CBT - Experiences of other Members

[Guest]

Here's mine:

I did my CBT a month ago.

I was the only person doing it that day, which I found surprising since it was a Saturday. I've only ridden an automatic scooter before, for two days on holiday a couple of years ago. So have never ridden a geared bike, or anything above 50cc.

I do have 6 years car driving experience though.

I did my CBT on a CG125 which the centre provided, but I already had my own helmet, gloves and Jacket (all off ebay cheaply, will get better gear over time).

I did a few hours on a netball court riding around cones and practicing moving off and basic observations. Then we had a coffee and a doughnut while he told me what I was doing wrong. After that it was out on the roads around the Fens (the centre was in Ely). The roads weren't busy and I felt okay, if a little nervous, I did find myself grinding my teeth, panicaing at junctions and gripping the handlebars so tighly my arms and wrists hurt.

After two hours riding around and practicing some moves, that was it, he said I was okay, but couldn't understand why I didn't want to do the DAS straight away. I just want to practise by myself for a while first.

So overall, apart from my muscles killing me for the rest of the weekend, it went fine. I bought myself a Honda CBR 125 for £750 off a chap on ebay and it's running okay, I'll book my full test soon.

[Guest]

did mine a couple of months ago - twice.

Really didn't get the hang of gears first time - I've never driven anything before, whereas the other 2 people could drive cars. Am I in a minority, going for a bike before a car?

The instructor pretty much gave up on me and called it early, after about 15 mins of me stalling and not being able to pull away. I did the rest of the cones, turning exercises etc. on a 50cc moped - twist and go. Didn't go out on the road.

I went back a couple of weeks later (had to pay full price again) and did the whole day on the twist-and-go, felt a lot more confident.

Bought my bike, had my friend teach me gears, stopping and starting, all that on a private bit of road. She was much more helpful that either instructor, to be honest. Maybe it's a girl thing - I've been told by a few friends that ride bikes that instructors don't pay so much attention to female learners... anyone else found this?

Anyway I'm a lot more confident now, still need a few more practice runs then I'll be ready to pootle about for good

[Keith Brief]

Here's my experience of the CBT:

My wife very kindly bought me a lesson and the CBT for Christmas last year. I'd owned a scooter for a number of years previously and though I didn't ride it very often, I'd always enjoy it.

When my wife was booking this, the instructor told her that the CBT is not a pass or fail test, the concept being that it's more educational and a test of competence. Should he deem me unsuitable to ride on the road following the initial tuition and test, he would continue with me until I was capable with the only charges being for the extra tuition.

Additionally, he stated that I should have a suitable safety helmet, motorbike gloves, motorbike clothing and sturdy boots, in the absence of motorbike boots.

On the lesson itself, we started with basic road requirements. I've had a driving licence for 20 years and was surprised at how many incorrect assumptions I make in regard to the Highway Code.

As I'd not ridden a geared bike before, we went through finding neutral, how to "balance" the brakes, chain tension etc. Initially I wheeled the bike whilst the engine was running and applied the front brake. I then began to ride the bike around the car park in just first gear and then on to performing starts and stops at the instructor's discretion. I managed the figure of eights but really came to grief on the hill starts.

Eventually, the instructor suggested that we go on the road (I think he feared for the bike's clutch) and I was fixed up with the one-way headset.

Actually, despite the failure to perform a hill start with the mirror,signal, manouvre and actually pull-off procedure, I was absolutely gagging to get on the road.

I found changing gear relatively easy and howled along the back roads until I came to a place called Blackboards. Anyone who knows the Isle of Man will be familiar with the place. It's a hairpin and the access from the back road is made up of a hillstart on an adverse camber. I took one look to see if it was clear and made a very untidy exit. I awaited a bollocking but none was forthcoming. It transpired that the headset wasn't working.

Now it gets worse. I was hungry and thirsty and I really should have mentioned this. Thus concentration levels were falling and I completely blanked-out on how to come down through the gears. I started to approach junctions totally dumping the clutch which obviously, is very dangerous. We had a little discussion about this and I continued.

The next problem was at the Quarterbridge - a busy and badly driven sequence of islands on the TT Course. I was unsure whether to go round a vehicle on the inside and promptly stalled the bike which then refused to go into gear. At this point, I was ready to drive home. The instructor was also getting a tad irritated as he'd been impressed with me initially and I was now struggling (tip - don't lose it with the customers, eh?).

I managed to get myself together and did the U-turn, emergency stop etc. without any problems.

I managed to stall just the once more as we rode through the Saturday shopping traffic and was relieved that the instructor had been delayed when I made an untidy turn back to the test centre.

By now, I was really dehydrated and once we'd stopped, I told the instructor that I would prefer to take the CBT another day. He gave me a strange look before telling me I'd already done it and passed and apart from the clutch dumping problem and the need to look around junctions more, I was fine.

I thanked him and vowed never to get on a bike again.......

Three months later, my wife announced that she'd like to do her CBT.

I had no problem with this though I did suggest that she should get some practice in first. The next thing I knew, our bank account was £700 lighter and I was being asked to go and collect a 1993 Yamaha SR. I told her there was no way I was riding the bike back but she insisted.

This was when I truly learnt how to ride to a basic level though the Prostitute (the SR's been ridden by many though never been loved) was too cramped. I then spent a couple of Sundays riding to an industrial estate and taking my wife through everything I had done on the lesson.

She flew the CBT and we are now awaiting the practical test following successfully passing the theory and hazard perception tests.

My comments:

If at all possible, try to make sure you can operate a bike before the CBT or at least investigate how one works. I didn't know motorbikes had a rear brake that was foot-operated or that first gear was down and the rest up.

A moped, in my case, was more of a hindrance. I think the reason I was dumping the clutch was that after riding the moped which has a levered rear brake, I was automatically using the clutch in the same way.

Finally, take water. It's not easy being nervous, learning something new and being dehydrated.

When the front wheel is in the air, come off the gas.....

[steer_rally]

Just got back from doing my CBT in and around Carmarthen.

It was just me and the instructor, so I had his full attention, so to speak. After loading the bikes on to the trailer we headed off the the yard for the basics. Having not ridden before, except for trundling up and down my drive in 1st, I was nervous to say the least, but my instructor did his best to put me at ease.

We started with pre-ride checks, clothing, mirrors, oil, tyres, chain etc, then through the controls, clutch, brakes etc, how to get on and off the bike, putting the bike on the centre stand, and so on.

Then on to starting and stopping. Having explained the mirror and shoulder checks, when to use what, I rode up and down the yard a couple of times, getting used to controling the clutch, starting and stopping every few yards to get the hang of this.

Then on to walking the course which makes up the yard test, and watching the instructor riding it. Then I got to practce each separate part in turn. I was surprised at the size of the course and how much room you get. First walking the bike backwards into a parking space, no problem. Then the slalom, which was no problem, but for some reason I couldn't get my head around the figure of 8, must have had a mental block because I kept doing something that at best resembled a figure 69, which under different circumstances I would have been more than happy with . Slow riding at a walking pace came next, and I found myself riding the back brake here, not sure if I should have been, but the instructor didn't comment and I forgot to ask him later.

Next came hazard avoidance, riding down the yard and round the corner to head back up, then swerving to the right to avoid the cones. Had a couple of attempt at this, just to get my speed up - until then I hadn't realised that the larger numbers on the speedo were actually kph, I was quite chuffed to be doing the swerve manouver at almost 50 until the instructor pointed out that I hadn't even hit 30

Emergency stop came next, and I did ok, didn't lock up the wheels, but couldn't quite get myself co-ordinated to do the signals, indicators, pull over to the side, and ended up paddling off to the side. Tried a few more times and got it right eventually.

The only thing i had trouble with was the U-turn, until I finally started to trust the bike not to fall over, pulled the bars over to full lock and hey presto, perfect U-turns every time.

So far we've been in the yard for about half an hour, the instructor's been very patient, and explained everything very clearly. We had a five minute break, sat down for a chat and then he drops his bombshell: we're going out on the road, up the dual carriageway to Macdonalds for a coffee. And I'm leading. Ok, I thought, I've been driving for 20 years, I know these roads pretty well, I can see the golden arches from here, how hard can it be. So I installed the ear piece for the radio, on with my lid, almost ripping my ear off in the process, check the radio's working, check my arse is clenched tight, and off we go.

Ok, now, riding up and down the yard is one thing, mirror, shoulder, yeah, whatever. Now it's for real. 10 yards out of the yard we come to a roundabout. Shit, there's a car coming, er mirror, indicate, no, shoulder, no hang on, what gear am I in? Er, which one's the brake again, which exit did you say? Tell you what, why don't you go first and I'll just follow you? Forgot, you can't hear me can you? Anyway, five minutes later, I'm starting to relax, trying to talk myself through the procedures before we reach the next exit/junction so that I know exactly what I need to do when I get there.

To cut a long story short, got our coffee, no dramas, then spent the next couple of hours riding around town and the surrounding roads, stalled once on a roundabout, consistently forgot to cancel my indicators, but soon got the hang of checking mirrors and lifesavers. My main problem seems to be positioning myself correctly on the road and getting myself in the right gear. Also had some trouble with the radio, I could hear "left" and "right" but anything more complicated than that just sounded like garbled static.

Anyway, three hours after arriving at the bike shop this morning, I've got my CBT certificate in my hand, I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, got my theory booked for Wednesday, and hope to book the Direct Access test in the next week or two. If I have any advice for someone about to do their CBT it would be:

1. Make sure you have the right clothing, and that you can actually ride with them on. I borrowed a nice leather jacket from a friend, fitted ok when I tried it on, but was quite tight accross the shoulders when in a riding position. Gloves I got from LIDL (Yeah, I know, but skint at the moment), were ok until I started sweating a bit and then the lining came out whenever I pulled the gloves off. Boots, worth getting a pair of proper riding boots, my army surplus ones didn't allow enough movement, and I soon got cramp in my right foot and I found it difficult to tell whether I'd changed gear or not.

2. Don't be afraid to tell your instructor if you don't feel confident in going out on the road. Being a bloke, of course, there was no way I was going to say anything, but I was truly crapping myself when we first hit the road, but wouldn't have minded a bit more practice around the yard first.

3. Try to learn the basics of starting and stopping, changing gears etc before you go, you've got enough to think about when you're out on the road, without trying to co-ordinate your hands and feet. Having said that, don't worry if you can't, as you'll soon get the hang of it in the yard.

4. Concentrate, but relax. As soon as I started relaxing I found I had far better control of the bike around corners and could take the time to think about what I was going to do next instead of banging it into gear, any gear, hitting a pedal and hoping it's the brake etc etc.

5. Have fun and enjoy yourself. I did the CBT with DRJ in Carmarthen, had a whale of a time and will be back with them for the next stage of my training.

[Guest]

hi all,

Well got through my CBT today, was me and three other lads. Probs talked about clothing, safety and the bike we were doing it on for about two hours. Then it was off to the yard for some slow riding. Think I under estimsted it a little, took a few minutes to get my balance and get used to the clutch, but I think I done pretty well, only time I stalled it was when I accidently left it in first and released the clutch. Think we done about four hours of slowing riding, in and out of cones, figures of 8, u turns, faster riding, juctions and emergancy stops. Had a break for something to eat then hit the roads.

Didnt get off to the greatest of starts as I stalled at the first junction then we had to go back to change the radio's as they weren't working poperly. Then I made a mistake, was in second gear going slowly round a roundabout and the engine stalled. So was stuck on the roundabout until I could get it going again. The instuctor said I should have been in first, but earlier he had said I should use first gear as i do on a car, but I dont go round roundabouts in first in a car. But that was the last time i stalled and the rest of it went smoothly.

Overall Im happy with the way it went, but need to work more on road positioning and just take my time. The instuctor was a good alough he could be a little impatient at times. Looking forward to starting bike lessons now but deffo gonna get some gloves first, the ones they had were in a bit of a state and I can still smell them on my hands now. Theory next saturday and I might try and start lessons on the sunday.

[Hywel]

I got through it! It was just my dad, another guy and myself doing our CBTs with two instructors overseeing us. In the carpark I picked up the gearing quickly, balance was fine and cornering was smooth as soon as I'd gotten the hang of looking through to where I wanted the bike to take me. After a massive breakfast roll from a burger van, a few emergency stops and some figure 8's we were taken onto the industrial estate for some slightly more realistic road-ish experience coupled with some faster emergency stops and U-turns etc. The instructor on a Kawi ZX14 (pretty sure) took me and my dad, while the instructor driving a Triumph Tiger took the other bloke. At first I had trouble remembering to cancel the indicator (car habit), but after 15 minutes I was fine and we went out into the real world. First couple of junctions / roundabouts felt sketchy because I sometimes didn't know whether I was in 3rd or 2nd but I got used to the gearbox and my riding felt a bit smoother. Stalled once on a steep hill start but apart from that it went without a hitch. Loved it through and through, we spent ten or fifteen minutes going through some twisty bits at 40 - 50 mph (feels quick to a noob on an sr125), and I had the stupidest grin on my face through the whole stretch. I'm sold on this biking thing, the pops is too. We're getting a ybr125 to share next weekend for a bit of practice but I fully plan on getting my DAS done asap so I can step it up to a Hornet 600 or a Bandit 650.

In summary the instructors were awesome and very good teachers, the weather was great, and we all had fun. My only complaint is that it ended too early, we had our certificates by 2pm . Can't wait to get back out on a bike now.

I went with UMAT (http://www.umat.co.uk) by the way, and having the CBT cert from them means I get 20% off everything in the Cardiff Hein Gericke, a credit card and I shall be paying them a visit tomorrow.

[adams]

I've read some pretty shocking experiences of CBT, so I shopped around a bit for mine, and ended up paying £75, weary of the fact this was pretty cheap for the CBT and that it might be a dodgy start to biking, but set off nice and early to the Goodwood Circuit.

When I got there, I could see two bikes set up in one of the paddock stands. I'd never even sat on a bike before and wanted to jump straight on one of them and start riding, but to my instructor's credit, we didn't even go near the bikes at first, explaining the need for proper safety equipment and all of the other necessities of biking. We carried on steadily through the modules, and despite me being the only one who hadn't ridden before, the pace was decent enough for the old-timers , and for me to pick up completely new skills.

We managed to get out on the road (luckily I'm a car driver so didn't have to deal with the new hassles of the highway code) for the full time needed, and the instructor kept in regular contact, even if it was just telling jokes. I know what you're thinking, annoying right? , but I found that it eased the mood, as well as letting me know he was there, just in case!

I passed the course with no worries, and jumped straight on my bike the next day, confident that I had the basic skills to get me on track.

For those of you that are interested, I did my course with 'Just Bikes' - based at the Goodwood Circuit, thoroughly recommended!

[hurtank]

my CBT i did a while back in april.

I rode a piaggio zip (bag of shit. never EVER get one) it started off a very early (5 am) morning. chilled out on the comp for abit. opened a beer (straight away though otherwise and got milk) and waited for 7am which is when i needed to leave becuase i was going to jog to the CBT center as i read it helps get the mind going when i got to the CBT center me and some kid called jeremy were the first there. later some army people turned up they were home for 15 months from iraq and wanted to tour on bikes. obv needing there CBT

First off we had a coffee and discussed basic saftey gear E.G helmet,gloves,jacket ETC. Then we took a look at the... well i wont call them bikes. they were so small i coulda sworn 4 year olds were more likely to use them. we went through the basics on the bike. throttle brakes ignition. starting it, killswitch. petrol cap oil cap. brake fluid checker majig. it was somewhat boring becuase really it was common sense for most of this. exept oil and brake fluid. oh and killswitch. then we took the bikes out into the carpark and did simple things like, putting them on the stand and pushing them in a figure off 8 just to get used to the bikes weight. we then after laughing at lawrence who couldn't put his own bike on the stand and then dropped it did the eye sight test. at first i went wrong but then i noticed my stupid contact fell out. so i put in a spare pair. (yes i carry round a spare set ive lost so many contacts mountain biking that you just get ued to changing them)

We stopped for lunch where me and the army brats went to Burger king in there 2007 BMW m3 when we got back from lunch we went back into the breifing room to do some work on the white board. simpl things like what does this sign shape mean. blah blah. its quite helpfull lawrence was brilliant here becuase i wasnt 100% i asked him to slow down a few times for my to understand something properly and he never had a problem after this part i knew those stupid army brats were talking about me but in my opinion better safe than sorry.

We went into the carpark to do a small driving session with some cones. this was probably the biggest waste of time ever becuase the mopeds were twist and go and the scenarios were really once again common sense. like turning right off a road with noone comming infront but with cars behind you (for those who havent dont there CBT a life saver if used which is chin to right shoulder. never further as you can lose balance) this was really dull but for the sake of the army brats using geared bikes neccessary after about 2 hours of riding on the carpark and being told off for going more than half a mile an hour over the gravel (in all fairness it was quite stupid now i think about it) we finally left to go on the road

THE ROAD WAS GREAT! we had one way headphones and lawrence would give me and jeremy instructions (army brats were waiting becuase he wasnt allowed to take more than 2 people out at once.) we were driving down some public roads not too busy thanks to it being easter sunday we neede to stop at a petrol station as jeremy s hair dryer (ever tried a piaggiozip? then do) was running low on petrol. after being instructed to take the turning into the ptrol station he skidded and fell off whilst trying to slow down. however in my opinion if he had ABS he'd have been fine but then the insurance... and i have a feeling bikes cant get ABS. we got petrol by which point lawrence was almost shouting at jeremy as if he had judged the stop properly he would have been fine. we then got back on the road with jeremy still leading as he still needed to learn a few last things. we got about 1/2 a mile from the petrol station when we came to a give-way and jeremy pulled straight out and into the front of the new BMW police cars. lawrence lost it. and we pulldover. i sat laughing for a good 20 mins during his er... pep talk about how hes glad hes not that stupid (if you would have seen it. i dont blame lawrence for saying it. at this point jeremy thought it neccessary to own up for being at a party the night before and having just over an hours sleep) at this point lawrence called our road driving. we pulled up back at the CBT center and he came up to me and asked me "dan, you think that was fair yes?" i replied" well. yeh i mean just imagine if that was some chav doing 40 MPH in his car not a copper patrolling. hed have been stuffed." lawrence then went on to say he was happy with my riding and that i could have the certificate saying i'd passed my CBT i was chuffed

Probably the best day of the year so far

Now i dont even ride a twist and go. i moved onto a geared bike which i reccomend to anyone planning to move onto a bigger bike.

[Guest]

Okay..

CBT basic bike instruction, L-Plates and max 125cc.. retest after 2 years

Part 1, restricted to 33 bhp, and no L-Plates for a couple of years then automatic upgrade above 33bhp. take test on 125cc (can ride a 500cc but restricted to 33bhp)

Part 2, for older riders go pass 33 bhp onto bigger bikes, take test on 500cc bike

read here, all you need to know..

http://www.themotorbikeforum.co.uk/view ... 16&start=0

[Guest]

Had my CBT a few days ago...

I'd had a couple of hours' introductory session a couple of weeks earlier on a CG125, but that was all the motorcycle experience I'd ever had. That said, I'd enjoyed the session and already made up my mind to get a bike of my own, so I turned up in shiny new leathers (the only student with his own kit, incidentally), and needed to get my certificate that day so I could ride my brand new CBF125 home the next day. No pressure, then...

We started out with a chat about the bike and about protective clothing, then went outside and started with a tour round the machine, its controls and the necessary pre-ride checks (POWDER-brakes-the-chain). It was quite quick, so I was glad I was already reasonably familiar with the machine. Wheel it around in a circle, back it into a space and put it up on the centre stand - job done.

Then we had to push the machines up an incline from the classroom area to the car park. This was hard work in full leathers and helmet and we all arrived knackered.

Then the exercises started, beginning with pulling away and stopping, then riding slowly round the car park practising looking where you want the bike to go and general all-round observation. We covered gears and clutch control, then figure-8's and U-turns.

I initially struggled with the figure-8. One of the instructors had borrowed my bike to demonstrate something, and had decided that the clutch was badly adjusted (a previous student had obviously dropped it and bent the lever slightly - which didn't bother me at all so I hadn't complained about it). Unfortunately his adjustment moved the biting point, so the earlier practise at finding it all went out the window and I found myself just revving the engine and going nowhere. As soon as I asked the instructor to readjust it back to where it was before I was fine

Emergency stops were next, no problem there, then they marked out the car park with a few 'junctions' to practise stopping, checking for traffic and giving way. Then, finally, it was lunchtime

After lunch was the on-road ride. This started out on one of the access roads on the site, which is wide, quiet and flat, where we learned about counter-steering. I know some bikers have a mental block about this, but I was amazed just how easy and predictable it is - push the left bar to go left, and the right bar to go right. That's all! I'd initially been nervous of the whole concept as I know it's sometimes regarded as an "advanced" topic, but really - there's nothing to it, and it makes turning the bike much more controllable than just leaning over and shifting your weight around.

Then we headed out onto the open road, where really the only problem was keeping speeds appropriate. With due apologies to the traffic we held up, all I will say is this: 40 mph in the open air with nothing but a leather suit for protection feels like about 90 mph in a car! But I never really felt under pressure to go faster than I was comfortable with and, to his credit, the instructor did a pretty good job of keeping following traffic out of our way.

We stopped after an hour for a very welcome cup of tea and took in some great roads on the way back. Halfway back the other student I was with got separated from us and the instructor had to leave me parked up for 15 mins or so while he rode around the town trying to get back in touch on the radio to find where he was - radio coverage was poor around narrow streets and tall buildings. Eventually we were reunited and headed back to the school, a bit late and tired but none the worse for wear.

Everyone got their certificates and I picked up my bike the next day. Riding alone - even a few miles on familiar roads - was much more nerve-wracking than a much longer ride with the instructor alongside for reassurance.

There's no substitute for practise IMHO. Riding a motorcycle has a steep learning curve and I think it'll be a while before I feel ready to go for DAS, so I just need to get as many miles in on my 125 as I can. It doesn't feel like too much of a hardship, though

[Guest]

Riight, so did my CBT today. As I said in my other thread, it was slightly one of thoose ''Nightmare ones''

So the day started off, I've got no bike experianced for 6 years(that was minimal anyway. When I a kid). So I told them I was a complete novice and never touched a bike before. Anyhow, I see 3 other people turn up... One of the women is a riding instructers wife who had ridden bikes and scooters alot when she was younger and knew everything because of her husband.. Oh dear, the second was a guy that did his CBT a couple of years ago and had been riding for ages, similar story with the other girl there. So me, thinking. Oh god, my suspicisions were right. The instructers we had took it at the pace of the people with experiance. I was stopping and starting and they were doing figure of 8's, anyway you can see were this is going. I was dragging behind, my confidence was low because they all looked like experiance riders and the instructers seemed to have a ''keep up or you'll be left behind, we will help you ever once in a while'' attitude, every so often they would come over and help me for abit. (I had was pretty lost at this point and wanted to give up! ) Anyway after this was done, another instructer, who was a top guy took me 1:1 (Which I bloody well think it should be anyway for a pretty much newbie. I'm not paying £115 for no reason!) Had an hour, improved alot then started to enjoy it. Then the other instructers wanted me to go back to the main group (dreading it, because I felt like a fool holding them back) what I suprise I had missed half of what they were talking and doing in the last hour and they were suprised I couldn't keep up?!? Use your brain son!

Anyway, after lunch I was told I wasn't suitable to go on the road yet (Well never... How about teaching me and not leaving me behind then?) So the saving grace.. They put me one to one with another instructer. Who as I said was a top bloke, for 3 hours in the afternoon. I improved loads and really enjoyed my self. Clutch control was good, changes were good, practicing junctions and the like was all good. I was about what I should have been after the morning, (if it hadn't of been a waste of time!) so at 4pm abit disgruntled I finished for the day, so I have to go back on wednesday to do the road driving and get my certificate.

I was abit suprised with one of the instructers attitude, very cocky and it was like he didn't relise it was BASIC training.

Anyway, the afternoon was good fun and I learn some tricks. My day was really saved by my bike coming tonight.

So yours instructers with an attitude. If I don't start by learning to start and stop i'm not gonna be able to do figure of 8's and change gear and the likes within bloody 20minutes!

Kinda half on half if I want to go with them for more training now. Truely one of the guys was a w**ker. But he was an aussie. Needed to get his head out of his arse!

Anyway, that's my account, rant pretty much over.

[Guest]

done my cbt friday in the pouring rain, turned up along with 3 others. 1 who had done cbt before,1 female who just wanted to go on a 50cc scooter to do it. me and other boy had no experoence of bikes at all.

after our class room chat about road safety it was out in yard doing the basic starting stopping figure of 8's etc

i found i was slightly behind in the slowstuff but as day went on instructer noticed this and put us in twos the female and guy who had done cbt before then me and other boy.(all he really done was give us a bigger bit of yard to use).

after all the slow stuff we had lunch and went out on roads i was shaking like mad for first few mins but found my instructer very helpful and reassuring.

after about an hour on the roads he took us through high street with cars and people every where, it was scary as so many things could go wrong. only thing for me was guy opening door in front of me but i managed to get round him.

also at a round about i went from 3rd to 1st and let clutch out and back end skidded slightly it was a good wake up call.

instructer said it was great day for it in the rain as once you have drove in it the ry days are alot easier.

i have to say i really enjoyed it and am looking forward to getting myself booked in for my das sometime soon.

[Guest]

Did and passed my cbt today!!

Slow manoeuvres were hard for me due to taking a while to get used to the clutch and rear break control, and i stalled lots!!

The first part of the ride on the roads was also quite tough, but on the ride back home after a break i was SO SO much more confident and doing things like changing down gears, breaking etc was much easier than on the first part of the ride. They became a lot easier and more like second nature compared to the start of the day. So just relax and enjoy your self, take your time and dont worry about holding all the traffic up... and i'm positive you WILL get the hang of it in the end!!

Goodluck everyone!!!

[houltmac]

Hey guys, just thought I'd add my experience here also. I have no prior bike or scooter experience at all and I don't drive a car either. I was starting from scratch. I booked a DAS course (5 days including the tests) and was told it was do-able from scratch. I had my doubts but trusted them.

I got really nervous when I arrived this morning, and then finding I had another learner with me (16 years old, was bombing around on a scooter for a while) made me more nervous of being crap or looking a fool. Day 1 nerves kicked in hard.

We went through safety and maintenance and so forth. All talky and not a big deal. Went over the controls and then were asked to take the bike off the stand and put it back. Then we walked them around before we got them started. First going and stopping and then did some clutch control exercises. Started changing gear and then more clutch control. The second time round I seemed to find it more difficult; revving the engine with or without any clutch in first and there was no pull at all. I got a little miffed and a little embarrassed and the instructor told me to stop and put it in neutral. I couldn't. First, second, no neutral no matter how hard I tried. We turned the engine off and tried again. It was fine, just getting a little warm he said–not entirely my fault. Cool.

Started again and did a little better. Then we did U-turns (not too bad actually as long as you look where you want to stop) and left/right junctions. I felt a little un-coordinated but was told it was fine. A quick go at emergency stops and we were good.

We had lunch and then were told we had to go out and "play in the traffic". Oh crap. I didn't think I was ready, I was sure I'd kill someone. What if I got flustered? Then the heavens opened. It was torrential but the instructor was insistent we went out, but made a huge deal about breaking distances and going slow round corners. I was told to lead (great!) and turn straight into the cities busiest roundabout (double great!).

Long story short; we got drenched. 2 hours non-stop in the rain which just came down harder and harder. It was a nightmare. I led most of the time since I was on a geared bike. I felt I did well. I kept up with traffic, soon learned not to ride the rear brake (told just once and then noticed myself a couple of times without being told). I felt there was still a lot to do at junctions, but found starting the second the instruction was given gave more time. Learned to pay more attention to when I think the Amber light is coming (again, to give my brain time to retrieve the new information and put it into practice) and that helped too.

We did hill starts (easy enough) and then also a couple more U-turns and emergency stops. Good job we practiced too because I had to do one at the traffic lights going down hill in the rain. The instructor pulled up next to me and looked quite impressed. The petrol cost £1.06 for the day and we headed home. My feet and hands were soaked, but the rest wasn't too bad thanks to waterproofs.

We had been out on the road for 2 hours of which probably 1.5 was me leading. It felt good to be on the road and it dawned on me; I'm riding a motorbike. I couldn't do that this morning. It may not have been fluid or elegant but it worked and no on died. I was surprised to hear I'd passed and we were going in to do the paperwork. Even the instructors were moaning about the rain - it was super heavy.

I really enjoyed my first day. I surprised myself and every minute I'm on the bike it feels that bit more natural. We'll have to see if performance continues to improve so well, but I feel way better. A long way to go but I'm not shitting bricks now. Wicked fun and I can't wait for tomorrow.

Start time: 9AM On bike: 10AM Lunch: 12AM Streets: 12:30AM Finish: 2:30PM Finish paperwork: 3PM

[skatefreak]

Hey there all.

Managed to get my CBT out of the way yesterday

Through pure luck i was the only one there that morning so it was 1 on 1

We ran through everything in the usual order but I was supprised at the amount of clutch control required.

I did have some issues getting to grips with the clutch control and whilst working on the figure of 8 i was getting worse and worse untill i stalled the bike. Took this as an omen and got off for a ciggie. The instructor was being very patient with me at this point as i was just not making any progrss, my arms were aching and i was just not concentraing... We had a chat and he admitted he prefured smokers as they take more breaks and somehow, in a way i cannot even begin to explain, i got back on afterwards and within minutes was cruising around slipping the clutch, using the break and actually looking around!!! Felt like the bees knees! I have to say that a number of times throughout the entire day i wish i had taken more breaks because even though i ride a BMX a LOT (to and from work etc) the muscles used in the arms are quiet different and i found myself straining to get the accuracy required for the throttle... Lesson learnt... Take More Breaks! heh

Anywho, we broke for some coffee and he suggested the roads to which i just asked for a little more time to play on the bike, i did some more clutch work, pull aways, gear changes etc and before we went he even said i would almost have a good shot at the first half for the main test on a 125 *grins*.

So thats the good, once we got out onto to streets it was downhill for a fair bit more... I let the stress of being on the road get to me and was trying to do everything at once and getting myself confused and muddled etc.

I went from being proficent in the carpark to having to be stop every 10 minutes for silly little mistakes (somehow the instructor behind me could see EVERYTHING! aka, hand off that break, dont need it! why are you playing with the back break! your costing and in first, we'r not even at the junction!... yeah i found a bad habbit or two lol)

We went through a town and some country side and it took a while before i realised i was capable of riding and i needed to pay more attention to whats going on around me and forget about *how* to ride the bike and just let myself do it naturally, it felt like quiet a lot to ask for, only having been on it for half a day but i was certainly getting somewhere.

Towards the end i was really enjoying the ride and have to say i'm keen to get back on although i will certainly be spending some time in a car park and i asked if i could come back after i got myself a bike and if we could go for a ride just to be sure i dont get into bad habbits and such so that will be a good thing to do in a near future

All in all i have to say it was a very good experience, i felt pretty good on the bike in the carpark but then felt pretty silly out on the road trying to rush everything and such, eventually got my head together and with the help from the instructor i am aware of what i am and am not capable of and what i need to pay attentiont to in the future!

A very friendly and understanding chap and i would reccomend him to anyone in my area

-Jvr

[Danny-B-]

Au up all !

Well today (13thSept) was my CBT day ... what a great day for it aswell ! Sun shining in the sky, only last week it had been terrential rain !!

First off i couldnt find the damn place ... i knew where the location was .. but not which unit on the industrial esate, so i had to phone my mate who knew, he directed me there no probs, turned out, when i phoned, the enterance was just bloody behind me !!

Anyway i got there with 2 minutes to spare ... appologised for nearly being late, which wasnt a problem.

No one else had turned up for the CBT so it was just me

He started off by looking at my licence etc then showed me round the bike all controls etc (i'd used a geared bike years ago to mess about on so i knew anyway ... but nice to recap i spose)

Then upstairs to the classroom to go through safety equipment etc, helmet, gloves, boots, jacket

Now ! time to do some practicle stuff, so he took me downstairs and let me choose a helmet that fit properly (he explained how to tell before)

Then onto the bike !

The training area was bloody tiny to say the least ! but off i went just riding round clockwise, a little jerky at first as first gear is and i hadnt learnt use the clutch properly yet, but off i went getting better each lap. Then he made me go the opposite way ... same thing really ! just got used to it, slipping the clutch, alls good !

Now changing up to 2nd gear ! so faster than before but funnily i found this easier than before.

Then setting off from a standstill and getting up to 2nd going round then stopping again ... again, managed no probs.

Next he put two cones out, Figure of 8 time !!! Arghh

I was dreading this tbh but suprisingly, it went without a prob ..

Next he told me to ride behind him keeping to the right of him as he walked ... easy enough .. no probs there

Back up stairs to talk about road placement, lifesaver checks, mirrors etc

Then he setup the cones like a road junction, i had to check mirrors, indicate, lifesaver, move into the correct road position, stop at the junction, look both ways then lifesaver before moving off ! must have done this a good 10 times untill i was able to do it without bumbling the controls etc

Super !! that was that for the first stint, LUNCH TIME !!!

Bugger all open there so its a good job i brought my own lunch.

Reet now it was time to go on the open road ! Whoo i thought ... before thinking ... SHIT!

Got the clobber back on and the radio ... he explained how it worked, and what to do if i lost him or vise versa on the road.

If i lost voice i had to tap on my helmet ...

Happy with all that we set off. The first junction i coudlnt hear nowt and i knew he should have been telling me what to look for etc so i tapped my helmet as he explained. Sure enough it had a loose wire so i couldnt hear him talk !!!

After a short fiddle i could now hear him and we set off again.

The next two hours went by like 5 minutes but everything went great, i was feeling very confident changing gears, manouvering etc anyway to end the on road part he took me back to the industrial estate to do an emergency stop, i didnt really enjoy this .. it kinda felt like i was sure to come a cropper. It went ok but i feel i need to practice this more tbh .... tried it twice, stalled the 2nd time but managed to stop ok.

Quick U turn at the top of the road which went without hickups then back to the unit.

that was me finished CBT issued by 2pm !

Lessons are booked now and the instructor was very happy with my progress, he recons that well start the next lesson streight on a 500cc ..... Couldnt be happier

Fak me .. its a bit long winded this post innit !! ? have i missed anything lol?

[Anton17]

Just made a thread about this but thought I'd make a post here since the replies have helped.

I failed my CBT yesterday. I had three hours sleep and I was stressed as hell (just since I wanted to do it so madly). I am the kind of person who if I don't get it right the first time, I get annoyed at myself. After a few hours my tiredness and stress levels set in and I was losing concentration. I managed to complete all the maneuvers in the pad but some took a few attempts and some time (clutch control, slow speeds, junctions). I had never driven a car or bike of any kind before apart from a push bike so I had no gear or road experience. I was on a geared bike and looking back now I did well to get where I did.

I wasn't perfect but he took me out on the road and I made a hash of a traffic light junction in the first 5 mins. I missed the turn, stalled, and went for the turn again. I should have carried on and we went back to the school. I was annoyed at myself and very stressed. I am glad it happened now since if it happened on my own it could have been a disaster and it gives me some time to chill out. I'm going to try and go back in the week, spend a couple of hours practicing things I want to be comfortable with and have another shot at the road if I am ready.

It is good reading these replies since my confidence took a battering and I didn't have any to start with. It is hard when you haven't done it before and it was a lot to take in and remember and when you beat yourself up, accidents happen. I did for a short while think about throwing in the towel since I just felt that bad I didn't do it, but I'm going to keep trying and do it if it kills me. I think some more sleep and regularity and practice is all I need to get out and be ready. And if it isn't, I'll try again.

[GazzyG]

Hey guys! Finally got my CBT over and done with on Sunday =)

Arrived at the school bright tailed and bushy eyed for 8am... hungover from my 25th bday party the night before. Nice.

Was myself and my brother learning on CG125s and a lady learning on a rev-n-rip. Two instructors.

Spent a good few hours in the baking sun on the playground learning basic maneuvers and just getting to grips with the controls. Did a bit of classroom work, then it was out onto the road - myself and my bro with one instructor, then the lady with the other a while later.

Spent a good two hours cruising about Leicestershire before finding an industrial estate on which to crack out our emergency stops and u-turns.

Was a pretty strenuous day, especially because of the boiling weather and the hangovers, but it was well worth it. Great fun - I'd consider it not just useful but a really fun day out.

I would THOROUGHLY recommend Leicester Motorcycle Training of Syston. Andy and Karen, the two instructors, were extremely supportive all through the day. The lady who was learning alongside us managed to send her scooter flying through the air and into a metal fence, completely knackering the front of the bike. What did the instructors do? They made sure she was okay, laughed about it, sat her down with a cuppa tea and a paper then vanished for half an hour returning with another scooter. They got her straight back on and by the end of the day she was confident on the road and passed her CBT.

I will definitely be returning to this company for my DAS =)

[Anton17]

Just came back from my second shot of the CBT since I failed on the road test prior...

Passed!

Spent half an hour in the cage before start to get used to the bike and clutch again and then we went on the road. I cut into the right hand lane on a roundabout when I was going straight on and he gave me a good grilling about it, then we went and did it a few dozen more times and I was fine. Finished with some minor turn-ins and the emergency stop and u-turn - let's go back to the unit!

Chuffed. Just gotta get my own bike back from the shop later on and I'll be off.

Was much better when I relaxed... just hard to chill when you need to keep telling yourself! All the replies here did really help and felt much better knowing that other first timers had the same problems. The instructor I had this time round said my last one was pushing me too hard for starting out but he was much better and up for it, really eased me.

Looking forward onto the road with my own bike, and then onto DAS in a few months!

[matty6660]

Heres my experience:

The CBT started at 8:20am and I live on the IOW so I had to get up at 6:00am because I had to get over to Fareham to do the CBT. So I was nackered before I'd even started. When I got there, my instructor checked my licence and the counter-part, along with the other boy's licence who I was doing the CBT with. He was also 16. However, he forgot to bring his counter-part with him but our instructor said that he could do it just this once. After gearing up and finishing my cup o' tea, we headed over to the car park where the scooters where waiting for us. We both chose our scooter (the other boy's electric starter didn't work so he had to kick-start it everytime), then we went over the controls of the scooter. Then we took the scooters off and on their stands (they weigh a ton!) and we pushed them round in a circle while using the brakes. After that, we checked the petrol and oil levels and got ready to drive them.

Firstly, we just drove up and down the car park getting used to the stopping distances and turning. I though it was actually pretty hard to balance on the scooter (that's why I bought a bike after, much easier to balance on). Then, we got used to using the indicators, head light switch, horn, and the kill switch. After driving around the car park for about 2 hours, we finally felt kinda ready to drive on the road .

We then sat in the shade and went through the necessary highway code rules and learnt all about general road safety This took about about an hour. Then, after we felt confident about how to drive on the road andand which lanes to go in etc, we got ready ad set off to drive on the road. This was the hardest part of the whole CBT because it's really scary when you haven't driven on the road before. I think the other boy had his own moped and he drove around his driveway at home but I had never even sat on a bike before. The 2 hour drive went o.k. I managed to go the wrong way a couple of times because the headset radio that I had kept cutting out so I couldn't hear the istructor 100% of the time but I managed o.k. Nearing the end of the drive, I accidently jumped the curb when pulling out of a junction but the instructor said that that sort of thing doesn't really matter on the CBT whereas if I did that in my light motorcycle test, I would fail. Lastely, we headed over to a petrol station where we filled up our scooters. I used about £2 of petrol for the whole day. Luckily, I brought my wallet with me because we had to pay for our own fuel... the other boy I was with didn't have any money on him so he borrowed it from our instructor. Then she told us about how to check the tyre pressures and what kind of oil to buy for the scooters and we set off back to the CBT place. She then told us both we had passed (I was surprised) and she issued us with the CBT certificate. The next day I boguht a Yamaha TZR50 geared bike so my dad had to teach me how to drive the gears but it was pretty easy, it only took about half an hour to get used to as I'd driven a car before. I find it so much easier to balance and start and stop in a straight line on a bike than a scooter.

Hpe this story helped some people with what the CBT entails. Thank you for reading!

[K3zzer]

My experience:

I was 18 (1 year ago) when I decided to book my CBT. I booked it for a Sunday morning from a driving school which operated on a school literally 5minutes walk from me - so I had no problem walking down there. I got there and found that another lad was doing his CBT. He was 19-20years old and had already done his CBT once, coming back for his second time.

As I read earlier, it really makes the CBT difficult when you're with another person who knows everything already. We got read the safety laws, how to take corners etc and went outside to get on the bikes.

The experianced rider took the Scooter (easy way out!) whereas I took the YBR125. Baring in mind, I had NEVER ridden a bike before - let alone handle the gears. We pushed the bikes around the school yard for a bit and then went onto riding them around the yard slowly. When I say slowly, that's what we were supposed to be doing. I'm a very overconfident person when I get the hang of something you see. So, when my instructor told me to 'ride around the yard in first gear around 10mph and perform a u-turn', I interpreted that as something different.

So, I hopped on, did a few laps of 10mph. I then decided to get up to 3rd gear, accelerate up to 40mph on the yard, slam my front and back breaks on, hop down to 1st gear and perform a u-turn. When I got back, my instructor said he thought I was going to crash and laughed about it all.. He said I was doing very well for a first time learner. He taught us about the bike, oil, wheel care, bike security etc and said we could go onto the road for our practical. WAHEY!

I jumped on the bike and began to follow him out of the school yard. When we got to the junction to the main road from the school, I stalled it and couldn't get it back up again. My instructor helped me to start it and off we went. He took us up to a place called Newcastle which funnily enough, has the most dangerous roundabouts I've ever seen in my life. Yes, he decided it'd be a good idea to get us to go on these roundabouts.... God, I hated him!

I lost him on the first roundabout because I was scared of pulling out when cars were coming. So, we found each other and continued on our way. The next roundabout, we lost the other guy who was taking his CBT so we pulled in and waited. I rolled my bike down a pretty steep bank on the pavement. The other guy came. However, I was stuck... Trying to get up an uphill bank, it just wasn't working! Pull the throttle, release the clutch, oh it's stalled and my bikes rolling back down! My instructor taught me how to ride up banks and that was my pass for the upbank start! Funny how it just happened there, but I wasn't complaining.

On the way back, we were on a 50mph A road into Stoke. Now, since the other guy was on a 50CC scooter and was doing 30mph, I thought screw this! I performed my first overtake on my CBT, accelerated up to 50mph and overtook him, slowed down and rode behind my instructer. When we got near the school, a car decided to knock my confidence by driving literally 1foot away from the back of my bike. I was constantly looking in the mirror, shitting myself.

Got back, passed my CBT - I was chuffed! He said I was a very quick learner. The other lad complimented me on how quick I learnt and we all went our separate ways!

[Guest]

So I did my CBT yesterday.

When we got there we did a bit of talking about safety gear. Helmets, gloves etc. This laster about 20-25 mins.

Then we went on to the training ground to practice the basic stuff like stopping and starting and figures of 8. On this bit I was behind, the other lads were a bit in front of me so I was a bit slower at picking things up. The instructor I had was great though, he stayed with me and explained everything to me and what I needed to do etc. I completed all the training ground things so then we went back in for a longer theory talk.

Then we went out onto the roads, I really enjoyed this and I felt pretty confident. I didn't really make a cockup, but the insturctor said on some corners I was a bit wide so I needed to work on that - All that stuff will come in time.

So all in all I got my CBT certificate and it was a really good day.

[rac bolton]

Did my CBT test this morning after years of not riding a bike.

All the usual stuff Saftey chat,controls of the bike,stoping,turning,figure of eight, Then out on the road up to rivington, quick stop at the barn for a brew.

When i got back he then took me out on a 500cc bike ! Loved the whole day n realised what i'd been missing all these years

Told just to get the hightway code done and come back for a test. Can't wait !!!!

[Guest]

My CBT experience is as thus; (lol)

I did mine at Mercury Training in Bolton. I think they have a really good operation going, they use Yamaha SR125s and Kawasaki ER-5 for the DAS.

£80 for the course including tea and biscuits, gear (helmet, jacket, pants, waterproofs), bike... Excellent value, and i was surprised that they had such a range of gear. They fit 6-8 bikes on a trailer, with everything else!

So i arrived at 8:00ish, was the first there. Followed shortly by a guy called Dave i think, good guy (he was the other guy with me for the ride out). There was one guy who came on his scooter to re-do his CBT (turned about to be the worst rider of us all :/), a guy who'd never rode before, but had an 05' Ninja 600 waiting for him at home! :/ Dave had rode when he was a lot younger, but hadn't rode in decades, he was wanting a bike for his retirement. Good on him!

So anyway. We started with the "what we're doing today" and safety talk with tea and biscuits, fun fun. After that, we got all geared up, took about 10 minutes or so. Then we had about 20 mins of being told about the bikes controls, a few tips, and then we all learnt to put the bikes on the centre stand. I can't remember if everyone went for another brew after that lol, but shortly after we got riding around the car park! Just round in circles anti-clockwise. We were riding around, i was in second gear, when one of the instructors stopped and asked if i was ok to start changing gears, and i was like "i'm already in second, ha" which was cool.

While everyone was still circling, on of the intructors called me over to try the slalom, told me to slip the clutch and keep revs up, i took to that quite well found it easy.

After everyone had gotten used to the slalom, me and Dave were shown the figure 8, and i was amazed but i could do it straight away! Didn't even put a foot down. (Did anyone else think it was more difficult to turn right than left at first? It just felt different lol). Only did it about twice before i was sent on my way, i took the others a lot longer, i dont know why.

After that we learnt the controlled stop, the emergency stop, then we were taught how to mirror, signal, check, manouvre.. And learnt road positioning for certain turns (left into minor, left onto major, right onto minor and major...) then we learnt the U-turn.

After that we went in for another long talk about bike maintenance, road safety, rules of the road... that took quite a while actually. Then we got radio'd up, split into our "teams" and set off. We were told "you WILL be out on the road for two hours, no matter what weather" which i thought was funny.

The ride out went really well, although we got seperated a few times, we also sorted it out.

Then back to the car park to get our certificates! was very good The instructors were just my kind of people, proper funny they were. John's a big scottish guy who takes no shit and speaks his mind, Barrys a really down to earth, no nonsense guy. Really good fun! If you did something wrong (or even not quite right!) they wouldn't hesitate to tell you They were very thorough, wouldn't let u go on unless you did it just right

[dixie]

The morning of my CBT was fine (had already done one 4 years earlier on a moped) Went out on the road ride and found that I kept stalling the bike.

All 3 of us were asked to come back to finish our road rides. Went back to see a different instructor, who happens to be a family friend, he took me out and 10 minutes into it i stalled at a mini roundabout...Guy behind me hadn't noticed me and hit me. Was stuck under bike and pretty shaken up, luckily no injuries and bike was fine. Pretty big dent in guys citroen picasso tho

Got my certificate that day too, apparently only because it wasn't my fault and I'd ridden well for 2 hours after that.

Never stalled since at a roundabout though. I'm always extra cautious now