CBT in the rain....proper rain.

[gruntygiggles]

AND I PASSED!!!

Normally I think I'd have been really happy, but the instructor stopped a few times in the second hour of the on road assessment and almost stopped it due to the amount of water sitting on the roads and it being my first day riding, so getting a pass in those conditions has made me literally jump with joy...lol

Obviously I've done many miles pillion, but I was so happy at how quickly you can get comfortable on a bike. I stalled a few times on the road.....not keeping the clutch held in) but soon sorted myself out on that one and he said each time I stalled I didn't panic, did all the right things and got moving nice and quickly, so happy with that.

The best bit of all though....doing the slalom, figure of 8 and u turn....I LOVE THAT STUFF! It felt amazing leaning the bike over a bit and counter steering at such slow speeds. I thought it would take me ages to do that but it was my favourite bit.

Anyway....enough excitement for me. They are putting me up to the 500 at 10.30 tomorrow because I did so well today, so you watch me go back tomorrow and stuff it all up...lol :rolleyes:

[Richie]

congratulations... well done girl.

[zsv650]

well done and good luck with the rest of the test once riding a bike click's it's a peice of cake just be like a sponge and learn from the instructor's you'll be reet.

[Milky Bar Kid]

YAY! Well done that woman! Chez, you is like well mint innit?!

[keith_d]

Congratulations.

Good luck with the 500s. They're much more fun than the little 125s once you've got used to them.

[Jinxy43]

WOO HOO congratulations, Well Done

[Wideboy]

wooo well done gg :smt041

[sarah]

nice one :-D

[squirrel_hunter]

Well done.

[gruntygiggles]

Thanks guys. My only concern is not gettiing overconfident. The instructor said that very often people are a bit too quick on car tests, but he said he's never seen someone on their first day of riding get on the roads and just go like that....lol. I think being pillion for so long helped a lot with that!

Bring on the 500's, I can't wait now....although I am shattered and have done my shoulder in by sleeping on it funny last night. At least it doesn't hurt in the riding position ;-)

[sarah]

Thanks guys. My only concern is not gettiing overconfident. The instructor said that very often people are a bit too quick on car tests, but he said he's never seen someone on their first day of riding get on the roads and just go like that....lol. I think being pillion for so long helped a lot with that!

Bring on the 500's, I can't wait now....although I am shattered and have done my shoulder in by sleeping on it funny last night. At least it doesn't hurt in the riding position ;-)

I found the 500s much easier to ride than the 125s, you'll love it!

[gruntygiggles]

Yay...thanks Sarah. At least I won't have to be getting them on and off the centre stand. By the time we went to take a look at the test centre and parked on a bit of a hill......I didn't have the strength to get it off...hehe! Was ok on the flat at the petrol station though.

Oh....and the idiot in the south glos council van is going to get a nasty letter from the traingi centre after he pulled out right in front of me. Luckily I swerved first, then put the brakes on....great, til I forgot to pull in the clutch and stalled.....lol :-)

[lily]

YAY........ knew you would do it :-D

Good luck tomorrow x

[fizzwheel]

Cool and I'd agree with Sarah the 500 is much easier to ride.

[Dave20046]

Nice work grunty :)

[gruntygiggles]

Cool and I'd agree with Sarah the 500 is much easier to ride.

That's very good to know. The instructor said you need to be very smooth with the up and down gear changes on the 500. 2 blokes that were there today failed their Mod 1's and apparently it was because they had no slow control, but I was really enjoying that, so hope I can still do it as well on the 500.

In fact, if I'm honest....I'd quite happily do nothing but ride at less than 5mph for the next few months...it's so much fun. Then again...the roundabouts on the ring road at 30-40mph were quite good fun too ;)

[fizzwheel]

I never noticed the gear changes, I just got on with it. I never really had trouble with that.

What you might find is that it takes a little more effort to steer it than the 125, but after a few minutes you wont notice that.

Just remember. Look where you want the bike to go and it will follow you. If you only remember one thing. Remember that.

[sarah]

Just remember. Look where you want the bike to go and it will follow you. If you only remember one thing. Remember that.

sound advice

[Milky Bar Kid]

Just remember. Look where you want the bike to go and it will follow you. If you only remember one thing. Remember that.

Oh yes!! I once looked at the wall of a bridge...and nearly crashed into same! I was most scared!:smt045

[gruntygiggles]

Thanks Fizz. The guy teaching me is a massive Stoner fan. He met him last year and asked him a few questions....one was how do they go through S bends so quickly and the other was, what one thing would you tell learner riders about? Apparently, he said S bends are easy.....they just use the balls of their feet on the pegs to turn (easy for them to say) and for the learner riders, he said that the best thing to remember is that when cornering...you should NEVER put the throttle on until you can keep it on. He said that putting the throttle on and having to come back off it again usually makes people go for the front brake, which can sit the bike up and send you over the road into oncoming traffic.

Arrrggghhh, there's so much to take in...lol

[fizzwheel]

he said that the best thing to remember is that when cornering...you should NEVER put the throttle on until you can keep it on.

Also sound advice :cool:

Thing is, dont try and take to much in just yet. Just practise the basics, otherwise you'll just be on complete informaiton overload and you'll never take it all in.

[gruntygiggles]

I know. Luckily, I have always made a point as a pillion of looking where I am going, so didn't find myself looking down or focusing on anything today, no need to keep that up. It's amazing to feel for yourself how non scary it is going over bumps and dips in the road.

I just need to remember to keep my clutch IN when I stop...lol

[Messie]

Fan - bloody - tastic. Well done!!!

The 500 is much easier, even though it feels hude when you first get on after the 125.

But then you pass your test and get your own bike, quite possibly an SV650. Trust me, when you then go back to the 500 it will feel tiny, and you'll wonder why you ever thought it was big.

Go girls!!!

[gruntygiggles]

Thanks Sally. Won't be getting an SV (oh, the shame :-( but mostly because I have a gorgeous little CBR400RR in the garage waiting for me. Well, when Dan has got it sorted and MOT'd...lol.

[dizzyblonde]

The fun on the CBRraaaarrrr is getting closer girl.
Well done :-)

[SVStorm]

Well Done :) I remember doing a lesson in the pouring rain and could not see a thing :) Remember how great i felt when I finished and instructor said I handled it really well :)

I did mine lessons and test on a 125 as did not manage with the 500cc because my first instructor was terrible. Kept pushing me to do menouvers I was not ready for and I dropped the bike and hurt myself :( As long as you have a good instructor who allows you to develop your skills and learn within your ability you will be fine :)

[gruntygiggles]

The fun on the CBRraaaarrrr is getting closer girl.
Well done :-)

Well Done :) I remember doing a lesson in the pouring rain and could not see a thing :) Remember how great i felt when I finished and instructor said I handled it really well :)

I did mine lessons and test on a 125 as did not manage with the 500cc because my first instructor was terrible. Kept pushing me to do menouvers I was not ready for and I dropped the bike and hurt myself :( As long as you have a good instructor who allows you to develop your skills and learn within your ability you will be fine :)


Thank you :grouphug:

[yorkie_chris]

Well done :)

The fun on the CBRraaaarrrr

Did somebody say AAAhhhhrrrrr?
Pirate metal Yahhhhrrr (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-8Uo1j0AiA) :pirat:

[missyburd]

Aww a big well done Cheryl :-D I only hope I can be as successful next week.

Just out of interest, I take it you do drive?

[Speedy Claire]

Well done and best of luck with the test x

[gruntygiggles]

Aww a big well done Cheryl :-D I only hope I can be as successful next week.

Just out of interest, I take it you do drive?

Yep been driving for 14 years legally and well well beyond that, also legally but on private land or my dads lap...lol.

It was so much more comfortable feeling than I expected Maria.

Good luck next week and I hope you get a top bloke for an instructor like I did today. Got someone else to get me through the 500's and my module tests.

[missyburd]

Good luck next week and I hope you get a top bloke for an instructor like I did today. Got someone else to get me through the 500's and my module tests.
Ah that's a shame, if you find someone you click with it'd be nicer to stick with them. Were you planning to go for the DAS anyway then?

[gruntygiggles]

Yes. Not supposed to go onto 500 til Monday, but they are changing me up in the morning after another hour or two on the 125 so I can get more time in on it and hopefully do my Modult 2 on Wednesday if I pass the module 1 on Tuesday.

I'm not too worried about the instructor now that I have got the initial bit out of the way. They all seemed nice and the centre is run by a friend from our village. They also have a rolling road which was quite a good way to get confidence...

http://www.bristolmotorcycletraining.co.uk/rolling_road.html

[Ed]

Congratulations:cool: 'Look where you want to go' is brilliant advice:D

[squirrel_hunter]

Whoa. You didn't say you were doing it with Bristol Motorcycle Training. Wouldn't trust them. I seam to recall they gave a spotty 16 year old a CBT some 10 years ago even after he managed to hit a cone and drop his brand new moped.

[Vorkohnen]

Congratulations! Did my CBT in the rain, in the middle of Exeter, in the middle of heavy traffic, then rode home at 30 miles an hour on a wet A-road with lorries swerving to avoid me not realising just how slow I was going. Bloody glad to get home after that.

[anna]

Wowowwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhoooooooooooo well done you!! =D> =D>

I did my first one with them ;)

[_Stretchie_]

Well done my little biker chick

LURVE YOU

MMMMWAAAAH

[gruntygiggles]

Whoa. You didn't say you were doing it with Bristol Motorcycle Training. Wouldn't trust them. I seam to recall they gave a spotty 16 year old a CBT some 10 years ago even after he managed to hit a cone and drop his brand new moped.

Hmmm, a spotty 16 year old you say? Was he called Stephen? :rolleyes:

Congratulations! Did my CBT in the rain, in the middle of Exeter, in the middle of heavy traffic, then rode home at 30 miles an hour on a wet A-road with lorries swerving to avoid me not realising just how slow I was going. Bloody glad to get home after that.

Yeah....it was a bit scary on the ring road. First time nice and dry...second time three times as busy and very wet, but glad it wasn't as bad as your horror ride home!

Wowowwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhoooooooooooo well done you!! =D> =D>

I did my first one with them ;)

Thanks hun xxx

Well done my little biker chick

LURVE YOU

MMMMWAAAAH

I love you too and am off to bed now, see you up there....will come give you a kiss first though just because I can ;-)

[davepreston]

yadda yadda yadda blah blah blah come back when youve past your das


joking babe well chuffed for you

[BanannaMan]

Well done!
Congratulations!!!


Once you two get well aquainted you'll have lots of fun on the 500.
They seem to love to be ridden for all they are worth.
And as the saying goes...
It's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than it is to ride a fast bike slow.

[Fizzy Fish]

Well done grunty - your biking career starts here! :D :D

Best of luck with the rest of the training, and hope to see you out with us on a bike soon xxxxxx

[Tara]

woo hoo well done huni x

[darylB]

Well done Cheryl, have fun on the 500, sure you'll be fine,

Daryl.

[Quedos]

Well done Cheryl hope you have some fun in the sun today!!

[metalangel]

Well done! I also did mine in the rain, it was awful, I was already petrified and not being able to see where I was going didn't help things!

Enjoy the 500, you'll probably find it more fun to ride and certainly less twitchy... and remember the moment when you first get onto an NSL road and go for it!

[petevtwin650]

Well done GG. You need to save your Babyblade from Stretchie. Pronto! :smt045

[gruntygiggles]

Haha...Pete, he'll be scrubbing the new tyres in for me....then it's all mine ;-)

As for today, didn't go up onto the 500 due the amount of rain. Had to spend all day on the road due to lots of peeps doing CBTs, so instead of having the Honda CG125, I had the AJS125, new bike, much more responsive throttle more similar to the 500 and much better brakes. I was going to swap from that to the 500 afte a couple of hours, but the rain got worse, so rather than have to get used to the 500 on the road in those conditions, I just stayed on the 125.

I had a wicked time. Did just over 90 miles around town traffic and some open country roads in and around Bristol and it was, again...amazing.

Had some real fun turning wet drain covers/pot holes/slippery road markings etc. into obstacle courses and had the time of my life. I was riding straight up, maintaining speed and doing last minute swerves around them. That felt so natural to me, felt like I could just chuck the bike around underneath me and my arms and hands stayed much more relaxed today so the cornering and counter steering was a breeze.

Monday, I am spending all day at the centre, straight onto the 500 and doing all slow control (which I love) and can practise the module 1 test all day long as they have the exact course already laid out.

BRING IT ON BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:-) :-) :-)

[Milky Bar Kid]

Well done chick! xx

[Geodude]

More good news for you, well done :D

[fenjer]

well done! Sounds like you are a natural. :)

[gruntygiggles]

Thanks guys :-)

[mrs cuffy]

BIG well done.I can't believe how the CBT has changed in the past few years, as when I did mine we only had to carry out emergency stop in the school grounds and prove you could ride safe on the open roads. God if I had to do that now think I would fail!

[gruntygiggles]

BIG well done.I can't believe how the CBT has changed in the past few years, as when I did mine we only had to carry out emergency stop in the school grounds and prove you could ride safe on the open roads. God if I had to do that now think I would fail!

Well, fingers crossed I'll get through the DAS ok and then at some point in the summer, we'll have to meet you guys over the bridge for a rideout :-)

[mrs cuffy]

Well, fingers crossed I'll get through the DAS ok and then at some point in the summer, we'll have to meet you guys over the bridge for a rideout :-)

All fingers crossed for you, I'm sure your do it just enjoy relax and keep positive. Looking forward to the rideout already :smt045

[Jayneflakes]

Carol used to instruct for BMTC a few years ago and has some interesting stories from them, we think one of her old mates still works for them too.

Anyway, good luck with the training and the Mod 1 test. I have just done it and passed it in about ten minutes. As long as you have your slow control sorted it is an absolute doddle and the hazard avoidance is great fun. I went around the Bristol course with an old guy that has been doing bike tests for years and he was lovely. My nerves melted away with him and he explained it really well.

[yorkie_chris]

Well done :)

[-Ralph-]

Well done GG. The 500 is eaasier, you sit in it rather than perch on top of it and the centre of gravity is much lower, 'cos the difference between your weight and the bike's weight is much greater.

[Lozzo]

Whoa. You didn't say you were doing it with Bristol Motorcycle Training. Wouldn't trust them. I seam to recall they gave a spotty 16 year old a CBT some 10 years ago even after he managed to hit a cone and drop his brand new moped.

What's the big deal?

When I first started riding you didn't even have to know how or why to change gear or use the clutch, you just bought a bike, slapped some L plates on it and rode away forever on them. You soon learned how to do it properly and surprisingly very few riders got hurt or died through a lack of training, so I really don't see the point of the amount of training new riders have to endure to get a licence nowadays.

All this new licensing legislation has damn near killed motorcycling as we knew it.

[ArtyLady]

Well done! another one for the girls team soon! :riding:

[yorkie_chris]

All this new licensing legislation has damn near killed motorcycling as we knew it.

It's because of big brother brown and his evil plan to make everyone work until they're at least a million years old so as to ensure his minions PA's caddys butler can still claim a holiday in the carribean on expenses.

They don't want you smoking or trying to drink your own weight in beer either. The slags.

[madcockney]

What's the big deal?

When I first started riding you didn't even have to know how or why to change gear or use the clutch, you just bought a bike, slapped some L plates on it and rode away forever on them. You soon learned how to do it properly and surprisingly very few riders got hurt or died through a lack of training, so I really don't see the point of the amount of training new riders have to endure to get a licence nowadays.

All this new licensing legislation has damn near killed motorcycling as we knew it.

When I was riding in my teens we just used 6 months provisionals and you could have seven, without a break. Put in for my test twice, but never took it for various reasons. Now many years later I have gone back to bikes so currently waiting to do my Mod 2, though that has been ongoing since November and it has recently been rescheduled again now to May, as my Instructor has come off a ladder and so can not take us to the Test Centre, and that is the earliest date he can get from when he should be fit again.

I actually think that the new test is far better and fairer than the previous. What I have learnt for the mod 1 I am sure has made/will make me a better rider, and though over the months/years I would probably have got to the same stage, this means that I get out on the road with more knowledge and experience to start of with. I don't have the opportunity of using a 125 to play around on, but the guys and gals who do are certainly better and more advanced than I am. Having said that I do think that the bigger bikes are easier to ride than the 125s, due to many reasons. I know many experienced riders who shudder at the thought of the Mod 1 or being out and followed by an examiner for 40 minutes in the module 2.

The test is going to get even harder over the next few years and my instructor, who himself has passed the tests as a DSA examiner, but chose to train rather than test and has also trained N Wales Police motorcyclists, concurs and thinks that there will be a lot more illegals on the road. There has already been a drop in those taking the new test already.

Oh did I tell you I bought my bike even before I took my CBT, but never thought that it would take this long or be this expensive to get through the tests (DAS). But bikes are fun aren't they! http://forums.sv650.org/images/icons/icon7.gif

[-Ralph-]

CBT was introduced in 1990, I did mine in 1992. My old man was cursing it because the only date we could get was when the dealer was closed, so he had the bike delivered home, then got a mate to trailer the bike to the car park where the training was done.

I'd been riding motorbikes off road and push bikes on-road for years, and in his eye's I should have been able to get on it and ride it there myself. He'd be uninsured and I'd be unlicensed. My stepmother threw a strop at the suggestion of either of us riding it there.

For me the CBT was pretty much a formality and I was perfectly capable without it, so Lozzo has a point, but I still think the CBT is a good idea, as some people may never have been near a pushbike, a motorbike or a copy of the highway code.

[metalangel]

I think CBT's a good idea... I'd only ever ridden bicycles before and I'd have probably killed myself if I'd just been given a 125 and left to my own devices.

[petevtwin650]

Haha...Pete, he'll be scrubbing the new tyres in for me....then it's all mine ;-


I like it GG.

Stretchie, the tyre scrubbing biatch :smt045


Monday, I am spending all day at the centre, straight onto the 500 and doing all slow control (which I love)


Of course you do Cheryl, Dan taught you that.:cool:

He can learn hi-speed control from you :p

[-Ralph-]

I think CBT's a good idea... I'd only ever ridden bicycles before and I'd have probably killed myself if I'd just been given a 125 and left to my own devices.

I certainly agree with CBT for a 125.

I was 16 and riding a 50cc, it had proper motorbike controls (gears and clutch), but topped out about 35mph restricted. I could reach bigger speeds downhill on my push bike. I was actually in less danger than on my pushbike, because I had better brakes, tyres, lights, a helmet, leather jacket and boots.

If it had been a bike capable of 65mph, that would be an entirely different kettle of fish. Graduating to that after a year on a 50 is much less dangerous that jumping straight onto that at 17 having never ridden a bike at all.

[timwilky]

AND I PASSED!!!



And how could you not. It is training, not a test.


In some ways I agree with Lozzo, you just stuck L plates on and got on with it. Strange my twin brother still managed to fail twice on his 4 times round the block.

As for the bikes learners have to ride these days. I had a go a few months ago on my nephews CG125, OK it was a tad old. but useless brakes, gutless acceleration and the handling of an old slapper when you say you don't sweat much for a fat un. Positively dangerous and designed to kick you off.

Get on with it girl, get yourself on the 500 after all you are paying for DAS training.

[-Ralph-]

As for the bikes learners have to ride these days. I had a go a few months ago on my nephews CG125, OK it was a tad old. but useless brakes, gutless acceleration and the handling of an old slapper when you say you don't sweat much for a fat un. Positively dangerous and designed to kick you off

The CG125 is indeed horrible (sorry ex owners, it is), but there are much more stable, safer alternatives out there, like the Suzuki Van Van, or the Honda Varadero, and some bikes with relatively capable sportsbike type handling like the YZF-R125.

[missyburd]

The CG125 is indeed horrible (sorry ex owners, it is), but there are much more stable, safer alternatives out there, like the Suzuki Van Van, or the Honda Varadero, and some bikes with relatively capable sportsbike type handling like the YZF-R125.

Well I was playing about on my 1977 CG last night and I love it. Yeah it's ancient but it goes nicely. And it puts up with me without any strops so it wins in my book! Plenty of people have them, they are a good first bike, and they don't depreciate, bonus!

[-Ralph-]

Well I was playing about on my 1977 CG last night and I love it. Yeah it's ancient but it goes nicely. And it puts up with me without any strops so it wins in my book! Plenty of people have them, they are a good first bike, and they don't depreciate, bonus!

They are fine when you are used to them and have a figure like yours, but I weigh almost as much as the bike, which puts the centre of gravity somewhere around my hips and the seat, and makes them very top heavy, tippy, and unstable. You can get used to them, but jump on it from another bike and I wobble the first 1/2 mile until that happens!

The bike itself is from an era long before designers started thinking about mass centralisation, it was designed as cheap motorised transport to commute across japanese cities, basically a bicycle with an engine, no thought given to handling, brakes, etc. That's why everyone on this thread is saying the 500's are much easier to ride.

There are other 125's I've ridden where the designers have thought about weight distribution and tried to make it ride and feel like a bigger bike, with better suspension and brakes. The CG125 wouldn't be my recommendation for a 17yr old, there is so much better out there nowadays.

[missyburd]

Well at least there's reassurance in that if you can get to grips with a dodgy 125 life can only get (seemingly) easier!

And yes, I see what you're saying about the centre of gravity thing, makes sense now you mention it!

[-Ralph-]

Well at least there's reassurance in that if you can get to grips with a dodgy 125 life can only get (seemingly) easier!

That is very true, if you can ride a CG125, you can ride anything.

[gruntygiggles]

I like it GG.

Stretchie, the tyre scrubbing biatch :smt045



Of course you do Cheryl, Dan taught you that.:cool:

He can learn hi-speed control from you :p

Haha...like it Pete ;-)

And how could you not. It is training, not a test.QUOTE]

Three lads failed their CBT yesterday. Got back and out of the four that were doing it, only 1 passed. The instructor basically said that they clearly hadn't listened to a word he'd told them in the morning. They were three friends that wanted to go from 50cc to 125 and the instructor said they were a risk to every other motorist because they were obviously used to riding together and going where they wanted to. They had pi$$ poor obs, kept bunching together, cutting up other vehicle etc.

I was just chuffed because I've never ridden before and it rained...lol

[QUOTE=-Ralph-;2217654]That is very true, if you can ride a CG125, you can ride anything.

Good to know. The AJS125 I was on yesterday was fab. Acceleration, braking and handling were much better. Could really throw it around, even in water and still felt safe.

[-Ralph-]

Good to know. The AJS125 I was on yesterday was fab. Acceleration, braking and handling were much better. Could really throw it around, even in water and still felt safe.

That's a chinese CG125 copy is it?

I assume the lads who failed had been riding 50cc for two years and their first CBT had expired? Or they had been riding 50cc illegally without a CBT. You don't need a new CBT to go from 50 to 125, you just need your 17th birthday.

[gruntygiggles]

They were all 18/19 and CBT's expired. They were obviously new to it when they first did it, but two years later had turned into cocky little know it alls. It's restored a little faith in the system that those idiots don't just get a pass because they can ride. Road safety is more important....thank goodness!

[Milky Bar Kid]

They must have been really bad to fail it mind you!

The other week I was coming back in from having to go to a treble 9 in a rural area, 4 young lads on I think RS50's, one on a ped about a mile behind them all. It was late at night, on a busy road, and they were racing each other - overtaking each other on bends etc etc etc. I blasted out passed them and stopped them. They didn't even have gloves on, no helmets fastened, wearing trackies n trainers.

I started talking to them and they gave off a "what would you know" vibe so I advised them I have held my bike licence for almost two years and they shut up so then I gave them what for and they were nearly crying..bottom lips going and everything!

It's just young lad syndrome though - they think they are invincible.

[gruntygiggles]

Yes, they do and two got killed where I used to live because of it. From what I could gather overhearing it...they were literally ignoring the instructor and riding together along the roads, pulling up at lights and lifting their helmets up to rest on their foreheads and were constantly cutting up traffic. I think one of them must have flipped the bird to a driver as well as I heard him get told to never make gestures to other road users...lol.