Spongefinger

Got 10 months left on theory if I get to a point where I need to renew that I think I it definitely be time to throw the towel in

So after waiting ages to actually get to it had Mod 2 today. 35 minutes ride to rest centre, perfect ride there perfect ride back....so what happened ? A mixture of me and the school being f**k wits. Got there tester went to check documents and my CBT was out of date by two weeks, I got mixed up and assumed once you did mod 1 this over rode your CBT so you didn't need a current one, and the school actually checked over my documents before we left the school ! They said they will sort it out so I'm not out of pocket but bit of a bummer as I really felt ready for it today

That's what I thought, he said he was told the rest of the ride was perfect but it sounds sus to me.

Was commenting on a thread on YouTube and a guy there said he had just failed his mid 2 due to a single missed shoulder check turning right back into the test centre. There was no other traffic around. Is this right ? I was under the impression unless you had caused danger to yourself or others a missed shoulder check would probably be a minor ?

I did the exact same 48 kph on avoidance. Do a minor .

I went 38 in the emergency stop. Didn't get a minor but the instructor told me they have a standard warning they have to give if you go over 60 kph ( I think). Perhaps it's different for the avoidance as more risky if too fast.

How fast did you go ?

No advice I'm afraid but congrats on new bike that is actually on my first big bike shortlist. Enjoy !

I was 50 when I booked my das last year. If you do the intensive course it puts a huge amount of pressure on you to learn quick and pass tests first time as if you fail mod 1 you cannot take mod 2. On the first day of my das I realized just how stressed I was thinking about how quick the tests were coming up and worrying if I was going to be good enough in time. As luck would have due to covid and a couple of other issues I ended up getting lessons when I could and when I felt ready I did mod 1 ( passed a couple of weeks ago)I've got my mod 2 in June. For me personally this was a much better way to do it I enjoyed my lessons rather than feeling stressed every time I made a mistake and I felt so much more confident doing my mod 1. Whatever you choose I hope you manage to get it sorted soon

Was she an avid cycle rider I guess that could make a difference. My daughter is 14 she is going on a motorcycle taster course for and hour in the next couple of weeks.

When you say you have had issues learning to drive a car what do you struggle with ? Unless you go twist and go riding a geared motorcycle is more complicated than driving a car.

Sorry to hear that...I failed my first one. Hit first cone on slalom and foot down on u turn. Good thing is I knew what to expect when I went back felt much more focused on getting the job done than worrying about what it was going to be like. As for slow control I found keeping my knees tight to the tank may me feel less like putting a foot down. And if you think you are going to go over release that clutch a millimetre !

If your bike is stolen and recovered does your insurance not cover repairs ?

Yay only a month until I'm 51 chances of an accident only go down from then

I totally agree. When I did my mod one the two other people with me were a 48 year old Italian woman and a polish guy in his late 20's they had both been riding for years and they pissed their mod 1 they just got fed up having to pony up the equivalent 60-70 quid a year and go through the agro of a full day cbt every 2 years to learn nothing but just to keep CBT.

Interesting idea. In most of America I believe you do not have to take any kind of test to ride a motorcycle and as you said the government says its up to the public if they want to do it and take responsibility for themselves. I think this is fine to a degree if you come off a road and hit a tree then that's on you but when it comes to a third party getting injured or killed due to your lack of skill / training it's a diff6 matter . Training and testing in UK is to keep other road users safe not just the rider. Also on that note I only found out the other day that the US has no kind of MOT system at all.

My instructor was telling be about a Yamaha approved CBT centre that was shut down because when they went to inspect it they only had a tiny yard and all they did was get student to ride in a circle round a single cone a few times then signed them off.

I can attest to that. I didn't reach the standard on my CBT I kept stalling everytime I had to stop, kept running wide turning out of junctions and I never managed to do a u turn. They told me to come back in a couple of days to try again. I rang them and booked. When I turned up they had no idea I was coming, who I was or why I hadn't passed. They asked me and I said clutch control. A guy took me out on the bike for a twenty minute ride I stalled once and he said you're fine and wrote out my certificate. First time I did a u turn was mod 1 training ( with a different school)

Definitely not enough. After my CBT I didn't feel anywhere near ready to ride on the road. I find it amazing that you have to take on average 40 hours of lessons and pass a reasonably tough 30 minute test to drive the safest vehicle on the road yet you can go from never even have ridden a pushbike to being on the road on a bike in a T-Shirt and flip flops after a few hours very basic training. Most road knowledge is learnt from experience and you can't get that in half a day.

Watch all the videos on Moto Madness youtube channel and drive the exact opposite way the bikers do on there.

Yeah it is strange. My slalom and 8 was brilliant and the school felt absolutely effortless but I felt like was wobbling all over the place once "in the cage" I think you just naturally tense up and become a bit stiffer when stressed. Once I was told I passed I literally felt my whole body relax and I realised how tensed up I had been.

My two experiences were night and day. First attempt - Had final lesson night before test on December 3rd. At 6pm I was freezing my bollocks off trying to do a u turn without foot down managed 2 very dodgy ones after about 10 attempts then lesson was over. The morning of the test I was actually very calm and the reason was I had pretty much convinced myself I was going to fail so wasn't that bothered. Anyway my time came , paper work done very nice lady tester. Got on bike did checks then into test paddock. Pulled bike up did manual handling then when I got on to start actual manouvers the nerves kicked in. Ok all checks done off we go....clipped the very first cone on slalom !!! Knew that was it but carried on figure of 8 felt like it went on forever , slow ride was torture as it was toward the u turn. As expected half way round foot down. Test cancelled. I was glad it was over. Due to covid I knew it would be months until I could try again and I don't own a motorcycle so I thought I was stuffed until I had an idea. I knew they turn was just a mental block I needed to get over so I took my mountain bike to a empty carpark near me and started doing u turns on that...a lot of u turns over the weeks probably did well over a hundred practice u turns. Anyway I had my first lesson back booked that started at 1 so I hired a 125 from my school for 2 hours before my lesson started and took it to a carpark of a closed down business on the same industrial estate. I measured out figure 8 and u turn and put bricks from a skip to mark out and practiced the first u turn I did I nailed it first time all the practice I had done my balance and dear the bike would fall over was gone. I practice nothing but figure 8 and turns for 2 hours then went on to lesson...it was the best I had ever had. Second attempt - Needless to say this time I'm in completely different headspace. Had a lovely ride over to test centre. Really nice examiner. Rode in manual handling off through slalom mmm..bit shaky but through , figure 8 also felt off but got round, slow ride and then ! Before I knew it I was back round facing the examiner and I couldn't even remember doing the u turn I started to panic shit did I do a life saver !! On to fast test, standard stop fine, emergency he comes up to me looking serious " you went through the trap at 61 kph you might want to slow that down for avoidance" onto avoidance comes up to me " I'll have to put you down for a minor as you only hit 49 kph" think I can live with that. Got one other minor for fig 8 being sloppy ( it felt it). Three if us went and we all passed so great day the ride back to the school I felt I was flying !

That's ( in retrospect) hilarious ! I got a minor for speed on avoidance. I did emergency stop at 62 kph and the guy said maybe dail it back to make avoidance easier and I clocked in at 49 kph.

Yep, I failed my first mod 1 on u turn. There was no power in heaven or earth that would have got my foot off that right footpeg today

Cheers