Paulpen

Went for the get someone else to do it this time but at least i know its possible with the right adaptors. I have no idea if the right ones are there so im going to have a hunt for what they look like etc

Hi guys and girls - prepare for a silly question Ive worked on cars for many years but never bikes My rear tyre is getting low soim booked in to have it changed tomorrow however on the way home tonight ive got a puncture that leaks so fast it wont hold pressre for more than a few minutes. Ive managed to get the wheel off (rear) so can take it in the car to get it changed but I was wondering if its something that can be done like a car tyre ? I have access to a car tyre machine and balencer but is that how bike tyres are done or are the machines different ?

I know where the original poster is coming from as a still freshish (year and a half) rider ! Nods round here only seem to work between the bigger bikes and certaily dont get done to scooters or L platers for some reason I also get over critical about my filtering and my main two concerns are : If you are overtaking stopped traffic to get to the traffic lights at the front and they change so you have to tuck back in but theres not always a space. When filtering between traffic coming up to a roubdabout do you go right to the front or tuck back in a few cars from the front ? As you can see - overthinking

Cheers for all the advice guys - its all been noted down and will be put in to action in the coming months hopefully

Thats cool - instinct and reading the seller is half the battle ! The test ride things for private sales is handy to know - I dont want to be letting just anyone on my 125 (as i suspect they will be very new to riding just like I was) but I also I dont want to be turing down on buying something as I feel the seller is hiding something by not letting me test it

As above really - ive been buying and selling cars for over 15 years but when it comes to bikes I know nothing and no one to ask other than here I brought my 125 via a private seller on Autotrader - I had no idea what i was doing so borrowed a van and went down to see it. He had little idea on bikes too so we both fumbled through the deal, I didnt ride it and home it came. In hindsight I was very luck that he was an honest seller and the bike was in good condition and has been reliable but id like to be better prepperaed now im after something bigger ! Mechanically I know to be checking for damage, operation etc but what happens about test rides - is it normal to just up and down the road or a full out test from cold then out at various speeds ? I see bikes for sale and some have a few thousand and some 30,000+ but have no idea what is a "high mileage" for a bike ? Is it poor form to go to a big sales place and try sitting on lots of bikes as I dont really know what I want or how well I will fit anything ! Are there certain bikes I should be avoiding as a novice (modified things, short MOTs etc) ? I suppose alot of this will also help with what to expect when I sell my 125 (if i dont trade it in). Sorry if all of this is really simple or obvious but the world of bikes can seem quite intimidating and I cant blame that on being young anymore

Good work Glad im not the only one that went too slow when id been smashing all the practice speeds ! My instructor says everyone gets an adreline rush on the day and goes that bit faster than normal - I seemed to go slower due to nerves and had to keep thiking about it while going road that bend

The fear of doing it again may be getting to you in all honesty - happens to us all as a self protect mechanism ! How are you with the slow straight ride ? I only ask as I found that once I could smash that then the rest was alot easier. Thats mainly as it echos the above - its gets you back to confidence with using all the controls you have, balance, confidence and looking far ahead. I think once you have the confidence back then its comes alot easier. Saying that I was crap on a 125 for a while, got quite good and then went to the big bike and was crap again as I found the change in power, weight, clutch feel etc very hard work even though the principal was the same ! Seat time, looking ahead and self belief work wonders !

Im not yet sure how I feel yet in all honesty - had wobbly legs and felt sick after MOD1, was overexcited and exhausted after MOD2 and currently dont think it has sunk in so will all come to me tomorrow I expect ! Big thanks for all your posts and messages about the books, channels, advice etc - if im coming up your way ill let you know as I owe you lunch and a drink or if you are down this way let me know

Very long ! Id also expect a rollercoaster of emotions in all honesy - iv gone through nerves, excitement, fear, happiness, upset, anger, joy and many others in a week ! If you have plans for the evenings of that week id be rearranging them as the one evening I had something on nearly ruined my next day - also remember to take plenty of food and drink with you as that will also have an effect on your day

Only just seen this but I know exactly how you feel - Im 34 and had a little cry the other day as couldnt get the U turn at all. I found that anything after that was just worse due to self doubt, anger, upset and everything inbetween ! Its also not your ability that you cant do it - its your subconsience protecting you from a previous incident. Im not clever enough to explain how to retrain it but I imagine its repetition of sucessful ones maybe though starting slow and building up the speed over time ? A couple of things that come ovr in your posts which may help (or not) : You seem to build the test centre up as a worry and judge it on other peoples result - just care about your own test and forget all the other people as you dont know what they did or didnt do so why add to the worry ?. Maybe its worth considering going with a different instructor as poor equipment and not training the areas you want to be trained on does not sound great - remember you are the paying customer so they should be giving you good equipment and focusing on the areas you worry about. Also what bike are you doing it on - I did mine on a bike with ABS and linked braking which helped my confidence with stopping greatly ! The money thing may also be playing on your mind - I had this in the back of my mind when doing mine (along with the fact i cant get the time off work again for months) !

I dont think it matters wether you have been out and about or not really - some say it gets you use to the bike and others say it give you time to pick up bad habits. The biggest suprise I found was how mentally draining it was - usually im home from work by 1730 and bed by about 2300-2330. Every day coming home from DAS I felt like I needed a nap by 1800 and was in bed asleep by 2100 !

To finish this thread up ive been doing the DAS this week (Sunday - Friday) and finally passed today . Having done my CBT elsewhere and been riding for a year I thought that id not be far off the pace but it seems that the CBT I had was not everything it should be ! Spent the first 3 days (Sun, Mon, Tue) on the 125cc riding the roads of Exeter (where ive never been before) and getting the CBT and MOD1 manouvers dialed in and was pretty confident. Wednesday was a bad day and I seemed to go backwards once I got on the 650cc - the road riding was fine but the slalom, figure 8 and U turns were terrible. The guy I was with that day seemed to have a negative attitude to me and not alot of patience and I was ready to jack it in that afternoon and call it all off. Came in Thursday with the idea of if it goes the same way im going home but had a different guy (older, calmer, had more confidence in me etc) and even though I wasnt perfect it was just the U turns to sort out by the end of the day. Then comes this morning - still cant do them at the training centre and I suggest calling the MOD1 off but the guy says he has confidence in me etc so we give it a go on a nice wet and windy morning and passed with one minor Then had the MOD2 this afternoon which I was more confiet with until it hammered down with rain all afternoon, I discovered my waterproofs leaked and my visor kept steaming up. Add to that the traffic went insane as the schools holidays are here now and was all set for disaster. Had a couple of minors (one following a learner in a car for too long that kept changing speed on the dual carriageway and one for indicating late coming off said carriageway) but other than that all good. Massive thanks to the guys and girls at Triumph in Exeter, Tony the examiner as he was actually down to earth and all you guys on here - ive not posted alot but have certainly done alot of reading Time to get the L plates off and get back to commuting while wondering what to do about a bigger set of wheels

The more info the better Ive followed MCRider for ages but ill check out MotoJitsu

Top info guys Ive ordered the Roadcraft book Id been through alot of the RJH videos but didnt know the nottingham one

Booked the DAS in Exeter for the start of April Was planning on going with Taunton but couldnt get through to them on the phone for a week to put the deposit down so rung Exeter and had a really nice chat so booked there and then Is there anything I should be doing or praticing this month on my 125 that will help me when it comes to the DAS ?

I agree on the other thinking thing Ill go local and if they cant fit me ill go Exeter

Didnt think such official data would be public although in relaity it does not mean alot due to various testers, instructors, conditions and pupils. Interesting reading too - any data on the Taunton site as my laptop and phone cant open the .ods file type

Ta for the message - replied Price will need calculating once I hear back from Yeovil as some are fixed price, some daily price, some include stuff that others dont etc - I didnt expect it to be this difficult with so much variation in all honesty ! Is there a register of pass rates etc or is it a word of mouth thing ?

Current situation is in order of most positive first : Triumph in Exeter / Bransons in Yeovil or TSM locally Ive got an hour each way to get the the Exeter and Yeovil ones but they seem to have good reviews and come accross really well. The big difference is that Triumph advise 6 days and Bransons 2.5

Hopefully but then I suppose that everyone teaches different ways etc MTS from Exeter got back to me today with just an email telling me to call them

Done a year of back and foward to work (10 miles a day) and the odd trip out (30 miles). I think after ive whittled it down ill pop into whoever it is to mee them / book in person

So then - from all the emails sent on Sunday ive had 3 replies back Durston have basically said they do 3 hour sessions, they would need to asses me to work out how many lesson and that I will need a new CBT. Blunt email but honest I suppose. It looks to be £85 for 3 hours or £620 for 25 hours including CBT and both MOD tests. All 2015 info so need to check this ! Triumph in Exeter apologised it took them a day to reply. They do intensive or spread training and again would want to asses me to work out a rought plan. They mention they have test slots most days and could complete everything before May. No costs on their website so need to check with them too. TSM email was more personal and suggested a 4 day course miniumum and then maybe longer if needed. They advise 3 days training and the mod 1 a day or two after. Then if I pass the 4th day is prep for mod 2. From the website 4 days is £600 and includes the tests. Currently im swayed towards TSM (despite initial thoughts) as they are the nearest to me and had the most personal and informative reply. Ill give the rest that have not replied a couple more days before sending my replies to confirm costs with those that do reply

geofferz - Ive budgeted a week and £600 so not too far off your experience. I do know that I will need to book it all well in advance due to getting time off at work I know what you mean about the instructor - maybe the ones that give the most grief get the best results ?! Slowlycatchymonkey - Glad that its been suggested by you and geoff as means its not just me being a bit wet My exact worry with TSM (and others going by the google reviews) although it is my most local. I know what you mean with different roads too - knowing whats coming can sometimes make you switch off and then mess something up ! I work in the motor trade (car side) so banter is more appreciated than quiet awarknedness and id rather have a giggle about stuff than shouting which gets my back up. Ive emailed the further away instructors too so will see what info comes in during the week

Didnt expect so many helpful replies Via - never considered that so could save me the best part of £80 ! workpeter - I do currently have one but it runs out in May so I assume its safer to renew this so I have two years left on both my CBT and theory before hitting the DAS ? geofferz - Ive been saving up for it but until I hear back from from the places ive emailed i dont really know costings - it seems to have quite a spread of prices ! exportmanuk - Correct indeed. I dont know if there are odd rules in place going by the way it all seems to work. Knowing my luck ill do my MOD1, CBT would run out and then id have to do the MOD1 again or something Slowlycatchmonkey - I know exactly what you mean as ive been advised to go to Yeovil but thats quite a trek and it could be just as bad ! Durston has current reviews of cancelled bookings that are then denied and not enough bikes even on test days. SMT seems to have the best current reviews but then that could be for only CBT and not DAS but there is the odd complaint and all about the same things. TSM is who I did my CBT with and the guy was great. Trouble is that its not him that does the DAS and there are alot of complants about the DAS trainers attitude ! My big concern is paying for a block booking and then not liking the instructor of the first day Maybe ill email and research those further away too - I was not sure if that was the done thing tbh as thought learners would be better on their local roads ?