On a more serious note.....
 

So....... last Tuesday (18th) I failed my 1st test after taking a DAS with one serious fault for not cancelling an indicator. After the obvious disappointment, I'm all set to take another test.

Now - Not having a bike (yet) I need to keep the amount of time in between rides to a minimum - cos I can't practice, I'm relying on passing ASAP otherwise instruction is costing me a fortune, (almost) just for the privilege of borrowing the big bike.

Question is - Can I take another test on Oct 1st? This would be perfect because I'll be on holiday for a week after that date. I suspect though that this day 10 of 10, and the earliest I can do another is 2nd, which is a shame.....

Anyone?

PS - thanks to everyone who responded to my last post about buying a new K6Sport. I'm now looking for a used one I think because I dread something bad happening!

More to come on that later......

Re: On a more serious note.....
 

Checkthe DVLA website, but i think you may be right.

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i had to wait two working weeks, best thing to do is ask your instructer. :p
keep at it mate took me 4 times to pass

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Yerp - checked it but it doesn't seem clear enough really, just says "10 clear days". I suppose day 10 isn't a clear day really, day 11 is.

I could phone them but I can't tolerate the damned menu system that you have to navigate to get to a real person.

:D

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Thanks - I'm gonna keep trying. What were your faults? (no need to air them publicly, if they're dangerous!)

- this is part of the problem - I took the DAS at a place a bit too far from home (yeah yeah - my fault). I actually live about a mile away from a test centre so all I want to do now is find a local instructor who will shadow me a for 2 hours before a test that I'll book myself. I'm sort of in limbo....

Ahh, I never make things easy, do I?

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What are the criteria for the shadower if you are riding a 500? ie: does it have to be a qualified instructor, or could your uncle Bob take you out?

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approved driving instructor, precisely to stop you going out with uncle bob;)

good luck on the test:)

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All the best people have 4 goes.

Me - foot down in yewwie x 3:( Could do it perfectly in practice, nerves got the better of me.

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Good Luck - mine's booked for tomorrow afternoon so I'm feeling your pain!!

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Fault :

1. front wheel crept into a cycle box at a red light
2. slightly grazed a dropped curb in my yewwie
3. too many little mistakes
4. PASSED :D ( After not giving a flying fuge wether i passed or not because i was so cheesed off with the whole process)

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first time with 2 minors !!!!!!!

all you need is 6 calms pill to make you all relaxed !!!!!!!

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Quick, send me some then cos I'm bricking it now!!!

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This is the thing, I've been wanting to get it all done and dusted for about 2 months now (since booking the DAS) and on the day of the test, I met the examiner and thought - 'well, I'll try it, but I can't promise myself anything'. I was totally relaxed, almost like I didn't try hard enough at times.

--knowing fine well the only time I'd done a full U turn without a foot down was about an hour before!


Did it first time on the test. Fingers x'ed for next time :)

....and good luck - although you shouldn't need it :smt002

Kev

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Bring back the old days when the examiner stood on the corner and watched you wobble off

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my instructor was in a car on my bike test. he got out of car and watched me do hill start, u turn and emergency stop. fell off 17 times practising the u turn the day before my test. good luck

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Afternoon all.
Being an old git I kinda feel sorry for you newer riders, who have to put up with all that malarky.
There was no such thing as a CBT, one just stuck L plates on a 250 & off one went.
The test itself was areal giggle, as there was no following you around, the examiner walked round the block, after giving one directions as to which way to go, therefore he could only see ones riding for less than half the time.
Examiners used to scuttle down alleyways to try & catch one doing something daft when out of view.
I did my test on my 250 Honda, which had no indicators, & an exhaust note that would get one an instant ticket these days.
From good morning, until I had the pass slip in my hand was no more than 20 minutes at the outside.
It's no wonder they tightened up on it eh!
Good luck next time Ooger.

Cheers.

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yeah i failed my first two on U-turns.

first left it in 2nd tried to pull off stall, fail!!

second looked down lost concentration and foot down, fail!!

3rd time might have well been on a air strip it was so wide, i think i could have passed on a Rocket III.

keep going and good luck.

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I suppose its been a while since the majority of you lot went though the test, so heres another one for ya:

Rumour has it that you can be asked to push the bike round a U turn as well (i.e as well as ride it).

The opportunity for a thumbs down on this is if you didn't flick in into neutral before you cut it off. Clutch in is an obvious signal to Mr Luminous Jacket.

Oh, and the "dropping it" thing still applies.

:D

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Its not that usual mate.

Its to demonstrate that you can control/manoeuvure the bike under your own power. It can also be done to demonstrate that it is physically possible to u-turn in the alloted road.

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Thanks - funnily enough I was only out for 9.2 miles and about 20 minutes (they say it takes 30ish). The serious fault was done after maybe 15 minutes too, so maybe he just wanted to get back - I was last of the day.

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Yep - its always good to wheel it round first to find out you've got about 10cm of a margin of error for when you're riding it! Does wonders for the confidence!

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Don't worry. I failed my first test on not cancelling in the indicator. Then had 3 weeks off the bike and passed with one minor fault. Just make sure you get those couple of hours in beforehand.

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Better luck next time Ooger. I passed my DAS on the worst weather day for years, July 20th and had to deal with rain, floods and being completely soaked - The examiner said the weather probably went in my favour.

I took my DAS over 2/3 days and after an initial assessment the school offered free lessons if I failed, until I pass. 2 others on my test day failed their tests in the brilliant sunshine that followed the downpour both at the same junction with a filter light! I went back to the school after about a month with my new SV and was told that the other 2 had passed on their next try taking up the free lessons on offer for them too!

Good Luck on your next one.

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good luck i failed first time on not looking to the left after my u-turn incase cyclists were there even tho i did look to the right and pulled back into the right of the road. Took test 2 weeks later and passed with one minor, good luck!!

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I failed 1st go too...foot down on u-turn...only the millionth person to do it and won't be the last :) Got home, threw things around, calmed down, went back out 2 weeks later and passed :)

Good luck...anyone that passes 1st time is a freak of nature.

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Yayyy! I'm a freak of nature :D
Passed 1st time ... 3 minors:
1. Toe down on U-turn ... thankfully, examiner said it was simply nerves and that I didn't take (or need to take) any of the weight of the bike (or me) on that toe.
2. Missed a life-saver.
3. Pulled away when it wasn't safe to do so. (I disagree on that point ... it was clearly safe for ME to pull away, but my car-driving examiner didn't quite have the room to pull away - even though he still pulled out, so even though I'd been told to ignore him and "ride for yourself", he penalises me for not giving him the time and space to pull out behind me?! Not that I actually gave a sh*t as he'd just told me I'd passed :D )

I had to push the ER5 round in the road too, and bloody horrible it was too ... wet road, lined with trees, hence most of the road and certainly the gutters were both filled with wet leaves! I was actually MORE nervous about pushing the bike around than I was about doing the U-turn!

Oh and do I qualify as a super-freak of nature? Cos I also passed my driving test 1st time (albeit 20 years ago - no parallel parking, no hazard perception test, no theory - just a few quick "highway code" questions at the end) :D

I think the key to me passing both tests though was that in both tests there was a clear point at which I thought I'd failed, and from that point onwards I drove/rode a lot more relaxed.

Pete

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Well done, well done!

<insert funky image here>
:rave:
<end of funky image>

In other news - I've got my eyes firmly set on a curvy? 02 electric blue 650S but its 90 miles away and I can't ride it back until I have my license!

Fingers crossed the seller is patient......"I want that one!"

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not as freaky as me...

passed both car and bike 1st time, passed both theory tests first time and got 100% on both of them, not counting the hazard perception part for my bike one, which i still contest only nostradamus could get full marks on...

:rave:

edit: additional freaky points awarded for passing on friday the 13th;)

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Me too, 3 minors, on both car and bike.

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LOL ... well there's your incentive for passing ;-)

Fair play :notworthy:
Additional "freaky points" duly awarded to wolfie :smt024

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nyar!

Things go from bad to worse - the SV I wanted has been taken off eBay and theres no response coming from the seller either! The hunt continues. I want an 01/02 low(ish) mileage blue model, in case anyones wondering....;)

As an aside - I didn't know the DSA (lovely people) publish their test routes on their website? Did anyone else?!

If you look up the test centre, theres a list of funky links on the right hand side that can quite easily be missed!

http://www.dsa.gov.uk/DTCInfo.asp?id...38&ShowRoute=0

Not much use if you take a wrong turn I spose though :-P

Kev

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I had a little buzzer unit fitted to th indicators of my bike when I took my test, well before thais CBT stuff. Why don't Bike schools use these?

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I think I might get some sticky labels for my gloves......

[OFF?]

:D

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Just give the indicator a double click after each turn just to be sure. If you are on the ball you should be ok.

I think i've only left my indicator on once, in the few years i've been biking. Embaressingly it was on the Thames Valley ride to box hill, attended by some of the GM. Dan was in front of me so im fairly certain rigor was behind me. He had the class not to say anything....seems unlikely he didnt notice! :)

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I remember that. We were behind you. You left it on for miles.

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Ah that cheers me up. Maybe I could join you one day....one day.

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Indeed as we continued for ages along the same road. I think i noticed after a mile or two :smt033

I see you were too shy to mock me.

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I think your pants were so funny that I must have forgotten about it when we stopped.

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FFS....i do't mind that when my leathers are unzipped you can see my underwear, but they're boxers ffs! I don't wear pants.

That is all.

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Boxers, pants, knickers. All the same thing.