MOD1 first attempt

I failed MOD1 yesterday at Mitcham for not meeting the required speed for the emergency stop exercise. Until then everything went perfect. I was worried about emergency stop as many years ago during CBT training I fell with the bike during this exercise (I tried to blame it on the rain at that time) but I really thought I overcome my fear and I even nailed it during practise earlier in the day (straight line only though).

What made things worse was the fact that the other person from my school taking the test just before me have passed even though he couldn't ride a bike if his life depended on it.

I feel blue My world came crushing down when the examiner told me I only reached 46 km/h. I even woke up during last night crying. I so desperately want to get rid of my loser plate.

Aah [mention]misspoppy[/mention] don’t cry, it’ll be alright.

This forum is littered with I failed stories and I know this is hard to believe right now but the harder it is to get the sweeter it is when you have it.

Rebook and keep your chin up, your not alone feeling this.

[mention]elizabethf[/mention] will be along in a minute with some sage advice on dealing with being down in the dumps for failing.

Ahh sorry to read [mention]misspoppy[/mention]

Its ok to feel sad for a little while! As a back story I failed my MOD 2 aka 'the easy one' a couple of times, with clean sheets each time. I was pretty mortified on both, because it wasn't making mistakes that could be put down to minors building up, it was usually down to a random situation on the road that there would be no test-correct answer to in real life, you just hope it doesnt happen on your test!

Rest assured lots of people dont pass MOD 1 first time, it's very black and white in what is a minor or fail. Speed is always a really hard one for people too!!

For me, I just needed a bit of time to sulk. Being stubborn I rebooked when I could though so I knew there would be an ending to it eventually!

I also just tried to take the pressure off myself, there is no rush to pass, we are all on the same journey just as different speeds!

Don't hate your 125 just because it has L plates on it either, it's a useful tool for practising on I took a few days off motorbiking though just so i could focus on stuff I enjoyed. I needed to miss it to get the enthusiasm back again!

By the time I did pass I'd stopped giving a crap if it was a pass or fail, which meant i was very relaxed on test day rather than tense, which I think helped a lot! So again take the pressure off yourself, fake it if you have to!

As far as the speed thing goes, I was always 48 in practice but on the day I did 57 and 61, purely because I left the bike in 2nd and gave it a good ragging coming out of the corner lol. I found (of course) it wasnt as responsive in third) trying to get that to that 50.

Good luck!

It was not a good day at Mitcham test center yesterday with 4 people (that I know of) failing.

I made another attempt at MOD1 yesterday and failed again. To be honest I was not in the right mindset I was telling myself since I got out of bed that I would fail on the U-turn and during practise in the morning I couldn't do it despite the many attempt. I don't know what it was I was not nervous anymore rather annoyed that I have to do it again.

It was raining all morning and I didn't have proper waterproof trousers only the ones loaned by school which didn't seem to work. Even before I got to the test center I was so wet waist down I was not amused at all. So I'm not surprised that I failed again I just wish I didn't bother riding all that way with that attitude.

Sadly this was my last attempt due to shortage of fund (I really thought I would pass first time and be done with by now) £180 + test fee is a lot of money and the majority of the day is spent riding around rather than focusing MOD1 items.

I may give A1 a try at some time and use my own scooter after all my main goal was to lose the L plate and ditch the 2 yearly CBT. After that I would have time to upgrade if I wanted to without having to go through the theory test, CBT, etc again.

Good luck for everyone else attempting their tests.

Keep your chin up [mention]misspoppy[/mention] you will pass soon, I was quite nervous about the swerve and brake but during the training my instructor showed just how fast you can go I think he got up to nearly 50mph and he said for us to just trust the bike, I think you only need 32mph speed wise??

Anyway I'm getting off topic there, don't put too much pressure on yourself on the day as most things people fair on are things completely out of the control of the person doing the test.

Could you not ask you instructor for more time on mod1 tricks?

I missed this post first time around [mention]misspoppy[/mention]. Really sorry to hear about both of these. It's totally OK to feel down in the dumps, it is a big deal and it only seems like a humdrum thing after you've passed it all. The whole "you'll wonder what the fuss was one day" is a noble sentiment but it doesn't help anyone in the here and now.

When I failed my first mod 1, I was surprisingly OK but it's because I knew I'd ridden like a total sack of spanners that day. From the start of the day I felt stiff on the bike, and I failed relatively early on in the slalom.

On my second mod one, I somehow passed despite knocking a cone over on the hazard avoidance. Until I had been told I had passed, I was angry and upset at myself inside my helmet. I know that if I hadn't have gone home with that pass certificate I would have been upset for some time. And I remember how I felt years ago when I failed my first driving test. I get it.

If you need to reset your goals reset them - normally I'd tell people to keep pushing for that unrestricted licence and save the later cost and aggro (in fact, I was telling my wife this just last month), but if cost really is a factor right now and you really will be happy for a bit longer on your scooter then doing the A1 probably will still suit you. You'll save money on later CBTs and there is all the time in the future if you want to upgrade.

Good luck whatever you choose.

[mention]misspoppy[/mention] I passed yesterday on my 3rd attempt. I failed my first time by snatching the brakes and causing the front wheel to lock up and the bike through me off in a spectacular fashion so I totally get your nerves on the emergency stop and I actually found the getting up to speed the worst part rather than the stopping. All I can say is keep riding your 125 and try again, you will get there xxx

Thank you all for your replies they do keep me motivated. I will try again later in the year my new plan is to save up for an intensive 5-6 day course though and I will insist on getting plenty of practise in slow maneuver. I did not want to admit it as I have been riding for so long but I do suck at cornering I tense up every time so for now I practise on my scooter and take my time whilst I save up.

I am looking forward to coming back to the board and tell everyone i have finally passed. I know it will happen.

[mention]Magpie84[/mention] Congratulation on passing mod1. Right now I feel you've done the impossible. Well done and all the best for MOD2.

I did not want to admit it as I have been riding for so long but I do suck at cornering I tense up every time so for now I practise on my scooter and take my time whilst I save up.

Admit away because it's how we improve.

Only just seen this but I know exactly how you feel - Im 34 and had a little cry the other day as couldnt get the U turn at all. I found that anything after that was just worse due to self doubt, anger, upset and everything inbetween !

Its also not your ability that you cant do it - its your subconsience protecting you from a previous incident. Im not clever enough to explain how to retrain it but I imagine its repetition of sucessful ones maybe though starting slow and building up the speed over time ?

A couple of things that come ovr in your posts which may help (or not) :

You seem to build the test centre up as a worry and judge it on other peoples result - just care about your own test and forget all the other people as you dont know what they did or didnt do so why add to the worry ?.

Maybe its worth considering going with a different instructor as poor equipment and not training the areas you want to be trained on does not sound great - remember you are the paying customer so they should be giving you good equipment and focusing on the areas you worry about. Also what bike are you doing it on - I did mine on a bike with ABS and linked braking which helped my confidence with stopping greatly !

The money thing may also be playing on your mind - I had this in the back of my mind when doing mine (along with the fact i cant get the time off work again for months) !