getready

Lots of times on my trail bike, but not yet on a road bike!

DAS means no restriction = ride what you like when passed. Two mutually exclusive groups. A no from me, because I wanted the freedom to ride what I want and not have the govt dictate what I could ride.

I wear a Forcefield back protector on my road bike which is really comfy. As others have said it's a bit of a ball-ache having yet another piece of equipment to put on and take off and store, but it's a no brainer for me. I also have a Knox cross shirt which has full armour for my trail bike - I can vouch for the protection in this first hand, having had many offs/back flips etc

That's outrageous. Did he not realise that the other guy would have problems on the rideout earlier? When I did my CBT there was one lad who was obviously struggling who was told to go home and return another day (at lunchtime just before the ride out - not 4pm!) I'd be off somewhere else and asking for a refund from the first guy!

I think the Qwest is a great helmet, I'm really happy with it. It fits me perfectly, is really comfy and is very quiet with the chin vent closed. With the chin vent open there is a whistle, but that's only to be expected. For comparison, I have worn my dad's Raid 2 (same size!) and the difference in noise levels is apparent - the Raid 2 develops a distinct noise around the sides at 45-50mph, whereas the Qwest does not.

Stick your clothes in another bag/pannier etc, if you can get changed at work. I put my folded work gear in my Kreiga backpack which is waterproof and have never had a problem yet. I recently swapped to Hein Gericke Gore-Tex and have not had any water breaches yet either!

Sounds like good gear there mate. I went the cheap route for my first kit (apart from helmet - Shoei Qwest) - RST textiles which fell to bits in 6 months. These have now been replaced with Hein Gericke Gore-Tex, the difference in quality is immense.

What do you mean by these "lessons"? Ok I will go down the DAS route as it's more for what I'd prefer to do. Right just to work out now in order. Go to one of these free events where they let you ride in an open space for an hour Do my CBT (On a school bike) Maybe have a few lessons first? then book my Theory / Hazzard Jump into a DAS on a school bike and do my Mod 1 and Mod 2 succesfully (hopefully on my first attempt) buy a bigger 600cc bike and away you go And all this will come to an average price of say....? Price is important because I want to have enough to get everything done. Cause what I don't want to do is pass my DAS and not be able to buy my own bike for a few months. What time period would you say is reasonable for getting all this done? A couple of months maybe? Then I buy my gear around the time I buy my first bike? (Maybe buy helmet / gloves first for the free ride / CBT) This what it cost me: Theory test £31 CBT (inc use of school's bike) £80 DAS (two days training and pre/test warmup trips to and from test centre for Mod1 & 2) £330 Mod1 Fee £15 Mod2 Fee £75 A grand total of £531.

Well done on your test! Trying to insure a sports bike at your age having just passed your test is the same as passing your car test and getting a quote for a Porsche 911 - it will be stupidly expensive. It's the insurance companies way of politely telling you to get lost!

Well done, enjoy the bike!

This is so true. I did my CBT, then DAS and was on the road in under two months with only around 12/14 hours experience under my belt. I've learned more about riding since I passed than what I did on the DAS training. As for whether it's safe or not is down to you. Bigger bikes are easier to ride and you can still have a major "off" on a 125.

Yes, go for it, the GSR is a great bike and good fun to ride without going near the powerband, which is probably how it would ride if it was restricted.

It's more the components such as the bars, switch gear and paint job that looks a bit cheap on the GSR when you compare them to their siblings on a Honda. The bike is too new to show any mechanical issues, but I'm fairly sure that older gixxers/bandits etc are pretty reliable in terms of motors.

Yep, it's a real place near Oldham, not just a name for the test centre! Well done mate - enjoy!

What model was it? Suzuki GSR600 2008 with 400 miles on the clock, so it was virtually a new bike. http://i1115.photobucket.com/albums/k551/getready1/DSC00029.jpg Good points? Engine – the slightly detuned Gixxer 600 engine is probably the best bit of the bike, it sounds awesome and pulls extremely well. Spin the engine above 8k and it really goes, but it’s equally happy enough mooching along in traffic. A mate of mine had a go on it and he said he thought it would be a tarted up Bandit, but he got off it with a massive grin on his face! Looks – I think it looks great, smooth lines and being all black makes it even better. I’ve seen some other GSR’s in what I would deem to be dodgy colour schemes, but for me black is the colour to have. It does get quite a few looks from people. Rear LED’s look cool. Handling – extremely light and chuckable and great fun to ride. The front has a habit of coming up if you wind the power on too quickly – not sure whether this is good or bad! Gear indicator – very useful. Bad points? The overall build quality is not comparable to Honda for example in terms of paint/components, but most people already know this.... Brakes – The front brake is not really powerful enough and fades a bit, given the engine that is in this bike. The rear foot rests appear to have a mind of their own and often drop down to invite non-existent pillions to climb aboard. Mirrors – If you are tall like me, the mirrors are way too low to see anything out of without bending down. You can slacken the bolts and twist them forwards, but this also moves your front brake and clutch down to a ridiculous angle, which is also less than ideal! Probably need to buy a pair of mirror extenders. Storage - No under seat storage due to the exhaust running under the pillion seat. You would struggle to get more than a pencil in there. Tyres – BT016’s do not last very long if you like to ride in a spirited fashion. Would you get another? Definitely yes. As this was my first bike I was looking for a naked bike that I could ride around town and have a bit of fun on at the weekends. I didn’t want a full on sports bike, but did want something that would give decent performance, so job done.

Try... http://www.dropthel.com/testroutes/Wakefield_Motorcycle_Routes_30-34.pdf But... I wouldn't rely on them too much, since the DSA changed the routes to allow for Independent Riding and no longer publish them which is why the link above is non-DSA. The reason they no longer publish them is simply that in their view candidates at test standard shoud be able to ride confidently and safely on all types of roads and in all types of traffic, even if they have never ridden that particular road before. Also, the routes are subject to change at the whim of the examiner for any or no reason at all. Unfortunately these routes in the PDF are way out of date - I'm originally from Wakefield and I did my car test at this centre (Carr Gate) and this centre closed a few years ago. The new test centre is on a business park near J40 of the M1 near Ossett I think. As Bogof rightly says, the examiner can deviate from any known route regardless, so the merits of knowing specific routes are not always that beneficial.

That's great news, well done!

This is it. So many people drive/ride literally a couple of feet away from the vehicle in front thinking it's the done thing because all the others do it. A woman at work the other month proclaimed "He just stopped right in front of me and I couldn't stop and went into the back of him..." It's not worth the bother trying to shave seconds off your journey if you end up on your arse in the process

Stay positive and enjoy the ride! Good luck.

I never indicated at mini roundabouts (blob of white paint) on my test, just slowed down a touch and proceeded if clear. There's not really enough time to indicate on them unless you're turning right on one. Road humps - you won't get marked down for maintaining your line and just driving over them, which is probably the easiest option for a learner on a test. You could however go either side of them, especially if turning left or right just afterwards where you would need the bike over to the right or left accordingly. Same with passing parked cars etc. It also depends how close the left one is in relation to the kerb - if it's a tiny gap forget it! Remember to do a lifesaver before altering your road position if you choose to go either side. Good luck!

I saw a few people when I was training doing mod1 slalom/slow speed manouvres at near tick-over revs with the engine knocking etc - doesn't sound or look very good. Get some revs on and slip the clutch

Don't beat yourself up mate, it will click at some stage and everything will become much easier and smoother. The first day of my DAS was similar to yours by the sound of things, I did loads wrong (got several b0llockings ) and was getting pretty annoyed with things, but on day 2 it all started to click and by test day I was fine. Mod 2 is very straightforward, good luck with the test!

Is a YBR not light enough just to roll it off the centre stand and place pressure on the bars to stop it rolling away? I can pop my Fazer off the centre stand in that way without using any brakes.

There's absolutely loads of space. It's a U turn test for learners - you won't be needing a trials bike to do it

Seems like you hit a bit of bad luck at the wrong time. Buses pull out regardless, if you did your obs etc and then he moved the examiner shouldn't have pulled you on that IMO. Keep going mate, you'll get there and it will be well worth it in the end!