MyHatIsBread

Just found this forum and I'm midway through a DAS course (no previous experience) so I thought I'd share I'm training with a school based in Wimborne, Dorset - I rode an MT-07 for my 700cc conversion day, which I loved. For the mod1 training they swapped me to a XJ600 which I absolutely hated. Couldn't get the clutch right, seemed not only really heavy compared to the MT-07 but also felt top heavy, so I really struggled on the balance. Still, got through the training day, so rocked up to mod1 feeling a bit nervous. Test day 1: Very nervous. Dropped the bike on the second(!) slalom cone. Total time on the bike that afternoon - 15 seconds. Sigh. Examiner jokingly suggested herbal refreshments to calm me down next time Repeat mod1 training day - this time on a (requested) MT-07. Absolutely nailed everything. No problems at all, easy peasy. Test day 2: Foot down on the third slalom cone. Total time on the bike that afternoon - 20 seconds. Double sigh. The examiner (same guy as before) threw his hands up in the air and shouted 'what did you do that for?!'. Repeat mod1 training day, again - same as before, apart from a little extra ribbing from the instructor about how I must be really fond of him to keep coming back. All day at 33 degree heat in a bike jacket over sunburn doing 4 miles an hour is no fun either! Test day 3: Nervous, but took 15 mins practice in the side road by the test centre. Screwed up pretty much everything I attempted, so adopted the mindset that it didn't really matter and I'd just give it a go and if the worst happened again I'd pick up a 125 and give it 3 months practice before I did this again. Came to the test and flew through everything: not one minor. Couldn't have done it better if I'd tried. My take away from this is that mod1 is as much a mental exercise as a bike control one: can you retain control of a motorbike in an odd, stressful situation. As an aside, Poole test centre is a bit crap - they only test on wednesdays, the test pan is on a noticeable slope, and the high speed manoeuvre circuit has to wrap round some buildings, up and down 2 dips and the wrong way up a one way street. However, the examiners there are great - laid back, friendly, and really trying their best to make it a fun experience. If anyone reads this and, like me, thinks they'll never pass this stupid test - keep at it, familiarity and practice will get you there!