Learning to ride: those embarrasing experiences

[Rollingskies]

This thread is to help new potentials not to worry when things go pear shaped in training. It should help them to avoid them too.

I'll start. Turning right on an uphill junction and I forget to change from 4th to 1st. A lorry slows down and flashes me to let me turn and I jerk and stall half way across the road. Frantically trying to hit first the incline prevents me from changing gear (I wasn't experienced enough then to play with the clutch and gears to slip down). I couldn't move, the inclide prevented me from pushing it with my feet. By now I was straddling both lanes and a queue of traffic built up both sides. My instructor overtook turned right, jumped off and then pushed me, yes pushed me off the junction. I go red everytime I recount it. Helmets, what a lifesaver to pride!!

[Ian G]

fell off on cbt road section was sat at junction turning right had fiesta behind me rode the clutch and reved the nuts of it dumped the clutch hit the opposite kerb and fell head over heals and the 4 lads in the fiesta couldnt stop laughing as they drove past me sooned learned clutch control

[Ingah]

Got on a bike for the first time (CG125) when i did my CBT, and within 5 minutes i fell off and broke it

I kinda blame the instructor though, i couldn't work out how to turn (i found riding hard, certainly gears were beyond me at that point) and he was shouting putting a lot of pressure on me. So anyways, on a gravelly pub car park and i saw the bush approaching (at all of 5mph, which was fast at the time), so i grabbed a handful of front brake, and went down.

I only broke the indicators etc, but he had to go and get me a scooter do to the rest of the day on

[Rollingskies]

Got on a bike for the first time (CG125) when i did my CBT, and within 5 minutes i fell off and broke it

 

I dropped it (first time on a bike ever) while just sitting on it. The instructor, who had been doing it for like 15 or 20 years, said he had not seen that before! I've never dropped one since.

[SYMC0X]

On my cbt i was turning right out of a T juction and there was a few youths stood next to the junction which for whatever reason put pressure on me to not mess up. so i pull out no traffic anywhere but as i pull out i nearly ran a bloke over and his little daughter which were stood on the left about to walk accross the road.. it was down to me not having confidence in how much the bike would turn.. my instructor pulled me over up the road and asked me if i knew what i had just done. only close call i have had that was my fault really, cant think of anything else..

[Guest]

Oh dear i have quite a few!

Right, cbt, basically just couldnt get along with the clutch. There was a woman on a moped, musta been bored shitless

then the guy tells me to go out and have a pratice (meaning on the site, not on the road leading to it) i end up on the road and ragging it up and down (that was very, very fun i loved it) but he came out and was not pleased at all, i pull clutch in to pull over and i dont let off the throttle. que bollocking!

many stalls when on the road, for example coming outta cbt place crap my self at the first junction, they leave me and i stall....i end up being far behind.

hitting the horn instead of the indicators

stalling at roundabouts and holding the traffic up (and the guy behind wetting him self)

the whole stuck in gear thing

god thats just off the top of my head

[Lumor_uk]

Changed down too aggressively and the rear end skidded round as I turned into a side street.

[Ash]

Nothing too major. As Chris said, hitting the horn instead of the indicators, getting stuck in gear, bike popping into neutral. And my all time favorite...stalling in front of a group of attractive young ladies

My mate did his cbt on a disused airfield and managed to ride into the only solid object on it (brick outhouse) and near on bend the forks underneath the front of the bike. Needless to say they made him come back and do it again before he got his certificate

[hedgehugger]

On my CBT I pulled on my front brake in the middle of a u-turn (still in the practice yard).

The bike bombed to the floor and I ended up stood next to it, didn't drop me just the bike lol

Don't use your front brake to slow while u-turning folks

[bigsisterbiker]

was practising slow control and instead of looking where i was going - was supposed to be going left - i took an interest in the wildflowers growing by the right side of the practice area.

got a good look at them from under the bike when i crashed into the fence

then couldn't get up for laughing

and i dropped the bike on one of my tests. instead of putting the stand down i tried to get on just holding the bike after the push round u-turn. fell over, failed test unsurprisingly

sat on kerb sniffling til my instructor came to collect me. and no, i didn't take my helmet off

[spafe2302]

My instructor told me he'd never seen anyone stall as many times as I managed to leaving the driveway to the test centre, I think in total It was about 17 or so times in the space of 50 metres or so.

Having said that I then managed to get round the entire town ride only stalling it once, and that was purely down to laughter as my instructor almost fell of his bike in amazement when the guy i was doing the test with stalled his scooter (yes i mean a twist and go). At the time i figured it was hard to cock up that much, but that was it. I then hear my instructer saying it shouldnt be possible down the mick and then being speechless. fun times. never did work out what he done to it to cause this...

[Commanda]

Last Saturday, following on from comments on this forum about throttle blipping, thought I'd try it while slowing down in readiness for a right turn at some lights. Managed to stall the bike for the first time ever in full view of a moped rider waiting to turn right at the same lights. Luckily released the clutch while I still had some momentum and the engine fired back up so didn't have to come to a complete stop. (Note to self: Leave well enough alone, just change gears as you always have done.... )

[mackemforever]

Dropping my bike the first time I got on it.

Basically I did my CBT and then had around a months wait before I got my first bike. Its a Varadero 125 and weighs about 60kg more than the bike I did my CBT on.

I kitted up, jumped on it, and was heading down my drive to spend a bit of time on some local, quiet, roads to get used to it, when my dad stuck his head out of his office window and shouted at me to stop cos he wanted to talk to me about something. I gently applied the front brake, or at least it would have been gentle on the bike I did my CBT on, but the brakes on the Varadero are a lot better and bite with less movement of the brake lever. As a result the bike was stationary well before I thought it would be, meaning that I was late getting my foot down, and by the time my foot was down the bike had tipped over too far for me to stop it, so it just slowly toppled over.

My train of thought went something like this:

"Crap that stops quickly."

"Crap its heavy."

"Crap its lying on my leg."

Very embarrassing, god did I get the piss taken out of me for that

[Si 2the Mon]

Crashed the cg125 in training, practicing the emergency stop, snatch the front brake and lowside the bike, oh dear done all the usuals aswell, horn when meaning to indicate etc. All part of learning though.

[birchy]

I dropped the training bike for the 1st time on thursday during one of my final Direct access lessons.

I was left, using a bus lane when over the radio the instructor said at the end we are turning right, just to warn you for road postioning, so I did my mirrors indicate and lifesave, come out to the outside lane and saw the traffic lights-but before there was a small road on the right, I was sure he meant the traffic lights but as I approached the gap in the central reservation he said again turn right....So I paniked and braked, aiming for the central reservation, making it just but it was tight, causing me to drop the bike and fall off.

Was a bit shaken and the instructor appologised as he didn't even consider the minor road.....all is ok now though as I passed mod 1 yesterday and mod 2 is on friday

[Danny-B-]

When i first started riding after i passed my test i posted a thread about being a Noob Biker ... have a lookie

http://www.themotorbikeforum.co.uk/view ... 32&start=0

[ianb]

Past my CBT 2 weeks ago, rode my cbf 125 (brand new, good deal) to work for the first time yesterday. Got to work ok, stalled twice.

I'm now massively confident for the ride home and i'm obviously the daddy of bike riding........

9 stalls on the way home including 3 at traffic lights, 2 at roundabouts and 2 at crossroads. most of which after filtering to the front of the traffic. I daren't turn round to look at the lexus driver with pumping bass that i stalled in front of twice in a row.

I felt like a penis..... Took my car to work today out of sheer embarrassment, bike again tomorrow..... watch this space!

[Guest]

On my first test, I was getting of the bike and forgot to go into the netural and let the clutch out, stalled it and dropped it! The instructor bless him was so nice, I felt like a twat! Good job I'd already failed on the U turn!

[ianb]

2nd trip to work today. Dual carriage way with a white van man behind me (it was blue but you know what i mean). Lights turn green, i stall it and see the van slam on his brakes just in time before driving in to me. Restart pull away...... Stalled again.

Lights turn red (i was at the front of the queue all the time), blue van man changes lanes and sits on my left so he doesn't get stuck behind me again. I didn't have the bottle to turn my head to look at him. My helmet spared my blushes.

[hammer5]

2nd trip to work today. Dual carriage way with a white van man behind me (it was blue but you know what i mean). Lights turn green, i stall it and see the van slam on his brakes just in time before driving in to me. Restart pull away...... Stalled again.

Lights turn red (i was at the front of the queue all the time), blue van man changes lanes and sits on my left so he doesn't get stuck behind me again. I didn't have the bottle to turn my head to look at him. My helmet spared my blushes.

 

Same as many, dropped the bike while doing the CBT, trying the u-turn slower than Einstein calculated and dropped it. A week after i passed i was going to Lincoln and i was stuck behind 3 or 4 cars who were stuck behind a learner. We was on a dual carriageway and they were all on the right hand lane ready to turn a the on-coming roundabout, so i thought ok i can undercut these before the roundabout... Sunday morning dew i overtook easily went to brake and skidded right across the roundabout and stopped halfway.. I cut my shin bad on the break pedal but the pain was nowhere near as bad as the red heat omitting from my face!!

Good times

BB

[Remy]

When I first got a bike years ago I had just done my CBT and was going slowly round a roundabout to the right, and a double decker bus was on my left going straight on. For some reason i got unbalanced, the bike wobbled and fell gently over on its side depositing me on the grassy roundabout, while everyone on the bus was looking (yes thank God for helmets!).

I didn't get round to taking my test then and want to do it now. I bought a new bike (hadn't even done my CBT) and was practising slow manouevres at home. I was aiming to turn right in a small space, so turned the handlebars but then decided I couldn't do it and braked, and my lovely new bike I had just spent ages polishing crashed to the ground (well at least no-one was watching! ).

[Guest]

on my cbt the mic wasnt working propa so i was leading i saw the instructor indicate right in my mirror so i did the same thing this was changing lanes to go onto a dual carriageway roundabout, so i asked him what his instructions was so i checked everywhere then started stalled half way round the round about because i was in third gear oops! i panicked!

[Guest]

on my cbt the mic wasnt working propa so i was leading i saw the instructor indicate right in my mirror so i did the same thing this was changing lanes to go onto a dual carriageway roundabout, so i asked him what his instructions was so i checked everywhere then started stalled half way round the round about because i was in third gear oops! i panicked!