A question of balance

[pixo]

I went for my CBT today and was sent home after just 20 minutes. The instructor said that my balance was off, that I wasn’t in control of the bike and that I was going to hurt myself or crash into a bush.

Although I was all over the place, I felt a bit more in control on the last two rides. I was only given five chances to ride in a straight line for 30 meters. I feel that with more practice I can nail it.

Is this ‘balance” issue unsurmountable? Has this happened to you? My confidence is through the floor right now, but I don’t want to give up

[Nobby the Bastard]

You couldn't ride in a straight line for 30 metres? Fuck, the little bastard had that nailed when he was 5.
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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

[pixo]

I can’t understand it either Nobby.

I made the mistake of taking the CBT on a scooter, and never again.

The only way I can describe it is that it felt like sitting on a legless heavy iron garden chair that was moving on top of a football

Would gripping the tank with your knees help?

[Nobby the Bastard]

As the tank on a scooter is under your seat you'd be better off puckering up your ringpiece.

I take it you can cycle? If you can do that then you should be able to ride a bike. You use exactly the same principles. Do you grip the bike with your knees whilst cycling?
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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

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[pixo]

It’s not that, had my first pushbike at 6 & was a messenger in NYC

Everyone else got a new(ish) scooter at the CBT, but I was landed with an old banger. The speedo was taped with electrical tape to the scooter, the throttle was looser than a bucket of fishing worms and the right brake was tighter than a Picadilly manhole.

I want to get a geared 125, just thought it would be a safer bet to take the CBT on a scooter. I guess I was wrong.

[Ayrton]

What a joke, the CBT is a training course and it seems a lot of schools just expect you to turn up with the ability to ride a bike. I'd find a different school and explain the situation to them so maybe they will book you in for a more personalised session. Often I think these schools don't want to bother with people that lag behind the rest of the group because it holds everyone up.

I've also found a geared bike easier to ride in a straight line than a scooter for some reason, so give that a try. If you want a geared bike anyway there's no reason to do the CBT on a scooter.

[Nobby the Bastard]

They clearly thought he/she was a liability and likely to injury themselves. The have a duty of care andnif they think someone is a danger to themselves then they have to call a halt.

They are teaching you how to ride safely on the road, not how to ride from first principles and as op admitted they couldn't ride in a straight line I think the school called it right.
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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

[pixo]

Spot on Ayrton

The instructor shouted at me, I quote “That’s it get off the bike now! This is not for you!” ---WTF!!!

I've rented 50cc scooters in India that were in far worst conditions than today, but there nobody is looking over your shoulder waiting for you to put a foot wrong as in the CBT.

At the end of the day, practice makes perfect and anyone can learn to ride a motorbike period.

I’ve called around and found another school that gives 1-2-1 lessons in a geared bike and not charging an arm and a leg, so that’s next for me. There is no way in a million years that I’m giving up.

I really don’t know what happened today at the CBT but I'm over it. Disappointed yes, I never thought I could fail the CBT. Had the dealer lined up to purchase my bike next Wednesday and Herald had confirmed delivery of the bike for the week after. I just have to wait a bit longer, no big deal

[Ste]

[Nobby the Bastard]

Like I said, my youngest could ride 30 metres in a straight line at 5 years old. Maybe the instructor was right and you really cannot ride one.

Tbh hearing of an instructor doing that is as rare as hearing of a driving test being halted because the examiner was shit scared by the candidates driving, but it does happen.

The standards in the uk are far higher for even learners than the the typical driver in India....
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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

[pixo]

Ste
There were eight of us

Nobby
Maybe your son will be the next Scott Redding, I hope so. BTW there is nobody better in the world at training kids than Chicho Lorenzo, check him out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl6x3HVICSU&list=PLEfXFiSnCx3sLVCATQUnjWccO2MwBD7WZ

[Bhud]

Can you ride a pedal cycle? Of course you can. Everyone learns it in childhood. The principle of balance is exactly the same. Gyroscopic force holds up the bike, just the same as a bicycle (pedal cycle / pushbike). If you can ride a bicycle you have the balance for a motorcycle. What's holding you back is in your head. If you think you can't do it, then you cannot. If you think you can, then you probably can.

EDIT: just read your post about being a bike courier in NYC.

It's all in your head, dude. You have the ability to balance a motorcycle easily.

[Ste]

[Ayrton]

[mentalboy]

Did I miss the part about why you had to do it on a scooter? I believe that there are still motorcycle shaped 50cc bikes knocking around.

Scooters are bloody horrible things to get used to if you're used to a bicycle/motorbike, but it's not impossible. The small wheels do make stability something that you might need to work on. I used to sit further back on the seat and clench my legs together, as best I could, until I got used to it. Once I'd worked out for myself that they weren't that bad I just plonked myself on the seat like a sack of spuds and let the scoot do it's thing, almost in the same manner that I wanted my pillions to ride, relaxed and going with the flow.
I will never be that great a fan of scoots while there are proper bikes still knocking around but I did find them to be quite fun for shitty town traffic - probably why all our major cities are chock full of the bloody things.

OP has several options, leave that shit to those who like to feel their huge cunt lips flapping in the breeze (not my words... ) and get on a proper shaped bike.

Or give up.

Or better still, find a friend/ hire school and spend some hours riding round a Tesco's car park until you do get the hang of it/pay someone for some instruction until you crack it or they stop taking your money.
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Make mine a Corona.

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[Pete.]

Anyone who can ride a bicycly safely can ride a scooter or motorbike, all you have to get used to is the power of the engine which is just a matter of familiarisation.

Could be just a matter of you holding your arms too rigid or gripping the bars too tight. Or it could be just as you say the scooter was a POS. I've ridden bikes which were barefy fit to go straight and it's not fun.

Either way, the 'instructor' should not be berating a student in front of tohers and should not be shouting ever. Get on the review sites, name the school and the individual and tell the world what to expect. People should be encouraged not dismissed.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Freddyfruitba...]

[Ste]

pixo, what happens in your attempts to ride 30 meters in a straight line?

My full expectation is that you'll go to a different training school and they'll get your through your CBT without problems. The first school were just dickheads who didn't want to help, you paid for training and they gave you 20 minutes.

Oh and they shouldn't even be operating with eight people to one instructor.

[pixo]

Thank you everyone for your time and your comments, it's very nice of you.

I have emailed a complaint to the DVSA explaining everything, see what happens. The last thing I need right now is to argue with the school office over the phone. Needless to say, I’ll not be going back there for my second attempt at the CBT

Ayrton
That's exactly what I told the instructor, it really felt that way. Just needed a bit more time.

Mentalboy & Trevor
Absolutely, it was a stupid idea to take the CBT on a scooter. My bad.

Pete
As soon as sat in that scooter it felt wrong and it was all downhill from there. The instructor was not helping, and I got nervous and tense. I could feel my arms locked and gripping hard on the handlebars.

First, he asked me to push the bike around at the end of the 30 straight meters, I know it's a simple thing, but he should not have asked me to do it without demonstrating how to do it safely as it's part of the CBT . He next asked me to turn around on the bike, effectively doing a U-turn at slow speed. He asked me to do it twice, the second time I refused to do it as that manoeuvre is done much later in the CBT. I was pretty annoyed by then, which did not help my concentration.

Freddyfruitbat
One thing is happy days on holidays riding a little 50cc scooter, and another to perform a specific manoeuvre in an old can under pressure, dealing with this instructor BS, and trying to concentrate at the same time - It really encourages me to hear that your son went through a similar experience and that it all worked out for him at the end.

Ste
There were two instructors, one knew his shit and he gave us the intro talk. He took the rest of the group over to another area of the grounds away 200 yards away from us to practice the next exercises. My instructor knew that he could not be away from the other instructor for long as it is against the law. Once it was all over my instructor hurriedly escorted me to the gate of the grounds, it all happen so quickly that it wasn’t until I got home in the Uber that I realised I still had the school’s high visibility vest on. He couldn’t wait to get rid of me and join the other seven students who were training under just one instructor. I think that’s why I wasn’t given the chance to settle in

[Nobby the Bastard]

So despite your time as a courier you need to be taught how to do a u turn on a fucking scooter.


And clearly the.4 student per instructor was followed because you referred to the other instructor
____________________
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

[pinkyfloyd]

[Ste]

Mr Pinky, what would it take for you to send a CBT person away after 20 minutes?