I would never use the word finished...

Originally Posted by gettin2dizzy

i didn;t think locking the wheel was a fail- as long as it wasn't too severe. i did a few times practising in the wet and the instructor didn't care. With passing tests i hate to inform you that it really is luck. The examiners have such on and off days, i passed riding badly, and failed riding perfectly. just stick it out (and nice bike! you might get someone with black wheels wanting to swap)

I didn't think the lock was too bad but the instructor said I left a 9ft strip of rubber on the road

I think you might be right about the luck thing though, third time lucky i'm hoping!

Good idea about the wheel swap, if anyone knows of anybody wanting to swap maybe they can put me in touch

Nope - not dat Virago - dis one.
That's my son learning on it (Like father ... etc) He passed his CBT and Driving test whilst staying up here in Norwich with me. The latter after 4 attempts in Sussex. Transpired he was getting frantic before the car test. Did a mock in the morning, freaked out, took the Virago out (stall, drop gloves, helmet etc..) calmed down and passed the cage test in the afternoon.
There's a moral in there somewhere.
When I get back from travelling in about 5 months I'm gonna strip it down and try and figure why it won't do over 60 mph. Word is the fuel diaphragm and filter get manky. It also makes a racket at high revs (piston slap??) on the road.
You need two bikes to get down to the spares department whilst the other one is in bits!
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Originally Posted by northwind

XVS started on a Dragstar 125 as well... It's a cult.

Well, not mine, it was a cu*t. Ba-doom tisch.

I started on a Yam 125 as well. The SR. It was rubbish, it was 2 years old and already had 3 owners before me. Sold it to my training school when I passed.