First day of DAS and I binned it in the wet :(

[rK@NE]

Well Saturday was the first day of my DAS course and since I'm pretty new to bikes I had a day riding around on a SR125 to get used to handling a bike on the road.

The morning was going OK, my confidence was good and I thought I was doing well.

Anyway, about an hour into the ride my rear brake pedal locks up so we pulled over to inspect the damage, it appears that the bit connecting the pedal to the brake has come off So a verrry slow ride back to base (in the wet) with no rear brake (A scary experience) A quick bike change later and we're back on to the roads!

As we set off again we were taking it steady as it was quite wet. I was riding second in position after another learner and we came up to a small roundabout where I indicated right for the third exit. I checked for traffic, moved forward and proceeded around, slightly too quick for the conditions.. as I came to the exit I noticed a car pulling off from double yellows at the mouth of the exit, the bike in front slowed quickly and in the heat of the moment I panicked, grabbing a fist full of front brake and losing the front wheel .

All I can remember thinking as I hit the deck was how fast the fucking thing went down! Thankfully I was only doing about 15 MPH and after picking the bike off my foot there was relatively little damage, my new boots took a grazing (toe sliders are now broken in ), there is a hole in my jacket, i've got a little roadrash and bruising on my hip and all that broke on the bike was the L Plate. I think the most damage was done to my pride and my confidence.

Now I feel like such nob, despite laughing it off and getting back on the bike, I can't shake my embarrasment or my self-doubt. I spent the rest of the day riding around more carefully, everything went fine but my confidence still isn't back to normal.

Soooo... what can I do to get my confidence back? Is it normal to feel so shitty after something like this and is this a sign to give up while I'm ahead or should I just chalk this one down to inexperience?

[m99dws]

[rK@NE]

[MarkyPancake]

[trevoriv]

try not to go out in the wet til you feel a bit more confident in the dry

ive only just done my das last week and the slightest bit of damp and road markings seem to turn into ice!

just keep riding and all of a sudden it just clicks and you just seem to know what your doing and you feel like the bike must be on stabilisers or something

and its worth it!

[.....]

Stick with it mate - look at it as a lesson learnt. Now you won't make that mistake again and was lucky it was on someone else's bike and at low speed.

Everyone makes mistakes - that's why you a a learner. Good luck for the rest of your DAS

[suzi_bandit]

Don't give up. What happened to you could have happened to any one of us while learning.

I passed my test last week and although I've done over 1,000 since passing I've never done any heavy breaking nor have I ridden in the wet. This is something that has started to worry me and I voiced my concern to a friend. He's come up with an excellent suggestion which is for us to go to a local industrial site one evening when it's quiet for me to practice my breaking, firstly when it's dry then when I'm happy with that, in the wet. He'll be there at hand so if my bike does hit the deck he can help me pick it up. The industrial site has a good network of roads ie. roundabouts; junctions; long straights and sharp bends. I'll be a lot happier once I've done it because I'll be more tuned into the bikes capabilities as well as my own.
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I want a big boys bike, preferably a Speed Triple. To date I have ?7:42p stashed away to put towards one. Need to get it in the bank & earning interest asap.

[Sheepy1209]

Same as Suzi_Bandit - 1000 miles, riding every day, but it hasn't rained!

Stick at it - it's worth it.

[rK@NE]

Cheers guys!

I've got another day on a 125 on Thursday 25th, so that'll give me a good chance to get back into the swing of things

[TOM M]

just dont give up and you will master it
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Now owner of a 1200 Bandit

[mchaggis]

Something which might help is if you can lead if you're in a pair of learners. It's too easy to get into a 'monkey see, monkey do' routine if you're following someone else. I found my confidence increased markedly once I wasn't following someone else.
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I must not be a troll...
Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush.

[cbrbiker]

Jeez, one little off and he's ready to give up!!

I dropped the CB400 I was riding on my first lesson mate. Snapped the footpeg off! Thankfully I was stationary at the time and managed to hop off first!

Falling off is a part of biking. If you're gonna give up after a crash mate, there's no point starting IMO. You fall off, you laugh about it (assuming you can), you fix what needs fixing and you carry on, despite parents trying to convince you that you'll die...

Inexperience mate, nowt more to it than that. Have fun on the next lesson and just relax and go with the flow. You'll be fine!
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[colin1]

easy mistake to make

in future just say to your self 'only a fool breaks the 2 second rule' this takes 2 seconds to say so check that u are 2 seconds behind the guy in front by watching when a lampost passes the guy in front and when it passes you. It shd be 2 seconds later.

In the wet make it 4 seconds so say the little chant twice.

That way you wont have to have the reactions of a person with fast reactions if anything goes wrong
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[yambabe]

LOL it happens to everyone, speaking as someone who managed to break both levers on the GS500 in the same lesson when I had a go at doing DAS I can tell you that your confidence may take a knock but eventually it will come back.

As everyone else has said, it will be worth it in the end.

PS I eventually passed my A2 on a 125, having decided that I would be much better (and safer! )working my way up bike sizes.
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Andy C]

when you bin you own bike after 6 days of being on the road with it, that hurts.

if you think about it you ahve come out of it really well! you ahvnt got to worry about costly bills and replacing stuff as not your bike!

when i have come off i have checked over the bike first and then relised that i was hurting.

Just remember that the first time you get to a open road on your bike after you pass.....thats when you know its all worth while!

also good luck!
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99 RS125 --> 02 SV650s --> 03 Speed Four --> 92 RXS100 --> 93 CB400sf --> 01 CB600f Hornet