CBT done!

[scottdenningt...]

First off, thanks to everybody that gave me advice on which bikes would carry my big load about.

Secondly, I just completed my CBT! I know it's not the full licence, but it's quite a big achievement for me, and to be road legal in 6 hours is scary. But what a day!

I genuingly thought I had no chance of succesfully completing the training after the day I had, and was very suprised at the end when he gave me my certificate. I did the training at Warrington Bike Training, with two blokes called Jake and Glin, and having never road a bike before or drove a car, I was very nervous, there is me a 24 year old bloke actively nervous next to a 16 year old bloke who thinks nothing of it.

We did the basic stuff to begin with, starting and stopping and I kept stalling it over and over again, and my instructor came over and started shouting "why can't you do it?" "what is so hard about it?" which put me on edge and I started panicking and sweating which made me do more mistakes, finally the other instructor came over, adjusted the clutch and all of a sudden I can do it fine. But at this point I am already on edge, and my instructor did nothing but make the situation more stresful for me, so I was not a happy chap.

Next was emergency stops, and my problem here was when squeezing the brake my hand rolled on the throttle and the engine reved, though I did come to a stop quite quickly, and this kept happening over and over. Once more my insturctor starts screaming at me, never before have I been screamed at by a man, and I am shaking with frustration at myself and rage at the instructor. So once more the other instructor comes over, asks me to get off the bike, take the helmet and jacket off and walk it off and just calm down. So I do as asked, and whilst I'm doing this he comes over and informs me that every now and again my instructor picks on somebody and just shouts and shouts at them, but from this point on I should completely ignore my first instructor as he will give me instructions and talk me through it.

Back on the bike, and what do you know I get the emergency stop down without rolling the throttle! I'm a lot calmer and it seems the new instructor is able to talk me through my little mistakes and advise me on what to do and not do without shouting.

Finally the road test, now before the test I asked for 10 minutes to have a proper ride around the training area to get used to the gears, because at this point I had only been in 1 and 2, but was told no as I would learn on the road (keep in mind I had no bike or car experiance what so ever before today). Out on the road, there were three trainees, so the two trainers took us together, the nicer instructor was at the front, then I was the third person right at the back just before my old instructor. Who does nothing but ride either side of me telling me to go faster, until finally we stop and he comes over asking me why am I not going fast enough! I lose all confidence in his ability at this point, because the reason I am riding around the 20mph mark is because the trainee in front is on a scooter and is not going above 20mph and I am trying to keep a decent distance because we are all trainees, all new and me getting up his back is not going to do him any good.

So back to the gears, we resume riding around and I am slowly picking up the moving through gears and moving back down the gears, a couple of times I came to a stop and forgot to go back into first and stalled, but I soon realised my mistake without losing pace with the others. But towards the end we hit a 40mph road and I start to fall behind, my mistake being I moved up the gears too fast and the bike was struggling, so I moved back down the gears but completely lost pace of the other riders through a couple of turns which caused my instructor to once again resume his screaming.

I honest to god thought that I had not been succesful and that I was going to punch my instructor. But somehow, after we got back to the training center, I got told I had passed (I think the nicer instructor had been monitoring my progress also as well as the old instructor) and was calm enough not to punch the bloke.

And now I am eligible for a bike! I know I may sound like I'm having a bit of a whine about the whole experiance but it was both the most terrifying and exhilerating thing I have ever done and would recommend everybody do it. Now I just need to get my own bike, and get some confidence moving through the gears and out on the road.

End of the blog.

[Carl_G]

I'm amazed you didn't knock the shouting arsehole out!

Congrats on getting through it and good luck on finding a bike.

If it's any consolation I struggled on my CBT because of lack of road experience, in fact I took a second one with a different company just to get my clutch work right, and still passed my full test within a few months.
____________________
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!)

[MCW]

1. Very well done on getting through your CBT. It can be very nerve-wracking.

2. GET A NEW RIDING SCHOOL to have any more lessons with.

No one has the right to shout at you like that. If that had happened to me on my first time on a bike I would not be riding now. I got through my CBT with a lovely instructor who understood how scared I was. Fear is natural, and the best way to overcome it (for me) is to be sure you know what you are doing.

Don't let it put you off, but don't let that chap anywhere near you in the future.

[Magnet]

If the twat screamed at me I would have parked the bike in his ass!!! It doesn't sound very professional, its they're job to keep calm and talk you through it.
____________________
It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.

GPZ600R Sold, Now ZZR600

[scottdenningt...]

Cheers guys, I guess thats why I the second instructor came and told me to walk it off, because I was frustrated at myself, angry at the instructor and was at the point that beating on him would of made me happy. And I have never hit anyone before in my life and never wanted to, I am generally a laid back person.

I am going to look into more lessons, get some instructions on being on the road a bit more, but it was such an exciting and scary thing that there is no way I am going to stop.

[Alex_B]

If CBT is Scary they are doing it wrong!!

It's simply a days training, to show you how to do things.

Mad instructor sounds like he had a bad day/week and was taking it out on you.

Don't worry bout it, you have your cert and you can now practice yourself when you get a bike.
____________________
My Lane Position is always AWESOME!!

[Flatbadger]

The CBT is a very challenging learning experience - there's a lot to get coordinated and before that stuff becomes natural it's mentally very tiring and stressful.

Screamy man sounds very unprofessional to me, I'd have calmly asked him whether he should be teaching at all. My instructor had a few goes at me during my DAS for being a bit timid speed-wise etc. but was constructive enough during chats so I let it go.

If I were you I would contact that particular school and explain exactly why they're not going to get any more of your business.
____________________
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
You're in ISIS

[mark111]

Congrats on passing mate , But your story now has me bricking myself as mine is coming up soon and I'm in my 40's with no previous experience car or motorcycle wise either :/

[thepuma]

Try not to let it worry you or knock your confidence. The cbt instructor I had was just like that, thankfully I managed to pick it up relatively quickly, the other lad in the course didn't and go shouted at like you did. My cbt instructor was unprofessional and pretty shite at his job, he was more worried about telling us about his hobbies of photography and classic cars than making sure we were trained properly. He was on his mobile phone half the time while we floundered our way round the mini course....I ended up trying to help the other lad cos he was struggling but the instructor was either just shouting at him or in his hut on his mobile.

Unfortunately there are cbt places like this and at least you know where NOT to go for lessons.

I wish you all the best in your training.

Be safe
____________________
YBR125 (SOLD) - CBR250R(SOLD) - CBR650F(SOLD) Current - Street Triple
765 RS

[ScaredyCat]

tl;dr

Instructor was an asshole. Still passed.

You should name and shame the place so others aren't tempted to use them.



Andy / ScaredyCat
____________________
Honda CBF125 ➝ NC700X
Honda CBF125 ↳ Speed Triple

[MCW]

[ScaredyCat]

[paulie82]

Staying calm in a stressful situation like that is another skill that will serve you well in the future. From another recent CBT completer and Non-driver, well done and good luck!
____________________
Theory Test: Pass 25/07/12 CBT: Pass 16/09/12
Module one: Pass 14/11/13 Module two: Pass 05/12/13
Yamaha YBR 125(sold), Yamaha Fazer 8

[Ollossm]

BIG congrats on the CBT Nice one!!

Instructor sounds like (as others have said) a right arse! If you do want more lessons then just don't go back to that school.

I was very lucky, the 3 instructors I had on the day were each outstanding....their biggest aim was to put everyone at ease and make sure they stayed that way. As one of them said you'll take more on board if you're at ease
____________________
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current bike: 2012 Honda CBF 125
past bikes: 2004 Suzuki VanVan 125 - 1988 MZ/Simson 50cc

[Rogerborg]

You were paying for training, not a certificate. The shouty prat is clearly incompetent (also, a cunt) and shouldn't be doing that job.

If Warrington Motorcycle Training won't sort him out, then perhaps the DSA's CBT section might like to know why not.
____________________
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

[ryb94]

the guy is a f**king idiot. i had 2 lessons before he put me in for both parts of my test. and each time he told me a day before the test was due. i passed the mod one and failed mod 2. no biggie i thought, al get it rebooked for when i get back of holiday. told him the dates and he said " i will get one booked for the week you're back" one week after i got back and not a single phone call. which wasnt good as i was away again for 2 weeks after that. so i text him the dates i was back and when my cbt ran out, to which he replied " i'll sort you one out for then". couple of days after being back, again not a single text or call, so i text him asking had he sorted me one out n he said he will sort one out. another week passed and usual case, no call. so i phoned him and he couldnt remember who i was and came up with some bullsh*t excuse as to why he hadnt phoned them up. another week passed and on the thursday he phoned up saying he had got me a test for friday. great i thought one days notice. regardless i passed, but he then truned around and asked me for more money for the retest fees, so i calmly asked if he was fuck*ing joking to which he replied no. he came back with " i will check my paperwork". the guy is an absolute melon. oh and the first time he phoned about my first test, he asked me if he had any concerns about me. surely he should know. anyway enough of the lecture, and to anyone thinking about doing training with him, DON'T. rant over

[Ribenapigeon]

I had a simerler though not as extreme experience on my CBT. I had to plug through it as I needed the CBT to pick my new bike up the following week. If I had been in the OPs position I would have demanded my money back and walked. The instructor I had just got a bit exasperated when I couldent do the figure of eight, it turned out the bike was too small for me (I'm 6'2) and the handles bars would jam against my knee so my turning circle was like 20 metres . The other instriuctor who took me and the other person struggling a bit out was just a bit dour. All in all the day was so stressfull its put me off getting any training and I'm going to just do the tests on my own.

I think the problem with bike traing schools is they are staffed by bike enthusiasts not educators. They're guys who just want a job where they spend all day around bikes.

[GeordieMick]

[MCW]

[Ribenapigeon]

MCW. I'm sure your right but it seems to be common problem for people. i've got a recomendaton for a different local school so if I fail my Mod 2 I'm going to contact them.

[Fem1]

I remember when doing my cbt the bike i was on had no electric start switch so i had to kick start the bike. I had never been on a bike before so when i first tried to kick start i lost my balance and fell over with the bike on top of me. The instructor helped me pick the bike back up and told me to try again i must of lost a stone in sweat trying to get the bike started.

As anyone knows when you have never been on a bike before and trying to also get used to the gears i stalled a few times and had to keep kick starting the bike to get it going again. The bruises i had was unbelievable on my leg and it really knocked my confidence because i knew that if i stalled i would have to kick start it again.

I got my cbt but i have gone to another school to do my das training as i lost all confidence in the training school where i done my cbt. I know the bikes get used by learners but surely having to use a kick start is bad and they should have made sure that the bikes electric start was working.

[Spy]

Sorry to hear about your experience. I did my CBT on Saturday too, as part of a 5 day DAS course. THe instructor I had totally de-moralised me because I was having trouble getting my slow movement control nailed and not "caressing" the bike but instead being a bit too aggressive on the throttle and front brake.

I really thought he would fail me on my CBT. I thought I wasn't too bad, doing the figure of eight and the road driving well.

Pretty stressful. Did some Mod1 work today but still not many words of encouragement. Hopefully the second instructor will be better as I have him for the remaining 3 days !

[Ollossm]

Boozehawk, even with the new recommendation you've been given....why not nip along to where the recommended trainer does their training? Watch how they deal / interact with the CBTer's they are teaching when you are watching
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current bike: 2012 Honda CBF 125
past bikes: 2004 Suzuki VanVan 125 - 1988 MZ/Simson 50cc

[Ribenapigeon]

Ollossm: That's a good idea I might try that.

[jtheodore27]

I'm 17 and recently did my cbt as well, like you I had no road experience and decided to start straight off on a geared 125. Luckily for me though i had a decent instructor who didn't really shout.

I can't believe they didn't make you at least change between 1st and 2nd several times before going out, that must have been rough.

I'm guessing that you didn't have to go on the road during heavy rainfall though like i did. That was hell, i had no confidence anyway, but still passed