Failed Mod 1 - need pepping up

[Tigs]

So as the title says - I failed mod 1 (foot down on the U turn).. I have a 125 - and have been practicing and can do it easily in 3 car parking places - but am a bit anxious when i get on the 650 My foot will go down again

 

I've been debating what to do next - just put in for mod 1 and hope for the best - accept i might fail a few times and keep going - or . practice more on my 125 .. 

 

Any tips- or pushing in the right direction appreciated 

[Bender]

35 minutes ago, Tigs said:

So as the title says - I failed mod 1 (foot down on the U turn).. I have a 125 - and have been practicing and can do it easily in 3 car parking places - but am a bit anxious when i get on the 650 My foot will go down again

 

I've been debating what to do next - just put in for mod 1 and hope for the best - accept i might fail a few times and keep going - or . practice more on my 125 .. 

 

Any tips- or pushing in the right direction appreciated 

Keep going and practice, I know exactly how you feel, u turn did my head in too I failed mod 1 twice........ 

[KiwiBob]

Practice, practice, practice!... On your 125 practice so that you can U turn in less than 3 spaces.

 

Its all in the mind! .. You can do it! .. Once MoD 1 is done then you will never have to worry about putting a foot down on a U turn ever again!

[Fiddlesticks]

I did the same thing on the fig. 8. So frustrating. I booked a lesson full of U Turns and figure 8's before the next one.

It takes a bit of time to get the confidence to lean the bike, using the clutch and back brake to keep the speed high enough so it doesn't fall. All the time shifting your weight to give maximum advantage.

Do something long enough though, it'll be second nature. Best of luck for the next one.

 

[Bender]

1 hour ago, KiwiBob said:

Practice, practice, practice!... On your 125 practice so that you can U turn in less than 3 spaces.

 

Its all in the mind! .. You can do it! .. Once MoD 1 is done then you will never have to worry about putting a foot down on a U turn ever again!

Well you would think that  

 

Next lesson after I passed mod 1 the nice sarcastic instructor had me with another learner who was struggling with u turn , going up a crappy street lined with cars, over the radio, can you both pull into the next gap, right Steve show him how to do the u turn, bast*rd  

[bonio]

I hated U turns (still do in fact). Just couldn't get my head into them. I was so relieved on mod1 when I did it first time like a pro. And then I went and kicked a cone on the emergency stop - which I'd never done in practice - and it was game over. 

So if you can do a U turn 2 times out of every 3 attempts, the odds are in your favour: go book up the next available test slot and have another go. If not, book up a test lesson on the 650 and ask the instructor to focus on U turns. I'd have thought there's not much point in practising on the 125, because the weight is so different.

[Bender]

54 minutes ago, bonio said:

I hated U turns (still do in fact). Just couldn't get my head into them. I was so relieved on mod1 when I did it first time like a pro. And then I went and kicked a cone on the emergency stop - which I'd never done in practice - and it was game over. 

So if you can do a U turn 2 times out of every 3 attempts, the odds are in your favour: go book up the next available test slot and have another go. If not, book up a test lesson on the 650 and ask the instructor to focus on U turns. I'd have thought there's not much point in practising on the 125, because the weight is so different.

I found no difference struggling on the 125 to struggling on the 650  

 

I found it more technique rather than bike specific, I practiced on the 125 till I could do it between raised kerbs much narrower than the test center, I also found full lock circles were good practice, by the time of test I couldn't belive how big the space suddenly seemed, most of the issues were undoubtedly in my head, just like the voices............. 

[daveinlim]

Keep practicing. I did the exact same. Foot down on uturn but the rest was all fine. 

 

I did some practice on my 125, booked a half day with the training school. Passed 2nd time around. 

You can do it. It's all in your head. Get used to full lock turns in your 125. 

[Bender]

2 hours ago, daveinlim said:

Get used to full lock turns in your 125. 

Yup  

[Blackholesun]

I found the 125 easier as it was lighter but I've never done a u turn since I either keep going or use my feet !

[Tigs]

I am improving with them - will keep going for full lock turns - i think - when i get a really tight turn the foot does come down - but today only 1x out of about 8 attempts - so there is real improvement - the weather is not helping me tho

[Bungleaio]

It's all about the practice but the bike will do it easily just keep looking into the distance, the revs up and the clutch slipping.

 

I really struggled with the U turn, my instructor said to me you're shit and there's no point you going for the test. I told him to f**k off and nailed it 1st time.

[Shepherd]

I found it tough until I read on this forum about applying a few more revs, but with a little rear brake applied. Looking where you want to go is easier said than done, but force yourself to do it just for the test.

Remember, it's just half of the figure 8 that you find easier (we'll, I did).

Keep up the practising,  it'll sort itself out.

Never needed to do one since...

[Bender]

I bet if they installed a little mine roundabout at test center everyone would pass first time  

[Nute]

I went to the local cinema car park on my 125 and practiced there. I’m sure all the staff must have been laughing at me watching on the CCTV. 
 

The place I did my DAS at had a huge private expanse of tarmac marked up with the Mod 1 layout exactly the same as at the test centre, plus a second low speed layout ( just the U turn, 8 and slalom) and you could just practice as much as you need. Still easy to cock it up by forgetting the shoulder check in the U turn but at least we were all confident that we could actually do the low speed stuff without problems. 

[Pie man]

On 23/03/2023 at 22:58, Bender said:

I bet if they installed a little mine roundabout at test center everyone would pass first time  

I think they would give the test centre a wide birth if they installed a mine roundabout  

[Bender]

22 minutes ago, Pie man said:

I think they would give the test centre a wide birth if they installed a mine roundabout  

Would stop the foot down though