Hywel

Well done! I did the DAS but I'm still enjoying a 125 without Ls, ride safe!!

Well done! Feels great, wish I had an SV650 to ride though. Enjoy!!

Was listening to some of these guys' stuff and thought I'd share the joy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7_s9H0BRrU&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7_s9H0BRrU&feature=related

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Congratulations! Don't be nervous about mod2, try to read the road as best as you can, stay chilled and it'll be fine.

Congratulations! Enjoy the bonnie, I think my dad's gonna buy one when he passes, I'm gonna have to have a go

Congratz! Good luck for mod2, same applies there too... Just keep calm, and make things easier on yourself by keeping your following distances big and doing your indications / observations nice and early!

Hard luck! I also failed my first mod 2, misjudged a van driver’s intentions but went back and re-did it with better forward planning skills and passed, your test sounds unfortunate though. You’ll get there!

I was told to do a lifesaver whenever I intend to change direction. If a signal is necessary then do your 'mirror, signal, lifesaver, manoeuvre' procedure. Going straight ahead on a roundabout - when riding onto the roundabout, you'll usually bank left to get into your lane first before leaning right to get around the curve of the roundabout. I was told to do a left lifesaver just before entering the roundabout, then another one to the left before exiting or changing your position on the roundabout. Keeping half an eye open for straight-liners coming from your right as you go round can't hurt either. (I'm not a know-it-all and I'm not pretending to be really experienced, I just remember specifically asking my instructor that exact question about lifesavers and roundabouts, that's the answer he gave)

I always had a secret fascination with bikes as a kid / teenager but my parents would quickly disapprove if I hinted at the subject so eventually I gave up. Passed my car test at 17 then after five years of not even slightly considering bikes, I started noticing them more and more when driving until I finally decided that there was no reason for me not to learn if I thought they were so awesome. So I went for my CBT and instantly loved it, passed my DAS and now here I am, saving up for my first bike in painful slow motion. I'll get there! My justifications for learning and getting a bike are, cheaper insurance (my premium is still super high), able to slip through standstill traffic and it's heaps of fun.

Well done you lot. I had a successful Mod 2 today also. Got to the bike school at 9, and was quietly pleased to find out that I had a different instructor for the half day of training, he was a calm and friendly West country chap who put me at ease straight away, and didn't stress out nearly as much as the other guy I had last time, his reaction to a mistake was something like "woops, try not to do that later pal, ha ha ha" as opposed to "WHAT THE F*CK DO ARE YOU DOING!!? GET THE F*CK OVER! YOU'RE GONNA FAIL NO DOUBT IF YOU F*CKING DO THAT ON YOUR F*CKING TEST" Which was nice. We drilled the routes for a few hours then headed over to the centre. Same examiner as last time. "Bugger" I thought, but he was much more cheery and more communicative this time round, must have been in the middle of a bad day the other week. Had a slight potential iffy moment in front of a van changing lanes to turn right (wasn't a huge issue, it just could have been worse) but he said after that my riding / observations smoothed out a lot so he decided to put it behind him and call it a minor. Got asked to pull over 3 times and the rest of the test went well and was actually quite an enjoyable ride. Done and dusted. Now... How many defenceless grannies do you think I'd need to mug to buy a decent bike? Being skint with a full license and no proper bike is frustrating, glad it's out of the way though.

VOTED

I'm hoping like hell I can click the '2nd attempt' button tomorrow afternoon!

Stick at it, I've heard plenty of cases where people will feel useless on their first go, turn up for the second time feeling like they have nothing to loose and stomping through it. Keep the revs busy and let the clutch out slow!

yep, seeing as you're old enough go for the 125. It doesn't take long to get used to and the power delivery is very forgiving if you go for a run of the mill 4 stroke, my feeling is you wouldn't gain much from riding a 50cc first. I think the upper power limit is 11kw or just a little below 15bhp

Do kevlar jeans with impact protection exist? I have some really good goretex trousers which would be amazing for longer rainy rides and rideouts with people, but I'm probably gonna be doing a lot of riding to the shops, to see bands and to see friends etc and I can't see myself wanting to go about my life in these big bulky padded waterproofs.

Cheers DISCLAIMER: I'm not generalizing here, my posts after the initial rant should be taken in jest. The instructors who took me through CBT and mod1 were fine, "firm but fair" as they say, and the examiner who took my mod1 was a genuinely lovely chap, I don't think he works at that particular test center normally though. My first day of mod2 training on the other hand felt like a savage day long ear bashing, never knowing whether he was shouting at me or the other guy who was also training. Not a bad bloke off the bikes though strangely. I may word a sensible email to the school when my test is done, just stating politely that although I put up with it for the purposes of getting a motorbike license without having a serious falling out to delay the process, it would be more than enough to put someone more timid and nervous off for good.

.... Not sure if that image is supposed to be agreeing with you or calling you stupid. I agree with you anyway!

Probably not this bloke if he lurks on TMBF

I see a pattern emerging in this thread... Test #1 - Candidate has an overly strict examiner with the social warmth of an open pot of drying tip-ex, feels uneasy in his company and fails Test #2 - Candidate is given a cheery, slightly more lenient tester who is more encouraging, candidate passes with a new improved outlook on the testing staff, can no longer be arsed to complain, and two test fees per student for the DSA. BUSTED!! EDIT: made up word fail

Completely depends on how quickly you pick it up, instructor availability, test availability etc. My advice is to have a look around for some local motorcycle schools where you live, book a CBT with the school that seems to be the friendliest towards you when you call, then just go with the flow.

Did you notice all the pan euros / deuvilles / hi-viz goretex jackets / flip lids used by the a**holes? I think they're just gutted about not being traffic cops I'm just gonna let it go over my head, waiting for a callback with some available dates for another test. Determined to get it done and dusted!

My module 2 test was booked for yesterday afternoon, I'd done two days of training and drilling the test routes with my instructor, who is a bit short tempered for my liking and occasionally thinks that shouting barely comprehensible swearwords down a crackly one way intercom is the best way to deliver criticism to an adult. However, I was feeling ready for the test. As I'm waiting in the test centre I get called into the office and the examiner notes that there is a problem with my CBT cert. Turns out the plumb who wrote it out forgot to include the pass date, which he argued was a good enough reason to cancel the test, despite it being overlooked by both instructor and examiner for module 1. Anyway my instructor managed to wrangle a way around the paperwork and sorted out a test for this morning with a bit of training before hand. But I failed. There was a small van stopped over to the left of a 30mph road with what appeared to be enough space for two lanes of traffic ahead, so assuming it was just badly parked I waited for a gap in the oncoming traffic and went for the pass, but just as my front wheel got in line with his back wheel he pulled off with no indication, I dabbed the back brake, did a left shoulder check and tucked myself back to a central road position a safe distance from the back of the van... No drama, it wasn't dangerous and the van wasn't forced to break, turns out he was just waiting for traffic to pass before moving on through a gap (which I thought looked like plenty of space for him hence my decision that he was just stopped, plus he was really close to the parked cars on the left). I had one or two minor faults, which were basically for a wobble when I turned right out of a side street over a crazy camber, so a pretty solid ride apart from the van incident. I admit that I'd made a bit of an iffy judgement call but as soon as the situation changed I'd dealt with it calmly with no ill effects on the van. Seeing as the rest of my ride was fine with lots of hazards dealt with etc, I can't see why a bit of 'benefit of the doubt' wasn't used. Instead it's £80 down the crapper and another day of my life spent hanging around the damn test centre. What made me way more annoyed about the whole thing was the examiners attitude. My initial smiles and friendliness were met with a steely silence and no eye contact, I'm not expecting a DSA examiner to be bobo the f**king clown but what's wrong with putting test candidates at ease with a smile, a hello and a handshake?! I really cannot wait until I'm done with these people.

I did it in quite wet conditions the other week and had no problems. Tips: When you're practicing for mod 1, find a bit of open space and accelerate to 55kph ish in 2nd gear, try to remember what the exhaust note sounds like at that rev so that when you're doing the maneuver, you can fully concentrate on the task at hand whilst listening to the engine to get the speed right rather than watching the speedo. I felt very tempted to close the throttle a little way before the speed trap - this scrubs off a valuable 2-3 MPH, a problem if you're already close to the minimum speed. Try to keep the power on until you're knees are through the speed trap. Apart from that, don't change up to third gear because you could fluff it whilst fiddling around with leavers and don't be afraid to set up for the turn a little bit before the trap, makes it a lot smoother and easier to manage. Good luck!! It's easy once you've had a go or two.

Mod 1 passed today! Crappy weather all morning but it cleared up a little before my test, wind was really battering the test area though. The guy who had been doing the training with me went first and passed with flying colours on a 125 so the pressure was on for the ER-500 and myself. It went well, the wind was trying it's best to muck up my slow ride and I locked the back wheel a tiny bit on the stop but aside from that it was fine. 54kph for the avoidance and 57 for the emergency stop. Mod 2 booked for the week after next with one day of training before hand!! Woooooo. Then there's just the small matter of somehow aquiring the cash for a decent bike, might have to sell a load of beloved guitar gear... Or rob a granny, either option should work nicely. Big up UMT in Cardiff / Newport by the way. Keith was a legend and very patient with my occasional brain farts.