Hywel

I did mine the other week, it's nothing to worry about. Worth going through that 'learn to ride' book though, I had the same one. Just read it then go through all the questions in the back, highlighting the ones you feel are a little bit tricky. That should guarantee a pass for the multiple choice part. As for the hazard perception, just follow the instructions carefully and don't loose concentration. Getting a dvd to practice wouldn't hurt either I suppose.

Actually yeah I didn't think about the weight of it compared to a human on the back. I guess it's nowt. Thanks for answering a n00bs silly question though. In other news the bike delivery company that works for the dealership I just got the 125 from have been playing funny buggers. Waiting till the day they told me it'd arrive to call and delay the delivery by another 4 days. I'm expecting it tomorrow but they didn't call today to let me know what time the van will get here like they said they would. If the same happens again I'm taking the cage to Tamworth and kicking someones ass!! I need a bike before I explode.

Hi all, I'm getting a 125 delivered tomorrow, and am planning on getting something more powerful as soon as I've done my DAS, hopefully in August at somepoint. Considering this and the fact I'm probably going to be stopping my bike in a few pretty dubious areas I figured I should get a good lock so I bought an Abus chain / disk lock combo. It's heavy duty, VERY heavy duty. So heavy in fact that I'm wondering whether or not it's gonna be completely safe to carry on board the bike. I've got a nice solid rucksack with a belly strap which would hold it, but might be uncomfortable after 20 minutes. I'm guessing if I put it in a top box it might add too much weight to the back, decreasing front tire grip right? Don't wanna panic about loosing the front tire when leaning into every corner. Tank bag maybe? I suppose another option is to just carry the disk lock part, plus another cheaper and lighter chain to anchor the bike. Do any of you carry heavy chains? Where on the bike is the safest and most practical place on a bike to add weight? Bearing in mind I'll probably have luggage on the back also.

Congratulations!! I can't wait 'till I have my full license. Booking my DAS as soon as I get the August rota for my new job.

Thanks everyone, I think it's a done deal for the knox contour, I'll go and try one on this week! Can't beat a sales pitch like Chimera's.

Bit of a sweeping statement You obviously are not aware that some strap on back protectors can cause more problems than they solve in road use, whereas a lot of in built back protectors are actually safer, particularly those made of memory foam which is standard on a lot of garments these days. Can you elaborate please cos Im not aware and wouild like to know I second this sentiment. TC do you have a good reason for telling all the poor 'unaware' folk this? A lot of people here seem to be all about the strap-on back armour. Gimme tr00fs plz kthx.

Nice read... I've gone down the route of getting all the gear I can afford before doing my DAS and getting a ride. Bought a heavy duty armoured Gortex Jacket with matching zippable trousers, all with removable lining / air vents to fend off the temptation to leave it behind or unzip on really hot days, Maxwell GTX booties and some Gortex padded gloves (would you recommend I got some proper armoured ones? I just couldn't bring myself to ok a suggested £170 odd pair of gloves, no matter how incredibly hot the lady helping me choose all my stuff in HG was). I got an AGV Titech lid, not keen on the graphics but it fits absolutely perfectly and was a really good price. Currently looking into a proper slab of stand-alone back armour too. ATGATT and all that right? I went for the textiles because I'm never going to be bothered to carefully treat leathers / carry around a big tent to wear just incase it starts tipping down. The story about the leg getting whipped off by a snapping chain is awful, really made me shudder, and the case about the girl in a bikini reminded me of a photo the instructor at my CBT showed me of a (consenting) girl in her underwear showing off an absolutely brutal amount of road rash following a fairly quick tumble wearing some cheap jeans, vest top and a helmet. SHE HAD NO SKIN

I've been accumulating some nice gortex gear and I just got myself a good lid seeing as I have my CBT and a 125 available, I'm booking my DAS really soon and I'm completely comitted to getting a proper bike in the near future. 'Sorted' I thought, but then I thought about my spine in a crash, surely it's a very flimsy thing ready to be destroyed by a car or a curb in an accident, so I thought I'd look into a good back protector. I've read the "buying a back protector?" sticky and had a look at a few product specific threads but I want to get a few opinions on back protectors in general. I've heard some people say very matter-of-factly that they'll do more harm than good in a big crash, and I've heard other people say that they consider them to be as important as a helmet when riding. I'd like sopme thoughts on this sort of gear. Any particular ones I should avoid? Any recommendations?

I got through it! It was just my dad, another guy and myself doing our CBTs with two instructors overseeing us. In the carpark I picked up the gearing quickly, balance was fine and cornering was smooth as soon as I'd gotten the hang of looking through to where I wanted the bike to take me. After a massive breakfast roll from a burger van, a few emergency stops and some figure 8's we were taken onto the industrial estate for some slightly more realistic road-ish experience coupled with some faster emergency stops and U-turns etc. The instructor on a Kawi ZX14 (pretty sure) took me and my dad, while the instructor driving a Triumph Tiger took the other bloke. At first I had trouble remembering to cancel the indicator (car habit), but after 15 minutes I was fine and we went out into the real world. First couple of junctions / roundabouts felt sketchy because I sometimes didn't know whether I was in 3rd or 2nd but I got used to the gearbox and my riding felt a bit smoother. Stalled once on a steep hill start but apart from that it went without a hitch. Loved it through and through, we spent ten or fifteen minutes going through some twisty bits at 40 - 50 mph (feels quick to a noob on an sr125), and I had the stupidest grin on my face through the whole stretch. I'm sold on this biking thing, the pops is too. We're getting a ybr125 to share next weekend for a bit of practice but I fully plan on getting my DAS done asap so I can step it up to a Hornet 600 or a Bandit 650. In summary the instructors were awesome and very good teachers, the weather was great, and we all had fun. My only complaint is that it ended too early, we had our certificates by 2pm . Can't wait to get back out on a bike now. I went with UMAT (http://www.umat.co.uk) by the way, and having the CBT cert from them means I get 20% off everything in the Cardiff Hein Gericke, a credit card and I shall be paying them a visit tomorrow.

Problem... I booked my theory test yesterday, supposed to have it tomorrow morning but I suddenly twigged earlier that I havn't seen a "paper counterpart" to my license since getting my photocard through the post 5 years ago, after hours of rooting through my parents filing cabinets + a few key paperwork filled drawers I've had no luck. I'm guessing that's 30 quid down the pan, plus another 20 for the new piece of paper? Is there any way I can take the test without this paper version of my license?

Thanks for the responses! I think I will go down the route of having a quick chinwag before booking. I don't mind being shouted at if I do something really stupid or irrisponsible, I'm not in the business of treating roads like playgrounds anyway. I'm really easy to get along with but I am however perfectly willing to let someone know if I believe they're being an arse for the sake of being an arse , I'm sure it'll be fine though. Theory tomorrow morning in Builth Wells, fingers/toes crossed!!!

I've got a theory test tomorrow, and I'm booking my DAS on the weekend, I do have a concern though. I've been hearing a fair few stories from people about instructors raising their voices / getting really irate with students. Is this common? All I know is that if someone tries that with me through a loud intercom while I'm stressed (inevitable in the beginning seeing as It's something really new and fairly dangerous), I'm not exactly going to react well to any stretch of the imagination. I'm not saying I'm unhinged at all, but I don't tend take any sh!t whatsoever and such an instructor may find his bike tipped into a ditch, and me walking the shortest route back to my car. I remember appreciating that my driving instructor was such a chilled out bloke, I could really do with a similar temperament to hold my hand through the bike training. So, questions... Any experience with short tempered instructors? How were they dealt with? Any motorcycle schools / instructors in South Wales I should steer clear of? TA