Newbie here, just done my CBT, some strange feelings.

Hi all,

I just wanted a bit of advice really. I am totally new to bikes, I
have wanted to make a move towards getting a bike for a number of
years but have never really done anything about it. My only bike
experience was riding around a mates field on a 125 in first gear
about 15 years ago aged 9.

So I decided to do something about it and try and get my license then
buy a bike for the summer. Yesterday I did my CBT but rather than it
making me want to do my test even more, it made me really
apprehensive. I guess I just expected to jump on the bike, buzz
around the car park for a few hours and then get on the road and just
feel like I was in my car. However it was not like that at all. I
found myself having to think about everything, gears, brakes, mirrors,
checks, lane changes, and it was a shock. I found it hard to relax
properly and was basically a bit disappointed as I consider myself a
fairly good driver and wanted to just get on the bike and feel the
same.

On the way home in the evening, I was totally exhausted and my brain
was awash with information. I just kept thinking am I really cut out
for this, maybe this is something I am just not good at. I wondered
if I would just poor a lot of money that I don't really have into
trying to get my license and never be able to manage it.

I admit that I woke up this morning and felt a lot more positive about
everything, it did not all seem so hard and it was like my brain had
organised everything a little better. I am still a little daunted by
the vulnerability of it all and the fact I am having to concentrate so
hard to get everything right, but I recall once I relaxed a little I
rode better and felt more confident.

I just need to know that I am not the only person that has felt like
this and that it is relatively natural and will improve with time on
the bike and time on the road. Some mates say I just need to get on
the 500 which will feel a lot more stable and controllable, others
along with the instructor I had, say I should opt for some more time
on the 125 to iron out all my wrong doings.

I was thinking of just doing some time on a 125 around the area I live
to get my confidence and skills up, but I am being told to just do an
intensive 3 day with a day on the 125 and next 2 on a 500 with a test
on the afternoon of the 3rd day.

Sorry about the long post, just wanted to get it off my chest.

Cheers, and thanks for any advice you can offer.

4DDM

 

<snip>

Are you doing this as a transport thing or because you think it's fun?
Because if aint the latter I think you've got a hold of the wrong end of the
stick when it comes to bikes in general. You don't need cubes. 125's can
be an absolute blast.

 

No, it really is purely for fun. i always wanted to give it a go and
decided that even if I don't get a bike this year, I will probably want
to at some point so lets get the license bit out of the way.

It will be useful as I am probably going to sell my car, but will still
have access to my girlfirends car. However I will not be using it for
commuting in the cold, wet and dark. Purely for sunny sunday rides.

It was not the performance on the 125 that has brought on these
feelings, I was really impressed at how quickly it moved when you
wanted it to. Just felt like I would not be able to pass my test, but
then I didn't have one car lesson and think I could pass.

I think I just need a bit of a pep talk and reassuring that with some
time on the bike and road, things will be much easier and a pass is
possible.

Thanks,
Adam

 

haha... Gavsta, you sound just like my boss! He is the one saying
that anymore time on a 125 is a waste of time, I just need a couple of
days on the 500 and will be fine.

I cannot comment on this, hence my post above asking for some advice.
I just want to pass my test and be and feel safe.

Cheers.

 

Good idea.

Another good idea. Commuting in the cold sucks. Going numb and trying to
keep your wits about you is not fun.

It's not a car. You've probably, as you kind of hinted at, realised just
how vunerable you will be on a bike and how fucking stupid your fellow car
drivers will be. There's a lot to take in.

A pass is possible. I got my licence and I'm fuckin hopeless!

 

Cheers Gazzafield... just the sort of thing I was after. I will stick
at it and do a 3 day intensive course.

You are right, car drivers are stupid and I did feel vulnerable. Just
worred I will get to a point where I am unable to pass the test and
have spent so much money trying to do so that I have not option but to
keep paying.

Either that or the more I learn, the more I will feel vulnerable and
the more car drivers will scare me by being dangerous... Then I will
have a license or be close to it and not even want to ride a bike...
again, waste of money!

 

Buying decent kit helps in that regard though.

Same here
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Remember when you learnt how to drive a car... You probably felt the same
way, in as much as there were a shitload of new things to learn to do at
one, look out for etc etc. Except when you learn how to drive a car, you
tend to do it in one or two hour chunks.

When doing your bike training, you have a new load of things to learn how to
do, all at the same time. And you do it for sustained periods of time.
Case in point:

Mate of mine decided that getting a bike was the solution to his transport
problems from east london to the west end every day. So off he went and did
his CBT on a scooter. Went and bought a little 125 manual bike the next
day, but wasnt at all confident about driving it, having never driven a
geared bike before. I picked it up for him, and last weekend, we went out
and bought a couple of radios and spent about 5 hours on Sat and 4 on Sun
pootling about the area, giving him pointers and basicly getting his
confidence up.

On day one, I thought "no fucking *way* hes going to get through this
weekend without dropping this thing".

I was wrong, and by Sunday, he was confident. All the little things that he
had to think about doing beforehand hand started to become second nature.
Your body learns to do things without concious effort after a while.

By the end of both days riding, we were both knackered. Him from
concentrating on what he was doing and listening to me on the radio giving
instructions, and me from concentrating on the road dangers nt just for
myself, but for him as well. Concentrating that hard leaves you washed out
for sure.

So the moral of the story is: Get out and do it. Yes, it will be hard
work, and yes, there are lots of new things to learn. But do you have to
think too hard about what you do when you drive your car?.... how do you
feel about driving now, compared to the first time you got behind the
steering wheel after passing your test?....

 

Not gonna happen. It's a totally different world.

I managed to pass my test first time, and had I been testing me, no *way*
did I reckon I was good enough to be allowed out as it were.

I was in a similar situation. I decided to risk £80 on CBT cos I could
afford that if I didn't like it. Then I decided to risk £500 on a SO 125
trailie, cos I figured if I didn't like that, I woudl be able to get my
money back on it. After 6 months commuting on that, getting cut up by
every wanker on the way from Debden to Clerkenwell, I got into work, got a
couple of recommendations from this mob of reprobates and booked my DAS.

About a month later I was swanning about on a Ducati Monster feeling a
million dollars.

You will, and the more you do it, the more relaxed you will become.

It almost certainly will

I did this. If you are a confident (and more importantly confident in your
own skills as a driver) driver, I'd go for DAS as soon as you're
comfortable with the cost. However, nearly all drivers, when questioned,
reckon they are a good driver. You need (IME) to be sure that you're
concentrating on *riding* as opposed to using the road, IYSWIM

The best piece of advice I can offer, if you want to use UKRM as a source of
info, amusement, grief, horror sadness and sometimes biking is to go here:

www.ukrm.net/faq/

Read it, digest it and stick to it (especially section 1)

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www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

Well thanks everyone, I think that is what I needed! I was not that
bad and I forget who said it, they would not have given me a
certificate had they not been satisfied I was any good.

I think I will get my Theory done and get myself booked on a 3 Day DAS.
A day on a 125 and 2 on a 500. At the moment I think I am a million
miles away from passing my test, but I have to think there will be many
hours of DAS training to help get my confidence and skills up.

Wish me luck!

Cheers,
Adam

 

Doesn't seem to help for me ( well, ok it does. A bit) as I'm cold blooded
and heartless and need some rays to warm me up.

 

I can't understand why some people think that you're more likely to
crash a decent-handling, sticky-rubbered, well braked and sensibly
powered bike than an underpowered, ill-handling, bicycle-tyred 125.

poofs.

 

That *is* odd, innit


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Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 2.0 TS
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

I have similar problems, but better kit certainly helps.
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 2.0 TS
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

A common feeling post CBT amongst car drivers.

Once familiarity with the basic controls arrives, and you are used to
performing regular mirror checks, shoulder checks et el, it becomes a real
pleasure. It comes down to practice and experience.

It'll come with time.

You had a good CBT by the sounds of it.

Yup. Sleep on it and the new skills get acquired by the miracle of the
hoomun brayne.

See that nail over there?, you just whacked it right on the head.

You aren't. A lot of newbies have said they felt that way post CBT. You will
improve with time and application. Listen to your instructor.

The 500s are more stable and controllable when you have the skill set in
place. What they are not is entirely suitable to someone who still has to
think about what they are doing to any great depth. It is, as others have
said, much easier to get into a heap of woe on a 500 if you overcook the
throttle etc.

Listen to your instructor. Once you are comfortable and confident riding the
125, they will transfer you to a 500. To put you on one when you are still
having to be reminded/cajoled about things would put you and others at
risk. What you don't want is to scare yourself as that will ding your
confidence.

Hmmm. Three days is possible, but ask yourself whether or not you'd be
better off with a four day and get some more riding on the 125. Transfer to
a 500 doesn't take long with a confident, smooth rider.

Now you have a CBT cert, why not pick up a 125 for a few hundred quid, ride
that for a month or two then go back to the ATB and continue?. You will be
able to sell the 125 in summer for pretty much what you paid for it
providing its not some POS far eastern knockoff.


My 2p.

 

Get a Trike, you don't need to pass any silly tests then

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Agree 100%.

I'm currently seeing someone who passed her test in the Summer. She'd
never touched a bike before and hasn't touched a bike since.

She's just bought a big bike and hasn't even had the bottle to try it
yet. Basically forgotten the lot.

Experience is everything and the size of the bike you get it on is
irrelevant.

 

I think people automatically equate power with danger. Personally, I
had 6 lessons on a 125, and a bit of faffing around on a borrowed
CG125, passed my test and hopped straight onto a ~50bhp SZR660.

 

although the concept is sound - take a mildly powered bike, and put it
in a rock solid frame with exceptional handling - people who want
sports bikes in general want the most powerful one they can afford to
insure.

I actually like the look of the seat unit, but I realise I'm in a
minority, and agree with any and all derogatory comments about the OE
exhaust can.

They look nicest in yellow, with an all black seat unit.

Mine was the '96 metallic blue with red/charcoal seat, which I'll agree
doesn't do the shape any favours.

 

That is *exactly* how I felt after doing my HGV training. Plus my arms
were aching from hauling a fucking big steering wheel around.

All I can say re bikes is that it becomes instinctive after a while, and
a lot less effort.

Regarding bigger bikes, the potential for diaster is huge. People with
no experience of bikes have no conception of how fast the things can
accelerate. Even a lowly 500 twin has the sort of acceleration, at least
to 70 or 80, that you'd associate with exotic supercars.

It's easy to accelerate way beyond your personal riding limits and drop
yourself into A Situation.

Persevere, remember that every road user is inded out to kill you, and
take it easy. The danger period comes about a year after you first
started, when you get complacent, think you know it all and discover
(probably painfully, certainly expensively) that you don't.