First Time Riding Experiences? CBT Problems, unfair?

[LittleJ97]

I had my CBT on the Saturday just gone. The class was moving really quick as everyone there (apart from me) was on their second time so after 2 hours of practicing on the bikes everyone was ready; all except me, I was still stalling. Everyone else there was on a automatic and were flying ahead. The instructors had to cut my lesson off at 12:30pm because I wasn't road worthy as I kept looking at my hands to see what I was doing wrong. Now I have to go back and pay £60 to redo it after they took £130 from me for my half day, no refund.

What are your guys opinions on this?

And what are some of your first experiences on a bike, hopefully some worse than mine to cheer me up?

Any tips you can give me to pass with flying colours?

Thank You
Jon

[covent.gardens]

My tip would have been to go to a school that doesn't charge for a revisit. When I did mine it was a set fee no matter how long you needed to pass (and if you were so shit that you'd never pass, they would refund you). I always thought that there's something dodgy about paying the school more for a revisit because they are incentivised to hold you back then. If business is slow the temptation will be to say you're not ready and get you back in on another day... for another fee. £60 is also expensive for a revisit. Most schools charge a lot less than that.

[hellkat]

Suck it up, luv.

I did the same, and I wasn't best pleased to have to pay a second time. So back then, I've ridden a massive succession of different bikes, mostly junky old japs from 125s right up to 1100. These days I ride a Harley, might go back to a japper soon ...

But if covent.gardens says these days there are some who give you a "one price till you pass" deal, then that's great.

You'll get a pass, just keep going round the cones for now.

You need patience to ride, anyway. Learn it now, it will help once you get on the road, believe me! You WILL need a lot of it.

If it makes you feel better, my daughter decided she wanted to do her CBT several years ago. She figured it would be quite easy, as "all the family" (i.e., her "uncles" aka the chaps I was surrounded by at the time, her boyfriend, all his friends, lots of people she had met thru my biking years) could all ride bikes, ergo ... it must be simple!

I dropped her off at the CBT course at 8am ... and got a call from her at 10.30am to come and get her because she "couldn't do it" (on a geared bike, and she didn't want to learn an automatic).

Turns out it wasn't as easy as it looks, so she gave up.
She's got a car licence now, and is happier sticking with being a pillion passenger.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[LittleJ97]

[NJD]

[The Wobbly Orange]

Back when I did my CBT (17th July 2004) we also had one lad there who was just awful. However rather than send him packing they held all of us off road the entire day. So there was me and this lass who were pootling around without issue, and this lad who kept dropping it and couldn't tell left from right. We all had to come back a second day and we paid a lesser fee. I can't remember exactly what, it was a long time ago.
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People tell me I am lovely. How wrong they are!

[matto]

So you paid for a days training and only got half a day? I know what I'd be doing and it certainly wouldn't be paying them any more money for another (half)day.

If you were 'getting it' towards the end then he should've given you more time to 'get it'

[LittleJ97]

I have a feeling they have a system to get more money out of people.

They tell people to come back whether they are ready or not so when they come back they also have new riders. They go at the pace of the resitters and tell the new riders to come back, it happened to 2 other people who was there. I wouldn't mind it but I'm only 17 and I can just about afford to pay for a bike, insurance with fuel (I planned, don't have one at the moment).

[hellkat]

Best pick it up quickly then, and get yourself out on the road - innit, chap.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[Wonko The Sane]

I guess there's a balance to be got as there are wages to pay etc.

do you hold everyone off the road for one person or 'bump' one person to come back another day as they're the only one not ready?

personally I think it a bad plan to have a newbie on a geared bike doing CBT alongside people re-taking on autos unless the instructor is going to tell them to use one half the pad and have a couple of practice runs while he gets you up to speed.

there was one person doing a re-take on her own scoot when I did my CBT, "you can do the stop and start, head down the other end and practice the figure of 8 while these guys get going"

I ended up doing my road ride alongside her while another instructor kept them practicing, they then went out with the instructor once we'd got back. Don't know if everyone passed or not
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Looking to pass your CBT / Bike tests in Bury Lancashire? try www.focusridertraining.co.uk Would recommend.
They're also on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Focus-Rider-Training/196832923734251

[waffles]

[andyscooter]

Did you pay for a dl96 or some training

If CBT tell them bollox as you havnt had one as you havnt got a dl 96

If training tell them bollox as you had half day and paid for full

If they won't back down name and shame
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gilera runner vxr200 (chavped)
if its spelt wrong its my fat fingers and daft auto correct on my tablet

[dydey90]

Wait, 12:30 finish? Both my CBT's were 9:00-4:00.

Most of that was people wobbling around the yard doing u-turns and gear changes.
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This post is probably not serious and shouldn't be taken literally.
Past: CBR125,ER6f NINJA 650, ZZR600 Current: VFR750

[LittleJ97]

[BravoCharlie]

Since when were CBT's £310

I paid £120 for mine, plus £20 for a revisit. That's crazy


Edit: I think i may have read it backwards. £130 is more like it. sorry.
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Current: Kawasaki ZL600 Eliminator
Past: Suzuki GZ125, Kawasaki GT550, Kawasaki GPX600R, Honda vrx400,Kawasaki Zephyr 750, Suzuki SV650 K5
Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.

[covent.gardens]

[LittleJ97]

[Shaft]

[hellkat]

Yeah, what Shaft said.

Did that lot (LMRT) used to be somewhere else in Catford ? sort of maybe - cos I am pretty certain I got my "big licence" from there, back in the day (around 2001 or so), cos I sat the test at Bellingham. Didn't have a problem with them at all. They were very patient with me

(But then I did my CBT elsewhere : some firm in Acton, way back in 1998 - they were the ones who made me come back cos I wasn't confident enough to go out on the road, and I had to pay another £60 for bike rental, but not for the CBT lesson itself.)
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[LittleJ97]

I'm just up the hill from there! And I'm not saying they're unfair on everyone but to me they seemed to be scumbags. As for the eye sight person, they didn't even refund him anything, I think they need to bring a deposit system of 50% or something or free revisits. my time there was appalling!

[NJD]

[LittleJ97]

[jonathan26]

Had a similar experience when I did my CBT some time ago. I could not get the hang of gears, on the first day .
It happens do not get put off.
I had another go, using an automatic, which was not so much to deal with. Then once I had the CBT in my hand, I had a lesson on a geared bike. All seemed fine after that.

I would just do your CBT on the automatic, then you can drive which ever 125 you like.

[LittleJ97]

[NJD]