Mod 1 & 2

[Bellejane]

Hi I've been riding now for a year. Six months on a scooter and six months on a manual.

 

Questions after my painful speech.

 

I'm fine on a manual can change up and down on the gears with at times some niggly bits (I forget which gear I'm in on times) I do talk to myself like I'm up so many blah blah blah. This does help at times but others not so much. How's the best way to remember?

Again I'm good at riding but absolutely shocking on times at lights or when I have to come to a stop with stalling. I do manage to get going again quickly. I've been told keep my revs up before letting out the clutch fully. My question here for Mod 2 is can you fail if you do stall say at lights or before setting off on roundabouts? (Not actually on the roundabout I've never done that.) 

 

Also I've brought cones to practice my figure of 8 and slalom as I was crap on my CBT on a manual so had to do the whole test on a auto. I will be practicing these before booking Mod 1. 

 

So yeah my questions are as followed.

1. Mod 1 how easy is it do actually do figure of 8 and slalom on a bigger bike?

2. Mod 2 can you fail if stalling at traffic lights and before setting off on roundabouts.

3. And last question is it best to actually take some lessons beforehand on the negative (for me) of the Mod 1 that I need practice on?

4. What is the best average hours spent on the roads for experience before taking Mod 1?

 

Only asking this as my theory ends in January 2025 obviously I may have to redo that which isn't a problem. And my CBT ends next June. But I would really like to have done my Mod 1 & 2 before then without obviously failing on both multiple times.

 

Thank you.

 

P.s I'm good at mirror checking, doing my shoulder checks. Before pulling off or changing lanes (duals) I'm good at turning the bike round while on foot (with a workout from the bike.) also signalling isn't a problem.

 

Last thing I don't test the bike I stick to the speed limits. My reason for riding is to relax and get away for daily life for a few hours and relax and recharge myself.

[Capt Sisko]

The very fact you say you stall a lot shows you haven't mastered the basics yet, but don't worry we've all been there, seen it, had that embarrassing thunk. It'll come, but the simplest way to get it right is to get some professional training.

Sure it's going to cost you a few quid, but they will take you to a standard that will not just get you through your tests, but make you a confident rider.

 

Good luck.

[Fiddlesticks]

3 hours ago, Bellejane said:

So yeah my questions are as followed.

1. Mod 1 how easy is it do actually do figure of 8 and slalom on a bigger bike?

2. Mod 2 can you fail if stalling at traffic lights and before setting off on roundabouts.

3. And last question is it best to actually take some lessons beforehand on the negative (for me) of the Mod 1 that I need practice on?

4. What is the best average hours spent on the roads for experience before taking Mod 1?

 

1. It's all practice. For the fig. 8 and U turn : An hour or two in a car park and you'll probably have it down. Bit of back brake, steady throttle, enough lean, shifting your weight on the seat, fine clutch control, not too slow so that you fall, not so fast that you go wide, head turned and eyes focused on where you want to be. Once you have the confidence, you'll be fine.

 

2. You can fail, but probably not for the stall, more for how you recover from it (or don't).

 

3. Yes, do a full car park lesson if you can. Bit boring for the instructor but worth it.

 

4. Depends. If you already drive you'll understand much more about general roadcraft. Observations are very important, also cancelling indicators. Easy things to forget.

 

Your instructor will be able to give you a good idea of how many lessons you need. They won't want to put you forward before you're ready.

[Dombo]

I am in similar situation to you and in fact taking my DAS lessons and Mod1 this week, Mod 2 hopefully next week (if I pass Mod 1). I have done a taster session on a big bike, a Honda CB500 and slow stuff is much easier. They feel better balanced and planted and are powerful enough to crawl along at very slow speed with little throttle. Overall they are easier to ride. When riding an L plated 125 I found my first to second gear shift was a bit jerky - letting the clutch out too quickly apparently, as you do in a car - and the worst error was forgetting to cancel the indicators but that came with practice when I rented a bike for a week.

I booked the maximum five day course as I figured any extra time spent under instruction was worth it.

Pass or fail, I’ll post on here in more detail in a couple of weeks.

[Bellejane]

Thanks guys. My only two things that get me are the gears and setting off. It doesn't happen all the time, but once it happens once that's it seems to happen more on that particular ride. I'm going with observations handling the bike too. It's just getting those two points down and taking the comes out and practicing those two parts for the Mods. My mirror checks are there I do this often actually. My shoulder checks are fine. Looking right at roundabouts is now better too. Also I'm very wary of side roads as some cars do tend to stop slightly over the lines. So I do tend to slow down once in built in area's. I can corner well obviously not a high speeds otherwise i know I wouldn't do it tidy. U turn well due to not really using that I shall practice that too. My main point of this post was to see if I could fail for my two negatives on the road pfft. Wish they wasn't there as it completely bums that ride out when it does. 

 

Thanks guys really appreciate the honest words. And good luck for the guy who has his test. All the best fingers crossed you smash it.

[Blackholesun]

You won't necessarily fail for stalling as long as you take the precautionary measures start up and move 

[Bender]

As above, if you continually stall it's going to be a problem.

 

Stalling is just clutch brake and throttle practice, just spend an hour starting and stopping.

 

All sounds easy to say but once you get stuck on something it's hard to get over it.

[Simon Davey]

Supermarket car parks are great for all sorts of practice. 

[Dombo]

Passed Mod 1 today after four days of lessons and against all odds. Just two of us, me and another lad, training on MT-07s with an independent school in Surrey. The weather was changeable all week, nice and sunny one day, then rain, mix of both and today mostly rain then wind. Every day we set off on a ride for about an hour or so to a large car park where we practised slaloms, figure 8s and the various other Mod 1 tests. My slaloms and fig 8s were dreadful all week, going too wide, over-revving, even dropping the bike at one point. My problem was not keeping my head up and looking at the cones rather than the gaps - bikes go where you look. During the practice hazard avoidance swerve manoeuvre I clipped a cone, and failed to get up to speed on the emergency stop, but each day I got slightly better. Then after lunch more road riding and Mod 1 practice.
Road riding was fine, as I drive anyway, and cycle to work in London so ok on observations, and with 75bhp on tap the bikes are easy to get going, trickle in traffic slipping the clutch and dragging the brake.

We did a dual carriageway spell which was fun, and then after a day off yesterday we had our tests booked for lunchtime today. The morning was spent doing more practice, and everything fell apart for me but the instructor was super patient and kept me practising until I’d nailed a couple of slaloms/figure 8s in a row that would be passes if done for real.

Then it was off to the test centre. Quick intro to what was required and I did the manual manoeuvre ok and the ride to a controlled stop. Then everything just clicked, slalomed fine, figure 8s without a problem, emergency stop I clocked over 60kph through the speed trap and was similarly lively on the swerve manoeuvre, although got a minor for going a bit too far beyond the stopping point.

And that was it. Very pleased to have got it out the way and all the extra fig 8 practice has made tight cornering and mini roundabouts a lot easier.

Fingers crossed for Mod 2. 

[Simon Davey]

That's great to read, well done. 

[Dombo]

Pleased to say I passed Mod 2 today.  Details on the Mod 2 thread for those interested.

[Simon Davey]

You're flying through, excellent news.