Another DAS thread :) - Mod 2 passed!

[Kikesin]

Hey guys,

Been a while since I posted here but I’m always reading the forum

Anyways, long story short, I got my CBT back in April and bought my lil grom in May. Have been riding pretty much every day since then and covered close to 4,000 miles – absolutely love riding! Even on those wet days I much rather be on the bike than stuck in my car on rush hour commute.. yet to see what it’s like when its pouring down and freezing cold in the coming winter months. But I guess it will all add to my experience, bring it on!

I have completed BikeSafe course which I found hugely informative as a newbie and also Biker Down course which I hope the things learnt never have to be put into practice.

So that’s me so far…. But now I REALLY want to get my full license!! And that’s the reason for this post so I can keep a little log and gather some information from you helpful bunch.

I have booked my theory test last week which is due in just over 2 weeks time. Practicing on my phone with an app at the moment – didn’t have any problems for my car theory test so hopefully this should be alright!

Have inquired with my local bike school and DAS course works out to £540 (2 days Mod 1 + 1 day Mod 2 practice) or £620 (2 days Mod 1 + 2 days Mod 2 practice) which seems fairly reasonable to me? What do you guys think?

Also do you think 1 day Mod 2 practice would be enough? Guess I can only find out once I get on a bigger bike, right?

Mod 1 seems a bit more tricky , my slow speed controls are OK – guess filtering through Central London on rush hour helps! But this is the part of the tests I’m more worried about. From what I’ve read on here this seems to be the Mod that most people fail on compared to Mod 2.

One thing I am unsure of is whether to do the DAS as soon as I pass my theory test or wait till Spring time next year? Due to possible test cancellations due to bad weather etc. but how often is this really?? I just want my license

Have also seen that some schools offer winter discounts which would be a nice little bonus. Need to check this with my local one though!

That’s enough talking… I’m quite exited to get theory done and start some big bike training!

Any tips and info welcome

Based in SE London, so if you know any bike schools around here that you would recommend please let me know!

Thanks and sorry for the long post!

Edited December 18, 2017 by Kikesin

[Arwen]

Yay another grom!!

As for the full tests, so long as you are fine with the cold and the rain I don't see why not. I done my MOD 2 in March, in between snow flurries (days either side got cancelled due to snow/wind)!

For Mod 1, practice playing "the floor is lava" while on the bike helped me loads. I'm now pretty confident of riding any bike at a very slow walking pace. I done MOD 1 on a bike I really was not at all comfortable on (SV650, I didn't like the weight being so far forward and it felt too tall for me) but passed it no problems thanks to being very comfortable at pretending my feet were glued to the pegs

[Gerontious]

might be worth looking at the price differential for insurance with zero NCB and 1 years - which you will have in May. this assuming you want to change bikes as soon as you are rid of the L plates.

or perhaps.. it might help your finances to do your DAS asap.. and then consider the extra expense of insurance after passing... or with a bit of a delay and time to save between passing and the magic day in May when you have a years NCB.

from what I understand.. and I'm ready to be corrected. the difference between zero NCB and one years can be considerable. a deal breaker for some people.

[Guest]

I did my das about this time last year. Wrap up warm and you'll be fine. I did my training with 1 stop instruction who are based in Ilford so maybe not too far from you and they were very good. Good luck whatever you decide.

[Bender]

Welcome.

I thought you had to have passed your test for the bike safe courses?

[Tango]

Welcome.

I thought you had to have passed your test for the bike safe courses?

 

The Met do Bikesafe for learners......but not many (any) other forces do this......

[Hoggs]

from what I understand.. and I'm ready to be corrected. the difference between zero NCB and one years can be considerable. a deal breaker for some people.

 

no corrections here - mine went down from 670 to 350ish

[Kelbam]

I get my first years ncb in February but I've just bought a new bike and paid £103 to cover thget next 4months, paid £284 for the year for th 125, then when I changed my licence to fullgot charged £44 plus£44 admin fee.

Well and truly slapped but I just took it on the chin

I am so poor now though ):

As for doing you DAS, there's no time like the present! Might as well just wrap up warm and get it done! Did mine over 5days, passed mod1 first time but second time lucky for mod2. Even if you decide not to get a bigger bike til may, you still have that full licence. Though my plan was also to wait for my no claims and lasted all of about two weeks,bought the bike on Saturday and pick it up Sunday coming lol

Good luck!!

[Kikesin]

Yay another grom!!

As for the full tests, so long as you are fine with the cold and the rain I don't see why not. I done my MOD 2 in March, in between snow flurries (days either side got cancelled due to snow/wind)!

For Mod 1, practice playing "the floor is lava" while on the bike helped me loads. I'm now pretty confident of riding any bike at a very slow walking pace. I done MOD 1 on a bike I really was not at all comfortable on (SV650, I didn't like the weight being so far forward and it felt too tall for me) but passed it no problems thanks to being very comfortable at pretending my feet were glued to the pegs

 

Your grom inspired me to change the panel colours on mine lol.

My slow speed control is OK.. but this is on the lil grom! Will have to see what its like on a bigger bike. Local school use MT07 for DAS training.. which is actually a bike a really fancy <3

[Kikesin]

might be worth looking at the price differential for insurance with zero NCB and 1 years - which you will have in May. this assuming you want to change bikes as soon as you are rid of the L plates.

or perhaps.. it might help your finances to do your DAS asap.. and then consider the extra expense of insurance after passing... or with a bit of a delay and time to save between passing and the magic day in May when you have a years NCB.

from what I understand.. and I'm ready to be corrected. the difference between zero NCB and one years can be considerable. a deal breaker for some people.

 

This is what I'm unsure of as well.. the plan for now is just to get my license, and bigger bike in May once the funds allow and I have 1 year's NCB... thats if I can resist the temptation though which I'm assuming will be quite hard once I've had a go on an MT07!

 

from what I understand.. and I'm ready to be corrected. the difference between zero NCB and one years can be considerable. a deal breaker for some people.

 

no corrections here - mine went down from 670 to 350ish

Thats quite a difference! I paid £550 ish for my 125.. with the excess almost as much as this lol.

[Kikesin]

I did my das about this time last year. Wrap up warm and you'll be fine. I did my training with 1 stop instruction who are based in Ilford so maybe not too far from you and they were very good. Good luck whatever you decide.

Cool thanks, I'll check them out.. though its a bit far from were I am.

As long as you keep warm I'm guessing it'll be ok! thanks.

[Kikesin]

Welcome.

I thought you had to have passed your test for the bike safe courses?

 

Welcome.

I thought you had to have passed your test for the bike safe courses?

 

The Met do Bikesafe for learners......but not many (any) other forces do this......

 

Yep thats correct, the Met allow learners to do the course. Just had to show my CBT certificate on the day.

I believe they only allow 2 125's across the whole group though. There was 12 of us and only 2 125's. We both got 1 instructor and went a different route as we couldn't do motorway riding.

Was a really fun day riding through very narrow country roads, to big open twisty roads.. really recommend doing it

As a newbie, it really helped me with road positioning and awareness. Improved my confidence big time.

[Kikesin]

I get my first years ncb in February but I've just bought a new bike and paid £103 to cover thget next 4months, paid £284 for the year for th 125, then when I changed my licence to fullgot charged £44 plus£44 admin fee.

Well and truly slapped but I just took it on the chin

I am so poor now though ):

As for doing you DAS, there's no time like the present! Might as well just wrap up warm and get it done! Did mine over 5days, passed mod1 first time but second time lucky for mod2. Even if you decide not to get a bigger bike til may, you still have that full licence. Though my plan was also to wait for my no claims and lasted all of about two weeks,bought the bike on Saturday and pick it up Sunday coming lol

Good luck!!

Really, so you had to pay extra when you told them you got your full license? I wouldn't mind I guess, but its a bit illogical? Though they probably take into account you can now take pillions + motorway riding which increase your chance of any accidents :/ its such a con lol

Well done on the pass! How long had you been riding the 125 before DAS?

Lol thats what I'm worried about.. the temptation to just go get a bigger bike ASAP! Which bike did you get?

[Arwen]

I found when I got really good at slow control on the grom, once I had found the biting point of the clutch on another bike a few times my slow control was pretty much the same on it. MOD1 is mostly a psychology test in refusing to put your foot down

My insurance stayed the same when I phoned up to tell them I had passed my test. No admin charge or anything

As for the temptation of a bigger bike after you have passed... I think it's all down to what you feel.

It was about 4 months between me passing my test and getting my F700.

I am possibly weird in the fact I really enjoy my little bike. I see the bikes as having two different purposes. The Grom is purely a funny little toy I use for commuting. It is not at all "serious" and I never really treat it as such. I'm a very chilled out rider when I'm on it because I am there for bimbling enjoyment rather than getting from A to B as fast as possible.

All bigger bikes have felt much more "serious" to me. Probably because they are much more capable machines, and the sheer weight of them means I really need to concentrate when moving them around under my own power. The F700 is primary for longer distance rides and eventually touring for me. So its "purpose" is completely different to the Grom.

Don't get me wrong though, I still really enjoy riding it, but it is more an adrenaline and/or exploration fuelled enjoyment than a silly/amusing enjoyment. I see it in a similar way of enjoying two completely different peoples company at different times. The people can be complete opposites, but you do enjoy spending them with both of them separately.

[Kelbam]

I'm not insured for pillion use lol. Don't want to take passengers anyway, no idea how much more they would have charged me for that lol

[Kikesin]

I found when I got really good at slow control on the grom, once I had found the biting point of the clutch on another bike a few times my slow control was pretty much the same on it. MOD1 is mostly a psychology test in refusing to put your foot down

My insurance stayed the same when I phoned up to tell them I had passed my test. No admin charge or anything

As for the temptation of a bigger bike after you have passed... I think it's all down to what you feel.

It was about 4 months between me passing my test and getting my F700.

I am possibly weird in the fact I really enjoy my little bike. I see the bikes as having two different purposes. The Grom is purely a funny little toy I use for commuting. It is not at all "serious" and I never really treat it as such. I'm a very chilled out rider when I'm on it because I am there for bimbling enjoyment rather than getting from A to B as fast as possible.

All bigger bikes have felt much more "serious" to me. Probably because they are much more capable machines, and the sheer weight of them means I really need to concentrate when moving them around under my own power. The F700 is primary for longer distance rides and eventually touring for me. So its "purpose" is completely different to the Grom.

Don't get me wrong though, I still really enjoy riding it, but it is more an adrenaline and/or exploration fuelled enjoyment than a silly/amusing enjoyment. I see it in a similar way of enjoying two completely different peoples company at different times. The people can be complete opposites, but you do enjoy spending them with both of them separately.

 

Cool I'd love to get a proper touring bike some time in the future and just go travelling on it! The F700 looks really nice

I hate the thought of having to sell the grom but will have to happen when I decide to get a bigger bike unfortunately. I love the lil bike!

The lack of garage and having to park on the road (+London) imposes this decision.

[Kikesin]

I'm not insured for pillion use lol. Don't want to take passengers anyway, no idea how much more they would have charged me for that lol

 

probably a lot! are you with MCE by any chance?

Bet you cant wait for Sunday!

[Kelbam]

I'm not insured for pillion use lol. Don't want to take passengers anyway, no idea how much more they would have charged me for that lol

 

probably a lot! are you with MCE by any chance?

Bet you cant wait for Sunday!

 

Yeah, I don't even want to talk about the excess, hopefully get sensible quotes come Feb lol

[Kikesin]

I'm not insured for pillion use lol. Don't want to take passengers anyway, no idea how much more they would have charged me for that lol

 

probably a lot! are you with MCE by any chance?

Bet you cant wait for Sunday!

 

Yeah, I don't even want to talk about the excess, hopefully get sensible quotes come Feb lol

Excess is huge with MCE!

Mine was £850, they do something called "Excess reducer" or something like that which brings it down by half - though had to pay around £50 extra for the policy :/

[Kelbam]

Didn even know excess reducer was a thing Il bin it off in Feb though hopefully

[Kikesin]

Didn even know excess reducer was a thing Il bin it off in Feb though hopefully

 

They don't really advertise it.. I only found out when I enquired about excess protection cover :/

[Kikesin]

Just a lil update.. passed my theory today with 49 out of 50 questions right and 73 from 75 points on the hazard perception part pretty happy with that!

Going to local school tomorrow to book my DAS lessons. Hopefully they can fit me in without too much wait.. can't wait to train on a bigger bike

[Bender]

Well done and good luck

[Kikesin]

Thanks!

Have booked Mod 1 training and test for next week Wednesday.. in the meantime I've been practicing the slow speed manoeuvres in my local Sainsbury's car park

On my 125 that is! Will see how I do on the MT07 next week...

Really looking forward to it now. Can't wait to see what its like to ride a big bike

[Bender]

125 practice won't do you any harm, I couldn't tell you how many u turns I did on mine, are you OK with everything.