veracocha

Unless it's a squirrel. You have to knock it on the head, you can't release it once caught.

I started on a Kawasaki ER6 and ended up on a Kawasaki Z650. It was a much newer and easier bike to ride if I'm honest.

Mod - 2 success. Against many odds I got through it today with 1 minor. Got to my instructors and the bike I have been learning on for two months has a fault so had to make do with a different bike altogether. Got to the test center having been soaked wet through from a biblical deluge across Birmingham. Instructor kept telling me to take my foot off the back brake otherwise it'll be a fail on the test (I put it down to not being familiar with the bike). Examiner said he wants to go out on the route first on his own to see if the flooding would make it an unfair test. He came back and gave me the option to go-ahead or re-book at no cost. Obviously I went for it. Ten minutes in he said take your foot off the back brake. I shook my leg so he could see it wasn't me at fault. He stopped me and had a quick look and said the light is faulty. Anyway, we got on with it albeit he stayed further back there on in. Got back and he said common sense prevails and that I had passed with 1-minor. Hard to describe the elation but boy what a feeling

Of all the bikes I saw yesterday there was one that I couldn't stop thinking about at and unlike me, I saw it as a thing of beauty and not as a tool which is pretty much how I see everything I own. It was a Kawasaki Z900 black & yellow job that was oldish school looking. If I was a man of means that would sit in the corner of my lounge just being purty!

I'm a returning biker and it looks like I'm coming back just in time to see my remaining biking years on combustion mounts. Had it bee a few years later with EV being the only option I wouldn't have done it and certainly not with the infrastructure & out of touch pricing that goes with it. At the bike show yesterday all I can say is there wasn't a single electric bike that held my interest. I appreciate the technology but as a substitute for what we have.....not for me.

To be fair I saw very busy stands where helmets were selling well so quite possibly you might get a deal.

Enjoyed the show today but a bit deflated by the lack of deals on offer. I wanted heated gloves, Gerbing offered zero show discount. I wanted a tank bag, Shad, zero discount, Givi the same. I did find a discount on an Adventure Bike Rider T shirt so I said sling a medium in a bag please. Got home to find an XXL for my troubles. Looking at some of the bikes though really makes you feel what you already have is inadequate. Damn show!

Having recently passed my Mod-1 I can only advise that you stick with it and remember why you went down this route in the first place. The rewards will be the freedom to choose any bike you wish. I saw the Mod-1 as a set of rules, no grey area's, just specific tasks that were either done as per the rules or not. The examiners don't have flexibility when it comes to a speed device, it's black & white and reassure yourself that you were that close. I failed my Mod-2 a few weeks ago (did not cancel an indicator) and I have a brand new 650 sitting in my back garden so I know what how disappointing a fail can be. Learn from it and get a new test date as soon as you can. It'll be worth it no doubt.

I think it's good that he's going in. This might give us all some closure as to his behaviours during the pandemic. Hopefully he'll open up a bit as to what the party line was and if it was opposed to his own views. The gag is off if you will and we might see this as an opportunity to learn something about him and not his party. His political career is over and seeing Rishi blank him recently I think he knows it too. Set against that little episode I think there's more to be gained with him going in than staying out.

Sitting here looking at a brand new bike I have owned for two months and not being able to put a single mile on it. Why? because I didn't remember to cancel an indicator yesterday on my Mod-2. My instructor said in all the training he has spent with me I have never done that once. Muppet!!

No, they covered the costs for me.

Following this kerfuffle I am pleased to say that at 08:45 today I passed my Mod-1. Happy days indeed.

Definitely. I remember being at the NEC a few years back when the bike show was on and it was at the same time as the Finance Show in the next hall. Anyway I got on the same park & ride bus as all the bikers. When we got to the stop off for the Finance Show the driver said "anyone for the finance show this is your stop". I got a right round of abuse from the bikers when I walked down the aisle to get off the bus. This year it will be as a biker!

The school just got in touch, re-booked for two weeks time and no charge. Feel much better about things now and gives me a chance to work on the things I was nervous about. Happy days or is that Happy Das.

Everyone is saying the same. My instructor was as sick as I was when it happened. On every training day they ask me to produce my licence, CBT and theory certs so I would have hoped they had spotted this on at least one of three occasions. They said they will do what they can to get me another test but sounds like more layout of funds as well as the disappointment of missing my test. My Mod-2 was booked for next Thursday, that isn't going to happen now.

Wasn't sure whether to put this in nob of the day but feel beaten up already so that wouldn't help. Was at the test centre today for my Mod-1 and never even sat on the bike. Apparently a paper licence, CBT cert and theory test cert wasn't good enough. I have to have photo ID as well. Another few months of waiting. Lesson for those with a paper licence, take a passport too.

It was a Kawasaki GS650 I think, an 08 plate and the mirrors were buzzing like a bee. My 125 seems much smoother.

Had my first day of DAS training today and within 10 minutes my hands were so numb I couldn't operate the indicator switch. Now I've been riding a new 125 for six-weeks without issue so no idea why this should occur. Took an hour of riding to get any feeling back. Other than that went the day well. Mod-1 next week. Any suggestions?

Experiencing my first day of DAS training, mod 1 next week.

Google maps, download the map to your phone then it doesn't rely on cellular connectivity. Just GPS.

That seems to fit the bill thank you. I want one that is app free and with the one in the link you have a choice to use the app or not. Will go and seek some reviews, thanks for the link.

Thanks for the link, I think that's manufacturer specific. The "Brake Free" is a stand alone unit that can be swapped from helmet to helmet and has contained electronics.

Just been watching some youtube vids of this device but I can't find anywhere online in the UK to make a purchase. Has anyone used one of these or similar as it seems a great idea.

Found a company who specialise in SORN insurance (Bradsure) but quite expensive, £200 per year on condition it's garaged and ground anchored. Hopefully can cancel in a month if test goes ok.

In an effort to beat impending price increases I just purchased a new bike in anticipation of gaining my full bike licence in October. Although off-road and in my garage with more locks than on the Birmingham canal I would still like peace-of-mind with regards to insurance until I can come out to play. Is there anyone with experience of this SORN insurance as I heard it called that could offer any advice?