CBT - Experiences of other Members

[Peaches]

Thanks Topper. It seems I'm not the only one! Phew!!!

[SouthernManc78]

So I went and completed my CBT today, started off well enough but was struggling with clutch control a bit as I've never ridden any bike before.

Just as I was starting to get the hang of it I somehow managed to wheelie the bike but didn't come off it and regained control and brought it to a stop, after that I was awful and thought I wouldn't complete it in one day. I took a 5 min break and then did some more practice and was loads better.

The instructor was 50/50 about letting me out onto the roads but my confidence had improved by this point and he was happy enough, so off we went and I had loads of fun even getting it into 5th gear going along at 40 MPH.

It was quite windy today and I was surprise how much the wind can affect your riding but I made it back to the training centre and got my CBT certificate.

There is around a 6 week wait for availability on a Direct Access course which takes it closer to winter so I'm thinking I should get a 125cc to potter about on and practice clutch control and mod1 stuff on myself and maybe doing the tests so I hopefully have a full license for when next spring comes around

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[Guest]

I somehow managed to wheelie the bike but didn't come off it and regained control and brought it to a stop

Pics or it didn't happen

Well done on getting it sorted.

I kept my 125 for a year after passing my test, while i decided what to get, and still got it wrong...

[SuzyHP]

Today I am not a happy girlie! Yesterday, I attended my CBT bright and early. I had been waiting for months for this day to come around, so I was pretty excited at the prospect of finally becoming road legal. I was placed in a group with three male "learners" who were all exceptionally nice guys! However, despite their claims of being "novices", they all took off like ducks to water.( turns out all 3 had had some biking experience afterall) I , on the other hand, had NONE and as a result juddered and stalled my way around the course like a drunk kangaroo. I couldn't help comparing myself to the lads. I was rubbish and just wanted to give up and go home. In fact, that is exactly what happened. Because I kept stalling the bike, the instructor decided that i was not road worthy and suggested that i should just go home and return at a later date, 20th September 2016.

In conclusion, I think the CBT is not balanced or fair. People are different and learn at differing paces. Eight hours is not long enough to grasp the elements of bike riding. Because my fellow "learners" had already grasped the concept of clutch control, sadly for me, very little time was devoted to this activity. As a result I kept stalling the bike during exercises, thus holding the others back. This made me feel hopeless and bad for the others. As a result, my confidence has taken a nose-dive and I'm left feeling like poo. I even considered selling my bike and gear this morning and giving up completely.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Mich xx

 

Peaches

I hope you get there on the 20th- the best thing you can do is practise practise and practise some more. It will eventually click into place enough to get you started. I went back for 4 half days to get extra training and build confidence before 'passing' I was also a complete beginner and went through the same as yourself even breaking the clutch lever when I came flying off on the first day! But..... After 2 weeks of having my L plates on my experience and confidence gets better every day and boy is it fun!!!! Keep with it and have faith in yourself- the best things often take a bit of time and patience - good luck!

Suzy

[SouthernManc78]

I kept my 125 for a year after passing my test, while i decided what to get, and still got it wrong...

I was surprised how fast I felt it was on a 125 so I might get myself one for 6 months so learn on so get any drops or falls out of my system on that before I spend lots of cash on a decent bike

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[SuzyHP]

I kept my 125 for a year after passing my test, while i decided what to get, and still got it wrong...

I was surprised how fast I felt it was on a 125 so I might get myself one for 6 months so learn on so get any drops or falls out of my system on that before I spend lots of cash on a decent bike

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On my first proper journey alone I thought I was whizzing along until I looked at my speedo

[Hoggs]

On my first proper journey alone I thought I was whizzing along until I looked at my speedo

HAHAH yes this! I AM A SPEED DEMON! *looks* Well 26mph is fast enough.

Manc a little 125 will get you some good road experience on a bike and if you buy a semi decent Japanese one you shouldn't loose too much when you sell for an upgrade

[Peaches]

Today I am not a happy girlie! Yesterday, I attended my CBT bright and early. I had been waiting for months for this day to come around, so I was pretty excited at the prospect of finally becoming road legal. I was placed in a group with three male "learners" who were all exceptionally nice guys! However, despite their claims of being "novices", they all took off like ducks to water.( turns out all 3 had had some biking experience afterall) I , on the other hand, had NONE and as a result juddered and stalled my way around the course like a drunk kangaroo. I couldn't help comparing myself to the lads. I was rubbish and just wanted to give up and go home. In fact, that is exactly what happened. Because I kept stalling the bike, the instructor decided that i was not road worthy and suggested that i should just go home and return at a later date, 20th September 2016.

In conclusion, I think the CBT is not balanced or fair. People are different and learn at differing paces. Eight hours is not long enough to grasp the elements of bike riding. Because my fellow "learners" had already grasped the concept of clutch control, sadly for me, very little time was devoted to this activity. As a result I kept stalling the bike during exercises, thus holding the others back. This made me feel hopeless and bad for the others. As a result, my confidence has taken a nose-dive and I'm left feeling like poo. I even considered selling my bike and gear this morning and giving up completely.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Mich xx

 

Peaches

I hope you get there on the 20th- the best thing you can do is practise practise and practise some more. It will eventually click into place enough to get you started. I went back for 4 half days to get extra training and build confidence before 'passing' I was also a complete beginner and went through the same as yourself even breaking the clutch lever when I came flying off on the first day! But..... After 2 weeks of having my L plates on my experience and confidence gets better every day and boy is it fun!!!! Keep with it and have faith in yourself- the best things often take a bit of time and patience - good luck!

Suzy

 

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement Suzy! I am getting better with each day that passes! Confident too xx

[mas101]

I did my CBT yesterday.

Only 2 of us on the course. Myself (been driving for 30 years and regular cyclist) and a young lad with no experience of driving, riding or cycling.

I was surprised at how small the practice area was. The weather was terrible, wet and with occasional downpours so was soaked fairly quickly.

I sort of got the hang of things, I did find the clutch control difficult - I had trouble feeling the bite point, there didn't seem to be very much movement between full in and full out (yahama ybr125).

Spent a fair bit of time doing circuits. Stop. Pull off, up to 2nd. Stop, pull off, up to 2nd.... which was OK. I did a couple of figure 8s and U turns, but I did feel that I'd have benefited from more clutch control practice.

The theory stuff was quite perfunctory, but since its all familiar stuff to me, no big deal.

The other lad had more problems with the controls and they decided that he wasn't ready for the road.

Spent a bit of time driving round a local housing estate which was quite empty so very much about just getting familiar with things really. Discovered that I'm terrible at cancelling indicators

Then moved out and drove through town at school finishing time, so very busy and including a notorious local roundabout. Managed to stall a couple of times.

I was impressed that most other road users were very considerate and aware, which was a positive surprise - I've seen some terrible and aggressive driving towards learners in cars.

End of the day, I've passed but to be honest I think I really need to spend some time just driving to get more familiarity with the controls/clutch. My positioning and observation were fine - as I'd expect from the driving and cycling. My issues are all around clutch control.

[Foxy Stoat seeks Pig]

Good job.

When I took my CBT in May I honestly didn't feel ready to take to the roads but I did anyway. After that I knew I needed road time so got a cheap 125 to runaround on. Served as good experience for my DAS.

[mckellar]

I passed my CBT yesterday.

There was 4 of us in the waiting room, turned out 2 people waiting were there as they weren't of a good enough standard for the road ride on the 1st attempt. The 3rd guy would be the guy with me all day and it turned out he had already passed a CBT, ridden a bike for a year etc.

I bought a YBR125 and literally got a quick once round my housing block the day before with my dad who has ridden for 40+ years. Felt like i was comparing myself to him a lot as he got everything perfect almost each time, although he did manage to slam the front brakes a few times mid corner which sent him all over the place.

I managed not to stall once on my CBT, the instructor (personally) i felt didnt teach me enough about using the clutch at low speeds and also for cornering by not fully extending the clutch out as a few times i flung the bike wide at corners on the off road side (their track wasn't great, slight gradient and also very tight compared to the streets)

I really fluffed the figure of 8. the other guy zoomed ahead did it in one. Instructor never told me really how best to do it and to this day i still haven't really got a clue, although i managed it eventually i think it was luck i got it.

Road ride was really good, instructor was good and very precise over the radio and he made us feel comfortable. only twice did he need to tell us off, guy with me cut infront of someone at a roundabout and i was too far left on a roundabout going straight on.

Both of us passed and i genuinely think we both did well, i have done 150 miles on my wee YBR since yesterday and loving it, although you sure as hell notice the bad drivers.

Going to get some make shift cones and go to a car park and practice

[isitafox]

Did my CBT last week after years of umming and aahing. I've been riding bikes since I was 3 on and off (I'm 33 now) so well practiced in general riding, clutch control, gears, etc but I was still really nervous, more so with the addition of thinking about indicators and the fact we all wore full face helmets (I'm claustrophobic and hate wearing a full face!).

There were 3 of us on the day, should have been 5 but 2 didn't show. The other two were a lady my age who's husband surprised her that morning with the days plans, she did the test on a moped, and a guy who had never driven a car or bike before so was his first time in control of something with an engine. We got lucky with the weather as it was pretty clear, not too cold and not too windy (the test centre is in a bad spot for wintery weather) and so the off road section was pretty steady, no problems just getting used to riding a road bike and looking over my shoulder, looking when approaching junctions and stuff. The only bit I was a bit slow with was the emergency stop and turning in the road as being a trials rider I naturally favour the front brake so had to stop myself from using it over the rear. Really enjoyed the road ride, instructor was great, clear, the roads we went on I knew which made things a lot easier for me when we had to negotiate 3 busy roundabouts one after the other and I was quite sad to get back to the test centre. All passed no problem so now I'm just on the lookout for a bike, got a few pushbikes to move on before I do however but I'm hoping to get sorted before Xmas with something along the lines of a Honda XR125 and then get my full test done before the Summer depending on how I get on.

[Guest]

Did my CBT last week (I'm 33 now)

Pop over to newbies section and introduce yourself

Well done on passing though

[PoppetM]

Yay in passing! And get that DAS booked so that will be the last time you do the figure of 8.

That was my excuse for doing It and within a week I had got shot of the 125 scooter and now have (too much) fun on a 750 .

Really good investment, teaches you so much road safety more than they can fit in on a CBT, and after 15years of a car licence with o accidents I still think it makes me a better driver and more aware.

[Liveware Problem]

Did my CBT today, arrived excited and nervous at bike2bike's CBT centre in Thatcham (a small tarmac area behind a local football club)

There were just four of us, one who'd been riding motocross for ages, another re-doing their CBT and the other guy who had ridden a scooter on holiday.. I was the only complete novice!

Once the instructor had taken us through the bike controls we started on slowly riding around trying to control the bike with the clutch, rear brake etc... I quickly realised my multitasking abilities were not up to scratch!

Kept wildly revving whilst snatching at the clutch.

Next was low speed manoeuvring practice, slalom and figure of 8.. still struggling, wobbling, then whilst trying to make a tight right turn at the top of the slalom cones I somehow opened the throttle up and smashed through the barrier at the edge of the tarmac, came off and got the bikes handlebar quite wedged in the bars

Still, the instructor was great, just helped me retrieve the bike, said you're not a biker till you fall off! Must have been pretty funny to watch

We carried on for a while, then it was time to go out on the roads - I was quite surprised the instructor was prepared to let me out actually!

So we put the earpieces in and set off through the leafy lanes around Thatcham, then into Newbury. I think the motocross guy was getting pretty impatient with my slow progress but it was pretty terrifying even at 30 to begin with!

I repeatedly failed to cancel my indicator and also kept putting my foot on the rear brake so it looked like I was constantly braking, not to mention changing down instead of up and visa-versa

However... It was exhilarating! So different from driving a car, although that's still enjoyable. Not really looking forward to Mod 1, given my slow speed issues, but guess I'll hire a 125 for some more practice beforehand.

Phew, sorry for the essay

[Lw.]

A bit of advice please (long read sorry):

I did my CBT yesterday & didn't pass (/failed/need more training/whatever), this may read like I'm just bitter & there must be loads of new people that come on here for a moan but I don't think this is that & I could do with a second opinion from some impartial people (you). I'd read a couple of dubious reviews of the school online but they were the easiest one for me to book & get to on the day so I thought "how bad can they be?". I'm not going to name them for now as I haven't spoken to them directly yet, just want some opinions...

The group, four people; I've never ridden a motorbike before (I'm in my 30's, have been driving cars for years, cycle a lot & have on occasion blasted a quadbike round a few fields), one guy re-taking after two years on a geared bike, one guy re-taking on an automatic scooter after failing on a geared bike & a girl that I didn't really speak to but she had her own auto-scooter & seemed to have ridden it around a fair bit previously.

After the explanation of what the different bits are & what maintenance/tests you need to do we pushed the bikes over to the practice area. There was one go of being pushed by someone else then feeling out the biting point of the different brakes then it was everyone on your bikes in a line - "now I want you to ride around that cone & come back, like this"... No mention of where/how to sit on the bike, what revs to give, what to do with the clutch etc... just off you go in turns. I was rubbish - stalled it a few times but then jerkily managed it. The second time I had a bad moment, lost control of the bike & had a bit of a brain freeze - I stayed up but it was revving like crazy & only didn't shoot off because I had the clutch in a death grip, only then did I realise I still had the throttle on. Rubbish I know, at that stage I was definitely not good enough for anything other than a disused car park. The feedback from that was that I need to remember to shut the throttle off before anything else (I feel like that could have been useful information before hand).

After that it was two goes each of U-turn, figure of 8 & emergence stop. With the U-turn & figure of 8 I was the only person that did both both times without putting my feet down though though he said I did it just ticking over rather than using slow control of half throttle half clutch & using the rear brake. Emergency stop was generally fine though there was no instruction as to what speed we should have been going or where we should have started our run up from - it was just ride towards this line & stop when I put my hand up. I did stall it at the end of the second time too though he didn't seem too fussed about that.

Then it was a few cone junctions turning left & right, on to & off "main roads" - I thought this went really well, my slow control was better through the junctions & I was changing gear fine - I was feeling pretty confident, we did this for a few minutes.

Then it was break for lunch - at this point the instructor told me I hadn't passed the morning session because he was worried about my slow control; he thought my start/stopping, gear changes & junction were all fine but he was just worried about my slow control & didn't want to take me out on the roads in case I messed up with the throttle again & had a crash. Gutting. Off home I go, it's 12 o'clock.

I was pretty deflated at the time but I didn't want to argue with him because I feel you should respect the opinions of the instructor, he's an experienced professional & at the end of the day it's his job on the line plus at that point they're never going to change their mind anyway so it'd be pointless. So I say ok & thanks then shuffle off.

Now I feel I was being punished for a mistake I made in my first few minutes of being on a bike despite showing massive improvement, if I was that bad why was a capable of doing the rest? And if I needed more practice at the slow control stuff why wasn't I given it? I paid £130 for a days basic training & bike hire but what I got was a bit less than half a days basic testing & half a days hire. I don't think I received that much training at all in fact & that the only reason I could do the things I did because I'd watched videos about where to look & things for the maneuvers plus a general knowledge of how to change gears using a clutch.

Now he said he thought I'd definitely pass next time & that it's discounted to £75 on re-takes but I feel I should have been given more time/training on my first day so shouldn't have to pay even more more. It's almost to a point that I feel it was a bit of a scam & I was always going to be failed because it's easy money.

I've spoken to a biker friend & he thinks the school sounded like they weren't very good & has suggested somewhere else but he would say that because he's my friend. At this point I'm loathe to give them more money & think I'd rather just book at this other place despite it being back at full price.

What do you people think? Is my experience usual for a CBT & so am I just being a cry baby or should the school have provided me with more time/teaching & so a better learning experience? Please be honest, as I say I've never done it before so I don't know what's right so could do with some third party perspective.

Thanks!

[Hoggs]

Hmmmm based on my experience I got a lot more tuition on how gears work. we did lots of stop starts and slow maneuvers.

also based on reading through here ages ago I think a lot of people got the next day free if they weren't able to complete the course on the first day?

sounds a bit sketchy if you can afford to pay full whack else where I'd go somewhere else

just my tuppence worth

[Guest]

I'd just rebook with another school ASAP and get it done. The extra £50 is small change compared to what biking will cost you

Any doubts you have about the school may linger on your retry and put you off. Best to clear you head as you know you can ride the the bike, you just need to finesse your clutch control.

Good luck

[Arwen]

I agree with Hoggs, sounds a bit sketchy. Starting off with "ride over there and back" is not how I was taught. We did lots of learning clutch control first, simply moving a few inches, then a few feet in a straight line.

Sounds more sketchy to me that someone who had been told to come back was there too.

However, If you feel you have learned enough, just go back and bare with them, do the road ride and get your certificate. Then never go back to them!

If you feel you might not pass, or simply do not want to see them again, then yea just bite the bullet and book in somewhere else. Not all schools are horrible.

[Lw.]

Thanks for the feedback, I think I'll book with the school my friend told me about; it'll be good to see how they compare & to maybe learn some extra bits from a new person. It's not really that much extra to pay for a bit more peace of mind.

[Lw.]

Took my CBT at the place my mate suggested today (Pinewood Motorcycles to be exact) - passed & it was awesome! Everything I could have wanted it to be; loads of time practicing stuff, everything explained, no rushing & plenty of one to one if there were any issues. Makes me quite angry at how crap the first place was in comparison but lesson learned - they won't be getting any more money from me! Looking forward to getting on with lessons & full license taking now!

[Hoggs]

so glad you had a good day LW!! it is a real shame there are some schools out there who seem to value money over student experience.

[Lw.]

Thanks! Yes the original place really did just take the P, the difference in instruction is so staggering that they really can't both be called basic training! I will be contacting them to let them know how much of a let down they are (I know nothing will come of it but it's only fair to give them an opportunity to respond).

Today was great - I've gained loads of knowledge & it was fun out on the roads!

[savo318]

I must say that my experience of the CBT was great.

I went a centre in Kingstanding for mine near a little church. I paid £140 for the gauranteed pass.

The instructor there was really great bloke, took things at my pace, always happy to stop and answer questions.

All in all he turned a day of nerves into a very chilled fun day.

[Jacko]

Yesterday was windy (25 - 30mph), raining and really just another typical British summer day.

So I went for my CBT all ready for the rain, but completely unprepared for the wind.

The wind almost knocked me off when doing one of my u turns, and although I put my foot down, because I had done figure of eights earlier, and two successful u turns, I passed

This pass is a massive thing for me, firstly because I did it on a manual bike and I'd never ridden one before, and secondly because I'm almost 44 and had Epilepsy from teenage years, so never been able to drive until the last few years.

The help I have received from family, friends, the test centre and here at TMBF has really helped, now all I need is insurance, boots and to put my L plates, yay