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NeoCafeChick |
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NeoCafeChick L Plate Warrior
Joined: 15 Aug 2019 Karma :
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Posted: 21:14 - 15 Aug 2019 Post subject: Struggling with Mod 1 |
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Hi everyone,
I’m new to biking after deciding a few months ago to go for it in my early 40s. I used a ride a twist and go 100cc about 15 years ago so do have some experience of riding two wheels (used to commute 30 miles a day for about a year) but not any geared bikes.
So back in June I passed my theory and did my CBT which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’ve since been learning on a 650cc and getting loads of road riding including to and from the test centre which is around an hour each way.
I feel pretty confident with my riding out on the roads however on the Mod 1 I struggle with my U-turns (too slow, putting foot down or panicking and dropping the bike) and getting to speed on my avoidance. I’ve had two tests within a month (the second being this morning) and failed both. I know with practice I can get to speed on the fast manoeuvres however I get a complete mental block about the U-turns, I just seem to be afraid of going a bit faster to keep more stability.
My first Mod 1 I would have passed if I’d reached speed on the emergency stop (had to finish the test early as didn’t meet speed on second attempt and ironically did U-turn OK with one minor). The second test today was foot down due to loss of stability (which was a fail) then didn’t meet speed on avoidance. I know I’m a reasonable rider but lack confidence on just a few manoeuvres. However to get practice in costs me £90 a time for a three hour slot and is becoming expensive. My husband is doing his Mod 1 early next month and will hopefully pass followed closely by his Mod 2. He has experience from years ago of bigger bikes which was clearly seen on his CBT apparently. Being male he also (in my personal opinion) more fearless and likely to pass due to having more confidence.
I’m thinking of buying a cheap but decent 125cc geared bike to build my confidence on the road and practice manoeuvres or my husband has suggested I borrow his bike once he’s passed to practice all the slow stuff on a private car park somewhere.
Just really want some advice on how to get past this Mod 1 hump without throwing what feels like money out the window.
Many thanks in advance all |
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B0ndy |
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B0ndy Spanner Monkey
Joined: 25 May 2015 Karma :
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Easy-X |
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Easy-X Super Spammer
Joined: 08 Mar 2019 Karma :
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Posted: 21:41 - 15 Aug 2019 Post subject: |
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Yeah, mental block on U-turn gets ppl every time, so said my instructor.
Firstly, can you zig zag the cones? Can you do the figure of 8? As was pointed out to me: after really nailing the figure of 8 you're turning in about 5 metres! But then you don't have that white line made of land mines in your view
You should already be doing this but practice doing U-turns on a metre or so less width than the real test. The key is you should be able to turn the bike on full lock at a reasonable speed. It doesn't seem possible but you need shift your body weight and remember to keep your head up! not eyeballing the approaching white line
With regards to the speed manoeuvres for me it was trusting the bike's abilities - particularly braking. Knowing the bike can stop in a surprisingly short distance would, I hope, instil some confidence.
Depending on the type of bike you'll probably be ramping up to >30mph in 2nd gear. Listen to the revs, don't look at the clocks! "I need to get it this loud to be fast enough..." that sort of thing.
Finally the swerve: I've mentioned this before but if you don't mind cheating a bit there's nowhere that says you have to ride through the dead centre of the box before the swerve - you can hug one side and then you only have to flick the bike out a little bit ____________________ Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter |
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha |
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha World Chat Champion
Joined: 22 Nov 2012 Karma :
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Evotion |
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Evotion Two Stroke Sniffer
Joined: 15 Aug 2019 Karma :
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Posted: 09:31 - 16 Aug 2019 Post subject: |
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I could have written that post!!
I am still crap at U-turns and get anxious the moment I try and do one.
Conversely, I am very good at doing right to left u-turns!
Unfortunately, the Mod1 was left to right of course, as it would be on the road.
I was soooo not confident about that part of the Mod1.
I did the speed stuff and even the figure 8 okay.
The instructor just said to concentrate on turning your head to where you want to go and never to look at the side of the road and the bike will make it so long as you have plenty of revs.
I was crapping myself on the actual test and somehow passed it first time! I was convinvced I was wasting my time.
I even did it perfectly on the second time you do in in the Mod1 though you are allowed to put a foot down.
When I get a new bike I practice short turns. A car park is good for this and trying to manoevre in and out of the white parking lines.
The instructor was doing a turn in half the road practically standing on the side of the bike so anything is possible! |
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chris_hu_cheng |
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chris_hu_cheng Renault 5 Driver
Joined: 06 Jul 2018 Karma :
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Easy-X |
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Easy-X Super Spammer
Joined: 08 Mar 2019 Karma :
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Posted: 09:43 - 16 Aug 2019 Post subject: |
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha wrote: | Easy-X wrote: | The key is you should be able to turn the bike on full lock at a reasonable speed. |
Bollocks. That's a very difficult thing to do and you certainly don't need to be able to do it to get a bike to u-turn in the space prescribed by mod 1 dimensions.
Riding a bike with the bars on full lock i.e. against the stop takes some doing not least because there's nowhere left to go, and even 10mm more of bar turn can feel like a LOT more when you're making a tight, slow manoeuvrer. If you suddenly feel the bars go full lock and thus butt up against the stop, it can be extremely difficult to keep from dabbing your foot down, particularly if you haven't anticipated the bars reaching their full amount of steer. |
Ah, I misspoke. I didn't mean one needed full lock to do the U-turn rather that once you've got to that you can tackle anything. Thanks for pointing out my mistake ____________________ Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter |
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Ribenapigeon |
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Ribenapigeon Super Spammer
Joined: 20 Feb 2012 Karma :
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Nobby the Bastard |
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Nobby the Bastard Harley Gaydar
Joined: 16 Aug 2013 Karma :
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hawkeyefxr |
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hawkeyefxr L Plate Warrior
Joined: 18 Aug 2019 Karma :
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Posted: 10:36 - 18 Aug 2019 Post subject: U turn ij CBT |
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To get the silly stuff out the way, when i took my test in the late 60's we did not have to do the stuff you do now. You went straight into the test, cost £1.00 Car and Bike tests. You could ride up to a 250cc on a provisional license and i'88 admit there was not many 250's that could get to 70mph.
The examiner was on foot and he told you to ride to a point and "make you bike safe". This involved putting the bike on a centre stand and turning the petrol off. After that i lost the examiner, he told me to turn left and i turned right (stress), at the end of the test, 45mins, i passed lol.
Back to the U turn, a friend of mine has failed it twice, he said you had 6 metres to do it in, it does seem a tad small in my opinion. I know they are looking for bike stability. The times you would do a complete U turn while riding along must be extremely small indeed. I would always stop look behind then do you Uee. I don't know what a 650 weighs these days but going by the old Bonny's it would be quite easy.
I dare say i will be shot down on this post but i would say ride, ride, ride it all comes to you. |
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Kentol750 |
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Kentol750 World Chat Champion
Joined: 24 May 2016 Karma :
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slowside |
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slowside Nova Slayer
Joined: 23 Apr 2019 Karma :
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Posted: 20:37 - 18 Aug 2019 Post subject: |
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As you have more or less surmised, its primarily confidence rather than technique that are the obstacles in MOD1. You know you can do it, you’ve no doubt nailed the process numerous times before the actual test.
Confidence is much harder to learn from posts on a forum. I was terrified during both my MOD1 and 2, despite having done numerous successful mock tests before hand.
A couple of points that helped me:
One was a technique thing, which was not only to look where you want to go, but to keep your chin right up. It’s really easy for your gaze to drop to the ground during slow manoeuvres (I want to go over there to that bit of tarmac!), but this causes wobbles. Keep your chin up and look into the horizon at a point you want to head to instead.
The other thing, which was more confidence orientated was that even if I was unsure of my own abilities I was always confident that the bike could easily perform any of the tasks asked of it. It was a subtle distinction, but it makes everything less daunting to be able to say to yourself “sod it, just point the sodding thing where it needs to go and let it sort the rest out”. Obviously, take this one with a dose of perspective and common sense. |
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F18 |
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F18 Renault 5 Driver
Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Karma :
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bigdom86 |
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bigdom86 Traffic Copper
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Smada76 |
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Smada76 L Plate Warrior
Joined: 11 Sep 2019 Karma :
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Posted: 22:42 - 11 Sep 2019 Post subject: Re: Struggling with Mod 1 |
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NeoCafeChick wrote: | Hi everyone,
I’m new to biking after deciding a few months ago to go for it in my early 40s. I used a ride a twist and go 100cc about 15 years ago so do have some experience of riding two wheels (used to commute 30 miles a day for about a year) but not any geared bikes.
So back in June I passed my theory and did my CBT which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’ve since been learning on a 650cc and getting loads of road riding including to and from the test centre which is around an hour each way.
I feel pretty confident with my riding out on the roads however on the Mod 1 I struggle with my U-turns (too slow, putting foot down or panicking and dropping the bike) and getting to speed on my avoidance. I’ve had two tests within a month (the second being this morning) and failed both. I know with practice I can get to speed on the fast manoeuvres however I get a complete mental block about the U-turns, I just seem to be afraid of going a bit faster to keep more stability.
My first Mod 1 I would have passed if I’d reached speed on the emergency stop (had to finish the test early as didn’t meet speed on second attempt and ironically did U-turn OK with one minor). The second test today was foot down due to loss of stability (which was a fail) then didn’t meet speed on avoidance. I know I’m a reasonable rider but lack confidence on just a few manoeuvres. However to get practice in costs me £90 a time for a three hour slot and is becoming expensive. My husband is doing his Mod 1 early next month and will hopefully pass followed closely by his Mod 2. He has experience from years ago of bigger bikes which was clearly seen on his CBT apparently. Being male he also (in my personal opinion) more fearless and likely to pass due to having more confidence.
I’m thinking of buying a cheap but decent 125cc geared bike to build my confidence on the road and practice manoeuvres or my husband has suggested I borrow his bike once he’s passed to practice all the slow stuff on a private car park somewhere.
Just really want some advice on how to get past this Mod 1 hump without throwing what feels like money out the window.
Many thanks in advance all |
Have you managed to get through the Mod 1 yet? I passed mine recently, but found it much more difficult than the Mod2 tbh (3 faults on the Mod 1, clean sheet on the Mod 2). I also did not get up sufficient speed on the speed avoidance or emergency stop elements the first time, but just made sure I went quicker the second time! Annoying thing was that I nailed it in practice right from the start. Does your riding school offer a practice on an actual Mod 1 course? The school I used hired the actual one that I took my test on prior to my test, which really helped and gave me the confidence I needed. As for getting a 125 to practice on, I did this and rode for a few months, but think that this only really helped with the Mod2 element of the test as doing the manoeuvres on a 650 are very different from doing them on a 125 (if you think about it you had to do u-turns, figure of 8, emergency stop and slalom for your CBT). |
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 4 years, 222 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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