Keith Brief

I've mentioned my trials and tribulations elsewhere concerning the CBT and all of the subsequent expensive and time-consuming process required to finally ride that big bike. On Saturday, I finally resolved to insure a VFR I'd purchased as my motivation to get through the test having continued to ride my 125 after passing. Internet's a great thing and it only took a few minutes to insure. After ensuring that the Mighty Mansfield Town wouldn't be over-turned by Yeading & Hayes, I found the keys, donned the clothes and nervously took the VFR out on to the road. Magical. All I can say is it's bloody well worth persisting. It may seem a pain-the-arse process at the moment but that memory from yesterday of nailing the first corner before easing past all those vehicles that normally hold me up will keep me grinning for some while yet. Stick with the training, the highs and the lows, the frustration, the self-doubt - it's well worth it.

I can only repeat what others have said already; relax. Further down this page is my message of despair leading up to my final bike test. Having passed, I'm much more relaxed though I'm still observing most of the aspects of my test training. My wife had an appalling lesson this weekend and was preparing to jack it all in. I told her to ride like the Fonz instead of Richie Cunningham and she was much better yesterday and this morning on the commute to work. We need now need to get her to stop saying "Heyyyy" every time she does a head-check. Best of luck next time Anton.

Good luck.

It was really good to hear that other folk experienced similar problems. I fell to pieces during a "mock" test on Saturday but I'm delighted that one hour ago. I passed and can now re-connect the VFR's battery. Oh, and replace my XT's rear tyre as I've just ridden home with the front barely touching the ground.

Thank you very much for those responses chaps. I'll see how I get on this weekend which is lesson-free. KB

I suppose I'm just airing my concerns publicly here but I was wondering whether anyone had similar experiences prior to their test. I passed the CBT in July last year and began riding in September after purchasing a 125. Most of my riding was of a recreational type with others but I did begin to bring the bike into work to challenge myself. Overall, I felt confident, competant and rarely, if ever, found myself in trouble. Earlier this year, I passed the theory and hazard perception tests and then began entertaining the notion of taking the final practical test. After a friend passed and told me about the test requirements, it was apparent that I would need an instructor for the finer points so I began a series of lessons. My instructor is a top bloke and has an excellent first-time pass rate although he is ultra-critical - but that's what I'm paying for. As he is such a perfectionist, when he announced that I was at test standard and should apply for a test date, I did so and the test is in September. Since then, despite additional lessons, my standard of riding has deteriorated rapaidly to the point where I'm actually getting into situations not seen since I first got on a bike in the CBT car park. Has anyone else experienced this and am I over-complicating at the expense of the basic stuff? If anyone has, I'd be interested to hear about it. Right, that's the first and last time I've ever broadcast my state-of-mind in a public arena. If it gets any worse, there'll be a spotless VFR 750 appearing in the classifieds. KB

I can hear the increasing volume of bikes from my office. It's the first night of the Pre-TT Classic tonight and the weather is improving. Have a great time all of those coming over.

Here's my experience of the CBT: My wife very kindly bought me a lesson and the CBT for Christmas last year. I'd owned a scooter for a number of years previously and though I didn't ride it very often, I'd always enjoy it. When my wife was booking this, the instructor told her that the CBT is not a pass or fail test, the concept being that it's more educational and a test of competence. Should he deem me unsuitable to ride on the road following the initial tuition and test, he would continue with me until I was capable with the only charges being for the extra tuition. Additionally, he stated that I should have a suitable safety helmet, motorbike gloves, motorbike clothing and sturdy boots, in the absence of motorbike boots. On the lesson itself, we started with basic road requirements. I've had a driving licence for 20 years and was surprised at how many incorrect assumptions I make in regard to the Highway Code. As I'd not ridden a geared bike before, we went through finding neutral, how to "balance" the brakes, chain tension etc. Initially I wheeled the bike whilst the engine was running and applied the front brake. I then began to ride the bike around the car park in just first gear and then on to performing starts and stops at the instructor's discretion. I managed the figure of eights but really came to grief on the hill starts. Eventually, the instructor suggested that we go on the road (I think he feared for the bike's clutch) and I was fixed up with the one-way headset. Actually, despite the failure to perform a hill start with the mirror,signal, manouvre and actually pull-off procedure, I was absolutely gagging to get on the road. I found changing gear relatively easy and howled along the back roads until I came to a place called Blackboards. Anyone who knows the Isle of Man will be familiar with the place. It's a hairpin and the access from the back road is made up of a hillstart on an adverse camber. I took one look to see if it was clear and made a very untidy exit. I awaited a bollocking but none was forthcoming. It transpired that the headset wasn't working. Now it gets worse. I was hungry and thirsty and I really should have mentioned this. Thus concentration levels were falling and I completely blanked-out on how to come down through the gears. I started to approach junctions totally dumping the clutch which obviously, is very dangerous. We had a little discussion about this and I continued. The next problem was at the Quarterbridge - a busy and badly driven sequence of islands on the TT Course. I was unsure whether to go round a vehicle on the inside and promptly stalled the bike which then refused to go into gear. At this point, I was ready to drive home. The instructor was also getting a tad irritated as he'd been impressed with me initially and I was now struggling (tip - don't lose it with the customers, eh?). I managed to get myself together and did the U-turn, emergency stop etc. without any problems. I managed to stall just the once more as we rode through the Saturday shopping traffic and was relieved that the instructor had been delayed when I made an untidy turn back to the test centre. By now, I was really dehydrated and once we'd stopped, I told the instructor that I would prefer to take the CBT another day. He gave me a strange look before telling me I'd already done it and passed and apart from the clutch dumping problem and the need to look around junctions more, I was fine. I thanked him and vowed never to get on a bike again....... Three months later, my wife announced that she'd like to do her CBT. I had no problem with this though I did suggest that she should get some practice in first. The next thing I knew, our bank account was £700 lighter and I was being asked to go and collect a 1993 Yamaha SR. I told her there was no way I was riding the bike back but she insisted. This was when I truly learnt how to ride to a basic level though the Prostitute (the SR's been ridden by many though never been loved) was too cramped. I then spent a couple of Sundays riding to an industrial estate and taking my wife through everything I had done on the lesson. She flew the CBT and we are now awaiting the practical test following successfully passing the theory and hazard perception tests. My comments: If at all possible, try to make sure you can operate a bike before the CBT or at least investigate how one works. I didn't know motorbikes had a rear brake that was foot-operated or that first gear was down and the rest up. A moped, in my case, was more of a hindrance. I think the reason I was dumping the clutch was that after riding the moped which has a levered rear brake, I was automatically using the clutch in the same way. Finally, take water. It's not easy being nervous, learning something new and being dehydrated. When the front wheel is in the air, come off the gas.....