CBT Done....Now the DAS

[Drew Carey]

Hello All
Just wanted to post on here for two reasons, firstly, having never ridden bike in any capacity I passed the CBT today. Woooooo Hoooooo.

Secondy, I had a moment which scared the life out of me. Let me explain....... I had spent the time in the car park with no incidents, confidence was really good and was loving every moment. Then came the time to leave the comfort of the car park and move onto the open road. So, got away really well, then the firs place wego is straight onto a national speed limit area. I hear in my ear, "Right lads, open it up and accelerate up to 60", so I did, and though, "This is good, enjoying this. Then went round a small Right hander, then a much steeper left hander.

What then happened scared the life out of me.......I overcooked the left had bend and ended up on the right hand side of the road. Corrected straight away but it scared the life out of me. Frm that point onwards I was a nervous wreck.

We then stopped to do our U-Turn an emergency stop an the guy sat me down and told me off and said "I know you can ride better than this". Somehow, it calmed me, we got back on, and the rest shall we say is history.

The remaining went amazing and I loved it and didn't want to get off.

Afterwards, the chap said he was worried about my confidence and that I may need to spend an extra day on thebig bike (5 days instead of 4).

My question (thank you for reading it all) is....... what can I do to chill out more and improove my confidence??????

Anyway, just want to gain confidence, past full test so I can ride my lovely SV that is sitting in the garage locked up but begging for a ride.

Drew

[Wideboy]

congrats and good luck on you DAS

[Frank]

dont worry mate.Been riding for 20 yrs and still have days when my head is all over the place.just slow down and go with the pace of the day

[orose]

Could be worse - I did exactly the same in a right, and there isn't enough room for the sort of antics you got up to. Cue grinding metal sounds on the only DAS bike without crash bars in the school...

[Welsh_Wizard]

phew.. you did alot more on your CBT than I did.. I just pootled around the city centre for a while and did some u-turns in a carpark. Didn't go anywhere near a 'national speed limit' zone (dual carriageway was it??)

[sinbad]

When I was waiting for my test- I had a few (nerve wracking) days between DAS course and test- I found it was really helpful in settling my nerves to just sit and visualise myself doing things properly. If you know you can do it, you know how to do it, and especially if you have done it, then just take some time to remind yourself. Short of actual riding practice that's the best confidence builder I know of.

Also read things, all sorts of literature on how to ride (internet). It might be novice or advanced, it doesn't matter, it will build your knowledge and a handful of small but meaningful tips will sink in, and you'll get a "hey this might be even easier next time" feeling..... which is nice :)

Good luck.

[Welsh_Wizard]

best thing i did whilst doing my DAS was shouting the examiners instructors once he had given them.. stopped me from getting into any type of groove where i could make a mistake and kept my focus. Worked wonders for me (someone who starts looking round at the scenary in about 5mins :D)

[sinbad]

best thing i did whilst doing my DAS was shouting the examiners instructors once he had given them.. stopped me from getting into any type of groove where i could make a mistake and kept my focus. Worked wonders for me (someone who starts looking round at the scenary in about 5mins :D)

Did that begin with "ok, go get your gear on now mate"?

"OKAAY!! GO GET YOUR GEAR ON NOW MATE!!!!!!" :)

[metalmonkey]

I hated taking my test didn't pass first time.....thougth more time on the bike, more you ride the better you are simple. The dsa guys said there was a massive improment from the ride where I failed to where I passed with 1 minor. Just ride and ride and become more at ease on the bike. I did 2500 miles before I passed test, end of the day its down to you.

I would suggest ride as much as you can and sort out your clutch contol as that is the key to slow riding that is what I was taught, i passed. take it easy they just want to see a safe confident rider.
Head up look where you are going are you look is where your bike contol, you control the bike. for the u-turn do it again and again, clutch contol. Emergeny stop east as I did mine in the pouring rain, didn't lock, skid ect.

Though the DSA guy did ask me not throw up on his boots:smt078. Being nervous is okay its how you deal with it, is what counts.

Well best of luck, though you won't need it you will be fine enjoy:smt023:)

[Drew Carey]

Cheers Guys for the tips.

I think the strangest thing I have found is that on the way out to watch the rugby I was doing my driving by reflexes but thinking bout what I should be doing on a bike. It all seems to work in my brain better than earlier having had time to think about my mistakes etc.

Will just keep going and need to just relax and enjoy it. (Which I did.....been in a cage for 8 years and it was the most fun I've had on the road since learning to drive!!!!!)

[Drew Carey]

Ps...... On another note, I have just realised at 1am that I have to wait 2 weeks till start big bike......booooooooooooo.......gonna sob.......wanna do some more. :smt022:smt022:smt022:smt022:smt022

[mister c]

All I would say is ride to your capabillities. Build your speed up slowly and your confidence will build.
I think that the instructor is at fault for taking you straight into a national speed limit. If you do some town work, then, maybe up to 40mph & then, and only then, you should go for some fast stuff.
Put the little "Whoops" behind you & learn from your mistakes & you will be fine :)

[Kinvig]

wilkommen

[the_lone_wolf]

Cheers Guys for the tips.

I think the strangest thing I have found is that on the way out to watch the rugby I was doing my driving by reflexes but thinking bout what I should be doing on a bike. It all seems to work in my brain better than earlier having had time to think about my mistakes etc.

Will just keep going and need to just relax and enjoy it. (Which I did.....been in a cage for 8 years and it was the most fun I've had on the road since learning to drive!!!!!)
i know exactly how you feel, because 4 months ago i felt the same way, it feels like you could handle emergency situations in the car with no hassle but on the bike you don't feel in control enough to be confident. i'd spent 6 years driving the car before i had the time and money to buy the bike, and with a grand total of around 200miles experience on bikes, ever, i passed and jumped on the SV. at first it was terrifying, and i made some mistakes that thankfully came to nothing, you learn and progress, something like 3500 miles on the SV now and things have really fallen into place, and i'm sure they will for you.

the most important thing to remember is if you don't feel confident doing what you're doing then don't do it, slow down if you're unsure. don't try to go fast, because you'll crash and burn, learn the correct technique and you'll naturally ride faster. that said you will overcook it into corners in the future, no matter how many times you say to yourself to slow it down, IF you find yourself in that situation, certainly if like me you've recently passed, the bike can corner a lot harder than you think it can... DON'T touch the brakes, LEAN more and you WILL likely make it

oh, and try to smile, it's all about the fun and love of biking:smt050

[Alpinestarhero]

Best way to relax? Take it easy. Your instructor might say "go for it", but if you dont feel like you can handle it, then dont bother. Alot of accidents happen because people get goaded into doing something beyond their abilities. Take your time, enjoy the ride. As you build up more understanding of how the bike reacts to your inputs, you'll get more confident.

Good luck with the DAS :D

Matt

[Drew Carey]

Cheers guys. As said above I should have backed off and also, if it don't feel right, don't do it, regardless of what the instructor does. I guess it will just get easier with experience.

Anyway, just want to get back out there now.

Drew

[Alpinestarhero]

Dont worry, you're time to ride will come! Have you got anything you can be poodling about on in the meantime? What about renting a schools 125 for the day, just to ride about on?

Matt

[metalmonkey]

Dont worry, you're time to ride will come! Have you got anything you can be poodling about on in the meantime? What about renting a schools 125 for the day, just to ride about on?

Matt

Renting a bike is the best thing you can do! It will help a a lot. As the others said if you don't want to something then don't do it! Build up your confidence adn it will come.

[Drew Carey]

I wish I could rent one, but cash being the operative word. The school has just bought brand new CG125's and becasue of this and the fact they are fully booked the prices have gone through the roof.

Been asking round freinds and searching Ebay, but can't find one at a decent price. They all seem to be a little too much. Just trying to find a road legal 125 with only a months tax & mot so that I can ride it then sell / bin it depending how much was paid.

[Pedro68]

Drew, I did the same thing ...

I took a left-hander a bit sharpish and ran wide. Corrected it in time to get back on line for the next right-hander, but it does scare you. Only thing I would say (as other have said) is to make sure you LEARN from it.

And remember ... slow in, fast out ;-) a bike will be MUCH more stable if you start to gently accelerate around and out of a bend ... but you go in with too much speed and try braking mid-corner and it won't be pretty.

Oh and instructor just said to me "what on earth were you doing on that bend back there? admiring the scenery a bit too much were we?", I just said, "yeah something like that".

Don't be too hasty on the bike too ... I managed to pass my DAS first time, after taking 5 half-day lessons. Each lesson was 2 weeks apart because I had my kids on alternate weekends. It took me almost 2 months to pass my test, but I did it :D (and that's after 20 years of driving a car!).

Oh, and have to agree with mister_c too ... national speed limit straight off?! wrong way IMHO ... first time out (on CBT), we went from Deeside Leisure Centre to Deeside Industrial Park. Anyone who knows the location of these will tell you, there's 2 ways to go - one on the Queensferry bypass (national speed limit) and one through Garden City (30mph). We took the Garden City route, and then spent an hour riding around the quiet (almost deserted) industrial park. On subsequent DAS lessons though we would always use the bypass ;-). Scariest moment of CBT was towards the end ... been out riding the roads of North Wales for a few hours ... the route we took back was over the Flint bridge, and it was a little bit windy :???:

Good luck with it tho ;-)

[Drew Carey]

Pedro68 - Cheers for the reply. Good to know it wasn't just me!!!I agree with the sentiments above, in that I think straight onto a national speed limit is a bit too soon as we couldn't get above 25mph in the car park we started in before running out of black stuff and ending up turning a CG125 into a trials bike!!!!Think when start the DAS part in a weeks time I will be much more confident having had time to think about it. Cheers to the Org. for all the hints / confidence boosting.Drew

[metalmonkey]

I wish I could rent one, but cash being the operative word. The school has just bought brand new CG125's and becasue of this and the fact they are fully booked the prices have gone through the roof.

Been asking round freinds and searching Ebay, but can't find one at a decent price. They all seem to be a little too much. Just trying to find a road legal 125 with only a months tax & mot so that I can ride it then sell / bin it depending how much was paid.

How much do you have to spend on a bike, if were to find one? I bought a Yamaha SR 125, for £720 I sold it err a few weeks back. Do you have your gear yet as well? If you get a bike budget for insurance on top, spare cash to keep it on the ride should it need repairs.

The you need to make sure you , spend good money on a Lid and work from there. Have a look at this link to some SRs on ebay. They are fine to ride around on and cheap insure.

http://motors.search.ebay.co.uk/Sr-125_Yamaha_W0QQa10238ZQ2d24QQa38ZQ2d24QQa39ZQ2d24Q Qa6ZQ2d24QQa85ZQ2d24QQalistZa39Q2ca6Q2ca85Q2ca38Q2 ca10238Q2ca3801Q2ca65113Q2ca65441QQcatrefZC6QQcoac tionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfgt pZQQfposZNW4Q204XAQQfromZR2QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ11QQftrt Z1QQftrvZ1QQga10244Z10425QQgcsZ14QQlopgZQQpf_query ZSrQ20125QQpfidZ1179QQpfmodeZ1QQreqtypeZ2QQsabfmts Z1QQsacatZ9809QQsadisZ200QQsaobfmtsZinsifQQsaprchi ZQQsaprcloZQQsargnZQ2d1QQsaslcZ3QQsbrftogZ1QQsofoc usZunknown

[yorkie_chris]

ending up turning a CG125 into a trials bike!!!!

Tried that for a laugh, didn't work very well.

We've all overcooked the odd corner and most of the time you get away with it.
Perfectly natural to be nervous the first few times you're out, I'd have a look for somewhere to rent a bike, theres a place in leeds does them by the day, all you need is the CBT and some cash. Just spending a day riding around will be a great boost to your control skills and confidence.