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Lw.

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  1. Yeah I think different schools just have different approaches - mine say if you can do all the hard stuff on an under-powered, wobbly 125 then you can do it on any bigger bike. Worked for me! After getting used to the extra weight of the 750 I thought it was a piece of p!ss to ride; so planted on the road, stable in the corners & with the power to accelerate my heft down the road I didn't have to worry about controlling it at all in the tests, it was all just easy (well other than the U-turns which I struggled with for a good half-a-lesson before getting the hang of)!
  2. I think my school are a bit different to others in that they do most of the teaching/getting you used to the roads on a 125 then you do a mock mod2 when they think you're ready & if you pass you just do 2/3 lessons on a bigger bike to get you ready for the tests. I think the split for me was 8 lessons on the 125 then 4 on the 750 (I went on holiday & then was busy between the two tests so had an extra one to refresh myself on the 750). Costs were £45 per hour for the 125 & £55 per hour for the 750.
  3. I'd already booked all my holiday for this year but still wanted to learn to ride so went down the hourly lesson route - worked really well for me. 12 x 1 hour weekly lessons plus CBT with no practicing in between to get from never being on a motorbike before to passing both tests (no faults on mod1, two on mod2). I think it was the best option for me, by the end of it I was feeling really comfortable on the bike & the whole thing was an enjoyable experience - sure you have to take a couple of months learning rather than a week but it's nice not having any time pressure that I've heard some schools put their students under when doing a DAS!
  4. Passed my mod2 on Thursday - all in all a good experience! Two minors: 1 - going down a steep winding hill I was going too close to the apex of the corners (he said object fixation related) 2 - queuing in traffic waiting to go left at a T-junction I left too big a gap on my left (I think I do this as a habit from cycling - sit quite far out in traffic to stop cars pulling up next to you then left-hooking you when you get moving), I understand why he marked me down on it though. Quite happy with that. Did one mistake (though not a fault) on the "follow signs to x" bit where I was going down a duel carriageway, started to over take a lorry, went round a corner & the junction for x came up - decided to just mess up the navigation & stay in the fast lane missing the turning - he seemed fine with it, though once we missed that junction there were road works causing very slow traffic so we were stuck crawling along in 1st for 5 minutes which was a bit annoying! The test center is quite a way away from both where my lesson were & where I live so I didn't know any of the roads we were riding on, the Farnborough council certainly have some interesting ideas on roundabouts & road layouts I'll give them that!
  5. I'd go to a different school - if you haven't got the feel of throttle/clutch control (or even balance from the sounds of it) they shouldn't have tried to get you to do all the other stuff, another school might be able to teach it better. Where are you based - you might get some good school recommendations...
  6. 1st - it sounds like your CBT instructor was rubbish, there seems to be a lot of that going around at the moment! 2nd - Weekly lessons like you do with cars are certainly possible (though not at all schools) - I'm doing some out near Wokingham/Bracknell at the moment which I guess is too far out for you but I would certainly recommend them (they're called Pinewood Motorcycle Training).
  7. I'm probably the least experienced rider on this forum but have taken a CBT twice in the last month so it's still fresh in my mind so maybe some of my thoughts will help: Do you drive (cars)? Car & bike clutch use seems to me to be completely opposite; in cars you're taught to use the clutch for short periods of time just for changing gear (ie press clutch, raise revs, release clutch, carry on, repeat) but on bikes the slow maneuvering is all done with the clutch partially operated. You can cruise around at slow speeds on a bike with the clutch half-pressed without damaging it (where as in a car you'd be smelling smoke in no time). When moving around slowly we were taught (at the good school at least) to keep your revs steady with middle amount of throttle & use the clutch to speed up (gently release) or slow down (squeeze a bit more). It sounds to me like you are releasing the clutch too quickly & so shooting off on the pull aways - maybe try releasing the clutch much more slowly when you pull away, you don't need to fully release it at all if you're just going around the training area slowly, there's no need to be going fast. With the braking it does just sound like a practice thing & you're maybe using too much front brake at the slow speeds. We were told to use both when slowing down from the higher speeds but if you're already going slow (ie practicing your fake junctions in the training ground) then you don't really need to use the front brake at all (as they're so sharp), just gently using the back brake once you're down to slow speed (for your slow-clunk-stop) lets you just roll up slowly to the line - there's no rush. This could all be rubbish & actual experienced riders can tell you better but as a fellow learner thinking along these lines helped me feel confident on the bike & pass my CBT.
  8. Thanks! Yes the original place really did just take the P, the difference in instruction is so staggering that they really can't both be called basic training! I will be contacting them to let them know how much of a let down they are (I know nothing will come of it but it's only fair to give them an opportunity to respond). Today was great - I've gained loads of knowledge & it was fun out on the roads!
  9. Took my CBT at the place my mate suggested today (Pinewood Motorcycles to be exact) - passed & it was awesome! Everything I could have wanted it to be; loads of time practicing stuff, everything explained, no rushing & plenty of one to one if there were any issues. Makes me quite angry at how crap the first place was in comparison but lesson learned - they won't be getting any more money from me! Looking forward to getting on with lessons & full license taking now!
  10. Thanks for the feedback, I think I'll book with the school my friend told me about; it'll be good to see how they compare & to maybe learn some extra bits from a new person. It's not really that much extra to pay for a bit more peace of mind.
  11. A bit of advice please (long read sorry): I did my CBT yesterday & didn't pass (/failed/need more training/whatever), this may read like I'm just bitter & there must be loads of new people that come on here for a moan but I don't think this is that & I could do with a second opinion from some impartial people (you). I'd read a couple of dubious reviews of the school online but they were the easiest one for me to book & get to on the day so I thought "how bad can they be?". I'm not going to name them for now as I haven't spoken to them directly yet, just want some opinions... The group, four people; I've never ridden a motorbike before (I'm in my 30's, have been driving cars for years, cycle a lot & have on occasion blasted a quadbike round a few fields), one guy re-taking after two years on a geared bike, one guy re-taking on an automatic scooter after failing on a geared bike & a girl that I didn't really speak to but she had her own auto-scooter & seemed to have ridden it around a fair bit previously. After the explanation of what the different bits are & what maintenance/tests you need to do we pushed the bikes over to the practice area. There was one go of being pushed by someone else then feeling out the biting point of the different brakes then it was everyone on your bikes in a line - "now I want you to ride around that cone & come back, like this"... No mention of where/how to sit on the bike, what revs to give, what to do with the clutch etc... just off you go in turns. I was rubbish - stalled it a few times but then jerkily managed it. The second time I had a bad moment, lost control of the bike & had a bit of a brain freeze - I stayed up but it was revving like crazy & only didn't shoot off because I had the clutch in a death grip, only then did I realise I still had the throttle on. Rubbish I know, at that stage I was definitely not good enough for anything other than a disused car park. The feedback from that was that I need to remember to shut the throttle off before anything else (I feel like that could have been useful information before hand). After that it was two goes each of U-turn, figure of 8 & emergence stop. With the U-turn & figure of 8 I was the only person that did both both times without putting my feet down though though he said I did it just ticking over rather than using slow control of half throttle half clutch & using the rear brake. Emergency stop was generally fine though there was no instruction as to what speed we should have been going or where we should have started our run up from - it was just ride towards this line & stop when I put my hand up. I did stall it at the end of the second time too though he didn't seem too fussed about that. Then it was a few cone junctions turning left & right, on to & off "main roads" - I thought this went really well, my slow control was better through the junctions & I was changing gear fine - I was feeling pretty confident, we did this for a few minutes. Then it was break for lunch - at this point the instructor told me I hadn't passed the morning session because he was worried about my slow control; he thought my start/stopping, gear changes & junction were all fine but he was just worried about my slow control & didn't want to take me out on the roads in case I messed up with the throttle again & had a crash. Gutting. Off home I go, it's 12 o'clock. I was pretty deflated at the time but I didn't want to argue with him because I feel you should respect the opinions of the instructor, he's an experienced professional & at the end of the day it's his job on the line plus at that point they're never going to change their mind anyway so it'd be pointless. So I say ok & thanks then shuffle off. Now I feel I was being punished for a mistake I made in my first few minutes of being on a bike despite showing massive improvement, if I was that bad why was a capable of doing the rest? And if I needed more practice at the slow control stuff why wasn't I given it? I paid £130 for a days basic training & bike hire but what I got was a bit less than half a days basic testing & half a days hire. I don't think I received that much training at all in fact & that the only reason I could do the things I did because I'd watched videos about where to look & things for the maneuvers plus a general knowledge of how to change gears using a clutch. Now he said he thought I'd definitely pass next time & that it's discounted to £75 on re-takes but I feel I should have been given more time/training on my first day so shouldn't have to pay even more more. It's almost to a point that I feel it was a bit of a scam & I was always going to be failed because it's easy money. I've spoken to a biker friend & he thinks the school sounded like they weren't very good & has suggested somewhere else but he would say that because he's my friend. At this point I'm loathe to give them more money & think I'd rather just book at this other place despite it being back at full price. What do you people think? Is my experience usual for a CBT & so am I just being a cry baby or should the school have provided me with more time/teaching & so a better learning experience? Please be honest, as I say I've never done it before so I don't know what's right so could do with some third party perspective. Thanks!
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