use one of the Orange Line parking lots. There may be something like that near you. I used an large area away from the bus stop where no cars were parked. The roving security saw me but didn't bother to stop.

Its a bit of a ride out there but the DMV in Montebello on Wilcox has their test area open. My family lives out that way and when we pass by on weekends we usually see a couple of bikes out there practicing.

Ahhh one day I'll go there myself and get myself ready to be legal. Its just hard though! 20 years on driving around on two wheels with just a regular license with no troubles. I have read the book and Dad was a motorcycle cop so we learned all the safety bits when he taught us how to ride.

You have never been pulled over by a cop while on your moto?

No never been pulled over. I'm a really cautious driver I won't lane split or go too fast these days I think my top speed I've taken the LXV is just around 50! I used to tear down Sunset like a speed demon on my Elite 80 coming home from UCLA but that's been some time now. I was knocked down on that bike but I don't think with an engine that small I needed one because they didn't bring it up on scene.

I know I definitely need to get one - I've stopped going to group rides because I didn't have one and I miss riding with others! I'm sure I'll make time to get it taken care of in the next year, who knows maybe my insurance will even go down

I'm sure you know this, but if you get pulled over they can impound your bike.

Yep - know all about it. Which is why I won't join in the group rides again until I'm all legal. No one ever asked if I had one but some of the aggressive moves by some of the riders on the larger groups I thought may attract some police attention. I knew if we all had to show paperwork I could see my little machine get carted off. I've talked to cops that have pulled up along side of me in traffic but they just want to know what kind of scooter it is. Also never been pulled over in my car either! I think I may just fly under their radar or something.

Agreed with the Pasadena course being cramped (I got "lollipopped" there on my first attempt), and the Van Nuys DMV lot is gated.

If you're up for a longish, scenic ride the Simi Valley DMV lot is open. The course is still a little on the cramped side (not much of a runoff area), but it's better than Pasadena.

I watched the DMV provided youtube videos http://www.youtube.com/user/CaliforniaDMV and I have yet to see a course with that size of a runoff area.

Btw the Culver City DMV is NOT gated so I'm practicing there; thx for all the suggestions though.