dar1976

Thanks both for your replies. The ride went well. I have bits to polish up, as expected. I’m just waiting to find out if there are any rugged observers for over the winter or whether I wait till the new year to join up. It was much less stressful than I’d imagined and I think I will enjoy the process. Stay safe and shiny side up

Dragging up an old thread maybe, but struggling to find one I can shoehorn myself into. I’m doing a taster session tomorrow morning in Wiltshire with the local IAM group with a view to taking a course next year. Hopefully I will iron out enough newbie habits to get me to a point where I can take the test and get a good result. Unfortunately I’m only at home at the weekends, so practicing between sessions may cause me an issue. Don’t get me wrong - I’m looking forward to the session, I just don’t know if I’ll have the time needed to improve over the 12 months. (Though I may have jumped in the deep end a bit as I’m booked on a group ride round the NC500 in July - my first holiday in about 15 years). On a side note, I looked at joining my local blood bikers group - they said I’d need an advanced qualification to be a rider / driver. Then I got bogged down by all the politics (that’s me being diplomatic) in my local group whilst training as a controller (sorry dispatcher - they don’t like being ‘controlled’ ) and decided it wasn’t for me. /rant

Passed my Mod1 last Wednesday. 1st time of asking. Was so much easier than I’d imagined. Separate thread on here with details of training and tests.

Passed. Separate thread on here. Well chuffed.

Hi all. Thought I'd give a diary log of my week last week and how I got through the training and tests.. Day 1 of DAS training. 10 minutes on a 125 just to get my eye in again. Then onto the Honda CB650R Naked. What a beast. We went round some quiet roads, then some busier roads. Covered roundabouts and junctions. It needs a bit of work but all good. Back to the rugby club car park for some Mod1 practice. Slow Speed stuff today. Oh My God U-Turns are so much easier with a big bike. Job done. Manual Handling was in the bag. Slalom and FigOf8 was challenging but I got it cracked in the end. By the end of the day, I had a clean sheet in mock test conditions. And it was drizzling with rain too. Just have to work on the power delivery. I seem to stress about the next part of the course and then stall it - putting foot down - instant fail. A bit of start stop start stop up the length of the course brought the best out of the situation. Got a bit of cramp in my clutch hand by mid afternoon, and thighs were starting to cramp too. But nowhere near as much as they were on the little Benelli. I’m actually looking forward to the rest of the week now. Lots of positive feedback from my instructor. And to think I hadn’t ridden anything in 6 months since my CBT. Day 2 of training. The morning was road riding and needs lots of honing and refining before Friday. Bad habits from 20 years of driving cars, and overzealous on the blind spots from commercial driving for the last 13 years. After a Greggs (who doesn’t feel better after a sausage roll and a yum yum?) we went to the test centre to have a look over the course. Poole is an odd one as it has an odd layout for the high speed manoeuvres. Back to the Rugby Club car park for some slow speed practice after a great session yesterday. And pulled it off Then onto a high speed course. A bit shorter than the test centre so couldn’t get up to full speed. But techniques were spot on. I then did a full Mod1 Mock Test and clean sheeted it I think I’ll be ok if I can hold my nerves together in the morning. Instructor is happy with it Day 3 - MOD1 Test Mod1 in the bag. 1 minor for stalling after controlled stop. I was already in the box - just had a brain fart and forgot to bring clutch in. Day3 - More Training Ironing out the bad habits and getting up to test standard. Generally it’s going ok. I’m a little bit over-cautious sometimes about opening up the throttle to ‘get up to speed’ or ‘stop holding up the traffic behind’. As the afternoon went on, it got better and I was going round twisties at 60ish without too many hiccups. In my mind though - it’s due to me struggling to kick it up between 1st and 2nd - often getting a neutral instead. I then have to look down to check which throws me off line or slows me right down. So in my Mod2 mock test (ready for Friday) I picked up 6 minors. Hesitation in getting up to speed x2 Too many lifesavers (I never knew this was a thing - as an HGV driver of 13 years - it definitely isn’t) x2 I pushed on up to 34 in a 30 . Apparently the examiner has to match your speed to prove that you’re speeding And finally Positioning at a Junction. Again it comes from the day job. I’m used to being away from the kerb to swing an artic round a left bend without catching the kerb. Often I’ve been told I need to come away from position 3 whilst riding and tuck myself in more at junctions. Hopefully I get myself out of this for Friday. The only other feedback he gave was not getting into Pos1 early enough on a left bend - personally I thought I was ok. And then leaving it late to get back to Pos2 when coming out the bend. Other than that - and on the whole - it has been a buzz today. Flying round the twisties and up dual carriageways with such rapid acceleration. I can’t wait to get out on my own bike. Just gotta keep it together. I get from 8.15 to 11am Friday to refine my ride. The same examiner will be taking me out - he’s a rider himself and very down to Earth. Day 5 (Day off in between) - Finishing touches and MOD2 Test The day off did me good. I was able to focus and put my all into the morning. Wobbly start. Was not sure I’d pass. Was well shocked when he said congratulations. Followed me in a car. Lost him a couple of times. Radio went quiet on dual carriageway But a pass is a pass. So all in all - a good week last week. Took my XL700 Transalp out for a spin over the weekend and loved every second. I was so nervous that I wouldn't get on with it. U-Turns were a nightmare on my CBT. SOOOOOO much easier on the 650. Stay safe people. And if you are on the fence about taking your tests - Do it!! You won't regret it. The grin is still there If anyone is on the South Coast looking for a good instructor with reasonable pricing - Costello Motorcycle Training in Poole is worth a look. Dean

So yesterday I took the plunge, after a bit of mental to and fro, to book my DAS course. A friend of mine has just started working at a bike shop and the owner runs DAS and CBT. 3 days booked with Costello Training in Poole. He also has a Transalp 700 ready to sell me when I’m passed. So I did my CBT at Andover (write up in CBT thread) and was thinking about upgrading to full license with them. But there’s a few niggles that stopped me. I haven’t been on a bike since, but (and it seems controversial amongst many) I have decided not to waste money on a 125 and just go straight for the big boys toys. I wasn’t 100% comfortable on the Benelli due to my size. I think I will find it much easier on the Honda 650. Also the local training area will help lots (as opposed to having to travel a fair way to practice if using Andover Training). Theory Test passed first time last month. That’s not a new thing (I’ve got car, HGV, PCV categories too). What made me laugh was the CGI people they use for their videos now. It used to be real people. How things have changed. I won’t have long to wait for a date as they have many slots that they switch out. So just gotta get head in the game and hopefully pass it first time. Safe Riding. Dean

Have a chat to your instructor. They may split your learning down to a 4 hour session on PAYG. Salisbury Motorcycle Training (one of my local schools) does this. Bear in mind that it may stunt your learning curve. And tests can generally only be done Monday to Friday and are dependent on instructor availability - often CBTs are done at the weekend.

I had to sign a disclaimer to say I had enough training and was comfortable to go out on the road. As said above, it sounds like they were highly disorganised. She is fortunate to have Dad as backup and she has the bit of paper to say she is allowed out. Maybe Dad can take her out for some initial sessions before she goes out on her own.

Hope you are all having a great weekend. Since Christmas, I have taken my CBT on a nearly new Benelli BN125. Nice enough bike but felt quite cramped - I'm 6ft4 and eaten too many Minced Pies (if you get my drift). I was successful in gaining my CBT, although it took another 4 hours over 2 sessions to be successful. Being 45, I think it just took me a bit of time to get my head around it all. Once I got it - I got it. I also took my Theory test a couple of weeks ago and Passed 1st time. Get in!! So, to the point of this post - I have 4 training schools in the area. The school I took my CBT with use Suzuki SV650s. Other schools use Kawasaki ER6-Ns. Is there any light that any of you can shed on which I might find better for getting through my DAS course? There is obviously the factor of staying with the same school as they know me and know how I respond best. They don't split the Mod1/2 up though. Other schools split the Mods - which makes a little more sense for my bank balance. I'm just trying to get an overall perspective of how people view the best route to go and if there is any major difference to the 2 models of bike in question. Oh just one more consideration - the school I took my CBT with have a fairly compact car park space to practice in and are a fair distance from any of the test centres. He said they have access to the actual test site at the weekends to practice Mod1. Other schools use School Playgrounds and larger areas onsite, so plenty of Mod1 practice space. Decisions, Decisions....... Thanks for any input. Dean

So I’m just back from a 2 hour ride around Andover and pleased to say I’ve made the grade. The learning begins here. But my DL196 is in my possession and it’s a step in the right direction. Onwards and Upwards. Cramp started to set in after about 45 minutes of riding the Benelli at 6ft4. So I’m glad we got to stop at around that point and go over how I felt the ride was going. Thanks to Stuart at Andover Rider Training. Highly Recommended if you are over this part of the country. Good Luck to all who are training. Dean

So today was my second session with Stuart. I've come away buzzing. Have spent 2 hours in the yard cracking out U-Turns, Fig-of-8's and Slow Speed Exercises. Wobbly start, but half an hour in and I was a lot more confident. Then we went and did gear changes up the access road. Got up to second and third gear and back down without too much drama. Then back down the yard to do simulated junctions. Slow Speed stuff had sunk in and was passable. It's all starting to get through my thick head. He is pleased with my progress (as am I) and says we can go out on the road and potentially sign me off next Thursday. I am so much more upbeat today than last session. Looking forward to it. Then save my pennies for the 'big bike' course. Thanks to all for your words of encouragement. Keep up the good work and good luck to all that are doing their CBT between now and next Thursday. Dean

My CBT Experience. I turned up for 0830 ready for a 9am start. Temperature was -1. By the time I had my full gear on, I barely noticed the chill. I had previously had a few email conversations with Stuart of Andover Rider Training so we followed up on various concerns in person whilst we waited for the other trainee to arrive. I had already mentioned my desire to move on to bigger geared bikes in the Summer and so I thought I should aim for a geared 125 bike today. The other chap was there for his second CBT and has motocross experience. So the session had it’s challenges for both of us. He felt he had to knock some of his bad habits away and I had to conquer my fears of never having ridden a motorbike. We were shown the controls for the bikes – 2021 Binelli 125s – and all happy with that. Then we wheeled the bikes over to the pad. Manual handling was all good. No issues there. Started up the bikes and the other guy goes first. Showing how to ride in a straight line from one end to the other. No pressure then. He does this 2 or 3 times end to end, round the end cones and back again. Then it’s my turn. I mount the bike, start it up and try and find the footpegs with the lack of downwards peripheral vision inside a helmet. Took me a while to get the hang of that. 6ft4 with long legs wasn’t doing me any favours. Anyway, I get a run up and down the yard a few times – stalling from dropping revs too much or forgetting to pull in the clutch when I come to a stop. Not exactly foreign as I have been driving manual vehicles for 20 years. Just struggling to convert foot actions into hand actions. By the third time he left me to do it on my own as he could see I was stressing myself out. That bit finally clicked. I was getting quite good at slow control in a straight line and paddling round the corners with my feet. Meanwhile the other chap had moved on to slow control exercises – U-Turns and Figure of 8. I could see he had much more confidence and was getting through the session much faster than myself. I will give Stuart credit, he was very patient with me and gave me plenty of opportunities to get the hang of it. It was around this point that (after 2.5hrs) Stuart said we really need to be getting moving and pushing on. Fair enough. SO I was given the option of a 50cc Automatic or go home, lick my wounds and come back another day for some geared bike lessons. For all I was kicking myself, I knew I was holding up the other trainee and Sturt only had so much patience. I had a 5 minute chill and decided to go back another day. I would have been cheating myself to scrape through on a ped. Also I am 23 stone. That ped would have screamed for mercy So all in all, I take away a couple of positive things. He said my knowledge was good (Thanks YouTube) and he could see I was making progress – just not at the rate that either of us were comfortable with. I am 45 so it’s taking a bit more to sink in. I was also doing shoulder checks naturally (my HGV training rubbing off) So I am going back for a few 1-1 lessons on the geared bike. He’s certain I will be fine. Just a bit slower to pick things up than others. Oh and I didn’t drop it. So I can’t be that bad

I’m glad this topic has been posted. I’m 6ft4 and 23st. I’m going for my CBT after Christmas. I have approached the instructors by email and been clear of my concerns in riding a bike not capable enough for my size. They assure me I’ll be fine. It’s good to know I’m not the only one with these concerns.

Hi all. So after 25 years of driving cars and 10 years of driving articulated lorries and coaches as a commercial driver, I’ve bitten the bullet and booked myself onto a course in Andover at the end of January. Very popular right now so that was the first one available or I’d have got on one sooner. Been watching YouTube videos on what to expect. I’ve asked for a 125 Manual as I plan to go on to do the DAS if everything goes to plan. I’m really hoping I can get my head round squeezing the lever for clutch and brake having spent lots of years doing it with my feet. Anyway, as a newbie to the forum - thanks all for posting your experiences. It’s great to read through and get an idea of how things are. Hopefully I can give a good post next year after the event. Dean.