Mod 1 wipeout

[CruiserDreame...]

Hello all,

Yesterday I did my mod1. All maneuvers were well practiced. Both myself and my instructor were confident I'd pass.

During the avoidance part I came round the curve and accelerated into the straight and found myself looking straight into the early morning sun. I couldn't clearly so I decided to abort and stop.

Unfortunately, I clipped a cone with the front wheel which threw it under the back wheel and flipped the bike out from underneath me.

My kit did its job so I have nothing more than bruises and a few sore spots.

Next time I hope its cloudy.

[pinkyfloyd]

Unlucky dude. At least you're still alive and thats the main thing. Good luck next time.

When I went to walk around the course on my DAS I did shudder when I saw the gouges in the ground from bike spills during the swerve and stop.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[Rogerborg]

Ouch. I actually stopped on the way to my Mod 1 to buy some sunglasses.

Well, I think you made the right call, you just got unlucky. I'm glad you walked away from it and I hope it didn't knock your confidence.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Carl_G]

Bloody hell, I'm glad I didn't read this before going to do my Mod 1 today!

Glad you're ok, which test centre was it? I was worried about how sunny it was today but by my test at 11ish it was fine...
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CBT 11/09/10! Theory Passed 12/10/10! Mod 1 Passed 08/03/11! Mod 2 passed 13/04/11!
1993 Yamaha XV 535 (SMIDSYed) 2008 Suzuki GSF 650 (Hire Bike) 1993 Yamaha XV 535 (Resurrected!) 2004 Triumph Speedmaster 790cc (Payout from SMIDSY!)

[CruiserDreame...]

Hello Folks,

Thanks for the comments.

My confidence is undamaged. I would have had another go straight away if they would let me. I was able to ride the bike back after the event without problems. It wasn't my bike and I had only been on the road with it an hour. Which probably didn't help.

The site is in Chester and runs roughly east to west. For some reason they do the speed runs west to east. The site is only used in the morning, so I'm told, so it would make sense to set it out the other way round.

It seems odd that the cones are not crushable. If they were then I would not have lost the bike. I didn't come off through harsh braking or loss of balance. I came off because I had lost the contrast in my vision and couldn't see clearly and ran into a robust cone.

At minimum speed, 50 KPH, thats just under 14 Metres per second. The cones are 10 metres away which gives less than a second to react. I went through the gate at 54.

Luck or otherwise I screwed it up. But maybe there are some factors here that should have been considered in the design of the test.

[iooi]

[quote="CruiserDreamerDuring the avoidance part I came round the curve and accelerated into the straight and found myself looking straight into the early morning sun. I couldn't clearly so I decided to abort and stop.

I didn't come off through harsh braking or loss of balance. I came off because I had lost the contrast in my vision and couldn't see clearly and ran into a robust cone.
[/quote]

Going to play devils advocate here....

Lucky it was off the road.

Get used to riding and then being unable to see due to the sun.

Part of my commute is into the sun, trouble is its on a stretch of road with a few traffic lights on. Most of the road is uphill, so you get no choice but to look up. or you miss the traffic lights.

So there are things they can't design out. like the sun as it tends to move around a lot.
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Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[pinkyfloyd]

As above said. Not being able to see because of the glare from the sun isnt an acceptable excuse. You are expected to be able to ride in all conditions from sunny days to pissing rain. The only time they dont expect you to ride is in snow and icy conditions.

When you get the full license you will experience some of the hardest conditions to ride in at one point or another. Night time in the rain when the glare from oncoming cars is blinding because the headlight is reflected in every droplet of water on your visor.

The worse I have found (apart from that ride to Newbury when I hit snow) is when the sun comes out just after the rain and the glare from the sun is magnified by the glare from the road. Nightmare!
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[CruiserDreame...]

PinkFloyd: You are are corrcet. But what do you do? You slow slow down and reduce risk as I did. But on the road you wont find plastic cones all over the place that can throw you out.

This is an artificial situation with expected performance limits. In the real world you are thinking about what's in front of you not about the guy behind you with a clipboard and a pen.

[pinkyfloyd]

[CruiserDreame...]

Pink floyd: True enough. A car is somewhat larger then a 10" blue cone on a grey/black background, wether or not the car is showing any lights.

This test should not test extremes. If you can't see you slow down. If you slow down you fail. You can't win.

I have ridden in all weathers too, except snow and ice, thats just asking for trouble if you don't have to do it.

I'll do it again in a fortnight and i'll pass even if I have to look at the ground.

[Rogerborg]

Of course you should slow down if you can't see. The Mod 1 often obliges you to do the exact opposite of what's safe and sensible. What sort of a test is that? Yes, it tests control, but not judgement.

The site sounds bonkers. Might be worth asking the local authority environmental health Nazis to take a look.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Paulington]

To also play the Devil's Advocate...

Rogerborg, if all tests did was test you on your standard riding, i.e. on the road in safe standard conditions and such, what happens when a person DOES pull out on you? If the test was like that, you'd have never experienced that situation or anything like it before, so how could you possibly deal with it? It's much safer to learn on a piece of tarmac with some plastic cones than a solid car at 30mph or above.

If you really hate the sun, get an Iridum visor. I took my test with my iridium visor on, it's totally mirrored so you can't see my face, stops ALL glare and works fantastic as a pair of 'sunglasses'. I refuse to ride without one, they are a godsend.
____________________
"Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul."
Current Vehicles: '89 Kawasaki KDX200, '99 Yamaha XV535, '00 Honda ST1100 Pan-European, '08 Suzuki GSX-R1000, '08 Mitsubishi Lancer GS4 2.0 TDCi, '15 BMW 1 Series 116d Sport Turbo.
CBT: 27/08/08. Theory: 04/09/09. Module 1: 16/09/09. Module 2: 01/10/09.

[Shreddie]

But it is easier just to get iridium sunglasses (perhaps like mine) 'cos changing visors is a pain and you'd have to carry a clear one with you if you're planning on riding in dull conditions or in the dark.

[Paulington]

Why?

I have ridden for over 2 years with a bright orange iridium visor that is totally mirrored and totally illegal on an illegal (car-racing) helmet and have been stopped by the police many times and even did my test with it on!

It's fine in dull conditions, the only problem is at night when it does limit it a lot but you get used to it, at night I just rode with my visor up, don't ride a lot at night anyway, prefer the car.

!
____________________
"Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul."
Current Vehicles: '89 Kawasaki KDX200, '99 Yamaha XV535, '00 Honda ST1100 Pan-European, '08 Suzuki GSX-R1000, '08 Mitsubishi Lancer GS4 2.0 TDCi, '15 BMW 1 Series 116d Sport Turbo.
CBT: 27/08/08. Theory: 04/09/09. Module 1: 16/09/09. Module 2: 01/10/09.

[Shreddie]

[pinkyfloyd]

I got a helmet with a flip down visor. Great for sunny days.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[Rogerborg]

[Xdwardo500]

Might be worth packing some plastic sunglasses in one of your pockets in case of the sun. I always had a pair during my tests, and on a couple of occasions had to stick them on to reduce the glare.
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Lincoln, England
2011 Vespa GTS 300 Super
Riding Since 2011

[finger_nails_are_pretty]

Unlucky for the fail, but as others have said, lucky that was off road.

You could have been on a road, with sun glare, and that could have been someones child under your bike if you were to swerve like that.

You should have been prepared and got some adequate glasses for riding in the sun (anti glare etc).

Rogerborg - when did you do your Mod 2? I had mine cancelled due to snow, and they also cancel Mod 1 for snow at the centre I used (November 2010). If they think the weather will mean you cannot perform the correct exercises required, they should cancel the test. We are ALOT more likely to be riding in the sun and rain as opposed to the snow, so test should carry on in these conditions. Especially since a pair of sunglasses would probably have solved this issue.

[Rogerborg]

[CruiserDreame...]

I spoke to the DSA they told me it shouldn't have been done into the sun. They asked me to put in writing and then they will take a few weeks to think about it.

The test is intended to test the ability to swerve, not the ability to do it in extremes. If the intention is to test in extremes, it should be part of the test procedure, not on an ad hoc whatever happens on the day basis.

The test is supposed to establish a minimum standard. It is illogical to have a variable minimum standard.

Also, given the inevitability that cones would get run over sometimes, it seems an oversight to use cones that do not crush on impact.

[Paulington]

[CruiserDreame...]

Not rebooked yet.

Since I made the first post my right arm has deteriorated. I can't lift it without the help of my left hand. So I will rebook in a week or so when its full function has hopefully returned. I can ride but I don't think I can safely push a bike at the moment.

I will post again when I get a reply from the DSA.

Thanks for the interest.

[m0l0t0v]

[Paulington]

Oddly enough when I had my accident with my glasses on, they didn't really 'pierce my face'.

They gave me a few lacerations for sure, but what they did do was shatter my zygomatic bone (upper cheekbone) and put a small fracture in my left orbit (eye socket).

Bear in mind they are Tag Heuer rimless though, so quite strong, these:

https://www.ioffer.com/img/item/917/008/81/o_obhcnfRxHYLNhxQ.jpg.

Now I make a point to wear contact lenses whenever I am on the bikes. .
____________________
"Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul."
Current Vehicles: '89 Kawasaki KDX200, '99 Yamaha XV535, '00 Honda ST1100 Pan-European, '08 Suzuki GSX-R1000, '08 Mitsubishi Lancer GS4 2.0 TDCi, '15 BMW 1 Series 116d Sport Turbo.
CBT: 27/08/08. Theory: 04/09/09. Module 1: 16/09/09. Module 2: 01/10/09.