Mod 1 done! (Edit: Mod 2 done too!)

[PattJakk]

Hi all. Long time lurker, first time poster.

Passed my Cat A Mod 1 in Kettering today. Mod 2 booked for 1st Sept.

Any extra tips? I'm having lots of fun with the bike I'm learning on - Ducati Monster 696 - but can't wait to get fully licenced!


Patrick
____________________
Past: Honda CBF125
Present: Honda CBR600F
CBT 18/03/14 | Theory 25/03/14 | Mod 1 21/08/14 | Mod 2 01/09/14

[Ben90]

Hello Patt, congrats on your mod 1, some say that is the harder test!

Mod 2 is all about following a strict set of rules of the road while not crashing into anybody or anything for a mere half an hour. Easy to pass, but easy to fail. Trust your instructor, once you understand the reasoning behind lane positioning, when to do shoulder checks etc, they become a lot easier to remember and ideally become habit.

Few tips off the top of my head (some I learned the hard way)

- Don't stop close behind large vehicles and vans with limited rear-view capability - always be visible in at least one wing mirror, move to the right for a view ahead.
- Don't stop in Keep Clear markings
- Don't bother filtering
- When completing a turn or exiting a junction etc, cancel indicators promptly, and get back up to the appropriate speed quickly; if the car behind has to slow for you = fail. At the very least you'll stack up minors for not making progress.

Don't panic if you think you've made a fatal mistake, or you'll likely make a worse one. Forget it and move on safely.

Don't worry if you get stuck in the wrong lane at a junction or roundabout, stick with it and do it safely - no penalty for going a different way to which you are told.

Ignore the examiner's presence, he is nothing more than a sat nav in your ear. Don't wait for a gap big enough for two.

Above all, relax and focus, stop looking at that skirt on the pavement! and so on.
____________________
Yamaha FZ6 S2

[PattJakk]

Thanks for the reply Ben. I saw your thread and note your recent pass - Congratulations! I appreciate the words of wisdom.
____________________
Past: Honda CBF125
Present: Honda CBR600F
CBT 18/03/14 | Theory 25/03/14 | Mod 1 21/08/14 | Mod 2 01/09/14

[MC]

Learning on a Ducati? Is that the schools bike?

Honestly there's no point fretting over all the stuff you can fail on, all they want to see is that you can ride to a decent standard. It's just going for a ride with someone following you.

Remember to cancel your indicators, do your shoulder checks and you'll be fine
____________________
Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[PattJakk]

Thanks for the tips. Being a car driver, cancelling indicators did take a lot of getting used to at first.

The Ducati is the school's bike. Lovely ride with a lot of low end power. Thinking I may get one when I've passed!
____________________
Past: Honda CBF125
Present: Honda CBR600F
CBT 18/03/14 | Theory 25/03/14 | Mod 1 21/08/14 | Mod 2 01/09/14

[PattJakk]

Mod 2 tomorrow over in Kettering. Fingers crossed!
____________________
Past: Honda CBF125
Present: Honda CBR600F
CBT 18/03/14 | Theory 25/03/14 | Mod 1 21/08/14 | Mod 2 01/09/14

[Rogerborg]

Just a ride out on a nice day.

Doesn't matter where you go, just go there safely and confidently.
____________________
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

[MC]

Listen to the borg!

Resistance is futile
____________________
Yamaha MT-03 '08 (crashed)
Honda XR-125L '04

[notbike]

Congrats on your Mod 1 pass. Don't sweat Mod 2, try to get into a relaxed state of mind, it is definitely easier than Mod 1.

If you're anything like me you'll over analyse everything you're doing, try to snap out of it and just enjoy the ride cause your examiner probably won't be criticizing you as much as you're criticizing yourself in your head.

thought I counted like 6 or 7 of my own minors as I was riding, every time I thought I did something wrong I was like pff yep definitely a minor. Turns out I only got two minors for things I didn't even realize I did let alone all the imaginary minors I thought up!

Just be alert and remember to look at all road signs well before approaching them, if you can do that and you know how to react to most road signs you'll have a pretty easy time. Look out for speed limit repeater signs religiously and get up to speed quickly after passing the signs.

Give way to on-coming traffic in built up areas, never squeeze through a gap, judge whether you can make a gap safely or not and don't take unnecessary risks. I imagine you wouldn't be penalized for hesitation on that so long as you aren't letting a queue of 20 cars go past you when you could've gone after the first two cars.

Dont worry about what lane you're in, just follow any lane that you're in and dont ever make a sudden change, can't go wrong there! Also the independent ride on my test was pretty much "Follow the signs to xyz" and there was only one sign, it was a left hand turn... that was it, end of independent ride.

Leave plenty of space for the vehicle in front, that way you can see road markings on the floor better than if you're right up their backside. Let them pull away for at least a car length before you move off just to be sure they won't brake hard on you, causing you to also brake hard, therefore failing your test cause you caused the fucker behind you to brake hard.

Also a 20 zone remains a 20 zone until another sign says it changes.. Even if there are no 20 repeater signs, stay at 20 until you see it change. I point this out because I almost forgot this and started accelerating forgetting it was still a 20 area, then realized and throttled off to fix my speed quickly, that could've been an easy fail for breaking the speed limit.

You won't get penalized for doing "excessive observations" as far as I'm aware (unless you're really taking the piss with them and showing you have no idea what you're looking for) - so don't forget to do all your obs.

Hmm.. When he asks you to pull over somewhere safe, don't get scared and think "shit what mistake did I make" - and don't take too long about it either, if you see a gap between some parked cars go for it, he's just testing if you can stop & pull away safely.

Err dunno what else that's all I could think of, enjoy it, first 5 minutes are scary, after that it's actually pretty easy going, don't be too hard on yourself.

Good luck let us know how it goes

Edit: Shit that was a longer post than I imagined, too much red bull tonight.

[Ben90]

What Teflon-Meef said.

How did it go?
____________________
Yamaha FZ6 S2

[PattJakk]

Passed!!
4 minors, 2 for 'undue hesistation', 1 for 'appropriate speed' and 1 for 'approach speed' (37mph in a 40 area - nit picking or what?!)

It was absolutely tipping it down as well, the roads were horrendous!


Can't stop grinning

Time to go shopping for the new bike
____________________
Past: Honda CBF125
Present: Honda CBR600F
CBT 18/03/14 | Theory 25/03/14 | Mod 1 21/08/14 | Mod 2 01/09/14

[Ben90]

Pass is a pass, congrats!
____________________
Yamaha FZ6 S2

[notbike]

Congrats man! That's definitely nit-picking haha you're not meant to stick to speed limits religiously they're just the absolute maximum, you can go slower if the road/weather/traffic conditions are not appropriate for a faster speed.

Well done, what bike are you looking at?

[recman]

[PattJakk]

[recman]

Are you dead set on a sports?

[notbike]

[sidewinder]

Well done on the pass
I had a instructor called " minor Malcom" he was known to give test takers around 14 minors on the test.he said even though you were good enough for a pass.he gave the minors to remind him to talk to you after about areas you could improve on...

[Ben90]

Any 600 will rip your arms off compared to the 125 you were used to.

Determine what you will use your bike for. Commuting, touring, purely a weekend toy?

Usually it's a combination and it's up to you to pick the type of bike which will best suit your needs.

Research - ridiculous amounts of reviews and videos for every bike available online, take each review with a pinch of salt - good or bad.

Then forget all that and buy whatever excites you the most
____________________
Yamaha FZ6 S2

[Rogerborg]

Nicely done, ignore DVSA Derek's grumpiness. It's obviously ridiculous to mark you down for staying under the speed limit in the wet. Go on, rat him out.

Did you take the opportunity to properly wring the neck of the Ducati? If not, I wouldn't be too keen to jump on an RRRRRR bike straight away. What's the rush? Plenty of fun to be had lower down, and why get something nice at the start of Autumn?
____________________
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

[PattJakk]

[Highwayman]

Well done...

Have you thought of goin.. "Naked"