Took the Mod 1 this afternoon on a 600cc Bandit and passed with only 2 minor faults. Here's how it went... Parking the Bike: Rode to the end of the area and into the right hand bay. Had a bit of a balance issue went I stopped and put my right foot down, I also left the back end of the bike sticking out slightly. 'That it then' I thought, instant fail. The examiner came over and didn't say anything about it and just started to explain the manual handling exercise. Got away with that then - No Minors Manual Handling: Went for the 3 point turn option here as for the majority of the maneuver you're pushing the bike forwards which helps with control, rather than steering it backwards. Noticed I wasn't quite in line with the second bay though, so went forwards again to straighten up then back into the bay. I did this slower than I'd ever done it in practice and it help no end. It's not a race, so don't rush it!! - No Minors: Slalom & Figure 8: Thought I was going to put my foot down a few times through the slalom, but didn't. Clutch control and a bit of bake brake for stability and it was into the 8. I went wider than I was doing in practice for the figure 8 as the space is there, so you may aswell use it. Went round the last yellow cone, which again is something I'd never done in practice. The key here is to look past, the next cone (if that makes sense) and start to turn when you're passed the closest cone. Keep a nice smooth pace and it's easy enough. - No Minors. Slow Ride: Not much to this one really. First gear, let the clutch out gentley and off you got. Ride the clutch and try not to over rev it. The examiner doesn't walk in fornt anymore so you're not trying to keep pace with him, just a slow controlled ride to the U-Turn. - No Minors U-Turn: When I first started doing u-turns, the instructor had me slipping the clutch, fannying around with the back brake and all sorts. Needless to say, my foot went down more often than not. Then I went to a different school, with a different instructor. He taught like this - Shoulder checks, clutch out, give it a good bit of gas, last shoulder check, clutch in and turn the bike. The examiner isn't looking for clutch control throught the turn. He just wants you to get it from one white line to the other without your foot going down. I did pick up a minor though as my front wheel went just onto the right hand white line before starting the turn. - 1 Minor Controlled Stop: This is a good opportunity to get the feel of the bend, without having to worry too much about speed. I stayed in 2nd all the way around the bend and out of it as to get a feel for positioning for the fast maneuvers. Took the whole thing at around 20mph and came to a nice controlled stop within the blue cones. - No Minors Emergency Stop: Turned the bike around (which isn't another u-turn) and went into the bend in 2nd gear, managed to hold it at around 22mph going into the apex and then shifted up to 3rd. Straightened the bike and opened up the throttle, didn't look at the speedo and focused ahead, hit 53kph. It seems like an age from going through the speed trap to him putting his hand up and I was conscious of accelerating any more or touching the brake before he gave the signal. When his hand did go up, it was of the throttle, squeeze the front brake, then clutch in at the last second. Stopped quicker than I thought and didn't stall. - No Minors Hazard Avoidance: Felt a bit nervous about this as I binned the bike on Saturday during practice (the marks were still on the tarmac). Same as the emergency stop though, into the bend in 2nd at around 22mph, then into 3rd on the apex. Only managed to hit 48kph through the speed trap though. As soon as I was passed the trap, throttle off and clutch in. Bum over to the right of the saddle, a touch of counter steer on the left bar and back the other side and you're through the obstacle. Bring the bike to a controlled stop. - 1 Minor. Over comes the guy and instructs me to ride to the gate and he'll let me out. This is still part of the test, so remembered my checks and over to the gate. He opens the gate (more shoulder checks) and into the parking bay. Once I was off the bike, that was it - test over. Called me into the office and asked if I wanted my instructor present. At this stage I honestly didn't know if I'd passed or failed, these guys are so deadpan it really is impossible to read them. I guess if I had failed out on the test area, that would've been it - back to the parking bay. Regardless, I think it's good to have your instructor in the office with you even if you feel you've failed so they know what to work on. Anyway, there you go. One very happy camper! On to Mod 2 now, booked for 21st Oct (if no cancellations come up). Good luck to anyone else going in for their Mod 1. I know everyone says this, but it really isn't as bad you think and is over before you know it. Try not to over think every maneuver and just ride your bike.