The Dubai Motorcycle Yard Test — All 6 Exercises (Part 2)

In Part 1, my daughter and I signed up for our motorcycle licences together, and I — the “experienced one” — promised to supervise. Then we both took the RTA yard test, and the experienced one failed it. Before you feel too smug on my behalf: she failed her first attempt too. This is the story of how a man running on four years of 1990s riding and a 17-year-old who’d barely ridden anything got humbled by the same painted yard in the same week — and how we both came back and passed.

What the Yard Test Actually Is

Before they let you anywhere near a public road, you do the yard test: a closed lot painted with lines and boxes where an examiner checks one thing — can you control a motorcycle at low speed? Pass it and you graduate to road classes. Fail it and you pay to book it again. I became a generous donor to the RTA that month; I’m still hoping for a small plaque.

The 6 Exercises

It’s a fixed set of exercises — the same everywhere, even if schools number them differently. Walk in knowing all six and half the fear disappears:

1. Left turn & box stop — turn between the lines, then stop dead-centre in the box: front tyre on the box, left foot down only, right foot on the brake.
2. Slow riding — cover a short stretch in a minimum of 10 seconds, feet on the pegs. This is the one that quietly breaks confident riders.
3. Right turn — indicate, head-check, arc through without touching the line, indicator off after.
4. Emergency brake — get to around 20 km/h, then stop completely before the 5th line. Both brakes.
5. The curves — ride an S through two curves with no brakes and no clutch. Set your speed before you enter and hold it.
6. The signal box — a light decides at random: red = stop, green arrow = go. The trap: on a “go” signal you never touch the brake.

The Three Rules That Fail You

Underneath all six exercises, the examiner really cares about three things: a visible head-check before every move (if your head doesn’t turn, in their eyes you didn’t check); never touch a line; and never grab the brake or clutch mid-turn or on a “go.” Master those three and the six exercises become choreography. Ignore them and they become a very expensive interpretive dance.

Ask your school to show you the official RTA score sheet — most will. It spells out every fault that costs you marks, and the two big ones are right there: under 10 seconds on the slow ride, or under 20 km/h on the brake.

The Humbling

So how did the experienced rider do? I failed. First attempt. A man who rode daily through university three decades ago, then told his wife he’d be supervising, could not pass the beginner yard test. My daughter failed her first attempt too — one microscopic mistake — and then, just to twist the knife, passed her retest before I passed mine. If I’m honest, she out-rode me. And if that makes you nervous about your own attempt, take comfort: people fail this test a lot. We passed on attempt two, which in this game is practically a victory lap.

How to Actually Pass

Four things. Practise the slow-ride more than anything else — that 10 seconds is where the confident get cocky and beginners get tense. Exaggerate your head-checks until the examiner can’t miss them. Stay off the brake in the curves and on every “go.” And accept that the examiner you draw matters; ride your cleanest run and re-book if the dice go against you. Two of us proved you can fail, regroup and pass — so if attempt one goes sideways, it’s genuinely not the end.

Pass the yard test and you’re finally allowed where the real world is — the road. That’s Part 3 — the RTA road test, point by point. Missed the start? Part 1 covers preparation, gear and what it really costs, and the UAE Rider Guide has licences, gear shops and clubs in one place.

🎥 Like what you see? The full moto-chaos lives on YouTube — subscribe to @MotoMoku and never miss a ride. More ride stories on the Video Log.