Learning to ride - My online diary :)

[Makaveli_Rydah]

Thought this might be a laugh for all you BIG bikers and maybe a guide for new starters like me ...

First some background ....

I've been riding auto's since i was 19 , now 25 i currently ride a Yamaha Aerox YQ 100 scooter , i have dabbled with geared bikes but never really done much riding .
Although iam a confident rider there's always room for improvement and i always want to do more , hence the reason iam now starting my lessons to pass my Direct Access Scheme (D.A.S) and move onto bigger and brighter things

Anyways i plan to keep this updated with everything i learn over the process of the scheme .

Lesson 1 / Competency Evaluation ...

This lesson was basically just evaluating how i handled the bike / the road / road knowledge / gears & general workings of a motorcycle .
Biggest lesson was - DON'T look at the bike when doing anything ! always look ahead .

At the end of 2 hours of training ( 1 hour in the yard , 1 on the road ) I learned that - yes iam confident on the road but not too confident on another bike . Also learned i need a lot of work on my gear shifts .
Instructor evaluates me as needing perhaps 7 more lessons before my test .

Verdict - unhappy as i realise it's going to cost a lot more than expected , happy that they were willing to help as much as possible .

Lesson 2 - today 3/5/06 8am - 10am ( what kind of business opens at this time in the morning )

Get to the yard expecting more circuits and gear practice BUT that wasn't there plan - straight out onto the road at 8:15am on a Honda CG125 in RUSH HOUR traffic , needless to say i immediately start panicking but the instructor helps by not making me rush and directs me to the nearest petrol station .
Here i learn that most modern petrol caps are spring loaded and don't need to be locked ( unlike mine ).

Fill up and where off again along the riverside industrial park - as we head further into the city my gear UP changes become more stable and i can feel the revs build rather than having to listen for the pitch to change , i know the roads we're on so this helps a little but i'm still panicky especially when i notice we're heading straight towards a local school - at 8:40am
.
Needless to say - small children line the roads and cars pull out left right & centre - this is a 40 zone but i don't feel safe riding that fast ( i wouldn't on my bike never mind an unfamiliar machine ) so i slow down and encounter my first real problem -

I'm shit at gearing down ! , click down to what i think is second but arrrgh i'm in neutral and the bike is cruising ! , click back down into first let the clutch go and bang ! I stall !
Takes me about a minute to get back into neutral to kick back to first - rocking the bike back and forth to engage the clutch properly .

And we're off again - coming to a 30 zone so i brake and am instantly told not to this ! - just ease off the throttle he says and the bike will slow itself down more than a car / scooter .

Circle back into the town now and i'm still having problems with gear changes down problem is i've been holding the clutch in and changing down - although it feels like i've gone down 2 gears i haven't it's only one . So now i know i must clutch / down gear / release repeat for every gear i use
Of course it didn't come that easy and 20 minutes later i'm still trying to get the hang of it .

Now we've done a big circle and i'm back upon the school again - still kids & cars everywhere so yet again i slow even though the instructor pushes me to go faster .

A few more circuits of the town and we head back into an industrial estate so he can observe me from the roadside - basically what i'm on is a quarter mile straight with a roundabout at each end - kind of like this ........

0----------0

Firstly we pull over so he can explain how sometimes even the best bikers slip into neutral by mistake and i learn that going from second into first requires a bit more force down otherwise i'll catch neutral in between them

so a few laps round the roundabouts and i learn to change from 1'st into 2n'd before i lean into the roundabout . Easy enough and he can see i'm getting it !

Now he want's me to circle and STOP at the roundabout - bollocks i still haven't mastered the slowing down gear change so now i'm panicky again .
Needless to say i stall a few more times before starting to get it and he constantly repeats the way i should be slowing at a roundabout .....

OBSERVE (mirror , blind spot check ) -INDICATE - MOVE to the side i'm turning - BRAKE front then rear - GEAR DOWN ....

to second if i can pull straight out
First if i can't see what's coming ( holding the clutch in to keep from stalling ) pull up , wait , go , into second , lean , indicate left to come off , observe behind again , off ! a lot to remember at first

Think i'm getting it now but nowhere near perfect . Now he jumps back on his bike and we're back on open road for more practice now i have to be aware of the traffic while remembering all of that , don't think i do too bad but my instructor wants me to give it more revs - believe it or not but this is the point where i realise this bikes throttle twists ALOT further round than my scooter LOL - now we're cooking !
Maybe this all went to my head and i tried to change gear to fast , i feel the front go light and come up just a bit - i shit and drop the revs , and we're safe phew !
( a wheelie on a CG125 on my first lesson )
Now we're headed back to the yard - he doesn't tell me this but i know the roads just as i feel like i'm getting it ! - hell , i could stay out here all day )

A few more pointers i pick up on the way back , stay to the middle of the road , don't cut corners ( even if it is by mistake ) don't follow the lines on the road , always stay to the centre - observe blind spots when venturing out around parked cars etc...
when passing a bus , stay close to it , when it's pulling out let it and stay well back . The bike will pull away from a standstill in second gear if enough revs are applied. As fit as some women maybe - always keep your eyes on the road


Well that was my first PROPER lesson and i actually feel better after typing all that , sorry for the ranting on but hopefully it can help new starters .

Next lesson is 3:30pm TODAY and i will update when i return

Lesson 2 ...... 3:30pm - 5:30pm

Instructor was impressed by this morning by my grasp of the gears ( eventually ) but we had a quick 15 minute spin around the estate to make sure i had it .
Then it was off around a 20 zone to make sure i could handle low speeds & traffic bumps - easy !

After this we headed up and around where i live and then out to a small village for more inner street riding so i could build up more confidence in traffic .
Outside of this village is all country roads - we hit these next !
Got a chance to really open the bike up and i can honestly say 55mph on a bike is a lot more wobbly than on a scooter

So we had a quick 20 minute blast through open country before we pulled over and i was taught the secrets of turning a corner at speed !

My instructor told me , regardless of what anyone says motorcycles are built for speed , and so i must learn to handle at speed .
You see i thought i was doing well through the country lanes - leaning into corners and such , but , i was wrong - in the sense that leaning should be pretty much a last resort and in order to turn a corner well i should COUNTERSTEER !

Countersteer is when you are turning a corner say a right hand bend - you apply pressure to the right side of the handle bar - slightly making the wheel turn left , this in turn leans the bike & you right , but it keeps going in a straight line .

This was the point i had to jump on the back of his bike with him so he could give me a clear example .

Also i was instructed to ride into a corner like this and then open the throttle to power out - this means the back wheel is driving the bike out and as such the bike should not topple in over due to lack of momentum

Also , when your cornering - say left , and it's a tight turn or blind corner - get out to the centre of the road in order to see round and judge it as well as possible

Be aware of anything that gives clue to how the road bends i.e - car roofs on the other side , telegraph poles ( tend to follow the road line - but not always ) , hedge & fence lines give a good idea too.

Everything must be set on the bike for you entering that corner - brake to the correct speed , be in the correct gear to power out & be aware of what's behind and coming the other direction .
All this must be set before you lean into the corner and while the bike is travelling in a straight line with you sat upright

Taking all this into consideration i was then told never to take the optimal route through a corner if it means putting yourself in danger .

Now it was my time to put this into practice - at first the countersteer just wobbled the bars as i had them too tight , but after a few corners i had it sussed

Then for a complete change we rode back on ourselves and out onto the A69 dual carriageway , straight into fast moving traffic which at first was initially scary but i soon got over it

We then head back toward the yard and pull into an industrial estate where he makes me " attempt " a U turn .
Funny thing is in my evaluation lesson i had slow riding / figure of 8's & clutch control down pretty much .
unfortunately this afternoon i only managed it once out of about 7 try's - the bike kept tipping in over as i tried to straighten up and i was pulling on the front brake to stop going into the kerb .
The correct method is slowly turn the bike while looking where you are wanting to stop and use the back brake as speed control along with the clutch .

We did this for about 5 minutes and then rode back to conclude the lesson .

All in all a pretty good day i think , i wasn't sure i was getting much better but he says i've pretty much got gear changes sorted - i only stalled once in traffic , a big improvement to this morning

Anyways - back on saturday at 1:30pm for another 2 hours of fun - and slow riding practice .

Oh and on the way home an old lady stepped out in front of me doing 40 i grabbed the brakes and the front locked - i slid up to her and stopped about a foot away . Needless to say she got a gobful of muffled abuse from behind my helmet

Lesson 3 6/5/06 1:30pm - 3:30pm

Get there on time to find out i'm riding with another learner - the other lessons have been one on one .
Today i'm told will be a mix of fast & slow - and there really was nothing in between that

Head out onto the road for the usual routine of a few corners and riding at the usual 30 mph , then through an estate littered with traffic calming places , it was all stop & start for about 20 mins .
At this point i was cruising , taking my time , watching my speed and trying to get everything down .
Until i noticed that i was leaving the instructor and the other lad way behind - it was to the point where he was talking to me saying " you'll be coming up to a roundabout carry on straight ahead "

Errrm no mate , i passed that roundabout 45 seconds ago lol .
A Bit more of this and basic traffic awareness / road sign awareness and it was the other lads turn to have a go in the lead just as we joined the dual carriageway .

Now this is the point he decides to turn on his " motorcycling " skills and he's off like a shot !
I was shocked considering i'd left them behind the last 30 minutes .

Anyway as usual the instructor pushes me to catch him up - damn bike will only do about 55mph ( i'm a big lad ) so by the time i was catching him up he was already slowing for a roundabout or lights

Biggest lesson learned during this period was when your on a roundabout with traffic lights on it tends to unwind you out to the outside lane - like a corkscrew !
For example approaching the roundabout your in the right hand lane to turn right . You then move out to the centre lane when the lights change , then out to the outer lane to exit

10 more minutes of this & we pull over for a chat about observations & blind spots in traffic , he pretty much states the obvious but hey - that's his job !

Check your mirrors about every 10 seconds , the right mirror is always more useful than the left in normal conditions , when overtaking a large vehicle make sure you can see round the front before overtaking completely , amber lights mean STOP unless it is unsafe to do so , a quick head turn or showing a brake light will make drivers behind you more aware of you and what your doing , never cross a zebra / pelican .... whatever crossing if someone is waiting to cross.

Now we hop on and it's my turn to lead again , back on the dual carriageway now whack it up to 55 lol and this is where i think i'm in fourth but i'm not i'm in fifth - try to gear up and the bike makes a hell of a sound - good job i was far ahead

My next lesson is to be told that i must hold my road position as i'm always trying to cut corners i have to learn to stay centered from lane to lane

Next we travel through some carriageway roadworks and although the sign says 40 , the road signs say 30 - guess which one i missed

Twice more he tells me to slow down before we get back to calmer roads .

Now we're turning into the industrial estate where he had me training for roundabouts and gear changes - except now i find out this the local motorcycle speedway/knee down practice and stunt area.
As we potter down the road at 40 a Yam R6 & a Blade are racing up & down the straight past us , which to be honest wasn't very clever considering they could see we we're learners

Anyway we pull up and he explains now we will practice slow riding around a car park , what he had us do is follow the kerb line at walking pace with both feet up using the clutch to adjust speed.
The way to do this was to get the revs up pretty high and let the clutch out slightly until the bike slowly moves and keep it going as slow as possible without putting your feet down .
Easy , in a straight line but now he wants me to do box shapes and sure enough as soon as i turn the bike , it falls inwards and my foots down
The secret he tells me is to always look where i want to be and make the bike go there , don't look at the ground or the bike .

Now he pulls us over to give us a 'pep' talk and this is where i had a right chuckle to myself , this is what he said in a bassy serious voice as he pulled up ....

" This is a piece of metal , the metal does not drive you , you drive the metal , you make it do - what you want to do "
And honest to god he sounded just like the drill instructor from Full Metal Jacket - so he's serious as can be and i'm laughing away to myself thinking all he needs is a sheriffs hat and an american accent

Anyway - once i learned to build up the revs more and keep the bike "singing " the clutch control and slow turning got easier but i still couldn't make a box shape - maybe an egg shape

But as always just when i think i'm starting to get it the lesson is over and we ride back again .

Definatley need more practice at slow riding and maybe more confidence on the bigger roads at speed .

Other things i noticed today were ....
The rear brake is just too small or in the wrong place for me i can never cover it properly , feet too big maybe

If doing a U Turn on a bigger bike i will not get my foot down to prop myself up if it falls , it falls fast & hard

Apparently i'm getting better - should be too , only got 4 lessons left


Lesson 4 3pm - 5pm 8/5/06

Get to the yard early and what do you know - the instructors bike sits alongside a CB500F , woohoo i'm getting on the bigger bike today
Or at least i thought i was until the other instructor comes out and wheels it in and brings out the CG

Most of today was slow riding techniques & practice .
We set off and did our usual little trip around the inner streets , went through more traffic calming areas which were full of people picking their kids up from school - handled this well and we headed down to a large retail & industrial area for some more practice .

First thing i did wrong here was to turn onto a dual carriageway into the right hand lane - the instructor wasn't very happy , but in my defence it was clear

Then we nipped into a side street to " attempt " U Turns again . First 2 attempts - foot down but the next lot i was fine , although he did say i should have had the revs lower , i actually find it easier with the revs built up high ( easier control / less movement on the clutch )
As i began to do them well he decided to decrease my turning space - Now instead of turning from one kerb to the other i had to turn from the left curb to the white line in the middle of the road
Again , first few - feet down , after that back to routine - no problems really
I find that keeping the revs high ( he says they're too high ) and the back brake on almost all the way through the turn is the best and steadiest way to turn , feeding the clutch out for a little bit more control and braking and pulling it in to add a bit more speed - but that's just my theory

Anyway - few more goes and he tells me to ride up the street , get up to speed ( 30mph ) and head straight for him - haha if you've got a death wish mate yeah you stand in front of me
So now i'm closing on him in 3rd gear doing 30mph , he says when i hold my hand up come to a dead stop - don't gear down - just stop !
I'm going for him , he holds his hand up and i'm on the front then the rear brake - probably about 70/30 front to rear . I stop just before i get to him and forget to pull the clutch in
Arrrrrwww he says , thought you had nailed it in one then . ( first attempt mate at least i didn't skid or fall off )
Go back around again , head for him - nail it again & this time i remember to get the clutch in
Well done he says much to my amusement - don't hear that very often .
Of course now i'm in the middle of the road and he wants me to pull in left . This is the point where BCF helped out - thank you to whoever put the thread up about emergency stops , scored me brownie points today .

Isort my gears out into first , I do a lifesaver right then left , indicate left , one more lifesaver left , pull to the kerb .

Most people forget that he tells me ( forget ? i wouldn't have thought about it if i didn't read it last night )

So we have five minutes and he tells me about arm signals which is pretty straightforward - stick your left hand out if turning left - right if right , extend & flap your right hand up and down if slowing down
Had a quick practice and i mistimed it of course , not too worried though as i know this isn't on the test

We plod on through the estate and he takes me to another car park for sloooooooooow riding practice ( at this rate i'll never get out of first gear on my test ) .
This car park is nice & new all the bays are marked in white stripes about a quarter inch thick - no mistaking where they are

So he has me pull to the kerb and follow it round into the first bay , then follow the edge of the bay line all the way to the end kerb and do a big circle back on myself - all at walking pace .
This is simple as by now iam the master of clutch control .
Then he tightens it up for me - go across 3 bays then turn right and right again - hard it is but i do it well , few more goes of this and it's turn into a bay follow it round , into the next , follow it round .
Needless to say - foot down more than once and it doesn't help that when i turn the bars pretty much full lock they hit my knees - hence i can't fully lock them to turn
10 Minutes later and the instructions are more rapid - right , right , left , right , left ( his drill instructor side coming through again me thinks ) .
But after a while it becomes easier and as above the best ways i found to do it were ....

High revs on set off pulling the clutch in for a little more speed and letting it out to slow down . While doing this either cover or lightly apply the rear brake to keep the bike more stable and LOOK at where your going at all times - head up not watching the bike .

We finish here and we're back out into the estate , 40 zone dual carriageway , heavy but fast moving traffic .
As we head up the road there is a lorry indicating left way before a turning , now as i said this is an industrial park and lorries will often just park on the side of the road , so i indicate right and pull into the outer lane to overtake the lorry . He isn't very happy with this and tells me i should have stayed in the left and allowed the lorry to pull in - 6 & 2 3's if you ask me but your the instructor .

As we leave the estate we're back on the A1 and the damn bike refuses to budge over 50 today - wind it up he says get it going this is a 70 road !!!
Yeah , but your bike's shite !!!
As we near Newcastle we take off towards the city centre , in the outer lane - he tells me we're taking the next left so i observe indicate and slow waiting for a spot to enter that lane .
And i get wrong for this too
I musn't slow when changing lanes as if i do theres a chance the car behind will hit me and i'll be holding up traffic - everything has a knock on effect he says , if you hold up the people behind they hold up them behind you and so on - if you do this on your test you will fail automatically .
Makes sense and i agree - it's just a bit daunting being in that kind of traffic at those speeds on a machine that i've only ridden for 6 hours on rodas i don't know .

As we head out of the city centre he's happy enough to let me ride on across roadworks so i get a chance to experience different road surfaces - i.e gravel , tarmac and backed up traffic .
Soon we get to the spot he first had me trying U Turns and he wants me to do them again - i never noticed last time but the road is actually cambered to the right so turning from left to right i'm picking up more speed than i would on a flat road .
First few AGAIN foot down , he pulls up and says - where we were turning before was a tighter spot than this !
So off i go with the knowledge i can do it , and what do you know 6 turns later no foot downs .

We finish here and head back to the yard - i go to indicate in and hit the horn .
We get back in and he tells me i must practice and teach myself to check mirrors and shoulder check before i move into position to turn - this is my biggest downfall at the moment .

Mirrors , Shoulder Check , Indicate , Move - must learn to do it in that order .
Apart from that he says we're getting there

So that was today , next lesson is 9am - 11am thursday morning , Roll On !!!





Lesson 5 - 91m - 11am - 11/5/06

Firstly allow me to say that this is the SECOND time i've had to type this , first time round my damn internet gave up the goat when i pressed submit - it locked - i pressed back - it cam up page expired
Damn you Telewest

Anyway....................

It's a nice day

Got to the yard today to find my instructors Honda Deauville sitting next to a push bike , " i'm that bad am i ? " i say to him .
He laughs and wheels out the CG again .
And we're off , up through our usual route to the industrial estate again .
He pulls over to explain that although i had gotten better with U Turns & slow riding there was room for improvement as i was a bit hit & miss - Damn thought i was getting good too lol.

I have found 2 methods of performing the U Turn - the first is to start the turn using the clutch & throttle , then pull the clutch in as you want to turn so the bike is basically free wheeling and use this momentum to turn the bike before letting the clutch out & using the throttle to level it up .

The second is to apply the rear brake gently as you begin to turn and then apply it harder using the clutch and throttle to drive the bike through the turn and using the back brake to finally stop - this is my prefered method as it's more stable.

So he has me follow the kerb line , box the parking spaces and pull a few more U Turns . Better ! he says and we leave the estate to head into more urban areas and traffic .
We ride through residential areas and about every 5 minutes he says turn in here and has me do a few U Turns and pull back out again . We do this for about 25 minutes and he's basically testing me indifferent areas and road types i.e .....

Outside a school , in an empty street , in a street with cars on both sides , on a bumpy road .....

After this he just has me follow the roads and i can see we're nearing the main entrance to the city centre - ahhh i think , we're heading out onto the dual carriageway along the side of the city centre onto the bypass . So now i'm waiting for him to say " turn left here " ............. i'm waiting , waiting still , that was the last exit - damn !!!!

He's taking me into the city centre the worst possible place to ride or drive for anyone in Newcastle , as we near St James Park i'm in the no car lane with a bus in front and an MPV to the side of me .
As the lights change i go to go around the bus and the MPV driver slows down to let me through . My instructor later tells me that was my fault and i would fail on the test for that but at the same time the woman driving wasn't paying attention and was busy talking on her mobile

We go further into the city centre and it's now all stop & start at the traffic lights , luckily i can make use of the no car lanes and get where i'm going a bit faster .
We eventually pull into a bike parking place and get off for a chat .

" first thing you did wrong " he says , pulled into the parking place front wheel first , you should always back in , especially on a cambered road - this will make it easier to pull out again
He then proceeds to tell me that riding in this kind of environment in this kind of traffic takes a lot more attention and observation of what's going on around you at all times .
When stopped at the lights it is essential to do a lifesaver both left & right before moving off because of the increased possibility of other motorcyclists and push bikes.
Push bikes are interesting he says , you'll see them in your mirrors and the next second they're gone ! they filter more than us and actually go between cars to get where they're going and quite often just run straight through red lights .

When in one way traffic with 2 lanes , keep a decent size gap between you and the vehicle in front so if necessary - if traffic in front slows down you can slide into the opposite lane and vice versa .
It will also help to plan your route and check road signs etc... with you having a greater field of vision .
A few more do's and don'ts such as leave room between you and the vehicle in front as it will roll back before moving forward - common knowledge stuff really ....

And then we're back onto the road in one way traffic , he really doesn't need to tell me what do anymore as there is only one direction i can go - i occasionally get told - left at the next junction but that's about it .

We've now done a lap of the city centre and he has me head back out the way we came in , we then head for the road he had me on last time - roadworks are taking place and there's an imposed limit of 30mph , the road surface changes about every mile and temporary lights and roundabouts cover the road . Negotiate this with no problems and we leave the road to head back into residential areas again , here we go through the same routine - u turns in different areas and occasionally he'll say " pull over on te left " on a hill and then have me pull out again without letting the bike roll backwards

From here we travel down to the cambered road where i was having problems doing a U Turn - from the left its cambered down so the bike is rolling with more speed and it makes the right turn harder . From the right it's the opposite and makes it easier .

He has me do 6 more U Turns here and i nail each one
And it's back down to the industrial estate for more practice .....

The usual - he has me follow the kerb line while boxing the spaces at walking pace .
For about 12 minutes i do this before i put my foot down - Damn !!!
But my wrist is killing from holding the clutch .
2 More minutes of this and he has me pull up to him and he says ...

" you've got that down , spot on !!! nailed it ! "

" we can start you on the 500 next lesson "

W00t W00t !!!! i give the universally noticed sign of " get in there " by putting my fist in the air LOL .

" Get your theory done and we'll get you in for the test as soon as possible "

Feeling very pleased with myself i ride back grinning all the way - it's not until we get back to the yard that he tells me the bad news - lessons so far have been £48 , now they're going to be £54 for using the 500 , damn ! my bike budget is dwindling !
But all in all very pleased and with a lot to look forward too

Riding home i got about a mile from the yard and my scooter cut out , pulls in checked it all over to find the bloody spark plug cap has jumped off and pulled the metal cap off the plug stripping the threads off it .
Open my scooter to get my plug spanner and spare and DAMN !
Took it out yesterday when i was washing it
Eventually had to phone the old man to come and bail me out but got back in the end

Apart from that , it's a good day

Next Lesson Monday 3pm - 5pm




Lesson 6 - Monday 3pm - 5pm 15/5/05


Well what a day to have my first go on the big bike , weather today is absolutely appalling . Seriously - it's like a tropical storm here at the moment , this disheartened me immediately

Anyway , get all kitted up ready to go but first we have to spend some time looking over the bike so the instructor can explain to me the difference between this - a CBF 500 and the previous mischief machine - the CG 125.

First thing you notice - it's a lot cooler , then the obviousness of other things stick out - the wide exhaust , the meatier chain , the nice little window that houses the warning l.e.d's , the fact that it has a kill switch and ultimately the difference in tyre size .
This actually picked me up a bit as i realized these tyres would be a lot safer than the the ones on the CG .

Okay so i've looked it over and give him the thumbs up - now he explains it all to me ..........

This bike has ABS is the first thing he tells me , which basically means it's going to do most of the braking for you ( and in the back of my head i'm thinking - yeah but it's gonna kill my chances of popping a wheelie )
Only 2 fingers are really needed to control the front brake and because the clutch is more responsive - that can be operated with 1
Next he shows me the instrument panel and explains that if the engine is running and the oil light comes on in here then i have to pull over and figure out why - mostly it's going to be a major problem .
Next he tells me there's no fuel tap on this bike and like mine it works off a vaccum pump.
Although this is good it also means that it's harder to tell when your running low on fuel

After this he has me take the bike off the stand and push it toward him while braking so that i can get the feeling of the front brake - which is a hell of a lot more responsive and just about gives me whiplash
Next i have to push it around him getting a feel for how it brakes , it almost topples in over as i get ahead of myself a little - the weight of this bike is about 5 times more than the CG and is a bit daunting at first .

Okay so we're done with the basics , a few laps of the yard to get a bit more feel for the brakes and clutch and we're back off down the industrial estate .

First BIG thing you notice from the change of bikes is the absolute immense bottom end torque - even in first i got up to 45 before the revs hit 8k and i changed up - getting off from the lights was just ......... how can i describe it ?

" the best feeling ever ever ever ever ever ever ever in the world "

The bike just wants to go & go , even sitting in first waiting to turn into the industrial estate it was so much wanting to go lol i was scared to let the clutch out .
Now don't think i was going stupidly fast - the limit is 60mph i was doing about 50 and bricking it all the way - the weather was getting worse by the minute and i discovered my lid has a leak

Anyway back to the car park in the estate , first 2 U Turns at walking pace - foot down first time , second - no problems .
The weight change threw me off at first i think , it does feel like it's tipping in but apply a few more revs and it picks itself up again .

Next a few emergency stops - got it first time , stalled the second , locked the rear wheel a tiny bit on the third , but in these conditions it was pretty much to be expected .

Then after all that " fun " we headed back out onto the road
Done a few local roads and residential areas , just getting used to the bike in traffic - definatley more fun than the CG !!!
From here we headed out onto the country roads and the twisties

This was when the weather decided to turn even worse again , i was pottering along - pretty much scared at this point doing 50mph with the instructor telling me to go faster .
On a serious note this was where it stopped being fun and actually became scary - this bike is a hell of a lot harder to get round corners than the CG and many a time i ran wide on left hand tighties . It wasn't the speed or the weight of the bike that was frightening but the the actual riding conditions it got to the point where i was doing 65mph through the twisties with only the car in fronts taillights to guide me - the weather was THAT bad !

Soon the roads became less twisty and opened up a bit more - although it was still very difficult to see , my lid was now soaking inside and my waterproofs had rained in - i began to relax a lot more - still i took it steady round tight or blind corners not wanting to spin the bike out or drop it and still he pushed me to power out more .

Eventually i got it into my head that the bike had more grip than i was used to and started taking them a bit tighter and with a bit more grunt !
When the roads opened to a nice long long long straight ( 4 miles of pure straightness ) i got a chance to open it up in a straight line and OMG it flew !!! i left the instructor at one corner and i was off !
The wind was trying to throw me left & right but once i'd relaxed into the correct riding position i felt a lot more relaxed - although i think a screen would have helped 200% in these conditions

So we blast down this road and i'm loving it - even if i can't see very well and i'm soaking wet . ( by this point the water had begun to pool in my boxers but i was still loving it )
We travel on another few miles before i realise he hasn't spoken to me for about 10 minutes , check my mirrors he's still there , few more minutes down the road , look in my mirror and he's indicating right and slowing down - what the hell ? he didn't say anything and now i've passed that junction ???

Another approaches and i see him indicating again so i slow down and pull in at the next junction - the battery had died in my radio and i couldn't hear what he was saying - i'm sure he thinks i was trying to steal the bike LOL .

Anyway 2 minutes to change the battery and we're off again , heading now for the A69 again - dual carriageway - 70mph limit .

So down the slip road at 50mph , by the time i hit the carriageway i'm doing 55 in 3rd gear - 30 seconds later near 70mph in fourth and visibility is down to about 10 metres ahead - again , i can't follow the curve of the road and have to rely on taillights ahead .
Cars speed past at 80-85mph which really puts the shits up me as i can't even see them five seconds later
We seem to be on this road for about 12 minutes before he says take the next slip road - thank god , i think to myself , that was some of the most intense time i've ever experienced - it's hard to describe but it's a mixture of panic / fear & exhilaration all in one .

Anyway we come off the carriageway , roll on through a little village , back into some more residential areas before finally getting back to the yard - where somehow i manage to slip into neutral without realising it
Which is another i found - finding neutral on this bike is unbelievably easy when compared to the CG !!!

Truth be told that was possibly the worst & best lesson all in one , the weather really spoilt it , but the bike made up for it .

Next lesson is Friday at 11am - i'm praying for sunny skies





Lesson 7 - 11am - 1pm - 19/5/06


Well after the last lessons abmissal weather i was looking forward to getting back on the 500 in some nice british sun
Too bad then , considering the rain has been off & on all day

First shock today was that a different instructor was taking me out - now i must point out this is the same instructor that took my evaluation lesson , he's an okay bloke but not as cheery as my regular instructor.

So off we head out into the drizzle again on the 500. Taking the usual route through the roadworks we approach the city centre again .
Oh FFS i think ! i had enough of city riding a few lessons ago - it's not on my test and i wouldn't ride my own bike through here - so why am i back ????
As we near the centre around Newcastle Central Station he has me pull into the same bike parking area my other instructor did.
We get off and he says - " right , today we're going to learn to move with the flow in the city centre " - i felt i should stop him but i let him go on - " it's all one way , this is a bike parking area , watch out for students etc.. etc.. " - Okay enough is enough , i've already been over this , and done a few circuits of the centre with the other instructor .
Oh right he says , well then errrrrrm.............
Let's do it again , so off we trot for more of the same stop & start procedures . Admitadley he did make it a little harder because although most of it is one way , whenever he got the chance he would throw in a right hand turn - 90% of them over box junctions .
I guess this made me even more aware of the lights as i now had to time everything pretty precisely or i would get caught in traffic or in the box stuck between lights.

Following the road we hit a large roundabout which he wanted me to circle and come off at the 3rd exit , so i circled then realised i was in the wrong lane to come off , quickly dived back across with no indicator - he wasn't very happy at this

Again we went round , and this time i was in the right lane , came off and then headed out of the main centre to the industrial areas around the riverside.
We pulled in at a fairly new building and had i have been reading the signs i would have known where we were - however i wasn't paying attention , just trying to negotiate the traffic calming and parked cars .

We pull in to a car park and he gets me to jump off and he fiddles with the rear light on my bike . The girl that was out with him before i got there had fallen off the bike and the brake lever was bent ( thought it felt funny )

Then he asks me if i have any preference of where i want to take my test - Newcastle or Team Valley (gateshead) , i say Newcastle preferably but i don't know where the test centre is

Guess where we had parked

That building there he says , and he has me walk over with him . We go in the front door and into the waiting area , he then explains what will happen on examination day -

The examiner will come out and call your name , you follow him in and hand over your documents . He will then ask you a few basic knowledge questions about the road or bike before he walks you out to your bike ready for the test .
The test will be around 38-40mins in length and will be conducted on a one to one basis , much the same as we're doing now .
He will talk to you in the same way through the headset and if no other instruction is given , carry on ahead as long as it is safe to do so .
When you finish up the examiner will then ask a few more questions such as chain maintenance knowledge , where to fill brake reservoirs , carrying a pillion etc...
He will then lead you back inside to deliver his final verdict - pass or fail .

Okay then he says - we've got time so we'll give it a go on a practice test route .
Off we set again , he barely speaks other than to tell me where to turn , stop , do a U Turn and to pull in and wait for him - yes you read that correct

This was basically just a ride through more urban and residential areas before finally making it back onto the A1 for the run back to the test centre - this was the first time i actually got the bike up to a true 70mph , was actually reading as around 75 but he says it was 70 .
As we hit the slip to come off i braked lightly as it's a tight left bend - he wasn't happy at that either and says i should've just changed down a gear .

BUT ....

For maybe the first hour we were out i had been using my gears to slow down - for example coming up to a red light in third i would check my mirrors , brake gently to slow down to an appropriate speed to change down into second , same again to get down into first .
He told me this was wrong and i should brake to slow down to a slow speed then change through the gears quickly .
This to be honest doesn't make sense to me as it actually means i'm going fast at the light then when i get near enough brake more heavily while quickly changing down
Hell i don't know maybe you lot can shed some light on it ?

Anyway , we get back to the test centre and he explains a few questions would be asked now and then you get a pass/fail paper .

From here we headed back to the yard to wrap up the lesson , where he told me he wants to get me in for 2 more lessons just to pull everything together and then get me in for my test on the 12th June.


So looks like i'll have a bit more to write yet !!!
But all is coming together , hopefully i'll be hitting the roads near you soon



Next Lesson thursday 1'st June 2pm
____________________
Bike History:- Vision / Phantom 100 / Aerox 100 / Runner VX125 / Honda VFR400 NC24 / Kwak ZX9R B3 / Honda CBR600 F / ZZR400 & K2 GSXR 750 / Suzuki VZ800

[southlondoner]

good luck with that mak, hope you get the hang of it properly today
____________________
-southlondoner-
2002 Honda CG125

[Makaveli_Rydah]

Cheers mate
____________________
Bike History:- Vision / Phantom 100 / Aerox 100 / Runner VX125 / Honda VFR400 NC24 / Kwak ZX9R B3 / Honda CBR600 F / ZZR400 & K2 GSXR 750 / Suzuki VZ800

[ginguar]

I've been riding since September before last and I still change into neutral about 2-3 times a week. Difference is now it doesn't bother me as I can change it into first before anyone's noticed.

Good luck with it all. Glad you are enjoying it. You seem to have quite a bit of confidence so I think you'll find it easy.

Am very interested how the move to a bigger bike goes.

[Dark]

Great post Mak! I look forward to reading about your progress, good luck mate!
____________________
My Bikes in order:- Yamaha RXS100 / Suzuki X7 250 / Yamaha RD350LC / Kawasaki
KR1S 250 / Kawasaki ZXR750 H2 / Honda C50 / Kawasaki ZX7R P5 / Kawasaki ZX10R / Suzuki GSXR 400 / Honda CBR1100 Blackbird & Yamaha FZR 600

[mattymoo]

As has already been said, great post

I'm 26 and am in the process of saving up to do my Cbt, buy a 125 and then take my Das, so all this is really interesting!
____________________
Reality is a nice place, but I wouldn't want to live there.

[Makaveli_Rydah]

Updated ! - thanks again for the well wishes
____________________
Bike History:- Vision / Phantom 100 / Aerox 100 / Runner VX125 / Honda VFR400 NC24 / Kwak ZX9R B3 / Honda CBR600 F / ZZR400 & K2 GSXR 750 / Suzuki VZ800

[damnas]

Good luck fella, loved reading the post!


____________________
[CBT - Passed] [Theory - Passed] [DAS - PASSED!!!] Will dance for free motorcycle

We're the weeeeest stand, we're the weeeeest stand, we're the west stand Highbury! *sheds tear*

[odoliam]

great post...very informative

good to see how well you understand how you are going wrong and also the right way to do it.

[ZZR Girl]

Great post. Very original and informative. Good luck with the training and enjoy it!
____________________
Keep it shiny!

[Makaveli_Rydah]

[MarkJ]

[Makaveli_Rydah]

Updated - todays do's & don'ts
____________________
Bike History:- Vision / Phantom 100 / Aerox 100 / Runner VX125 / Honda VFR400 NC24 / Kwak ZX9R B3 / Honda CBR600 F / ZZR400 & K2 GSXR 750 / Suzuki VZ800

[ZZR Girl]

[Rookie]

You have to be the first person who's taken the initiative to do a detailed writeup of their learning experience. This should be a sticky in New Bikers, it's essential reading.

Great posts.

[Makaveli_Rydah]

WOW Thank you , that's even more inspiration
____________________
Bike History:- Vision / Phantom 100 / Aerox 100 / Runner VX125 / Honda VFR400 NC24 / Kwak ZX9R B3 / Honda CBR600 F / ZZR400 & K2 GSXR 750 / Suzuki VZ800

[Makaveli_Rydah]

Updated with todays shenanigans
____________________
Bike History:- Vision / Phantom 100 / Aerox 100 / Runner VX125 / Honda VFR400 NC24 / Kwak ZX9R B3 / Honda CBR600 F / ZZR400 & K2 GSXR 750 / Suzuki VZ800

[Vin]

The usual good read
You couldn't bold text the start of each section could you. I struggled to find the beginning of the latest.
small whinge though I look forward to the next report

[whackamole]

Mate, my CBT's booked for next wednesday and then will be going straight onto DAS so this has been a great read. Agree with all the other posts, well done. Looking forward to your next lesson almost as much as you are!
Cheers!
____________________
Be nice.

CBR600F

[Makaveli_Rydah]

Who says i'm looking forward to it ?

Thanks again lads , and ladies.

I will try to make it stand out more
____________________
Bike History:- Vision / Phantom 100 / Aerox 100 / Runner VX125 / Honda VFR400 NC24 / Kwak ZX9R B3 / Honda CBR600 F / ZZR400 & K2 GSXR 750 / Suzuki VZ800

[Bully27]

[Makaveli_Rydah]

Yeah it works but only to a degree then you must take over by leaning - i've been practicing on the scooter
____________________
Bike History:- Vision / Phantom 100 / Aerox 100 / Runner VX125 / Honda VFR400 NC24 / Kwak ZX9R B3 / Honda CBR600 F / ZZR400 & K2 GSXR 750 / Suzuki VZ800

[Dot_Comm]

[Makaveli_Rydah]

Updated again - i'm getting there
____________________
Bike History:- Vision / Phantom 100 / Aerox 100 / Runner VX125 / Honda VFR400 NC24 / Kwak ZX9R B3 / Honda CBR600 F / ZZR400 & K2 GSXR 750 / Suzuki VZ800

[odoliam]

top addition as usual

looks like some great progress too.
bet if you re-read it all yourself you'll see how far you've come, compared to some of the earlier frustrations!

L