TeamMCS

Yeah, it's all a PITA. DSA rules, the line in the sand etc. Soon as this is over I'll go back to my normal riding/driving (which the police said was the safe 'good' way to ride for someone of my experience). Quite looking forward to the IAM, that seems to teach you how to be a better and generally far more competent rider (no silly rules).

We're moving over to metric so everything is in KPH now. 50KPH is around 32mph. 3rd gear on a 125, 2nd gear on a 500.

Cheers mate, Just a quick clarification on pulling it. Let's say you are on a suburban road, loads of cars either side of the road. There's an oncoming car and no real "ideal" space to stop. What should you look out for, whats the best procedure for letting an oncoming car pass? I would usually find a small gap, pull in wait and carry on. Sometimes you can't help meet a car head on (or not far off, ie, they will slow down)

Cheers guys, I do have a couple more now I think about it: 7# Assume you are on a small suburban road, cars parked on either side of the road leaving only a single track (or lots of gaps). If you are pulling aside for an oncoming car, should you indicate to rejoin the road? 8# where is an appropriate place to stop? When I'm riding for myself I'll just find a gap and pull in, then edge away. I don't tend to worry how close I am to a car, just providing they can get past. 9# Same scenario, you are about to take a T-Junction to the left but a car has nicely (and illegally) parked slap bang in your lane. Usually you'd stay quite close to the left, would you just keep your positioning central for the manoeuvre (assuming it's safe to move out)

Ah that helps. I popped out at the weekend with the police to do bike safe and they said to me "You're perfect for your test, just do it. Don't waste money on training now. Do your Advanced Training after"

Hey guys, I have a couple of questions about the MOD 2 test. 1: When they ask you to pull in, should you indicate? I would assume yes but only if there's someone around. 2: When you pull off, right life saver is really the only one required (if you're going right). 3: Approaching a roundabout just involves slowing down, no life savers required approaching the roundabout UNLESS you stop (ie to move off again). 4: If possible, indicate on mini roundabouts 5: Should you filter on your test? I will be carrying mine out in rush hour and I'd rather not (in London no less) 6: What's the procedure for pulling in and then pulling out for the "pulling off at an angle" manoeuvre? Cheers guys

It's great to see so many passes just lately! Mine is coming up in days, nerves are on fire!

I was about to get on my high horse and say get your license done, but you have! Why don't you just dump the little 125 and get a slightly larger bike which sounds better (if that's the concern, I've heard them they sound a little 'odd'). I'm going to go out on a limb and say you've got a 125 for commuting (cheap etc), 250 should be pretty similar in size and value. Otherwise, I'm not sure matey. Give your local garage a ring maybe they can help?

Yeah anyone who laughs at a biker with full and decent gear is truly an idiot. If they do laugh, grab the name and the instructor and we'll spread the word. Plus, if you come off. You'll really appreciate it. My mate spared no expense gearing up (nearly 2k)... I went with him on his first ride, he came off at 20-30 mph on a roundabout with me behind.. His arm and bike were cut up. Could have been much worse

Congrats! I'm highly envious. I really want to nail mine! Let us know what bike you choose

That's impossible, this is not a taxi license test but test to show that you know how to ride a bike not the knowledge of the area. Yup I totally agree. That's insane. It's not a test of your boy scout orienteering! That said I could envisage a part of the test where they just tell you to head off somewhere to judge your general skills. Even that is a bit far fetchd

Awesome mate! Time to get yaself an awesome machine

I'd say the avoidance test isn't scary at all. It's literally really easy. Anyone who can ride a bike competently shouldn't have a problem.

I dont think they Can drop mod 1 as such because its a European Thing and if we want to Drive in the rest of europe we all have to have a simalar standard of Driving so they could only modify it at best which would mean Better test centers with more space for the hazard IMO it should be a Straight not a bend before the hazard this would be Much improved on what is not a terrible way to get the manouvers done (better and safer than on the road) in a controlled enviroment. Yeah I must agree. If you were given more of a run up you'd be better prepared (read: going faster) for the hazard. Ironically, that could lead to more "inexperienced-offs". Either way, despite complaints I think they're on the right track. They need to keep the cost down. It's okay for us poor sods working 5 days a week as we can scrape together the money for the tests but it's a stretch to get the money for the training as well! I definitely think they need to sort out the CBT, there's no incentive to do your test unless you are interested in bikes. That means you end up with a load of muppets on the road with nothing more than L plates. I'm not sure how they should do it but I can't see how a day on a bike is enough to quality you as a good rider (ie safe for the road). They just need to balance it, make the CBT just a part of a larger process.

I can't see them dropping Mod1. I suspect they'll just modify the hazard and speed requirements

Mirror, cross fingers, close eyes. GAS & TURN!

I failed my mod 2 test so what do i know but in the interests of the discussion I would say on number 4 -manourver then slow down- I picked up a minor on my failed mod 2 test for not carrying/maintaining the adequate pace far enough. Re lifesavers - I now see it as ' look the side you are going to move into but doing an extra on the other side beforehand would not be wasted on the test.costs nothing to do and if you are actually looking as you do them it should reassure you that you know what is around you before you monourve and ease off the throttle good luck or should I say Good Look ! I've seen a couple of takes on turning. The old OSM (PSL). Aka Mirrors/Back look, Signal, Position, Signal, Look. Others say, Mirrors, Signal, life Saver, turn. One finaly alternative: Mirrors, Full look around, signal. Position. Final Look.. turn. Cancel signal. Whats the best and easiest approach to remember. I suppose the last works best for me

Good luck mate!

Oh mate, sorry to hear it! Your instructor was a muppet for telling you to do it in 2nd. I found that whilst I was practising - the bike simply can't do 32mph in second. Changing up cost me some speed but you can get up properly! Side note: I had no lessons either mate. Don't let that put you off! Try try again!

Hey guys, Only passed my theory last week and I unexpectedly managed to get a Mod 1 booking for today (~3 days notice). Thankfully, only having 3 days notice meant I wasn't panicking as much as I usually do I headed down to Yeading in the scorching sun. They'd split the course up into two sections on the site. On the left they have the slalom, parking bay and figure of eight. On the other they have the emergency stop, U turn and Hazard avoidance. The first thing I thought when I arrived was how dam big it all was! This almost evaporated any concerns I had. There's so much space you could do the circuit in a car. Whilst I was waiting for my test a lady was doing her DAS, she must have used a good 10 meters (if not more) to do the figure of eight on each cone!!! She nearly went around the second yellow cone!. My turn came rolling around, parked in the right bay. Walked it into the adjacent bay then went off on the slalom and Fig 8. All went fine, bags of room - literally loads. I'd been practising in half the space. I'm pretty sure I actually did 3 fig 8's Anywho, next bit rolled around. The hazard avoidance. The circuit was a little odd. The corner becomes progressively sharper as you near the straight which means you end up slowing down (or get ballsy). Despite all the advise saying, "Leave it in second" my CBR125 just can't reliably reach 32 so I had to change up. I completely floored it and went at the "hazard". Speaking of the hazard, for those of you worried. It really isn't much of a turn and you don't have to suddenly straighten up. Once again, there's bags of space. The only problem I had was getting the dam bike up to speed in time. Thankfully I nailed it, just. 50kph. I continued on to the U turn, nothing fancy. Actually a little tighter than I imagined but still plenty of room. The next manoeuvre was the slow ride - yes that's actually quite slow! I'd say slow walking pace -very nearly overtook him thinking he was going to speed up! It's also quite a long walk so make sure you practise that. Finally came the Emergency stop. This was fairly easy but unfortunately I couldn't get the bike up to speed the first time around. Knowing my bike can't reach 32 on second I chose to change up mid corner - sadly that killed my acceleration. Missed it by 1kph. Second time around I really gave it the beans. Still only managed to hit 53kph!! Throughout the test I must say I didn't look at the speed-o, I was more concerned with simply going as fast as I could. The second time around I changed up a little bit later which must have been the difference. Overall I would say the larger bikes will find the hazard avoidance and emergency stop fairly easy due to the power (no need to concern yourself with changing up too early, just stick it in second and floor it). The little bikes pretty much nail the cornering though. Now on to Mod 2! That's something I'm concerned about Good luck to those preparing for both [edit] Just thought I'd add. I've had no official lessons, I did this on my own bike. To practise I got myself a tape measure and a bunch of CDs and just stuck them in a local car park (yes I look like an idiot). It's quite effective. As for practising the hazard avoidance, sadly you're SOL. Both myself and cobz tried to avoid pot holes, drain covers and speed bumps - that could work but you'll be speeding - which isn't great. Speaking of which, the hazard avoidance practical should be done at 25 to keep it within the speed limit of a public road. You need to practise so you end up speeding if you are not careful (or worse, come off!). It's not something I could practise when all was said and done.

The only guy who will definitely be there is your DSA tester but you may find a couple of others loitering. Kind of depends on your test centre.

I decided to buy a tape measure today. Turns out 7.5 is HUUGE. You could turn a tank in less space. I was trying to turn in 4~ meters! No wonder I was struggling! I'm going to keep practising, try and avoid some pot holes on the way. Side note: Decided to go out with my mate this afternoon after work. He just bought a new YBR125 and fancied giving it a quick run to the Ace Cafe. Unfortunately he ***** came off!!!! Some how he still managed to cut up his arm and scratch up his new bike. Dam shame

It could be a simple case of my bike is too small for me. i'm 6'2 on one of the smallest 125s around - CBR. Full lock means I need far more control than normal (ie: outside my ability) and as a result I'm shifting my centre of gravity off.

Yeah spot on. infact, it pretty much hits my leg if I try and turn that far

I hear it's 7.5 meters. I can do a U turn in 3 car parking bays but any less than that it gets a little edgy. Basically can't get full lock on my bike without falling. Side note: Do you actually have to do it in one?