number1barber

saw your profile picture. very nice bike but almost to big for a short rider to learn on. Mine is 2002 5500 miles mint with centre stand which is great as it looks nicer im going to mod it up to the 9,s to come.... engine bars touring screen rear hugger acrebis light up hand guards shock sock exhaust upgrade and some high beam cree blinders to stop people pulling out on me again (not going to use them all the time) I see complete twats with full licences racing every night yet im the guy that has to use L plates because having a full licence instantly qualifies you as experienced apparently. Ride safe.

If that is directed at me then yes and no. Mod 1 1st time did no shoulder checks instant fail. 2nd time tried it on a big bike after 2 days training and failed with foot down 3rd time took it on the vara and passed Mod 2 failed 1&2 time on different things 3rd time i forgot my paperpart so lost the test 4th last week i got to the test and bike was having issues so i couldn't proceed. Theory has now expired so full resit. After 10+ years of riding i got side swiped last week so brought a mint varadero. Im now wondering what i want a bigger bike for as really i just want to tour and would prefer my partner to ride her own bike for long trips. The vara is a beast and does 75 which is the limit. i don't want to do motorways as that's no fun and the only plus would be acceleration which i find can get me in trouble If i was in a very bad mood. no doubt i will pass it maybe even from the money i get for the bike my leg my shoulder and my lid but im tempted to keep the varadero if i do

if your local I happy to spend time trying to help you however my bike would be a bit high for you to use

What are you riding daily? I took my mod on a 600cc and foot down fail. Brought a varadero 125 beast and then passed first go. Whilst im not suggesting you buy a bike I believe if you can borrow or rent a 125 and use it daily then you will not have an issue. renting a 125 and using it to commute is better training than a couple of days intensive. When the bike is moving it automatically stays up anyway however going slow removes that and you have to make adjustments which when mixed with gears becomes hard. I hated gears never wanted to learn them thought I never could and a few days with my own geared bike and its fine it comes to you very quickly There are a few common errors whilst riding slow that messes you up. First never touch the front brake it will instant stop the bike causing it to fall over second don't tight grip the steering as it amplifies errors lastly give yourself plenty of space on the turns Get used to slow speed clutch control in a straight line maybe on your bf bike. try speeding up then slowing back to a crawl. get it to the point its nothing then start practicing the turns. a big bike can feel very heavy.

Recently I have spent more money on better gear and to be honest I have found that most gear no matter how good carry's the water to a degree and therefore makes the item heavy and cold. spada do some light jackets that are not bad walking over trousers wear out then leak a lot and even my £100 alpine star drystar gloves get weight. The solution I have found is basically keep the water off you and for that I turn to workwear. trousers flexothane overtrousers £15 from granite workwear website. stretchy with zip expansion at the ankles very heavy duty bright orange with reflective strips which is great in bad weather. BOOTS Dunlop rigger boots £18 sportsdirect. got them yesterday tried putting them in the sink but hard to keep them down tried them in the bath and nothing went through. if they wear out I can buy 7 pairs for the price of a ok set of bike boots. (beware they are capped) GLOVES Tucan muffs not pretty but will allow you to wear any gloves and keep you dry and warm JACKET I actually have a brand new spade Dakar that get rave reviews but I brought the wrong size so dieting to fit. if that fails I will go with removing the winter liner and putting a flexothane work jacket over the top. workwear is cheap strong and is instantly 100% waterproof and cost a fraction of the serious spend to get fully waterproof gear. you should still wear protection underneath though

polaroid one is good

Well mod 2 final attempt coming on Tuesday fun fun fun. everything expires on the 7th so im left with the only option to try to finish it on my varadero as their is no time to get mod 1 and 2 on a big bike. If I pass I can carry my boy and get panniers and start doing Europe so that's a win I can also sit behind my gf and try to teach her how to ride the varadero as im buying another and it would be great if she can have my present one instead of having to sell it to get her a scooter even if I get a pass I get to look forward to having to resit the whole lot again to ride a big bike I think its awesome that next month I will have to resit my theory for no reason to do it all again yay. very well done to Karmin and all the new riders out there. Stay safe and as I always say if your late be late never rush

in reference to the speed limit the examiner will not speed so if you keep an eye on him and the gap starts widening slow down. Had to resit my cbt last week waste of another £100 apparently it keeps my knowledge upto date yet full license holders don't do it? found out another downer again. if i pass my mod 2 on my 125 as i was intending i have to ride for 2 years on it or resit my theory to move to a bigger bike yet if i took bigger straight away i wouldn't?? it literally is driven by making money which is clear by having to resit cbt,s and theory's. im now in a massive catch 22. my theory expires 7 sept taking my mod 1 with it. i have booked a mod 2 for saturday but will have to retake 3 parts to move up or somehow magic enough cash quickly to get a 600cc and pass mod 1 & 2 before 7th of September. if i don't acquire a 600cc i will need to lay out another £400 minimum to take part 1 and 2 using a big bike from a school. oh fun fun fun

Hi. so I have taken a few attempts for my mod 2 at Erith and have noticed a few things so would like to provide some tips for anyone taking it at that centre and ask that anyone with knowledge or advice for other centres do the same. thanks. ABOUT ERITH CENTRE The centre is down an industrial estate and the surrounding area is quiet and pretty much 30mph everywhere. the staff are nice and friendly. On the way back the last road near the centre opens up with no speed signs. still 30mph on the 2nd roundabout at the start the left lane is left only so straight is the second lane. if they take you to what looks like a fork in the road be very careful to check as it not and going right is a right turn if they take you down a 1 way that opens into 2 lanes and say turn right be aware it is no longer 1 way stay in the left lane if you get the bearded guy mark leave a cars gap when pulling up he will mark you down for it

made sure i took all 4 parts cbt, theory, mod 1, driving license. I arrive early so i can relax and get my game face on. i hand him all my paperwork and he ask me for the counter part of my license as its not with the rest. my face drops and i tell him it is still indoors. Short of begging i ask to take my test because ten days before he has seen it and ten days before that the other instructor has seen it. he says it doesn't matter. Thats it i just lost £175. Im away this weekend and my cbt expires next thursday. If somehow I get a last minute booking i will still have to take a day off so it will again cost me £175 if i dont get one in time i have to pay another £100 for a cbt which i love doing after driving for 10 years im just burning money 24/7 im spending a fortune to get a license for a bike im already allowed to drive just to carry a passenger despite not being tested for it. On a side note whilst i was waiting another guy failed for the one way street that turns into a two way street thats the 3rd time i have heard someone fail for that there. I think taking new riders to bits where lots of new and qualified riders all screw up is seriously wrong. the dvla said the examiner can confirm my license on the phone however the examiner said that's not the case. im in such a happy mood. my dad suggests doing the cbt and taking a drive to test on a big bike which will cost £200 but the problem being that if i do so and fail mod 1 i will instantly lose mod 2 again. You can be a good rider but if you don't drive the way they want to see it doesn't matter I would love to pass a big test and get a 600 and offer free help to learners just so they don't have to pay a fortune too. who knows maybe in the future. tests suck

a very well done. if you was a bad rider or screwed up you would have failed im guessing that as you made the corner he had to pass you but he probably saw it as possibly you nearly didn't make the corner. anyway just take it easy and get used to it. im really happy I have a 190kg 125 as it teaches me to respect the weight before I get more power. you will be fine. to quote my awesome quote. we all make mistakes its how we deal with them that defines us as riders

It was the cost and also the school was a tad disinterested so I found gears hell to start with. I thought restarting on a geared 125 big bike would be way more beneficial for practice and to work on it is a lot easier plus you can bump it. My dad has a yard so I can learn a big bike and he can run me to the test but the scooter needed a new mot so I thought it was time to loose the scooter and get something to practice on once I got the varadero I decided just to pass on that first so I can do trips over to Europe and take my son on the bike. In a year I will probably retake on a vfr750. im calm and without nerves I ride in rush hour traffic daily and when guys pass after never rode a bike before except for a weeks intensive I think yes they were lucky and no they may not be ready to jump on a really big bike but that's the way it goes. the shock on a big bike is how easy the rear brake can lock the wheel and drop the bike. I have not dropped it but I know not to grab it in the wet now. stopping distance is nothing but stopping a vfr from 50 suddenly correctly could suck to say the least. I find roundabouts have always been confusing left lane = left or straight on sometimes left only middle straight on so stay in lane and go straight right round to the right where I always get confused is at Lewisham you stay in the right lane go round and exit the third exit straight into the right lane. on a bigger roundabout like Erith as you exit there are two exit lanes I would think if you are sticking to the centre you would exit into the right lane and the people from the previous exit would exit into the left however if the people from the previous were going straight on I would be cutting across them. so if the roundabout has three lanes and you enter in the right lane to take the third exit at which point would you move across before exiting as staying in the right lane and exiting in the right would cut off anyone going straight on? told you it was confusing. have the mod rebooked for Wednesday. will slow it down a bit especially at roundabouts either that or just go left at every one as I assume you cant fail for that. Im going away next weekend and meeting my gf there. the place is remote so we have to call it a for her to be able to get the train home. it would be great to finally be able to give her a ride but we shall see

Im in a slightly different boat to alot of you people on here and im not liking the test one bit. I have driven 125cc scooters for years. I then decided I wanted to carry passengers and so I took my trusty scooter to a mod 1 and failed on shoulder checks as I was rushing a bit. I then took a weeks training £700 took it on a 600 and failed putting my foot down coming out of the figure 8 I then went and brought a 125cc varadero and took it again and passed. At this point I notice that my theory is expiring soon and the mod 1 only lasts as long as the theory so I have two months to get it done. I fitted beepers to my indicators. £5 on fleabay I take the bike to Erith centre for mod 2 I fail badly with 3 majors. 1. first roundabout im in the left lane get to the front and its fixed to left only but I want straight on I know better I should have gone left but go straight on instead. 2. turning sharp left onto a hill from traffic lights mess up the gears swipe my foot down and get major for balance 3. the last road opens up big and I take it upto 40mph but get a message to slow down. when I get back he says he doesn't get why a lot of people think its 40mph I take it back last week and get another guy we go out im relaxed and calm I pass the roundabouts no problems but a little later on I exit a large roundabout and as I do so I left shoulder check and the car in front stops to turn right I then have to swerve to avoid it later in the test im meant to continue forward at all times unless told otherwise. I come to a fork and slow down constantly trying to see which way is straight on I go to the right but despite looking many times both ways I don't think I had turned my head to look as I was facing both roads head on the right road turned out to not be straight on but a side road. I now have to rebook again but its my last chance as then my theory expires along with my mod 1 and cbt and I have to start over. I have no idea why the theory and mod 1 expire. money delayed continuing after the theory for me its becoming a nightmare. I need a licence to carry a passenger yet you are not tested in any way to show you can do so so what's the point?. when I fail its because im not capable apparently yet I can then get back on the same bike and carry on riding? When guys who have never driven before do a weeks course and pass its because they have trained to pass the test not because they can ride they are then giving rockets and told do as you like. I see them every day racing around in traffic while I take my time and enjoy the ride. everyone makes serious faults when riding its how we deal with them that defines us as bikers. nobody rides 100% every day but that's what you are meant to do on your test. if you ride well and confident yet make a mistake I think a fail is unfair. ABOUT ERITH CENTRE generally the whole surrounding area is 30 everywhere unless clearly marked. if in doubt mirror check as the examiner wont speed so if he starts falling back slow down at the first big roundabout left lane is left only If you get to a fork and cant see which way is straight I don't know what you should do? indicate left look right maybe? if you get taken down a 1 way that opens into 2 lanes stay in the left as its now a 2 way rd but you missed the signs if you get the skinny examiner with the beard who is very friendly then keep a nice distance from the car in front when stopping as he will mark you down for it when the other guys wont I commute in rush hour and ride a lot I have never had an accident in 10 years of riding. I don't race around I buy good gear to keep me warm or cool so im not distracted and I take my time. If im late im late racing to work when late may result in a slight case of death and permanent lateness. if I fail again im out of time and have to spend £130 just to get back to this point. thus far cbt £90 theory £30 3x mod 1 £45 2x mod 2 £150 = £315 + intensive = £1015 if I fail again it will be cbt theory and mod 1 & 2 = £205 + already spent. grand total £1220 they have you by the balls because if you want to do a big bike there is no way to practice without a expensive training school Mod 1 with practice is easy as there are no variables whereas mod 2 is not. people that are knew to riding who have passed first go have been very lucky

when you hit the speed trap glancing at your speedo will do what? if you are not fast enough you just failed anyway? if you glance just before the speed trap you will probably hit a cone. drive down to the starting point of the curve already in second do not stop enter the curve maybe 20mph already glance now if need be then as you straighten out focus where you need to go and gun it. don't start braking till you finished swevering. check if the bike has abs and if so foot on rear but no pressure and use the front. i don't have abs but have never used the rear on a es

their jackets have been nothing but great but gloves I pay more for and boots are hit and miss spade thunder have good reviews for £50 super waterproof also.

and seriously check reviews before you buy boots. my frank Thomas alpha just leaked like a bucket with a hole so im happy im changing them before the test if I get time or else the test will be hell

my personal opinion is I would say the slow driving and avoidance are the hardest bits. just take your time with the shoulder checks and get into the gear you want to be in before you hit the curve if your driving down and going straight into the curve without stopping then you are already halfway there speed wise. I still think they should allow a device that beeps a headset when you hit the speed. that or as I asked before a satnav that allows you to set the speed alert speed. slow is the most difficult so loads of practice on that would be very helpful. some places rent 125cc geared bikes for a week which might be an idea. the box to box move can be very easy if done as a 3 point turn if in the left box as you wheel it backwards turn the steering left a bit till the bike is facing across the front of the box then stop. move your right hand from the grab rail to the right bar and push the bike forward and before you get inline with the second box turn the steering to the right and keep going till the bike is inline with the second box stop then move the right hand back to the rail and push it backwards into the space. as complicated as this sounds I found it way easier than trying to turn it all in one move which if done wrong can lead to a sharp correction and losing control of the weight of the bike. im installing indicator beepers for mod two and maybe a good satnav with speed alerts but if you pay attention to the examiners match his speed on mod 2

In regards to max speed I swear down the guy before me came back and said to his instructor that he failed for doing 60mph but to be honest he looked annoyed enough without me asking him to clarify. even his instructor looked none to happy and seemed confused so im pretty sure it was no other reason otherwise he would have been talking him through it. not sitting there shaking his head

passed my mod one three days ago on my third attempt. 1st try by myself 125cc scooter rushed into everything shoulder checks late if at all. 2nd try with a school who were rubbish told me I could learn it in 2 days and forgot I had never done gears. 1st day put me out on the road in the first hour and I stalled all the time hated it 2nd day rode it like I owned it went out and drove all day and only stalled once. 3rd day drive to test and the guy couldn't believe I rode so well. however I failed foot down leaving the figure 8 and the examiner said I would have passed otherwise. was going to buy a vfr750 and practice on my dads yard however ended up buying a varadero 125cc to learn gears properly. what a bike its huge and I get nods from bikers a lot mainly because my front L goes unnoticed on my fork. I then noticed my theory was going to expire shortly as was my cbt so would have been another £175 so I booked my mod 1. due to the weather I bit the bullet and brought a £80 mesh jacket and closer fitting sunglasses. I had intended to practice round cones as really the slow riding is the hardest part but I ran out of time the day before. got to the test nearly missed the first box and nearly run over the guys foot but passed with one minor for getting 1mph under on the avoidance. you have to gun it like hell on a 125. Now I have booked mod 2 but have already moved it nearer and will try to move it to the next few days as I now know I have a delay before taking it again if I fail and Im running out of time and don't fancy retaking the theory. I have had the varadero for about 3 weeks and gears now mean nothing to me. I have been riding for about 10 years with a lot of rush hour commuting. I have brought beepers for my indicators they stick or cable tie inside the fairing they are very annoying and get you cancelling indicators pretty quick they cost about £5 on fleabay and I would think would be a great investment for anyone taking the mod 2 on their own bike. im a very confident rider but I will have to practice shoulder checks as its not something I do much as when driving in rush hour in central London a shoulder check means a tourist suddenly teleports in front of you at the same time. one thing I would say if going it alone is turn up dressed the part at least make a good effort to show you care. I have the boots a mesh or winter jacket and summer or winter gloves. that said I hate heat so if the day turns do you get minors for pulling over losing a layer and carrying on as I always try to ride at a good temperature as find riding too cold or hot causes distraction. lastly I moved the part 2 to a different centre because the same guy did all 3 mod ones and he never smiles or is pleasant in any way just stares and tells you what to do. I found him really off putting and did not help with my nerves. I would rather a fresh face who has no opinions about me whatsoever.

so does anyone know a satnav that allows you to set what speed it alerts you at? i heard a snooper 2500 does but i would like a satnav as i can use it to tour later on. Also would anyone know whether this could be an issue to use and if so why? It is my very limited understanding that you are being tested on your control of the vehicle not on your guess of how fast you are going. the only time you have to go 33 is the swerve so the unit would not affect your test at any other time. i hate the swerve despite clearing it twice now. great advice above looking at your speedo as you exit would be pointless because if your not fast enough you dont have time to go faster but you have plenty of time to hit the blue cone that you would have missed had you not been looking at your speed. its funny when you get there and the cones are all so close together yet when you read online you realize that on things like the slalom they are really far apart. im going to buy a varadero 125 tomorrow and pass on that so i can take my gf about a little and it will give me time to save for a big cc whilst learning gears on a bigger bike. if i fail on a varadero i dont deserve to pass

"Slow in, fast out" is taught on just about every advanced riding course. It is also promoted in Roadcraft, the riding manual for Police motorcycle riders. I guess we're all stupid. I took my mod 1 at mitcham and its a half curve not a full. I was asked to go and wait for the signal. This was on a 125cc which the test is said to be suitable for. I gave it a lot of throttle and still was too slow. nailed it on the second attempt but had to almost rip the throttle off to do it. When Im riding I enter corners and speed up on the way out however I would never be going from 0-33 on a corner unless it was a mile long. Im sure for racing and track slow in fast out is fantastic however I want to do touring and find slow in gradual throttle increase out feels nice but what would I know I just drive how I feel comfortable.

1. if you was accelerating that fast coming out a corner in real life you would be stupid. 2. making it that someone needs to check speed before doing a swerve is stupid 3. a foot down on slow control being a major fault is really stupid. in real life if you was in traffic and going so slow that you needed to put your foot down you would do so or you would drop your bike. the idea that you should let the clutch out or let off the rear brake is a joke because the only time you are likely to be going very slow is in traffic and if you did it then you would hit the car in front. first time i did the mod one he told me to go to the start and wait for his signal second time i did the mod one he told me to go over and start when ready so clearly there is no set rule if he asks you the first way ask if you can do it the second way and here is why. if you get to start when ready you drive to the turn at a ok speed say 10/15mph and straight away enter the curve gently accelerating as you make the curve you then give it a little throttle on the exit. if you do the start on signal you do not have a rolling start meaning you have to throttle harder from start making it seem harder and faster than it is. is there any satnav on the market that allows you set what speed it alerts you at? the test is to show you can swerve at 33mph it is not to show you can glance down check your going fast enough and look back up in time not to run over the cone. whilst i have not passed my mod one i did not fail it on the swerve either time. 1st time didnt do shoulder checks on a 125cc second put my foot down coming out of the figure 8 to go to next exercise. you do get target fixation so look at the gap not at the cone you wish to miss

Im buying my first big bike next week and before it arrives im going with a almax s3 and abloy 362 chain and lock. If locked the only thing taking it off will be a angle grinder and it will live on my drive. I was thinking of wiring a android phone to the bike and moving the camera to the dash however I cant find a app that will take a picture if the phone is moved. that said if anyone knows how to build a app im happy to purchase it. it needs to be switched on or off via text message and when on it should take and upload location and camera pictures. then with a little modding you have the pictures and location of the thieves even if they remove the unit the pictures are still online .

I think the problem was i killed the throttle instead of letting out the clutch. my training was severely lacking to say the least they said new rock boots would be ok they were not. they forgot to tell the instructor i had never driven geared before. after a hour of driving in circles and such we went on the road at which point i stalled repeatedly. felt like quitting next day first thing i had it from straight away then went on the road all day. my advice which may not be worth anything is anyone looking to do an intensive should buy or hire a 125 for a week to get used to roads and gears themselves then watch some youtube videos about the mod 1 practice slow speed control and get a mate with a big bike to help you practice and to drive it down the test center for you. i didnt get anything from the intesive other than £500 lighter. I know people that have never driven a bike taking a intensive and buying a bike and going straight out on the road. the road is not the place to learn to ride your new big bike

I have been riding scooters for 20 years and wanted to take passengers. first up the annoying thing is to do so I need to do a full licence. strange because other than a couple of questions on theory test no aspect covers a passenger and I'm not tested on it but OK. first attempt failed badly because I don't shoulder check when I pull away at lights mainly because in London people have a great habit of walking across as you shoulder check plus at lights I'm not worried what's behind me. also hated trying to get upto speed to serve. never in real life do I accelerate on corners so harsh to do so would be really bad driving. second time did it on a 600. both times same Guy doesn't smile doesn't talk never puts you at ease. had two days training on a geared bike. first day hell second day sorted. I goto the test and coming out of the figure 8 I put my foot down and fail. two major issues with this. first "treat the area as a real road" yet do figure eights?? secondly in 20 years I have never dropped a bike and commute daily in rush hour. when I'm driving slowly and pull up I put my foot down. putting a foot down is not losing control its preventing losing control. riders put there foot down all day long in the real world when going slow. its a easy test to pass and a easy test to fail. now I'm buying the bike and using my dads land and will practice slow speed control for a couple of days beforehand I think if you show you can fully handle a bike well then putting a foot down should not be a fail. others would say if you can't do it without doing so you can't handle a bike. sure show me where you do this on the road and I'll agree. hard work to carry a passenger. I think the passenger thing should be a proper separate test to add to any licence. if you have already been driving a while then you find bike training is expensive and not very helpful. once I get my full licence I will take friends to my Dads and let them practice for mod 1. I just wish that I had known someone who could have done that for me saving me alot of time and money. if you have rode before then once you learn shoulder checks and slow control you should find it easy. one tip. when you go for the swerve test if he asks you to go down and wait for a signal ask him to let you start straight away no signal. my guy said two different ways. if he allows you to do this then do so this will mean you can approach the start at a comfortable speed then slowly increase through and will be alot smoother and easier just don't go nuts on the speed as you approach it there is no need. a safer way to do this part would be for them to offer a strap on device that beeps on a headset once you hit target speed. could a satnav do this? was going to get the bike in two days but Feb was short so my wages are alot lighter this month. I want a vfr750