Kikesin

This ^

As already mentioned, all your breaking, positioning and speed adjustment needs to be done BEFORE the bend. So you are going into the bend at a constant, appropriate speed through the bend. There are plenty of signs in the road to let you know a bend is coming up, so adjust your speed accordingly and prepare for it before you arrive at the bend. If you MUST break mid-bend, then use the rear break only. 3 times in a month is a lot! I suggest you do a BikeSafe course and watch videos of advanced riding by RoSPA or IAM on youtube, since you cannot join these organizations yet (you need a full license) Take it easy!

It was so much fun! Most fun I've had on a bike thats for sure. I went with 2 buddies, our first time off-road. 1 of them couldn't even ride a bike before he got there! Had a massive grin at the end of the day It's £240 for the whole day, they provide all the riding kit etc you just need to turn up at 9am! They have a lot of dates available as they do this day in day out. I'm hoping to go again in September Whichever place you choose, it will be awesome fun. Really looking forward to it, meeting my mate tomorrow to firm up a date, the other guy that's going with us has just passed his test and is a bit nervous, I told him that ultimately the experience will make him better on the road as well.... He'll be alright! Like i said one of my mates had never ridden a bike before, by the end of the day he was riding pretty well. And defo improves your road riding! Which place have you gone with?

Cheers Kikesin sounds like it could be all part of a fun weekend with friends It was so much fun! Most fun I've had on a bike thats for sure. I went with 2 buddies, our first time off-road. 1 of them couldn't even ride a bike before he got there! Had a massive grin at the end of the day It's £240 for the whole day, they provide all the riding kit etc you just need to turn up at 9am! They have a lot of dates available as they do this day in day out. I'm hoping to go again in September Whichever place you choose, it will be awesome fun.

I did the Mick Extance experience in Wales earlier this month - brilliant fun! All the chaps there are very friendly and knowledgable, Mick himself was teaching the group along with other very good riders. Defo would recommend. Looking to go again soon!

Tiger 800 Tracer 900 or 700 Versys 650 or go with your heart and get the Monster But ditto above suggestions of getting some further training. Would recommend you do a Bike Safe course and join your local ROSPA or IAM group. Most of all, have fun

Road 5's are amazing, sticky as s**t

FWR in Kennington. Brilliant garage and farily priced for London. Used them for both my bikes since I started riding and can't fault them. And do the odd 5 min job without asking for anything.

Can get full A1 license on a 125 without spending a lot with your own bike. £15 for Mod 1, and £75 (i think?) for Mod 2. Hes spent a lot more than he should have.

Got a Dainese mesh Jacket on eBay.. they are worth around £180 new and managed to get a second hand in almost new condition for £55. Used it yesterday for the first time and its brilliant! Whilst moving, its like wearing a t shirt. You do get hot when standing still, but as soon as you move off the breeze cools you down and dries up any sweat So definately worth checking eBay/Gumtree etc for Jackets in good condition. For the time we actually need these.. is it really worth spending £200+ on brand new? You can grab a bargain if you look

As mentioned before, if in doubt just ask the examiner! But hey at least that took some of the test nerves out for your next one. Its good experience for £15.50 (?) I did Bikesafe in London with CBT + L plates - worth ringing your nearest one to ask if you're allowed to do it on CBT?

63 km/h if I remember correctly.. or maybe 61.. stupid km/h measurement :/

Thanks guys

Forgot to update... but happy to say that I passed my Mod 2 on the 6th of December I wasn't too happy with my ride to be honest, got 4 minors but the pass is all that matters.. First thing I did after getting back to training school was taking my L plates off the grom... what an awesome feeling

Congratz buddy!! Have fun bike shopping

Passed my Mod 1 yesterday! So pleased Had my test in Enfield, so had to ride approx 30 miles to get there on the school’s MT-07.. was my first time being on a big bike so it took a few miles to get used to the increased power! Throttle obviously a lot more sensitive than my little Grom. By the time we arrived, I felt I had full control of the bike’s power and the ride there felt amazing! So easy to get to 50/60mph (max we did on the way) and overtaking was no effort. After arriving to Enfield, we went to some quiet roads and practiced the manoeuvres and went for a quick lunch at midday. Happy stomach = happy soul! Needed this to keep me going. After a quick bite, we went and done a bit more practice and headed back to the test centre where I watched a very petite female candidate making it look easy!! Me next.. Pressure was on  You guys know the drill for all the manoeuvres so I won’t bore you with it, but the practice paid off. I was a bit worried about the figure of 8 and the swerve, but more than plenty of space to do these 2 and had no issues. Emergency stop I managed 58kph and 52kph for the avoidance, so didn’t need to repeat either of these. All good! Picked up just 1 minor on probably the easiest of the manoeuvres… the controlled stop!! My front wheel was within the box but not quite in the middle as it needed to be :/ anyways I’ll take that The ride back to the school felt great but I was knackered by the time we got there at 4pm ish. Another step taken, 1 to go.. booking my Mod 2 later today and already looking forward to it!

I had my MOD1 yesterday. I was nervous too, but didn't really need to be. There's no need to rush any of it. Between exercises you can take a breather, just don't start moving until you're ready. For me, that was most useful after the manual handling exercise - I had been taking nervous short and shallow breaths, plus I struggle with the weight of the bike so I was heaving for air. Examiner reminded me that I could take a moment and ride when I was ready, so I just sat on the bike and gathered my thoughts. I found it useful to run through a drill in my head for the emergency stop and swerve. Mine went something like this, yours may vary: [list=]18-20mph on the bend looking at the exit point [list=]before speed trap, quick speed check [list=]watch for the examiner to start raising their hand [list=]rear brake towards the end, get ready to put foot down Thanks for advice mate! was just reading your thread actually.. big congratz on the pass!!

Been so anxious last couple of days! Training and test tomorrow... arghhh

Yeah, no problems with slow speed control/manoeuvres on my 125. U turns I'm practicing within the space of 2 parking bays. Figure of 8's all OK, can keep them nice and tidy. One thing I cannot practice in the car park has been emergency stop + avoidance. Sunday it opens at 11am, so I'll wake up quite early and hopefully its empty and get some practice done for these 2!

Thanks! Have booked Mod 1 training and test for next week Wednesday.. in the meantime I've been practicing the slow speed manoeuvres in my local Sainsbury's car park On my 125 that is! Will see how I do on the MT07 next week... Really looking forward to it now. Can't wait to see what its like to ride a big bike

Just a lil update.. passed my theory today with 49 out of 50 questions right and 73 from 75 points on the hazard perception part pretty happy with that! Going to local school tomorrow to book my DAS lessons. Hopefully they can fit me in without too much wait.. can't wait to train on a bigger bike

Regarding door.. use something to hold it open. Wouldn't leave my bike in the street just because of my neighbour!! Tell her to do one As for security.. what chain do you have? Oxford ones are crap and can be bolt cropped in seconds, I really recommend Almax chains but they are a bit expensive. Together with a ground anchor in your back garden + a good disc lock it will be pretty secure.

They don't really advertise it.. I only found out when I enquired about excess protection cover :/

probably a lot! are you with MCE by any chance? Bet you cant wait for Sunday! Yeah, I don't even want to talk about the excess, hopefully get sensible quotes come Feb lol Excess is huge with MCE! Mine was £850, they do something called "Excess reducer" or something like that which brings it down by half - though had to pay around £50 extra for the policy :/

probably a lot! are you with MCE by any chance? Bet you cant wait for Sunday!