My DAS...the soap opera continues!!

Originally Posted by «Ŵìđéßõ¥»

im sure you'll do it i keep all my toes and fingers crossed

bye the way you asked ages ago in another thread i bet it take ages for you to log in well i finaly answer you its my msn name i coppy and paste there my secrets out

Now I know...all the mystery has now gone from our relationship lol

Originally Posted by 2mths

As for picking bikes up. The CG isn't very heavy, if you're struggling with that it's either because you haven't got the technique sorted yet (which sounds as if it might have been the problem and that you've improved on this score). However bigger bikes like the SV are much heavier. I think the CG is something like 115kg dry, the SV is ~165kg dry. That extra 50kg is a lot. So I hope with practise you get the hang of not dropping it.

50kg is more than I weigh so I can appreciate the difference it will make over and above the CG...my SV's virtually empty atm so I'm curious to see the difference a full tank makes to the weight/balance.

Thanks for the advice...will try the counter steering tip out

No need to apologise...I appreciate the advice it all helps!

[Shellywoozle]

Ahh I am currently away sailing and have not been on the site for a long time, but this post reminds me of me.

I had no confidence at all after dropping my SV, I eventually worked out that a lower seat and a pair of Daytona Ladystar boots gave me the ability to touch the floor better and ride alot better.

I found it was all in my head, once you drop it you think you're gonna do it again.

Think positive you'll do good !

Originally Posted by LouLou

my SV's virtually empty atm so I'm curious to see the difference a full tank makes to the weight/balance.

Thanks for the advice...will try the counter steering tip out

No need to apologise...I appreciate the advice it all helps!

FYI "Dry" also refers to engine oil and coolant, not just petrol. They only add about 5kg though.

Good luck with the stopping tip (it's a counter steering tip, though the counter steering tip is related but generally used when moving )

Fingers crossed for you.

Originally Posted by Shellywoozle

Ahh I am currently away sailing and have not been on the site for a long time, but this post reminds me of me.

I had no confidence at all after dropping my SV, I eventually worked out that a lower seat and a pair of Daytona Ladystar boots gave me the ability to touch the floor better and ride alot better.

I found it was all in my head, once you drop it you think you're gonna do it again.

Think positive you'll do good !

Will try! Find that posting on here helps me feel a lot more positive...everybody is so helpful

Whilst all the advice seems to be pretty solid thus far...i just thought i would add 2 more points:

1: It may have just been my training school, but i had to sign a contract stating i would pay for any damage incurred over £50-100 on the bikes i used for the training....is this the case for you as if bikes keep hitting tarmac there may be a hefty bill at the end of the training!

2: Most training schools worth their salt, offer a 'guaranteed pass scheme'. After an assesment, they estimate how many days training you will need and if after that you do not pass..then the tuition itself is free. You just pay equipment/bike hire. If you have this it may take the pressure off and you can relax and enjoy it.

At the end of the day if you keep dropping it or think you might drop it, then its understandable you might be on edge. Does the training school have somewhere off road(that is a decent size...not some tiny car park) where you can spend some time really getting to grips with the bike, getting your confidence up with all the basic manoevures. As soon as you have ironed that out, then you can deal with road riding. I say this from experience of having seen a girl in a similar situation to yourself. She was really drilled off road, where the pressure was off and when she was ready to move onto the road she really had improved massively. I know this as my instructor took her for her test with me in tow

Keep at it and i am sure it will come together...dont become fixated on the test date, just learn as fast as you feel comfortable and enjoy it!

Keep smiling... You'll get there in the end

Cheers people

Even though I've dropped the bike I've managed not to damage it (thank god!!) it's more a case of putting it down gently somehow...usually because it ends up on my boot

Off road, I've been practising on a 700m approx go-kart track which I find helps a lot. We still have a fair bit of track time to go so things may well improve!

[fizzwheel]

Its confidence. Liz can only get the balls of her feet down on her SV and its never stopped her.

Stop looking at the floor 1ft in front of your front wheel and start looking down the road, look where you want the bike to go and it'll follow.

Get out on the road and out of that carpark, get used to the weight of the bike on the move before you tackle the low speed stuff.

Oh IMHO do your test on the 500, but dont do it until your ready. It really is much easier to ride than the smaller bikes are.

Originally Posted by dirtydog

Could possibly be an SR125 they've got a pretty low seat height (i think)

Originally Posted by LouLou

I don't want to ride a 125 forever!! And I don't want a cruiser or anything like that either...even if I could sit flat footed on one lol

If you just want a low 125 to learn on I recommend the SR125 as well. I'm 5'4" with a 28" inside leg and had one when I was learning. Ugly semi cruiser thing though.



Grinch's curvy was the lowest SV I ever sat on. Even lower than my lowered pointy, which I can only get the balls of my feet down on.

Good luck with your test.

Possibly deviating a little from the most helpful line but if you have 'track time' off the road then perhaps try doing some slow speed work. Straight line as slow as you can go as well as slow manouvering.

They like to see slow speed control demonstrated in your test so it won't do you any harm there.

With increased control at slow speeds you won't need to stop so often, as you'll keep the bike moving. If you're not stopping and are in comfortably in control at low speeds then that's gotta be good - right?