Teflon-Mike
tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010
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 Posted: 22:11 - 24 Oct 2011  Post subject: |
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There is no substitute for experience.
Training is good, but it can only go so far. And DAS courses, usually intensive courses over only a few days tend to be rather poor, offering only a very very thin 'grounding' and arming you with the 'tricks' to pass tests, rather than ride and survive riding, then dump you out the end,m with virtually no experience, to do your 'real' learning, on your own, on possibly a very, very, powerful motorcycle, a pocket full of false confidence gained during training, and no support via a bloke in your ear-hole telling you what you have forgotten... which is often a lot, taking in so much, so fast during course, and often forgetting it just as quick.
Now, you are doing CBT, which I presume you will be doing on a school 125.
After that you could get your own 125 and get some early riding experience in on that; and backed by weekly lessons, spaced over a few months, is the way I reccomend people work.
You learn in bite sized chunks, and can go away and practice what you are tought, to your hearts content, on your own bike, between lessons.
Intensive DAS, a big chunk of what you are paying for is little more than the instructors time to sit and watch you practice, and fullfill legal obligation of being under 'supervision' in order to do that practice on a bike over 125cc......
If you can do that on a 125 on your own time...... can save you a lot of money.
Meanwhile, yes big bikes are easier to ride. They have more power to manage, but they also have more weight. The extra power means they dont need to be worked as hard on clutch or gears, to get them moving, most 125's take three gear changes to get them up to 30mph road speed, 500's will do it all, and possibly more in first..... so they are more flexible, and that flexible power and extra weight minimises gear changes and stuff and damps any clumsiness in shifts or balence....
So crack it on a tiddler, learn smooth, progressive riding, where the bike will let you know by flapping and wobbling more readily, if you are a bit ham fisted, when you step up to a big bike, it will be second nature, and you will have greater control 'finesse' and more delicate touch to begin with.
Doesn't mean you cant do DAS either...... DAS is merely provisions in the DSA Test regime that allow:-
1/ Learner over 21 to ride bike over 125cc on L-Plates if under radio supervision fo qualified instructor (for purposes of training)
2/ Candidate over 21, to sit Mod 1 & " tests on qualifying machine over 125cc & I think its 45bhp
3/ For rider passing tests on DAS eligible bike, to gain full unrestricted A group licence imedietly, (rather than having 2 year 33bhp restriction imposed, as taking test on 125)
Does NOT mean you have to so a DAS course, does NOT mean you HAVE to do an intensive three or four day DAS course.....
DAS merely means you CAN ride DAS bike under supervision of DAS instructor, and take tests on a DAS bike.
Its a fast track to a full licence, and many schools offer intensive DAS courses, pandering to the impatience of newbies, frequently leisure riders who want it 'all' straight away, and intend jumping on the latest plastic fantastic, must have sports bike, as soon as they have the pass cert, inc wet on the forms, in thier sweaty hands.....
Those riders, as often as not hurt themselves very, very early on; becouse latest generation of ultra sports bikes are very unforgiving machines that deliver an awful lot of 'Fast' for very little rider effort or input.... but also give very little rider feed-back, and absolutely NO warning when they are going to 'let go'..... luckily many ride very seldomly, only on Sunny Sundays, and for fairly short distances, and hence dont expose themselves to such inordinate risks, meaning they can survice a few years before they loose interest and take up parasending or something, or hurt themselves too badly.
However, warning, DAS qualified Riders, in thier first three years of riding 600+cc machines, more often sports style machines, have probably the highest death rate on the roads.
Backing up, learning slowly, in bite sized chunks, two hour ish lessons, and self practice on your own 125 between times... you take stuff in a lot better, you are not 'cramming'.
Riding between lessons, you also gain more experience, giving you more points of reference and more relevence to understand, and therfore remember stuff you are tought in lessons, or actually ask questions you would, without outside experience, necer think of....
So you can get a LOT more out of your training, your instructor giving you far more useful, valuable 'instruction' over a wider range of topics, and you can more easily take it all in, teaching you how to RIDE, not merely pass a test.
And ecconomically, paying only for 'useful' training, not to be supervised while you practice... its a lot more 'ecconomical', you are spending money on the bits of training that are most valuable, so costs less or gives you more.
And back to DAS, just becouse you have your own 125, doesn't mean you HAVE to take tests on it.
You can still take the tests under DAS on a 'big bike' and gain full unrestricted licence for the effort.
If you can wangle a bike, and insurance, doesn't even HAVE to be a School bike, though that tends to be a convenient expedience.
Meanwhile, 125 test and 33bhp restriction is no great handicap, you dont have to test over to loose the restriction, lapses automatically after two years, and 33bhp is plenty of power to get to grips with straight off the stops, it will take a motorcycle quite briskly to three figure velocities.
There are other advantages of testing 125, and thats test costs.
Test Fees are the same regardless of what bike you take tests on; but if they are part of an intensive DAS course, you will often be paying an admin fee over what DSA charge for the school booking it.
Though the more usual niggle is that the school, will, for a three days to licence, intensive DAS course, make ahead bookings with DSA Test Centre, and you are likely to have a day of familiarisation on day one, followed by Mod 1 training day 2, with Mod 1 afternoon of day 2, or morning of Day 3,, with Mod 2 road training day two afternoon or Day 3 morning, depending where Mod 1 test falls, and Mod 2 afternoon of day 3.
Ie, the Mod 1 and Mod 2 tests will be less than 24 hours apart. Fail Mod 1 you have to wait 3 days to book a repeat. Without Mod 1 pass cert, you cannot sit Mod 2.
So, cock up mod 1, which is merely £15.50 if you self book, and in you can be in the situiation you cannot cancell or reschedule Mod 2 without loosing test fees, and through school, especially if its a lower price course, and DAS courses are expensive, so there is a lot of competition, and 'share practice' to make up revinue; you might NOT be able to simply pay repeat test fees and nominal fee for bike hire to do that 'last day' of tests, but pay all over for a whole new course.....
Failing DAS can, on 'cheap' all in course prices, where you get two days training, and a day of tests for perhaps £600, get expensive, as costs another £600 to do, what are basically £90's worth of tests......
That warning taken; check the small print and trading terms of schools if you DO go DAS and ask, what the score is if you fail.... might make more expensive courses look more financially attractive.
But, best schools will offer coruses you can take in short weekly lessons, at your convenience, and that gives you flexibility; Startiung on your own 125, plenty of chance to practice between lessons, on your own time, and when you are ready, to step up and do lessons on a DAS bike, only paying for the bike and supervision the time you NEED it, and paying by the hour, and doing it step by step, fail mod 1, you are only out of pocket by the DAS hire for that session.
THAT is as far as you ought to be looking right now.
Getting your licence.
Post test? depends what licence you have.
250? 500? 600?
Well, capacity means bog all. Honda Pan-Euro, an 1100cc tourer has less peak power than a ZX6R 600 sports bike. Probably has a lot more 'useable' power, but its a big, 'soft' forgiving machine, and I'd have no problems sticking a DAS newbie on one, where I'df not comfortably hand them the keys to a ZX6R.
Its all about the 'nature' of the beast.
Bikes that are newbie freindly are sof.
They, have a broad flexible power delivery, preferably a twin cylinder engine, that gets a bit wheezy at high revs and makes a lot of vibration to let you know you are thrashing it, shaking your testicles.
It's handling is fairly progressive, and soft., Its not a fast steering machine, that you 'think' and it responds, its a bike you 'think', decide whether its a good idea, give the bike written notice, and then let it decide if it wants to play ball, or send you a rejection note..... all nice and slowly!
Basically its a bit 'soggy', and forgiving, and long before you get into any seriouse trouble, it lets you know you are being a bit daft, or testing its patience with lots of 'feedback' anb complaint, rather than egging you on to the point you bin it.
Also good if it has no fairing, and you get full wind blast in your face and on your chest, letting you know exactly how quick you are going, as modern fully faired sports bike, engine noise damped by water cooling and directed away from you by fairings, deflecting wind-blast over or around you, very easy to be trundling along thinking you are riding quite sedately until you look down and realise you are doing twice teh speed limit, or corner approaches and you realise in the braking reaction time, its got an AWFUL lot closer and needs an awful lot more braking to go round than you anticipated.
'Standard' street-bikes, preperably a twin, no fairings or token screens, more all round orientated, softer suspension, more comfort, sort of bike that will help you in your early riding.
Size does NOT matter; bikes likely to be far more capable than you are for a long time anyway; and could be a Kawasaki 250 Ninja, GS500 or even an 1100 Shaddow... capacity makes little odds, its whether the bikes charecter is one that will 'help' you learn, give you feed-back and help you learn what to do about it.
But before you get to that decission, you need to work on getting licence to ride it, and in that deliberation, merit of buying a 125 first to train up on, and how 'best' to get a licence, whether to utilise DAS, and in that idea, whether an 'intensive' DAS course is the 'best' option for you......
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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?' |
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