CBT - Experiences of other Members

[CRAIG 711]

Having had my license for over 20 years now i never had to take a cbt but reading some of the storys here i would offer this word of advice see if your training company will train you before you go for the cbt i know 2 counties training here in nottingham offer what they call taster sessions in wich they give you Training on a 125 on things like handling slow control cornering etc they are £20 for an hour the people that i know that have used them said they really helped them get the cbt

[RantMachine]

Did my CBT earlier today, and can highly recommend against ever using Bike Sense if based in the Cambridgeshire area. It was a like the first half of Full Metal Jacket, only I was paying to take part - every mistake we made was met with dramatic displays of exasperation or criticisms, which largely caused us to make the same mistakes again and again courtesy of the pressure we were under. The radios were patchy as all heck, which often meant that the first time we heard him giving us instruction was the point when he was angrily shouting it (of course, I'm assuming that he said it calmly beforehand). Various conflicting instructions, constant accusations of not taking it seriously, and an unbelievably stressful general atmosphere made it INCREDIBLY hard to focus. Very nearly resulted in a horrific stall/unintentional wheelie/hit by bus incident, which was less than fun and left me wondering if I'd touched cloth.

To give a balanced view on things, it certainly all sank in. The threat of having to come back again if I failed certainly kept me motivated! And I imagine it trained me to cope with riding in stressful situations and whatnot.

TL;DR

Don't use Bike Sense unless you respond well to being shouted at. Masochistic streak would be a plus.

[mat087]

That's shocking that

[Abraxix92]

CBT 17/04/2013

So just finished my CBT today and decided to write here while eating my food!

Well i arrived early, as always!

I meet my instructor and he says ahh, look's like you've ridden before, as you've got all your own gear, i said no i haven't and he was like oh, looks like im teaching 2 new riders for once, today should be different.

Then came the other novice, we was given coffee and he was surprised for some reason that some-one so young was addicted to black coffee.

We then had a introduction, which didn't seem very long and i honestly cant even remember it now even though it was today!

He then showed us how to take the stand up and back on and also showed us the side stand (this one had two) (Suzuki GN 125? or EN 125)

He took them both across the road to the "playground"

At the playground we both did very well apparently, and had been asked if we hadn't been riding before! so i was feeling great, after about 2-3hours just toying around in the playground we went back across the road and learned how to use the ear piece and also go through the highway code before heading out.

So we headed out with the other novice in front, it was all going very well, but for some reason after about 20miniutes into the ride i got a sudden set of nerves...... my clutch control was getting pathetic, and i mean really jumpy, but didn't stall it....

Until we rode around 10miles into my local town, i did well until coming into a roundabout i've always dreaded going around...... the novice saw a gap and took it, i had to wait.... then stalled.... then stalled again...... and again..... by now I'm getting extremely frustrated with my self and forgot to hold the clutch in and tried going almost taking a Audi's back end out, eventually the instructor was shouting come on and get it going, hold the damn clutch, i finally managed to get past the round about when we found out the other person just carried on going, the instructor didn't sound happy swearing a little bit, but after we found the other guy we decided to go to a small industrial estate to pull over and have a smoke.

As i took my helmet off he said i didn't look too pleased with my self and asked where the hell my outstanding playground knowledge has gone, i told him the truth, I'm nervous at the moment and frustrated with my mistakes, he just told me to keep calm and carry on and remember to turn the indicator off after turning. (me and the other novice had to be told about 2-3 times while on road)

Suddenly as we turned onto a dual carriageway i had this burst of confidence were i was making little mistakes and finally getting a "cleaner" clutch. We even did a little overtaking after practicing it on a buss then pulled in to put people in, i was pretty proud about my self although i was struggling to get a lot of speed (i think i went into 5th a little early)

Later on while heading back to base camp me and Ian (instructor) had to pull to the kerb on a slight hill around (10-15%) to wait for the other rider as we managed to take a gap, i was doing well, didn't stall once after we had the half way chat, was concentrating on my clutch control, until we set back off on the hill and that's well..... I PULLED A GODDAMN WHEELIE! it was accidental and went only a few yards, but he just said, Aaron, that was a nice wheelie and good reaction to get it under control, i was a little angry as i thought maybe if i did a clean run back to base the past mistakes will be forgotten, but while we pulled up to a store to get more smokes, he just laughed and said i bet you won't do that again and grinned at me.

We pulled up to base again and parked up and as i took my helmet off i didn't seem happy as i honestly thought i was going to have to re do it the next day, we had a little talk about the clutch and he said once i get my own bike it will come naturally, it's because you made it feel like a test (which i did) which it isn't just relax and you will do perfectly fine.

He then awarded my CBT and i was so happy, then i got funny looks on the way home in my gear and my helmet.

I think the thing that was putting my off a little was constantly looking down at the HUD as the bike told you what gear you are currently in...

[Darkest-Star]

Did my CBT last year year with A1 motorcycles in Gateshead. Went with them as the nearest test centre is right next door and they know the examiners well and know the routes they use for module 2.

Anyway, on the day there four of us, two new to riding and myself and another lad had ridden before, seemed like the other does his CBT every two years for his 125.

We registered, paid, had license checks etc. then safety lecture do's and dont's and shortly after out on the yard. They supply 'gear' to use, helmets gloves and jackets with a hi viz over for safety.

The gloves, we were warned, were a bit sweaty and a bit smelly. A BIT??????? I scrubbed my hands or about 30 minutes when I got home and used bleach and I could still smell eau de sweat the day after.

We had the walk around the bikes, Yamaha 125's, learnt the controls brakes etc, started up, instructed on clutch bite points amount of throttle for this and eventually selected first gear ant were allowed to travel forward and stop using rear brake only, then front brake then both.

We did loops around the yard clockwise/counterclockwise, slow nd a bit faster, instructed not to look at the clocks "they won't tell you anything" look ahead where you want to be (very important and valuable advice). What seemed like about 1 hour or so later the two complete novices took a break and us other two went out on the roads, simple as that. Put intercoms on and of we go.

I don't know all the roads around Gateshead and Swalwell but we rode around for some time here and there, various road types, roundabouts and junctions, got left behind at a junction in Team Valley but I know that place well and the instructor was still in contact by radio.

When we got back he did say we both did well, I knew I had missed a couple of gears and didn't cancel indicators once or twice but for the first time in a long time I was chuffed. I was more amazed when the pass cert. was issued it seemed that easy.

So if you are reading this and planning to do CBT good luck and relax and enjoy. Get gloves in advance ( I assume other instructors have minging gloves!!!)

A1 at Gateshead are good lads with good banter. Not sure how girls would react but I suppose language would be moderated in their case.

[Dav3y]

Did my CBT yesterday in preperation for the DAS course i have booked next month. I did do CBT about 20 years ago so i guess i had a little of the expectations beforehand.

Day started out with making sure we were all kitted out with safety gear and a check on own helmets for those of us with our own. We then walked across to one of the instructors when called over and received a nice name sticker and a quick eyesight test. Once we were all stickered up and ready to go the course was outlined to us as to the purpose of giving a rider the basics before going out on the road. We then had the two different types of bikes explained to us in terms of controls/instruments/starting/basic maintenance.

From there we proceeded to the first exercise of taking the CG125 off and on the stand. I was 6th out of 8 of us and got it right first time. Having done this many times before when i had a bike 20 years ago it was useful to be reminded the correct way of doing things especially in terms of keeping it balanced and under control at all times with the front brake.

We then pushed our bikes over to one of the lines in the playground and lined up and then got on the bikes. The instructors got us to start the bikes up and put them in 1st gear and back to neutral. When i got to my turn i missed netral and when straight to 2nd and then automatically did a slight push down to find neutral again. The instructor commented that we learn a lot from that.

We then proceeded to slow riding using the clutch and rear brake to control our speed instead of altering the engine speed.

Other exercises followed including figure of 8 and slalom around cones, emergency stop. The emergency stop i had 4 goes at. First time although i stopped fine i faffed around changing through the gears so i did it again. 2nd time i locked the back wheel breifly so was told to do it again without the back brake at all. This was fine so then did it again with the rear brake as well.

Next we did our maneouvers for junctions after an explanation and demo. A stop and a give way for going left and then the same for going right and then one more for major to minor road without and with a vehicle coming in the opposite direction.

We then had a road safety talk and some questions and then the first 4 of the group were kitted up with radios and went out with the 2 instructors while the other 4 of us were left to wait for them to come back. The instructors said we could practice while they were out with the others.

We all took this opportunity and i particularly practised getting used to the indicators as i'd had a few troubles with getting them to come on or change from right to left which it seems you can't do on the CG and i suspect most bikes now as you used to be able to do when i had my RD125 many years ago. 2 of the others seemed to improve in their riding style while we waited and the other guy like myself had a quick practise but was fairly o.k. with things as well (he was doing a CBT renewal for the third time although he currently doesn't have a bike) and we both commented there's only so much you can practice in the confinement of a playground.

The instructor i was going out with returned and i went out with him and the other guy doing the CBT renewal. We took tuns at leading with the instructor following and the 2nd of us following. Both of us us did pretty well and we got to practice a u turn and emergency stop on a nice quiet road (got it spot on first time with the stop). Did a bit more riding out through some country lanes, housing estates taking in roundabouts and junctions and then headed back to the training centre.

Both of us got issed with our certificates and my instructor asked me if i was doing the 3 or 4 day DAS course. I replied i don't know, whatever i need i guess. He said i only need the 3 day and should be fine with that based on the riding he'd witnessed.

Overall a pretty good day and it seems the other guy that's 24 might well be doing the DAS course as well as he's a tall lad and will have trouble finding a reasonably priced 125 bike to really fit him and what's the point anyway if he wants to move onto a bigger bike later on.

That's my experience, hope it might help others.

[NooBish-AbbZ]

Any experiences of RJH Salford in Manchester? Booked my CBT for next week

[rhino]

I'm so glad I read this thread as I went for my CBT on Monday and couldn't finish. Too Dam hot and full face helmet was terrible. And I fell off twice, I do have health issues and breathing is one hence my claustrophobia with the helmet. After reading all this I have decided to wait till the weather cools off and try again. Will even try to borrow a helmet from someone, open face will be so much better. Next time ill do it. Oh and by the way Im 65 years old.

[Guest]

hello, am really pleased I joined this forum and read through lots of peoples CBT experiences. really made me feel better about my aborted first try. I just couldn't bring myself to go out on the road when I felt so incompetent! so I opted out, came home feeling very sorry for myself and trying to convince myself I would never be able to ride a proper bike anyway. I even tried thinking of the things I could spend the money on! it took me a couple of days and still doubted what I wanted to do. then I came onto this forum. thank you all for your honesty, really made me feel "normal" and not incompetent and "old and past it" as I started to believe I was. going to book myself in again as soon as I get a free day. watch this space.

[rhino]

Go for it, you can do it. I felt the same as you and now I'm on the road after doing my CBT and loving every second of it. Good luck.

[Guest]

Go for it, you can do it. I felt the same as you and now I'm on the road after doing my CBT and loving every second of it. Good luck.

thankyou, am gonna try

[klingelton]

once it all clicks together, you will wonder why you ever struggled! We all have to take those baby steps before being competent, don't let it get to you!

[Guest]

once it all clicks together, you will wonder why you ever struggled! We all have to take those baby steps before being competent, don't let it get to you!

thankyou, have just re-booked, so here's hoping.

[Tango]

once it all clicks together, you will wonder why you ever struggled! We all have to take those baby steps before being competent, don't let it get to you!

thankyou, have just re-booked, so here's hoping.

Good on you......hope you're successful this time.....but don't get too hung up about it.....we all had to learn at some stage......

[klingelton]

I'm still learning!

[RidingTheWind]

Did my CBT just on the Sunday gone. Never had ridden a Motorbike before so was a little apprehensive to say the least.

I was there for a total of 4 hours. What had surprised me is that I've never ridden a bike before, and the instructor said he was amazed at how good i was at riding for the first time. Which I was chuffed about. After a couple of hours in the car park doing certain maneuvers etc... We headed out onto the road for what must of been the most relaxing moment in my life. Really enjoyed the couple of hours ride in the country side and local towns. Although did stall a few times but it's to be expected . It cost me £98 total for everything, Bike/Fuel/Clothing etc... So I purchased myself a Yamaha YBR 125. The bike is fantastic i must say.

So for anyone who's going to be doing their CBT, just try and relax. Have a good breakfast and listen. Most importantly Enjoy, and good luck!

Any questions related to CBT I'd be happy to answer.

(Y)

[rhino]

did mine five weeks ago and like you got a YBR 125 and your right they are good. Congratulations and go enjoy.

[Miss Meg]

So, did my 4th CBT yesterday.. Had so many issues with my bike during the off road stuff.. Luckily my instructor knows I can ride.

Need to get a new spark plug, gah.

So, on the road, my riding was filmed so I could pick up what I need to improve on. Did the Taunton - Minehead test route.. Need to be sure of the dual carriageway, very late breaking for joining on, for some reason I thought I was going into the dual carriageway without having to stop/give way, oops!.. I keep forgetting to turn of my damn indicator, only seems to happen when I indicate left.. no idea why so I need to keep a close eye on that. Need to keep my back break covered, or front, when waiting at traffic lights. That's pretty much my only problem.

Anyway, I managed to do a u-turn fine, no issues, figure of 8 needs work and so does my slow control... Need to work on my hand coordination with clutch and throttle.. but getting there.. Oh and I need to be giving life savers more often. oops!

[acting_strange]

It sounds to me Meg as if you should be spending a lot of time in a supermarket carpark on a saturday or sunday night practicing your low speed and maneouvres ....

[Miss Meg]

I'll be practising in westonzoyland airfield when I get a chance to go over.. Once I get my bike fixed.. My main riding was fine, slow and such not so fine grr! oh well, practice makes perfect..

[acting_strange]

I'll be practising in westonzoyland airfield when I get a chance to go over.. Once I get my bike fixed.. My main riding was fine, slow and such not so fine grr! oh well, practice makes perfect..

 

Remember when you are doing a figure of etight etc to look where you want to go...and make sure that you are rear braking as well as slipping the clutch and holding the revs whern doing slow maneouveres. Use the brake to control the speed not the throttle...lock the throttle at about 1200 revs get the bike moving on the clutch and then use the brake to control it....

[PiersR]

Did my CBT today and passed 3 other people, 2 women (early 20's and mid 30's) and then a bloke who was in his early 40's, so I was by far the youngest there (19) and instantly felt a little intimidated, as they were all drivers, and I have next to no road sense at all.

Arrived at the place, tiny shed-type thing was the office, and then a small training area, much smaller than a car park. Maybe 4 x 10m at a push. Went through a few basic instructions at the beginning, explaining which parts of the bike did what, what you should check before you head out, then got given our bikes. 3 of us were on a geared 125cc (Honda CG), and I got by far the shittest one. The other two were 05 plates, mine was an X reg. Their bikes had disc brakes, whereas mine had drum brakes that looked pretty worn and there was quite a bit of play in the throttle. Then there was a girl on a 50cc twist and go, which looked like it was in even worse condition.

At first we had to get the bikes off and then put them back onto the centre stand, something I'd never had to do before having only ridden bikes with a kick stand, so I nearly bloody dropped the thing the first time as I had no idea what I was doing, luckily the bloke grabbed it before it hit the floor. He showed me how to do it a second time and after that I had the hang of it, no problem. I was the first to go so I looked like a right twat. We then walked the bikes around in a figure-eight, which was no problem at all, the onto the manoeuvres.

Started off by just finding the bite point, which on my bike seemed to be the last millimetre of the clutch, which was a pain in the arse, so pulling away was instantly a fuss. Got used to it after a while but would have preferred a heavier clutch. We then moved on to just going around the area slowly, letting the bike idle its own way round, then coming to stop and repeating until we were comfortable. Then moved onto figure-eights and u-turns, then emergency stops etc, etc. One of the women dropped the bike whilst doing a couple of manoeuvres, so the instructors gave her most of the tuition, which was good as it kept the pressure off me.

We then went inside this tiny room, on four chairs that were all rammed together. I hadn't taken off my bike jacket so I was sweltering and my trousers were cutting into me a bit, so my concentration on the basic road instructions were overshadowed by my discomfort, but I managed to grasp what I needed. This went on for about an hour and a half of chatting about potential hazards etc. then we got ready to go on the road.

We went out of the gate one by one, I was paired up with the bloke who had already ridden bikes for years, but gave up a number of years ago due to having children (poor bast*rd), so he was already fine on the road. I was told that I'd be leading us for the first part of the ride, so I was instantly shitting myself as I have never been on the road before, not even had a driving lesson. Got to the first junction, forgot to check my mirrors before signalling. In my brain it seemed more logical to indicate first, then do all the checks, and it took me at least half an hour to get the out of my head and start to do it properly. I was also bloody awful at cancelling my signals after I'd done a manoeuvre, which I hadn't even fully managed to master right at the end.

I was definitely thrown in at the deep end as we were constantly doing big, 2-3 lane roundabouts, which shit me up quite a bit. had a few road positioning issues at first, and kept forgetting to use the rear brake, not that it helped much when I did remember to use it due to how SHITE the brakes were. We pulled into an industrial state area and did a few U-turns and emergency stops, which I did to a satisfactory standard. The bloke I was with was doing everything with ease, which made me feel a little uneasy and knocked my confidence slightly. We got into town and just did typical town riding, not too difficult but I was still getting moaned at at that point due to my lack of experience and to me there was a lot to think about at the time. We pulled over after a while to stretch our legs, at which point I thought we were pulling over because I was so terrible that I was going to be sent home - thankfully not. he said that I was inexperienced, but he could tell I had a natural ability and just needed to practice a bit more and I'd get it, which I did soon after.

Eventually we got out of the town and away from all of the traffic, onto the A roads with the NSL, which I enjoyed greatly. The little CG was quite good at higher speeds, and it felt more stable. Thankfully there were no really impatient drivers around, the road was rather empty so I didn't have to worry too much about traffic.

We got back and I was given my certificate then one of the women gave me a lift into town, which was very nice of her, where I got a lift home.

/fin

Edited September 10, 2013 by PiersR

[Bonniebird]

Congratulations for getting through your CBT - doesn't sound like much of an inspiring session though!

[PiersR]

Congratulations for getting through your CBT - doesn't sound like much of an inspiring session though!

 

I was excited to do it, but I was happy when it was over. i think if they guy was a little more supportive when I made a mistake it would have made it 100x better, but he just sounded really disappointed whenever I did something wrong, right from the start.

[Glorian]

I am finishing my CBT on sunday, was canceleld last time, i am quite excited especially as i know what to expect and what bike i am riding (Suzuki van van) i will post on here monday how it goes if i pass or not