Mod 1 and Mod 2 ready?

[Robik]

Feel a little in limbo stage at the moment with my journey to a full bike licence. I am riding my 125cc an building my confidence, and also enjoying the time on it.

I just feel after my cbt and theory, that my road to a full licence has halted a little. I think it's the financial part of it, training demands and tests that are halting me a little from going for it.

I am sure it will all happen with the time is right, just not sure how much decent weather we will have left this year to get it all done?

[Bobadam]

It all takes time and is worth it in the end. The licence process is so much different from when i got mine.

[klingelton]

No doubt it isn't cheap. At the same time, you don't need to rush things. You could do mod 1 one month, mod 2 the next if it helps to spread the cost.

[mister-t]

i am in the same situation,but decided to have lessons when i have the time as my job hgv driver takes up most of my time.so my approach is a few more lessons,then go for mod1,then i still have plenty of time to get mod2 done before my (theory and hazard tests which i passed last month) and mod1 if i pass expire.plus still able to ride my ybr 125 to work and back so gaining riding experience all the time.if it takes me 12 months to pass my bike test so be it,just do lessons when you can afford them,no need to rush you will get there in the end

[Robik]

Thanks all,

Wondering if the training and tests will be more difficult in the winter time if it got to this stage?

I guess this is something that will take a little getting used to and getting some warm gear to wear.

[Robik]

Just wondering if it is worth giving mod 1 a test run on my 125cc or if it is going to be quite different to doing it on the bigger bike and therefore not worth the time and money (and waiting... seems like to book a mod 1 on your own the waiting is around 2 months!)

[klingelton]

take a lesson or 2 on the larger capacity vehicle. It's heavier and thus handles differently to a 125 (125 being far more fogiving). That said, the theory is the same between the 2 machines.

you will probably have a conversion lesson to get used to the weight of the 600. Then you will take a mod 1 lesson. you will soon get used to the way the bigger bike handles at low speed, so don't fret too much. best advise is to relax and go with it. keep your head up and control the bike using clutch and rear brake. after your mod 1 big bike lesson, there's nothing saying you can't go find a big car park and practice those manoeuvres on your 125.

I'd imagine you might only want 4 hours or so split across a couple of days practicing mod 1 manoeuvres. It's not that tricky to master.

Your instructor knows how much training you will need.

I found the figure 8 the hardest manoeuvre. I found the swerve and u-turns the easiest. people are different though.

[Paul456]

I started doing my training and tests in the winter and the biggest added difficulty by a mile is the damn cancellations. I had 2 mod 1s cancelled and 2 mod 2s, which eventually made me miss the Jan 19th law change date. Once i arrived at a mod 1 test and the pad was completely flooded, the second time it was icy. Then both mod 2's were cancelled because of the ice but on the second one there was no ice on the roads what-so-ever, so i think they just couldn't be bothered to go out on a cold day (i work like 2 miles from the test center on a little industrial estate and there wasn't a patch of ice to be seen, even on our unused car park).

I wouldn't say any of it is any harder though. In mod 1 you're traveling a low speeds and stopping quite a lot, so its not that hard to keep warm. Although i've heard people complaining about slipping off doing the swerve in the wet, but i did it in the wet tons of times and never fell off. As for mod 2 its no different to riding on the road normally, in theory at least.

Just do what you can when you can afford it and you'll get there eventually.

[Guest]

Hi in addition to his question, can you just pay for the bike hire and mod1 test and the same for the mod 2 test, instead of paying for the 3 to 4 days training and test. I have done my cbt and am riding on my 125 however i feel moving up even to a 400cc with 47 bhp is becoming too pricey, these new laws are a pain to genuine riders who want to move up to something with a bit more oomph.

[Robik]

Yes, I feel the same way to lojank,

I have found some places offer hourly, half day and full day bike hire + training (no bike hire alone), but they "recommend" you go for the training to avoid the "I told you so" situation if you fail the tests