Resend my activation email : Register : Log in 
BCF: Bike Chat Forums


Didn't pass CBT first time - Advice?

Reply to topic
Bike Chat Forums Index -> New Bikers Goto page 1, 2  Next
View previous topic : View next topic  
Author Message

Mozzy1113
L Plate Warrior



Joined: 23 May 2017
Karma :

PostPosted: 23:24 - 23 May 2017    Post subject: Didn't pass CBT first time - Advice? Reply with quote

Hello everyone,
I'm 27 years old and I've been driving a car for 8 years. I've always wanted a motorcycle (my dad is also big into bikes and has always encouraged me in that direction), so earlier this month I decided to take the plunge and go for it. I did my theory first, which I passed no problem first time.

However, then when I came to do my CBT, it was a complete fiasco. I just couldn't get the "feel" of the bike, I felt I had no control/that I wasn't safe, and I just couldn't seem to get the hang of it. By the time I had only just mastered changing gears, the other 2 guys in the class with me were ready to go out on the road. At that point I just gave up, apologised, and left, as it felt hopeless.

Is there any point in giving it another go? Or does the fact that I just didn't "feel" it a good sign that a bike isn't for me? I'm gutted, I thought I would just pick it up straight away. I passed my car test first time, no problems (although I know that obviously a riding bike is very different to driving a car).

Any advice or pointers would be helpful.


Last edited by Mozzy1113 on 02:18 - 28 May 2017; edited 1 time in total
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

owl
World Chat Champion



Joined: 21 Oct 2016
Karma :

PostPosted: 23:28 - 23 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can't fail training, it's training, do more training, try again
____________________
Observation is the greatest source of wisdom.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

MahatmaAndhi
Traffic Copper



Joined: 10 Jun 2015
Karma :

PostPosted: 23:51 - 23 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

You didn't fail, you quit.
Don't compare yourself to others. Go at your own pace. And if all else fails, have a go on a scooter then learn gears afterwards. If you obtain your CBT on an automatic, you can still ride a geared.
____________________
2008 Aprilia Sportcity 250
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Deadonkey
Borekit Bruiser



Joined: 04 Aug 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 00:09 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was in the same situation as you.

I'd just about guarantee that your driving experience is the thing that is holding you back.
Motorbike and car are totally different and you will have been trying to ride the bike like it was a car.

Give it another go. It's worth it.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Tracer1234
World Chat Champion



Joined: 13 Sep 2014
Karma :

PostPosted: 02:10 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

The pressure of having to keep up with the others got to you and you quit.

Try again and not give a shit about taking your time. When you start to get it, it will start to fall into place quickly.
____________________
Riding: Yamaha MT-09 Tracer Occasionally Riding: 08 Suzuki SV650, Potato: 2011 Yamaha YBR Custom.
Used to ride: 2015 Yamaha MT-09 Tracer (smidsy) 09 Triumph Street Triple (P/X'd) 08 Yamaha YBR (Sold)
CBT 04/14. A: Mod 1 & 2 13/04/15
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Teflon-Mike
tl;dr



Joined: 01 Jun 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 04:02 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Re: Failed CBT first time - Advice? Reply with quote

Mozzy1113 wrote:
Is there any point in giving it another go?.

Only YOU can answer that one.

Read this: - Tell me more about CBT?

Quote:
CBT is Compulsory Basic Training.
TRAINING, it is not, repeat, NOT a 'Test'.
JUST your FIRST LESSON!


And that is in the CBT script the instructors HAVE to tell you! Fact you eve think you 'failed', suggests you weren't listening to what you were beg taught very hard....

Read this:- What do you DO on CBT? Provides the CBT syllabus as prescribed by the DSA, and everything you should cover in the course.... its a heck of a lot, and a LOT of folk don't make their way through it all within just one day, and have to come back for further training to complete the course. It is very comprehensive, and a lot of hard work.

Returning, a bit better clued up what to expect; a little more keen to listen to what you are told; with a slightly more realistic expectation of what you should be able to achieve; NO REASON you shouldn't complete and be awarded your DL196 to validate 'Learner' licence entitlement, and work through to the tests for a full one.

WE obviously thought it was worth it or we'd not have stuck it out and got our licences, and I for one wouldn't still be pigging about on the damn things after forty ruddy years! What do you expect us to say? Its a wast of time? Bikes are stupid; horrible; uncomfortable; dangerous, and only an idiot would want to ride one? Actually there's probably a lot of truth in that! But, of all the idiotic things we can do, it is one of the more fun ones, and WE get a lot out of it, or we wouldn't do it!

BUT, only YOU can decide if its worth it to you... that is the bottom line.

Your call... get clued up, put in the effort, get a licence, find out for yourself OR stay quit, and learn to live with it.
____________________
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?'
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

Rogerborg
nimbA



Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 06:43 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

When you started driving, do you think you would have been safe driving around everywhere (except motorways, the safest roads) unsupervised after just a few hours of training?

That's what the CBT attempts to do.

There's a huge amount to take in, and you can't force your muscles to learn all those skills instantly.

When you go back again, your brain will have had some time to assimilate it and everything will feel much more natural.

Don't knock it on the head just yet - biking is ace.
____________________
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
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

pinkyfloyd
Super Spammer



Joined: 20 Jul 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 07:01 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

We've sent many people home on the first day because they just could not get the hang of the machine. 9 times out of 10 when they return a day or so later they end the day wondering why it all went wrong on day 1.

There is so much information to take in during a CBT that sometimes the brain goes into meltdown. After a time to reset the system you have another go and you'll get on a lot better.

I even explain this during the introduction that not everyone gets it on the first day, I ask if they have tattoos and point out that after a long sitting in a tattoo shop your body goes through pain and eventually reaches a limit where it just cannot take more. The brain can sometimes do that during the day.
____________________
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.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

trevor saxe-coburg-gotha
World Chat Champion



Joined: 22 Nov 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 07:01 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Re: Failed CBT first time - Advice? Reply with quote

Mozzy1113 wrote:
By the time I had only just mastered changing gears, the other 2 guys in the class with me were ready to go out on the road. At that point I just gave up, apologised, and left, as it felt hopeless.


Do you think you should have been allowed out on the road with the other two? Or were you relieved that you were not asked to do this?

Think carefully before you answer these questions.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

angryjonny
World Chat Champion



Joined: 01 Sep 2006
Karma :

PostPosted: 11:57 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Re: Failed CBT first time - Advice? Reply with quote

Mozzy1113 wrote:
However, then when I came to do my CBT, it was a complete fiasco. I just couldn't get the "feel" of the bike, I felt I had no control/that I wasn't safe, and I just couldn't seem to get the hang of it.

This is standard. It's a new machine. It's a new set of controls. It's a lot of new things to think about. It's particularly galling if you've been driving for years and suddenly you get on a bike and all your road sense goes out of the window.

I was a similar age to you when I learned to ride. Hated learning. Love riding. You have to learn to do it before you can do it.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

B0ndy
Spanner Monkey



Joined: 25 May 2015
Karma :

PostPosted: 13:45 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Like anything, practise is how you become better at something.

The CBT suggests a couple of hours wobbling around in a car park and a school style hands up question time is enough to let you out on the road, I personally think it's a bit much to expect from someone who has zero experience of riding - especially when it comes to mastering the gears (left hand does clutch and left foot does gear stick WTF who designed this system..)

Don't let it get you down (que James Blunt song).

Have any of your mates got a small capacity bike you can take to a car park or a quiet industrial estate on the weekend? If so go spend 8, 9, 10 hours practicing - it won't cost you anything and you will learn lots.

Don't give up, stick at it for a few months and you won't regret it.
____________________
CBF 125 -> CB400SF -> GSX600F -> ZX6R (G1) -> GSXR1000 K4 -> ZX6R (B1H Stunt bike) -> VFR800 -> R1 5PW -> Sprint 1050 -> Fireblade 929 -> ZX10R C2H
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Rogerborg
nimbA



Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 14:01 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

B0ndy wrote:
it won't cost you anything

Apart from a hefty fine and 9 - 14 points? Oh, and same for matey as well, for "cause or permit".

I took Mrs Borg out for some naughty back alley action on my tiddler. Shhh!
____________________
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
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Fizzoid
World Chat Champion



Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Karma :

PostPosted: 14:01 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

B0ndy wrote:
Have any of your mates got a small capacity bike you can take to a car park or a quiet industrial estate on the weekend? If so go spend 8, 9, 10 hours practicing - it won't cost you anything and you will learn lots.


Or your dad, you said he was big into bikes
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Alpineandy
World Chat Champion



Joined: 18 Mar 2015
Karma :

PostPosted: 15:24 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Re: Failed CBT first time - Advice? Reply with quote

Mozzy1113 wrote:
Is there any point in giving it another go?

As other have said, only you will know the answer.
If you want a bike then talk to the training school now you've calmed down.
Lots of people try lots of new things and suck at it first time.
So many things to think about in one hit.
So most people are much much better second time.
That applies to sailing, scuba-diving, flying, track-work (car or bike), Sex even! and so much more...
____________________
The above comment isn't necessarily the truth and anyone that says it is, is only correct if it's the truth or they're bigger than me.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Rogerborg
nimbA



Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 15:49 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Re: Failed CBT first time - Advice? Reply with quote

Alpineandy wrote:
Sex even!

I prefer mine odd.
____________________
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
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

WD Forte
World Chat Champion



Joined: 17 Jun 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 16:47 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why Theory?
IFAIK you don't need to do the theory to do the CBT
____________________
bikers smell of wee
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

simoncrn
L Plate Warrior



Joined: 11 May 2017
Karma :

PostPosted: 17:26 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

WD Forte wrote:
Why Theory?
IFAIK you don't need to do the theory to do the CBT


Sounds like the person is going about getting there licence the way I intend, getting the theory out of the way then CBT and then having the lesson's
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

ThatNoob
L Plate Warrior



Joined: 24 May 2017
Karma :

PostPosted: 19:14 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was in the same situation as you 5 months ago.

I'm 28 and also have 8 years driving experience. I've done trackdays at Brands Hatch and RWYB at Santapod a few times with my car. Could control the car perfectly, hitting the apex, getting good launches, heel & toe ETC.

"Passed" my CBT January this year with no prior experience of riding. Everything just felt weird. Like you described, I never truly felt like I was in full control of the bike. Instructor even told me "When you get your bike, you should probably practice a few left and right turns around the block first."

Everything comes with practice. Like me, you just need to build up the muscle memory and confidence. Riding a bike will soon become second nature.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Bozzy
Traffic Copper



Joined: 20 Dec 2015
Karma :

PostPosted: 19:31 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

OP, as an experienced car driver it's probably all too easy to sit in the saddle and try to ride it like you drive a car, but bikes require a different approach which you'll get with practice.

As the others have said, CBT is training not a test. You've done yourself no favours by walking out part way through. If I were you I'd re book another day and practice on a push bike in the meantime. You'll get there in the end.

TL,DR - MTFU and try again.
____________________
2004 SV650S >>> 2009 Street Triple R
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

SomersetWolf
Derestricted Danger



Joined: 03 May 2017
Karma :

PostPosted: 20:23 - 24 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

It took me three attempts to finish the CBT! And then the real work begins. I went on my first 50 mile round trip at the weekend and it was exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure. But by the end I was beginning to feel more confident, doing roundabouts and hill starts. Right hand turns onto major roads still freak me out though.

The CBT is only the start and as the wise chaps on here said, nothing beats practice, practice, practice and they're totally right. I honestly have no idea how these people who have never been on a bike just get it the first time out. (I'm 42 btw and have been driving for over 20 years. Both of those facts might well have contributed to my slowness to get the hang of it!)
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Kentol750
World Chat Champion



Joined: 24 May 2016
Karma :

PostPosted: 23:38 - 25 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

You walked away from it. (Implies another fee to try again!)
As before, no pass/fail.
Try your luck with a cheeky 1/2 price for 2nd go phone call!

I have split cbts over 2 days for all the reasons that've been mentioned above.
____________________
Some bikes.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

AshWebster
Brolly Dolly



Joined: 05 Jan 2017
Karma :

PostPosted: 09:56 - 26 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

I did my CBT on a scooter. Then spent hours on my own time (costs £0!) learning on a geared 125 before DAS.
____________________
Honda cg125 J reg peice of shit ---> CB650F ---> 2016 CBR600RR
Ford KA ---> 93' MR2 ---> 94'MR2 ---> 98' Subaru WRX STI Ver 3 (track car)
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

owl
World Chat Champion



Joined: 21 Oct 2016
Karma :

PostPosted: 12:45 - 26 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

looks like the OP gave up on this forum too Rolling Eyes
____________________
Observation is the greatest source of wisdom.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Nobby the Bastard
Harley Gaydar



Joined: 16 Aug 2013
Karma :

PostPosted: 12:51 - 26 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rogerborg wrote:

I took Mrs Borg out for some naughty back alley action on my tiddler. Shhh!


It seems that Mrs Borg is quite the goer....

(Sigged, btw)
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Tracer1234
World Chat Champion



Joined: 13 Sep 2014
Karma :

PostPosted: 17:38 - 26 May 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

vice wrote:
looks like the OP gave up on this forum too Rolling Eyes


Naa, hes probable out doing his CBT now. Thinking lol
____________________
Riding: Yamaha MT-09 Tracer Occasionally Riding: 08 Suzuki SV650, Potato: 2011 Yamaha YBR Custom.
Used to ride: 2015 Yamaha MT-09 Tracer (smidsy) 09 Triumph Street Triple (P/X'd) 08 Yamaha YBR (Sold)
CBT 04/14. A: Mod 1 & 2 13/04/15
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts
Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 6 years, 308 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
  Display posts from previous:   
This page may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set.

Post new topic   Reply to topic    Bike Chat Forums Index -> New Bikers All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum

Read the Terms of Use! - Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group
 

Debug Mode: ON - Server: birks (www) - Page Generation Time: 0.08 Sec - Server Load: 0.43 - MySQL Queries: 17 - Page Size: 137.92 Kb