DAS Training Day 2 - rear ended!

No major drama. I have a habit of stalling when moving off, especially at roundabouts. On this occasion the instructor was trying to keep with me but I stalled. She apologized, which was confusing, until she actually nudged into the back of the bike! So it was obviously very slow.

I need to shake that habit. I think I'm dragging the rear brake, and also letting the clutch out too quick. I must have done the same thing about 5 times in a 4 hour session. I'm very conscious of how hard I'm finding the slow moving traffic stuff. The balance between riding and wobbling is weird for me. I'm going to put some of it down to the fact I cycle a lot so the bike feels different, and that I'm not used to having a foot brake.

The main thing today was to visit the test centre and practise for MOD 1. I'm fine with that, though I don't like the emergency stop or swerve at speed. I do them fine, but don't feel 100%.

Otherwise, I've learned that I need some over trousers and jacket. I didn't get too uncomfortable, but some damp did get in which I'd rather avoid.

It's all good practice, not sure about the instructor hitting you no matter how slow that's lack of awareness and anticipation, they should be teaching you that lol.

Know what your issues are and work on them.

It does take practise to learn good slow control. From what I gather very few people can do it naturally.

Against pretty much all advice, I use the front break more often in slow traffic than the rear break. You just have to know the front break very well and not pull sharply. Being gradual with it is the key to not stopping with a jolt, which makes you wobble.

This came from the fact I found it awkward/difficult to reach the rear break on my training bikes when my left foot was on the ground (I'm short). So I simply would also use my hand to hold the break. In my Mod 1 i didn't use the rear break at all (I rested my foot on it for the emergency stop, but didn't really press down). On mod 2 I think I used it once, maybe twice!

Doing hill starts using only the front break is tricky, but can be done.

Keeping your shoulders loose also helps with not wobbling during slow control. If I find myself wobbling more than normal I roll my shoulders and suddenly the wobble stops

All good tips, thanks.

I think having my right foot on the brake when I get into a slow speed wobble is party of my issue. I need to just commit to stopping in those cases, and leaning to put my left foot down rather than trying to keep balance.

It all comes with practice mate......and even then, some days I find I wobble more than others.....on wobbly days I just trail my feet a bit more or just stop.....

Stay relaxed if you tense up you will make the problem worse.

Are you slowing down too much before you stop, if you loose all your speed then expect the bike to roll the last 10ft very slowly with no drive its not going to like it, confidence can make a big difference.

Do you have your own bike?

Cheers [mention]Bender[/mention]

I am slowing down very early, being over cautious perhaps because I haven't got accustomed to the brakes yet. It's a school bike, but they give me the same one each time.

I haven't got a bike yet, is be limited to a 125 of course.

I think I'll get over it though. My learning curve has been steep - I think through my faults and then fix them quickly. This set of issues can all be fixed together I think - relax more, be decisive about stopping, focus on the move off clutch control. I'll get it in time for MOD2.

MOD1 I just need to be confident with the emergency stop and swerve.

And I can retake, no rush or pressure, just the cost.

Yup a fail is not the end of the world its just more practice.

When I was trying to get the hang of slow control, I found that the easiest way was to set the revs fairly high, slip the clutch out just enough to being accelerating and then hold them there - just use the rear brake to control the accelaration until you get up to speed. Adjusting the clutch/throttle can come once you're used to setting the slow pace.