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Anyone done the Bike CBT recently?

rruwalton

ISP Rep
At the age of 38 (soon to be 39) and after thinking about owning a motorbike for some time I decided to get on with it this week, and arranged my CBT for today.

So having never been on a bike this morning I joined 3 other people to learn how to ride, be competent on the road on a 125cc geared bike and collect my CBT certificate, which would then allow me to purchase a bike up to 125cc - There's some nice bikes http://www.phmotorcycles.co.uk/bikes/honda.html -

Now the 3 other people all had bikes at home and so had ridden before. Well after a promising start I went on to make mistakes and my riding went from bad to worse, I mean I was stalling the bike constantly - My head went down and my confidence went to the wall.

Needless to say after around 2 hrs, when it was time for a break, my instructor decided that I would need more time on the safe ground before going onto the road - NO CBT certificate today! In retrospect I would have been happier if I'd have had a break for 1/2 hr and then been allowed more practice.

Since coming home today I have beaten myself up about what happened, I'm one of those people whose mind works overtime!

However, my instructor is hoping to give me the extra practice and road ride on Monday after work.

I just wondered if anyone else had been through this. TBH, I am amazed people can get on a bike for 2 hours and be good enough to go on the road for 2hrs to then be allowed on the road, albeit it with L plates.

Fingers crossed for Monday :)
 
I agree with Butler, to expect to be able to ride confidently in a couple of hours without owning a bike is asking a lot of yourself.

Don't let it worry you, it will all fall in to place.

Good luck on your next attempt.
 
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Don't be despondent, Richard - as Butler and Inactive have said, expecting to pick it up in a couple of hours if you haven't ridden before is asking a lot.

I actually had the reverse problem - I'd ridden too much before, under the old law that allowed you to ride anything up to a 250 (which was enough for me) on a provisional licence and just keep renewing it ad infinitum.
By the time the law was changed and I had to take a test, I'd picked up lots of "bad habits", and, when I went out with the instructor on a one-to-one basis, got a good telling off from him - as he said, he could see I was OK, but an examiner wasn't going to like it. For example, coming to a T-junction and doing a right turn. The genuine learner will *stop* at the junction, look both ways, *then* turn. Yours truly, of course, having assessed the traffic situation well *before* I got to the junction, tootled straight round and was the wrong side of the white line. :D

It took an extra two sessions to get me back to behaving like a learner!
 
Thanks for the kind helpful comments guys :)

No, I had never ridden a geared (or any) motorbike before.

I've been replaying the whole thing through my mind - I know the theory, just need to put it into practice.

Amazing thing is many people pass the CBT without extra practice - This surprises me. The real riding and learning comes after the CBT when there's no one to guide you!
 
agreed, in my case tho l had been riding geared bikes for many years off road so lve always had a knack for it.. sadly when you take the practical test all these damn looks are a must it agirvates me but the time l took my test l failed for not been observant enough because l wasnt looking behind myself or my head wasnt twisting enough to see... more times than not tho doing that puts ppl off balance imho and looking behind like they want you to is actually dangerous since it takes ur eyes off the road however within reason when its safe i do think looking behind is useful... in any case lve never seen anyone who passed their test to do these looks or pretty much anything that l was told to..
 
Amazing thing is many people pass the CBT without extra practice - This surprises me. The real riding and learning comes after the CBT when there's no one to guide you!

It is just one of those things Richard, some people can and some people can't, no shame attached to that.

We all have a natural gift to do some things and not others, I am well past my sell by date, and still cannot type with more than one finger ... ;)

You will get it sorted .. :nod:
 
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timeless said:
looking behind like they want you to is actually dangerous since it takes ur eyes off the road

Yup, in London traffic, you make darned sure that your mirrors are set up perfectly and you *live* on 'em - waste time turning your head around and by the time you've turned back, some prat will have shot straight out of a side turning in front of you!
Use your mirrors instead of turning your head on the test though, and that's it, you'll fail - the examiner needs to see some *evidence* that you're looking.
 
Personally I like this 1, hell, I might do it myself :) {Haven't ridden a motorcycle in YEARS tho :eek:}

http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/246911/

THAT IS AWEFULL!!!!!!!! :laugh:

When I took my cbt test, I could ride the bike to the test centre myself. Yes... On the road without any form of training at all. It was a bit crazy back then.
One good thing I did learn out of superb bike handling is, practice and practice your slow riding. We used to play a game... Last one to the other side wins.
If your competetive it really works.

Good luck with any future tests. Just promise me one thing, DON'T buy the bike above! :D

Jason
 
hey, for a 125cc its alright, lol, personally i cant stand racing type bikes, i just felt i was all squashed up (not good for a fatty like me, lol) I prefer cruisers :D and as I only have a Provisional, I cant just jump out and buy a goldwing, lol
 
Yup, in London traffic, you make darned sure that your mirrors are set up perfectly and you *live* on 'em - waste time turning your head around and by the time you've turned back, some prat will have shot straight out of a side turning in front of you!
Use your mirrors instead of turning your head on the test though, and that's it, you'll fail - the examiner needs to see some *evidence* that you're looking.

heh l was failed for not turning my head enough... this is to say that l wasnt looking behind me... then again l did do my test in a town which even at the busiest of times doesnt really have a whole lot of traffic
 
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Probably "better" to have failed than learn the "hard way":-knocked off through riding badly and ending up injured or worse!At least this way you do get to "live and learn"
 
Don't forget, looking behind you when making manouvers like left and right turns are known as 'lifesavers' and that is exactly what they are!

I know its a pain but you need to get into the habit, you are a long time dead and its not that difficult to be killed on a bike :shrug: I've been riding since 1976 and at the moment I have an ST1300 Honda and it still amazes me how some drivers just don't seem to acknowledge that a bike is actually there, even one as big as mine :confused:

Be safe...
 
Amazing thing is many people pass the CBT without extra practice - This surprises me.

Ah...But how many of them were lying to look better? :laugh:

I could never ride a motorbike on the road....
I've seen just far too many accidents and the carnage they leave....

At least in a car I am wrapped in a shield of steel !!
 
...So having never been on a bike this morning I joined 3 other people to learn how to ride, be competent on the road on a 125cc geared bike and collect my CBT certificate, which would then allow me to purchase a bike up to 125cc - There's some nice bikes http://www.phmotorcycles.co.uk/bikes/honda.html ...

As others have said, to pass the CBT without previous motorcycle experience is a bit of a gamble really. In my case I spent many hours practising slow riding around the large garden I then had - and I also (though it's a tad naughty) practised on the quiet country lanes near the house. So when it came to the lessons I had no trouble coping with the technicalities of motorbike riding.

Although I'm fully qualified to ride whatever bike I want, I haven't ridden for a long time. There were so many instances where there could have been a nasty accident e.g. careless drivers, bad weather, poor road surface - that I feel it's a case of better safe than sorry. :hrmph:
 
Right guys, I have some more practice tomorrow after work and if I do okay on the training ground I'll be out on the road.

Fingers crossed - Just hope my nerves don't fail me. A few years ago I never really worried about stuff to any degree but a health scare last July created some anxiety issues in me.

Whatever happens, I will soldier on.

:)
 
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I have good news!

Finished work early and got to training ground for 4.30pm - After 20mins we went for a ride out - After an hour we were back and I was told I had done very well and was presented with the CBT certificate!

Not bad considering the ride was in the dark and it was as windy as (well very windy).

Thanks again for all the support :)

Just need to get a bike now - I learnt on the Honda XR125 http://www.phmotorcycles.co.uk/bikes/honda-xr125l.html
 
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