Modern Vespa

I'm practicing to take the riding skills test in MI, and fearful of the tight u-turn maneuver on the test. I've read in one of the Forums (can't find it now) that giving the throttle quick blips, on and off, will help. My question is: can you simulate the drag of the rear tire on a motorcycle by reving the engine to between 2 and 3K rpms while pulling in the rear brake pedal, thus imitating the friction zone use of a clutch to put some drag on the rear tire?

In other words, will doing this harm the auto-transmission. Also, any suggestions or help with mastering this maneuver on a MP3 500 HPE would be most appreciated!

I have heard that blipping the automatic transmission can wear down the drive belt faster than steady continuous throttle. If you've ever opened up the cover for the CVT there are a few extra wheels and guards in there to help lessen the effect of the belt jumping around.

But I don't think thats going to be an issue for a short-term training exercise for the riding course. You'd have to do it constantly such as in stop-n-go commute traffic over the course of weeks.

The M1 course in California has practice bikes you can borrow so you don't have to risk damaging your own bike during drills. Is that not the case in Michigan? If you can its best to use the training bikes so you get valuable practice with a traditional clutch system and not risk your bike.

The U-turn is the same as any other motorcycle, just gotta practice in a parking lot and get it as tight as you comfortably can without putting your feet down.

Yes - the best control is with slightly elevated throttle and modulating speed with the rear brake. Be warned though that this heats up the clutch pretty fast! So fine for a U-turn, not so wonderful for the California 'lollipop' test, but even then just doable. And leave that front brake alone.