Dav3y

Statistically, newly qualified riders have a 10% chance of being dead or seriously injured in their first year. Insurance premiums reflect that additional risk in the short term. Would be interested to see those stats seeing as it's now possible for the young rider who jumps through all the hoops to be newly qualified 3 times on the path to a full A license. I've seen apalling riding from 16 year olds on mopeds with L plates and some kind of death wish as well as what i'd consider idiots without L plates high speed filtering through other traffic that's doing 70mph on a dual carriageway in the wet - just why ?? I do believe though that newly qualified drivers get hit a little harder to begin with as the insurance companies think most are going to ride like over confident muppets once they have the license. Certainly the notion of taking up biking to save money is going to take many years or maybe prove impossible if running a car as well as a bike unless some pretty serious all weather commuting is involved. I took up biking again for the freedom and fun as well as to save a little money on fuel here and there and have an exploring machine for weekends where i wouldn't dream of burning fuel in a car to do the same thing. As it goes it's cost a small fortune so far but the investment seems worthwhile so far.

DAS course prices don't seem unreasonable to me. My 3 day DAS was £500 including bike hire / mod1 & mod2 test fees. In reality this was only 2 days of training really though as day 3 was mod 1 in the morning and mod 2 in the afternoon. I presume your DAS course price doesn't include CBT ? My school charged an extra £120+ an extra day to include CBT as well which i did beforehand on a weekend. Retake prices seem a little high but then to be fair it's not just the test fees but probably extra training/bike hire so with that in mind not so bad after all if the retake prices include that. Cheapest way of course is not to fluff up either test Myschool offered a guaranteed pass within reason so additional training was free had it been needed with just the test fees having to be paid for although i'm not sure about bike hire.

If you're doing DAS, your school may well lend you a jacket and gloves and possibly even a helmet but i think your other thread said you had a 125 so I'd hope you might have some of this. For my test I wore my own helmet/jacket/gloves and jeans. As for the cones, I wouldn't try and over do it with slow maneuvers. The slalom and fig 8 is piss easy. You can go as wide as you like as long as you don't hit cones or put a foot down. The other thing to consider is if you are going to do DAS, it will be on a bigger bike so any practice on a 125 whilst helpfull in learning what you need to do, it's not going to give you the same feel as doing it on a big bike. Avoidance practice is probably most tricky and that probably wouldn't be advisable to practise without an instructor. There's a few youtube vids of MOD 1 to see what's involved. Bike Theory has some of its own questions so probably worth getting the 2013 edition of the official DSA theory book. Hazard perception part I think is the same as a car. Theory book under a tenner from Amazon.

Typo there on option 3. That would be just category A DAS. A1 license is the 125 license. If you have a 125 already and have passed CBT I'd get your Theory done and just go for DAS once you turn 24. DAS course will include bike hire and test fees usually on the correct category vehicle. Would seem pointless doing MOD 1 & MOD 2 and then be able to take them again for a full Cat A license a few months later.

I just did DAS a couple of months ago. Book and pass your Motorcycle Theory first, car driver or not, it's a good refresher prior to CBT. That way you'll be ready to go for booking everything else as soon as you do your CBT including you DAS/MOD1/MOD2. You can do Theory or CBT in either order, but you need both before doing the MOD1/2 tests. Basically there are four test elements. 1. THEORY (includes Hazard Perception) 2. CBT 3. MOD1 test 4. MOD2 test. Depending on your school you use, they may/may not include a day for CBT within their DAS course. A DAS course usually includes 3 or 4 days of training on a 600cc machine including MOD 1/2 test and fees and bike hire. Some include the CBT at the beginning and are therefore 4 or 5 days instead. My MOD1/2 were on the same day, this isn't for everyone as if you fluff up the MOD 1 I think you have to wait 3 days before retaking it and consequently wouldn't be able to do MOD 2. Costwise, Theory I think is £31. CBT tends to be around £120 including bike hire and then 3 day DAS was £500 for me. If you need the extra day on the DAS then reckon on another £100 ish. How you do it might be predicted by time availability. I did my Theory and CBT at weekends and could have got away with 3 days off work but had the week off anyway. Hope that helps.

Nice choice. Rode the naked for my DAS and was suitably impressed I bought one albeit the full faired version. Dunno what the deal is restriction kits but there's plenty of second hand bikes available.

Good one. Congrats. Got any bikes in mind as a replacement ?

You could potentially wire up a 12v battery to the yellow wire on the diagram coming out of the regulator if there's room for one to be fitted safely and securely. However, what i'm not sure about is the headlight switching. Does the headlight go out immeadiately you switch off the ignition while the engine is running and continues to spin for a half a second or does the headlight only go out when the engine stops spinning ? The reason i ask is if you were to fit a battery and it's the latter of those two options, you might find there isn't actually a way to turn the lights off if a battery were to be fitted if the ignition switch doesn't do the job. Does seem a bit strange though to have indicators and an electronic instrument panel but no battery but then batteryless 2 strokes on 50cc moped used to be the norm many years ago.

Personally, i'd do the CBT to get you back on the road again and able to ride a 125 if you want to get back on the road immediately with an aim to doing DAS for the A licence as soon as you turn 24. Do your bike Theory as well so you will be ready to go within the next two years to do either A2/A DAS training/tests. The cost for the A2 training/tests will be almost identical to A training/tests which ever route you take. I paid :- Theory £31 - i think CBT - 1 day £120 DAS - 3 days including bike hire and Mod1/Mod2 test fees £500 You could just go straight for A2 now but you will always have that limitation/restriction in place unless you go through it all again with the tests on an A bike once you're 24.

I did think that if the CBT was obtained on a twist and go automatic it will have a restriction for automatics only and wouldn't be any good for a 125 geared bike. Seems that only applies to mod1/2 though so it's down to the rider to learn using clutch/gears without requiring another CBT

Left U turns ? not sure it's something that gets tested as we drive on the left and would always do right hand ones. Maybe someone will correct me if i'm wrong but i never practised one on either my CBT or Mod 1 training/test and think this would be a waste of time. Good luck with it all though and enjoy.

Great photos Moo. I think the fact your brother felt the need to tell you he paid for a photoshoot following your free one tells you he loves money and felt the need to justify spending the money by telling you just how great the photos are. Have you seen any of them to confirm they are better than the ones you took ? I suspect they aren't.

Official info here and here. Here is the latest list of bikes that can be used for tests, not that they make life easy now days with all these rules. I would assume - perhaps wrongly that the same applies for riding on an A2 license as for doing an A2 test. MCN have the CB600F listed as 97bhp which is above the double times (35kW or 46.6bhp) limit so i'd say no. Maybe go for a 400/500cc while you're on A2 and then get the Hornet later ? Only other option i can see is something like a restricted Naked Diversion XJ6N,but then you need the extra money for a 2009 onwards bike.

Did my first full tank rideout yesterday with my mate. I was on my Diversion F and my mate on his GSX1400 of a monster. We took in Rye, St Mary's Bay/Dymchurch, Hythe, Folkstone, Dover, Walmer & Deal in Kent. 168 miles in total. Both bikes made it back with fuel left too Here's some pictures i took with my Nikon D80 as i remembered to take it this time. http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0107.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0109.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0112.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0117.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0118.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0119.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0137.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0140.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0142.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0145.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0153.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0154.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0157.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n242/Dav3y_uk/Seaside%20Rideout/DSC_0163.jpg Hoping to do Rye to Eastborne next and back via Wessons Cafe. Just need it to stop raining now. All in all, great day out.

If you can hire a bike from a school to take the test on then go for it. The issue is though, it would need delivering to the test centre, be insured for you to drive and hiring the school bike with some training makes life so much easier as you drive there with your trainer and they take care of the insurance and the bike being legal. The A2 bike will be a bit bigger and heavier as well so training would probably be beneficial as there is no other way to practice on one on your own. Certainly don't bother doing the A1 on your bike if you are already 19 unless for some reason you want to keep riding a 125 once passing your test. The 2 year thing comes in when passing your A2. I believe you can then take the A test 2 years after passing A2 (potentially 21) or 24 whichever is sooner.

Went on a rideout to Margate and Ramsgate in Kent yesterday. We stopped for some fish and chips and fed the birds. http://www.themotorbikeforum.co.uk/gallery/image.php?mode=medium&album_id=157&image_id=771 and then went to the end of the harbour wall for a photo oportunity. I really should start taking my DSLR our on rides with me. http://www.themotorbikeforum.co.uk/gallery/image.php?mode=medium&album_id=157&image_id=772

Do your test on a bike with manual gears otherwise you'll be restricted to automatic only. The power is another matter entirely, you can either do your test on a 125 and gain an A1 licence which restricts you to 125's, or if you are older you can do your A2 or A tests on a bigger (usually school rented) bike. There's a couple of sticky threads explaining the options in this forum. Actually try this link to a pdf on the DSA site http://assets.dft.gov.uk/dsa/dsa-routes-to-your-motorcycle-licence.pdf

Hurrah, Licence turned up today. Interestingly the moped (old group E) entitlement I had on my paper licence I had sent back has been swapped for category AM as I was expecting but dated from 13/08/13 when my original E entitlement was from 11/06/86. I guess it really doesn't matter now anyway as my A category is dated from 26/07/13 Would have been nice to list what the codes are I have on D1, C1E, D1E and fklnpq. ~~~~~~~~ EDIT:- Seems p and q replace the old E code so it is still valid from 86. ~~~~~~~~ EDIT2:- Day after I get my license, I get a cheque for £20 sent back. Happy days, that will buy me another tank of juice and around 180 miles of biking

i think it should be dvla u ringin too??? Well, it does basically say contact them if it doesn't arrive within 3 weeks. I really need to give it another 5 days. Might be worth a shot though if it's not here by midday post arrival because there will only be 2 working days left for the 3 weeks to be up.

I have the full faired version I got about 10 days ago and also did 3 days on the naked version whilst doing my DAS course. Clocked up around 400 miles in my first 10 days. I do think these bikes seem a little undergeared and I notice once your getting close to 70 it does feel a little buzzy. Clearly something is going on because my rear swinging arm mounted tax disc holder rotates the tax disc as my OCD lined it up straight and it's no longer how I left it. I find 6th gear gives me an indicated 10% higher speed than the revs in 100s of rpm so 6000 rpm comes out about 66 mph. It's got bags of torque and more than enough acceleration for a first big bike. Despite the minor annoyance of the buzziness, I'm loving everything about the bike and I'd certainly recommend one to new riders. I think the buzzing might be a slight inbalance in the engines of these bikes between about 6000-7000rpm but there's easy ways and means of avoiding it by avoiding the rev range that cause it and using a different gear. In terms of economy, I drive pretty sensibly and am getting around 55 mpg out of it which I'm quite happy with. If you find one and want to buy one, go test drive one and buy it. I'm pretty happy with mine.

Thanks yeah had forgotten about that. I did notice an 0845 number for retentions as I was going to cancel and reinsure with someone else more reputeable. Guess I could just ring that number and let them know what I think.

He's 26. No point using a 125 unless you'll be happy to stay on one forever. Do your Bike Theory and CBT and go straight to DAS. All my tests including Theory/CBT & 3 day DAS (which included mod1/2 test fees 1 attempt) came in at a little over £650.

Day 12 of 15 working days and still not here . No sign of them cashing the £20 cheque I sent either as it was also an exchange paper for first photocard license as well as add a category to my license. Insurance company are a joke, have emailed them 3 times and not a single human response. I guess they want me to ring their £1/min phone number to speak to someone. Quite happy to name and shame them if they cancel my policy before the 23 days they told me i have to send them scans/copies from commencement of policy.

Nice one. What's the plan now, get a 125 and gain some experience ?

Yep will do. I did email back to their email but got just an automated response. The most annoying thing is though I'm nowhere near their 23 day limit from commencement of policy at the moment so will request a mandate form from them that they can then presumably check directly with the DVLA. Why they're emailing me a week early is beyond me.