Liveware Problem

I have a problem I'm sure a few of you are familiar with - when slowing down and stopping my glasses steam up, have to open up my visor and wait for them to clear before moving off. The visor is fine thanks to the pinlock but the glasses issue is a pain and not exactly safe either! Are there any decent products for stopping or at least reducing the steaming up? I've seen plenty online but no real idea if they work.

Congratulations! Have you decided what bike to get?

Thanks, it'll have to be January now unfortunately. But I'll get some more training in too. No he wasn't there, but I went through it with him afterwards, he was good about it in his gruff way The examiner was fine, as people have said they're not trying to catch you out. Good luck for Thursday

Thanks Hoggs I actually thought I'd failed joining the dual carriageway, it has a vicious short, curved slip road and I thought I might have caused someone to slow down, apparently not. At least the fail didn't come as a surprise

Mod 2: Failed Missed an observation at a junction and apparently came close to hitting a skoda.. Worst bit is I have no memory of that.. So a very fair serious fault! Apart from that 9 rider faults, approaching junctions too slowly, couple of control... Not great in all. Not an excuse but rain + visor + glasses is annoying, plus steaming up constantly. Made it a bit trickier anyway. So some more practice and a retest in January! Woohoo more money but clearly I need more road experience. Good luck to anyone taking the test soon

Apple are excellent at marketing, and so many millions believe their products are superior and never really seek out alternatives, even when they are blatantly being exploited for their brand loyalty (airpods anyone?) Which is fine by me, helps keep the price of Android phones down as the manufacturers look to undercut Apple

Ta! I did my CBT and a total of 7.5 hours of lessons before the Mod 1 (three x 2hrs and one 1.5hr), plus about 15 mins practice on the actual Mod 1 motorcycle manoeuvring area (MMA) itself for the higher speed elements. They didn't have a spare slot for a formal practice, but the school wangled it so I could have a quick go at the end of someone else's session, which I was grateful to have done. Have only one more lesson, scheduled for 7 hours (!), between now and the Mod 2. Ah cool, I was curious as I have just (today) had about the same amount (7hrs) although shared with several other trainees. Test on Monday Good luck with Mod 2 *Edit* I passed! Woohoo! One minor for changing down too early on the emergency stop.. He heard the clunk! I was worried it might be cancelled, it was -4 when I arrived at 8:15, but the surface at the test centre was given the ok. Saturday was my second time on a bike and first experience on a 'big' bike - Suzuki Gladius. As people have said on here it was easier than a 125 in many ways - planted and so torquey! I'd recommend bike2bike who are based in Thatcham, very patient, friendly instructors who help you believe in yourself Test was fine, bit of extra practice with the instructor in the morning helped too. 58kmh on the swerve and 63 for the E stop!

Congratulations Lateralus! Well done Out of interest, how much training did you do in the run up to your test?

Ah sorry, I thought I'd sent a pm! I'll do it now

Yes I did think it was suspiciously cheap, plus the fact there are no pictures on the ad.. Perhaps I should just leave this one, don't want the police turning up andconfiscating it!

Oops I posted in the wrong section, sorry! Thanks for the info Arwen, that is encouraging. Have you changed the clutch on your grom? I'm tempted as the bike is listed for £550, then again there could be loads of problems besides the clutch.

Hello, I'm wondering how much it would cost to replace the clutch on a grom? It seems a clutch kit is not overly expensive, but I wouldn't have a clue how to fit it! I ask as I've seen one advertised as 'starting and running fine, but I think it needs the clutch looking at' As I have no mechanical abilities whatsoever should I stay well clear of this?

Not for much longer by the sounds of it! I cycle a lot, always seeing cyclists with no lights.. wonder how many I don't see as they're virtually invisible.

Noobs welcome? Count me in then

I have been guilty of this in the past as a car driver, though I do at least indicate first.. I think more time should be spent on these type of junctions with learner drivers, emphasising that coming off at the wrong exit or going round again are better than causing a collision. Mind you that should be common sense really!

That was what I thought If only youthful confidence made people invulnerable to traffic!

I didn't really feel the CBT was sufficient training for letting me loose on the roads, I enjoyed it but realised just how exposed you are on a motorbike. Of course that should be obvious but it doesn't quite sink in until you're actually on a bike Every junction was approached with trepidation, imagining some impatient 4x4 driver steamrollering me as I pulled out I feel fortunate to have car driving experience, it must be harder still for 16/17 year olds with little to no road experience.. that said I don't think any of us has a sense of our own fragile mortality at that age! I remember the lady I spoke to was very breezy about the tests in general, didn't seem to think they'd be any issue moving from CBT to Mod 1 then Mod 2 with only the couple of days training they chuck in with the package (£695 for all 3, Inc use of gear and bike) Having done the CBT I'm now pretty convinced I'll need extra experience.

That's horrendous, was she taking a selfie as she joined the dual carriageway!?

Did my CBT today, arrived excited and nervous at bike2bike's CBT centre in Thatcham (a small tarmac area behind a local football club) There were just four of us, one who'd been riding motocross for ages, another re-doing their CBT and the other guy who had ridden a scooter on holiday.. I was the only complete novice! Once the instructor had taken us through the bike controls we started on slowly riding around trying to control the bike with the clutch, rear brake etc... I quickly realised my multitasking abilities were not up to scratch! Kept wildly revving whilst snatching at the clutch. Next was low speed manoeuvring practice, slalom and figure of 8.. still struggling, wobbling, then whilst trying to make a tight right turn at the top of the slalom cones I somehow opened the throttle up and smashed through the barrier at the edge of the tarmac, came off and got the bikes handlebar quite wedged in the bars Still, the instructor was great, just helped me retrieve the bike, said you're not a biker till you fall off! Must have been pretty funny to watch We carried on for a while, then it was time to go out on the roads - I was quite surprised the instructor was prepared to let me out actually! So we put the earpieces in and set off through the leafy lanes around Thatcham, then into Newbury. I think the motocross guy was getting pretty impatient with my slow progress but it was pretty terrifying even at 30 to begin with! I repeatedly failed to cancel my indicator and also kept putting my foot on the rear brake so it looked like I was constantly braking, not to mention changing down instead of up and visa-versa However... It was exhilarating! So different from driving a car, although that's still enjoyable. Not really looking forward to Mod 1, given my slow speed issues, but guess I'll hire a 125 for some more practice beforehand. Phew, sorry for the essay