mailee66

Once you start to move get your foot up on the peg as it is much easier to balance this way. If you trail your feet (Which is a no no on the test) it puts your balance off and you will wobble. HTH.

Deso's right, keep you head up and look ahead. After your lifesaver turn your head and look where you want to go keeping your head up again. Never look at the kurb or you will end up hitting it.

Years ago when I wanted my first bike my mother was aghast and was convinced i would die in a ball of fire. As for my father....he couldn't wait for me to buy it so he could have a go. when he did he took it round the block and came back stating "Talk about build me up buttercup, you gotta get a faster one"

Just got back from a ride out to East Kirkby to see the Lancaster taxi. It was a great night out for bikers and an awesome sight of the Lanc with it's engines under throttle. There was some pretty fine looking bikes there too!

Gaz will access you on the ride out and will give you some idea of how long it will take. If you have been riding a 125 you should be fine on the slow manoeuvres and should get the MOD 1 in no time. That ER6 is pretty agile and easy on the slow stuff, I don't think you will too much trouble mate. My problem was the avoidance as I either kicked the cone or went through the speed trap too slow!

I always keep my feet on the pegs as my balance is better that way. Has to be pretty tight to put them down...usually a three pointer in that case. Strange thing is it seems easier turning to the right??

Had a good day out at this today. Lots of bikes and some good bargains to be had. Bike parking was pretty full when we got there. Some nice bikes there too. This was definitely a bit unusual! Also a warning to never let the kids loose with a spraygun! And some cool pushbikes! So many bargains I had to get an extra pair of panniers! Stopped off at Willingham woods on the way back for a brew and saw this little beauty.

Glad to hear you got on ok with the training Stan. Yes Gaz is very patient, even when I dropped the bike at a junction he was so cool and relaxed about it and put me at my ease. (no damage, just stopped and lowered it down) I am a short a*se and got on fine with the ER6 as it is well balanced. It is expensive, yes and it did take a lot of time and money for me to pass (£1100 and about four months in my case) I did fail the MOD 1 three times though! (my own fault) But the instruction I received was first class and has turned me into a competent rider. Now it is all over I consider it worth every penny for the big grin on my face.

They are all good instructors at Airfield. I do know Russ too but never had him when I attended. I would certainly recommend Gaz as he took me for most of my training along with Shaun. I had a great time with them and there is no feeling like riding behind your instructor back to the school when you have just passed your MOD 2. I look forward to hearing how it went on Saturday (Today). Good luck.

Mine was around 4 months Stan. I did need three attempts at the MOD 1 but got MOD 2 first time. I had two hour lessons each week but had to change bikes in between due to the law changing half way through my training! Another hold up was due to the examiners being on strike so had a MOD 1 cancelled! I had ridden bikes back in the 70's and had been driving cars since then so had to get back into it. It was expensive but worth every penny once I passed and I am so glad I did it. Big grin factor now.

I never speed on the bike.....since getting two points in the van! I am now always watching the speedo.......not the road.

Just got back from Louth bike night and it was a great do. here are a few pics of the event:

Nice one Deso. That looks a good quality video to me. I notice I am not alone in ragging it up Cabourne hill, I get such a buzz from that. Stainton le Vale is very picturesque for a video ride through too my mate often takes that route with his camera.

my mate and I both bought a Viper helmet with Bluetooth 4 fitted. Easy to pair the helmets together and a good clear sound bike to bike at close range. It does state a range of 800mtrs but I very much doubt it as we have lost the signal at half that range. The system is full duplex and also connects to the phone which can be answered by a tap on the side of the helmet. I also have it paired to the sat nav on my phone (Samsung Galaxy) and it works great and is very clear. Another great feature is that it even picks up my voice with the flip front raised! I have no idea where the mike is but it picks up well. Battery lasts well and I only need to charge it after about three ride outs. Now the downfall of it is wind noise which makes it inaudible at anything over 50 mph! All you get is a muffled sound which is not a lot of use. But around town and paired with a pillion, sat nav, phone, music it is fine at low speeds.

That looks so awkward for the rider in the video. I could see the bike being dropped at some point with all of the tip toe shuffling going on each time you stop! Think it would be safer to get the bike lowered or buy a lower bike IMHO.

It is that easy Stan. I studied the ones on line and took the test with no problems. I found a couple of questions that were not mentioned before but it was just common sense answers to them. Don't worry about it just go do it.

Was that with Gaz and Shaun at Airfield, Stan?

Ok, here we go. I managed to get out between the showers, well the thunderstorm that's out there now!

Well after asking on here for info on a new set of pipes for my 750 Virago I bit the bullet and bought a set. They are a stainless set for a company called Sandy's bike spares who have a shop on E-bay and at £300 notes not too bad price wise. I was worried about the sound being too loud for the neighbours after hearing my friends Vance and Hines pipes on his Harley. shouldn't have worried as these sound perfect! they are a bit louder than the standard 'pea shooter' pipes I had but have a really nice deep throaty sound like a proper 'V' twin. I was also worried about removing the old pipes, especially the studs on the down pipes but with some tips off you guys on here I sprayed them well with Plus Gas over a couple of days and this did the trick. They were almost as clean as a whistle and came off very easily. Taking the old pipes off proved a bit of a fiddle but easier than I had read on some forums. (those things weigh a ton!) should get a few more MPG without all that weight. LOL. fitting the new pipes was pretty easy and the only problem encountered was how tight the silencers fitted onto the down pipes and I had to drift them on with a block of wood and a mallet. Everything lined up perfectly and the fit around the frame was spot on. I had ordered a set of gaskets for them but they hadn't arrived in time so I was very lucky to find the gaskets were in good condition and could re-use them both. As I was tightening up the system the 'postie' arrived with the new set! Doh! I struck the bike up before everything was tight to make sure it didn't blow and sure enough it didn't but I instantly fell in love with the sound WOW! it was so sweeeet! I have to say that the system is a very good quality with being all stainless steel with double skinned down pipes and good welding on the brackets. It is also much thicker steel than I expected and has a good solid mounting on the bike. Only two gripes I can think of and that is a shame they don't include the gaskets and The Haynes manual is next to useless for this job! mind you I have found Haynes manuals rubbish for most jobs anyway. The Clymer manual is better but still not comprehensive on the exhaust. Sorry no pics at the moment as it's doing the usual cats and dogs but will get some later when it fines up a bit.

I just bought this after reading the write up on here and have to say it is brilliant! I do have a Tom Tom for the car but it doesn't have blue tooth and isn't waterproof. Seeing as the bike sat navs are so expensive and I already had a modern phone this seemed the best solution. I have only tried it in my pocket connected by blue tooth to my helmet and as has been mentioned it did run the battery down pretty swift. I have ordered a charger for the bike and a waterproof mount for it. Considering we may....may have some sunny days it is almost impossible to see the screen on the bike so the blue tooth will be invaluable. i already had a power socket on the bike so for £2.99 for the charger lead, £6.99 for the case and £17,99 for the co pilot it is a cheap solution too. Thanks for the heads up guys.

Well done Olly. Now the fun really starts....enjoy!

Well done Olly and all the best for the next one. Bout time Moo had a go too.

Same here, gift from my lad. looking forward to giving it a try.

It's the most perfect road you will ever ride on, enjoy it. just don't look at the cones......look over them where you want the bike to go.

Chin up and better luck next time. Took me three attempts on MOD 1