Lessons, are they worth it?

[Tomzo47]

Hi guys, I recently passed my Mod 1 first time, and am looking at taking my Mod 2 around my birthday in march (mainly because i've spied a very nice GSX650f in a dealer nearby for a quite reasonable price) and am considering taking a couple of lessons to iron out any problems, ive been riding for about 8 months and covered about 3000 miles but not sure if I'll need a mountain of lessons or just one or two, what do you guys reckon?
I'm not a perfect rider, nobody is, but I've been told by a few veterans I've been out with that I'm a safe one
Cheers guys
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Ybr 125 > Bandit 650SA > GSXR 600 > Triumph Sprint St1050 > CB1300 > Z1000SX + FJ1200 (written off) > VFR750 >FJ1200

[Kingstondavo]

Yes. definitely worth it, you might not need many, but definitely worth having a few.
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Current Ride - 2010 Hornet 600

[Teflon-Mike]

Cant 'hurt' can it?
And you might just pick up that 'tip' that makes the difference.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Rogerborg]

Oh lordy, here we go. In b4 the novel. [UPDATE] Too slow!

You need to define what "worth" means to you.

Money? Probably not. The test only costs £75 and the pass rate is high 60% for 'large' (i.e. almost all taught) and low 60% for 'standard' (typically younger riders and more untaught) tests. Statistically, lessons probably only buy you a few £££ in potential re-sit fees.

Riding skill? That's entirely subjective, and I personally don't believe that a good attitude can be taught. At best, some geezer will talk your ears off about how gear is only the twenty-seventh level of defence, and back when they started in 1879 you had to doff your cloth cap to any ladies that you met on the highway.

I'd suggest that you get through your test as soon and as cheaply as possible, then if you're still interested, contact your local IAM / RoSPA and get a free assessed ride, or look into the DSA "Enhanded Rider" scheme.
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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

[Taught2BCauti...]

Might be worth considering the assessed ride before Mod2, then once you have your full licence, get some advanced training on the bike you intend using for a while.


(Slightly off-topic) I know I haven't started on the licencing ladder myself yet, but after getting some very sound advice and positive encouragement from one of the more experienced riders above (thanks Tef), I have decided that it is time to do just that - plus, my circumstances have changed again and I am going to be spending a lot more time on 2 wheels.

I have resolved the technical issues that I had with the online and DVD based HPT examples, and am consistently hitting high scores, I am confident that the right course for me would be to do the Theory Test and go for DAS and get a bigger bike, quickly followed by some advanced training.
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Honda Varadero XL125(V8)
www.TheFutureIsHere.eu

[harscot]

Hi bud, yes I would get a couple of lessons, for one thing it's not how other riders see you, it's how you ride under test conditions, which an instructor can give you info on, also a bigger bike will seem heavier, you didn't say what you've been riding 8 months on, I assume a 125, in which case you will find a 500 very different, anyway It's your call and good luck on mod 2 test.
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First bike R reg Suzuki 125 GT twin in 1978:
2nd bike X reg Honda 650 Deauville in 2011:
Wish bike a Triumph Thunderbird: Dream bike Triumph Rocket........

[Teflon-Mike]

Where has 'DAS' suddenly popped up from?!?
You do know that you need to do BOTH Mods on the same 'class' of bike, dont you? So if you did Mod 1 on a 125 you cant do Mod 2 on a DAS bike.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[mike_wall15]

So far I've done Mod1 125, Mod2 125, and Mod1 600cc.
Will book Mod2 600cc for a few weeks time.

I've had no lessons, just taught myself on a 125 and a restricted 600cc. Passed all 3 first time so far...

As I'm teaching myself, I'd say go for that option.
Others who have had training will suggest some lessons are best.

No right answer really, you'll hear both arguments, do what you think is best.

Mike

[Taught2BCauti...]

[Rogerborg]

[Tomzo47]

thanks guys, and yeah it'll be a 125, i'm going to book one lesson next month at a centre not far from where i'll be doing the test and seeing what they say, not going to book until I know im ready so dont have any extra pressure to get ready fast
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Ybr 125 > Bandit 650SA > GSXR 600 > Triumph Sprint St1050 > CB1300 > Z1000SX + FJ1200 (written off) > VFR750 >FJ1200

[Recluso]

[Taught2BCauti...]

[bhinso]

It's possible to pass with a few lessons, I preferred the option of going with a training school for a couple of days though since I was riding a CB500 (unknown for me), was more expensive but certainly helped as I passed first time with 2 minors.
best of luck!

[haroman666]

I'd been riding for 2 and a half years, and I still took a day lesson for my Mod 2 just to cover anything I wasn't aware of and to get out of possible bad habits etc.

Even without that one days worth of lesson, I think I could have passed, but with more minors.

I think it would be worth you doing at least a half day, just so someone who knows what to look for, can tell you what you may need to change.

Slightly off-topic: Does every test center do their lessons in Days and half days? Because I had the choice between a half day @ £70ish or a whole day @ £130ish?? Half day was 8 - 12 (IIRC) and a whole day was 8 - 4ish (IIRC again).
Or do other places do an hourly rate like car lessons?
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The mistresses: 2000 Honda CBR600f, 2000 Honda VTR1000

[Teflon-Mike]

[haroman666]

Oh shit, yeah. My bad.
I meant ATB's.

So basically, it's up to the training school to decide how they structure their offerings in terms of lessons. And what suits them best is what it's based around...
Thanks
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The mistresses: 2000 Honda CBR600f, 2000 Honda VTR1000

[Rogerborg]

[Cunnington]

My tuppence worth - I had a good instructor who taught me to ride a bike rather than pass a test. I was so used to his high standards that I was really pissed with myself for picking up a minor on my test. This has become apparent when I hear of the piss easy ride that some of my mates had getting through theirs in comparison.

You can dress it any way that you want to - how much money it costs, pass rates with and without lessons, etc. to justify what you want to do, or you can look upon it as an opportunity to address the bad habits that you have picked up to date and set yourself up for a career in riding on a sound footing.

You are unlikely to take further training after the test, and will deem yourself competent when you have passed a test. I'd look at it the other way - you have achieved a standard to pass a test, which gives you a fraction of the skills to become a competent rider.

TL;DR
It is about attaining a life skill, not just passing a test, which should be seen as an ability to learn and attainment of a minimum standard to be on the road rather than any level of competence.
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'82 C50, '81 CB100, '84 GS125, '95 NTV650, '00 Bandit 600, '06 SV650, '56 Z1000, '89 NTV600
The Shaggy D.A. wrote: "You are invisible. Those who can see you are trying to kill you."