Is it worth taking lessons?

[Jamopy]

If you've passed your CBT and got a bike to get some training on, is it worth paying hundreds of pounds for lessons? Since the tests themselves are pretty cheap, you could fail them both several times and still end up paying less than taking lessons and passing first time. What's the general view?
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Vrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmm

[FerretFing]

Both the wife & I passed with no lessons so I'd say go for it Do as much research as you can - you tube, BCF etc & you should be fine really, especially as you have a bike to get plenty of praccy on.

[shazza65]

Go for a few hours of professional training before your scheduled Mod 1 test or at the very least get a professional assessment of your riding abilities. They will advise/break any bad habits that may have developed since your CBT and maybe get you ready for the test.
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Adios to Bandit and Ninja. Hello VFR.

[CaNsA]

[Jamopy]

I haven't got the bike yet. I do my CBT on Thursday, but i've passed it before (let it lapse) but still confident i'll pass it, and the bike will be soon after that. I have a few mates who've been riding for years who i'll be getting advice from too. I'm just seeing if there is any real need for lessons, or whether just getting some road experience will be all i need.
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Vrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmm

[TamaJosh]

I had 3 lessons, 1 for mod 1 and two for mod 2. For mod 1 lesson I went to the test centre and had a go with a few tips on the way. Mod 2 training just tells you the proper way to do everything but it's really useful. Without training most of my riding would be a definite fail.

[Teflon-Mike]

Cost is immeterial. Passing tests a secondary consideration.

How much are you spending on a bike? Jacket? Hat? Any other biking related parananalia?

How long do you expect them to last? How much 'Value' do you expect to get from them?

Is £140 for the aural sensation fo an after market exhaust pipe that de-values your motorcycle, and increases insurance premiums 'good-value' in your scheme of theings?

Is a Dyno-Jet or Power-Commander kit that finds you an extra 4bhp, a worth while investment?

Crash helmet, maybe £100-£400's worth is good for ONE crash.

Set of leathers? £500's woth? Maybe two crashes worth of protection.

Race Can & power commander? 4bhp, maybe an extra 10mph more top end speed and a bit more acceleration if you are lucky.... few seconds of typical journey times. ONLY works as long as you have THAT one biek its fitted to.

TRIANING....

Well, it makes you a BETTER rider, doesnt it.

Old addage at the track. Want this bike to go faster? Fit a better rider. Better rider goes faster, crashes less.

TRAINING makes you a better rider; all well and good having the first lesson and a bike, but witrhout any more lessons to TEACH you anything more than the VERY basics covered in NOT a lot of depth in CBT, you can 'practice' to your hearts content, and all you will do is practice the basics or learn by making painful and costly mistakes.

Lessons; Well, you cant touch taste, smell or show off lessons, can you? Dont have anything physical to show for your money... and it seems a lot of dosh for not a lot of 'err, well what do you get? Words? & Talks cheap innit?

WRONG; you get WISDOM

Wisdom that tells you what to do RIGHT, right at the beginning, so you DONT have to learn by falling off....

Wisdom that gives you stuff to practice and get right, early on.

Wisdom that will make you a BETTER RIDER....

A Rider that not ONLY can pass a riding test, but who will ride SAFER.... and NOT crash and NEED that fancy hat.... that's value you CANNOT put a price on!

A Rider who being safer and more highly skilled can manage thier bike and get more speed out of it, WITHOUT bolt on extras.....

And THAT value goes onto every bike you will EVER ride

Gets better with experience, never looses value, never takes value off your bike, never puts your insurance prices up.....

Now, go away and look at all the fancy biking 'Stuff' you COULD buy with the money you might hope to save, by NOT having any lessons, and ask yourself IS this really 'good' value for money?

TRAINING IS FOR LIFE

Now go book some follow on lessons from your CBT.
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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?'

[Rogerborg]

Eh, it entirely depends on you, and your definition of "worth".

If it's just money? No, not if you have your own bike and are even remotely competent and confident. You're statistically unlikely to spend more on resits than you're guaranteed to spend on even a minimal amount of training.

Your neck / balls? That entirely depends on how you learn and what you want to learn. Personally I couldn't be arsed with paying some failed examiner/copper to LECTURE me AT great LENGTH, and took responsibility for my own safety.

I'd suggest that if you're already riding around on a 125 soLo then you just get your tests done. But before you jump on a Hayabusa, consider doing some further training, perhaps with IAM or RoSPA.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Richtea]

If you're confident, lessons won't be needed. Just use your CBT to confirm what you already know, then book your tests, job done!
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2005 Honda Varadero 125xl > 2005 GS500F > 2007 DRZ400 SM > 600 Bandit & Yamaha YP250

[TamaJosh]

What mike said is true. I thought I was fine riding as I was before my lessons, I ride every day without incident so what more could I want?

Turns out there's a lot more to it if you want to ride safely and enjoyably at the same time. It's fair enough riding slowly round bends and sitting in traffic for ages in the knowledge that you're gonna be pretty safe but if you want to SAFELY master corners on your favourite route or SAFELY make the best of normal traffic riding you'd better get lessons.

Most people could read up on what's required of them on a test, hell even pilots could read up on and watch every procedure they are asked to do in a test and pass it but you'd want one who had real training for your next holiday wouldn't you? Apply that to you every day in statistically more dangerous circumstances and training sounds good after all. Even if you do it after your test it's worth it!

[Sherwood Bambi]

Years ago when I was young you could ride 250cc motorcycles with no training and I could well have passed my test then and left it years before coming back - again without any training.

What actually happened is I had a bad prang, could've killed myself and had to start again from scratch this time around.

Are lessons worth it - you effin bet they are ! I consider myself a far better rider and safer car driver for having done a CBT, DAS course AND Mod 1 & 2 - all the stress (and fun) was worth it !

Yes it was expensive but worth every penny IMHO and I'd do exactly the same knowing then what I know now !

[Richy CB1000]

I have also recently returned albeit not from a 30 year gap, more like 15 years, what did I do, well I'm already an advanced car driver and that does help but I hadn't ever ridden a modern bike with lets face it alot more power than those I was used to.

Simple answer, six hours of training, nearly £175 worth on an XJ6 with a post test trainer before I bought my own bike, absolutley invaluable!

She (yes it was a lovely lass instructor!) highlighted three or four areas of concern, and was spot on, which I heeded and I feel a safer rider now than I would of done, always something to learn so get yourself a head start with some decent training

[shazza65]

[anthony_r6]

I never took lessons. Mod 1 I passed first time. Mod 2 took three attempts. First time I made a passing car slow down, 'cause he thought I was going to pull out from behind the parked car on him. I wasn't, I slightly stumbled, but hey-ho.

Second time my indicator went tits up - Thought I'd resolved it, clearly not. Test cancelled.

Third time was a lot better, and finally passed. The cost of the Mod2s add up, but ultimately I think I saved money on them than I would've done had I done lessons, which can't guarantee a pass on the day.

Haven't had an accident involving another car yet, so I consider myself a safe rider also If you're capable, go for it.
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Ted : "Maybe he's agoraphobic."
Dougal : "Jack scared of fighting? I don't think so, Ted."

[Jamopy]

Ok, well i passed the CBT and was surprised how far my skills had degraded without any riding for the last few years. Apparently i rely on engine breaking too much, a bad habit from driving i guess. I also struggled with the slow control. Passed all the maneuvres, but wasn't happy with myself and feel i should have already been comfortable with them.

So once i get the bike i'm gonna spend a couple of weeks wizzing about the clear the cobwebs a bit, then i think i might go in for a taster just to see if i'm back up to par, and if not what i should be looking at.
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Vrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmm

[JoeDougieDoug...]

I don't honestly think you need lessons to pass mod 1 or mod 2 but then it comes down to how you actually ride and whether you're confident enough in your own ability to pass

I've been on the road for 7 months and in that time I completed all of my tests first time and I didn't have any lessons besides my CBT. Go figure?

Buy a 125 and spend a few months getting practice on the roads before putting in for your tests - works out a little cheaper than having loads of re-tests.
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CBT Passed - 22 / 10 / 11 >> Theory Passed - 16 / 02 / 2012 >> Mod 1 Passed - 07 / 03 / 2012 >> Mod 2 Passed - 18 / 05 / 2012.

[Rogerborg]

[shazza65]

Several well spent hours with a trained motorcyclist should get rid of your "bad habits", maybe £40 to £60 depending on where you go and give you some indications of MOD 1 and 2 assessments.
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Adios to Bandit and Ninja. Hello VFR.

[Alpha-9]

I'd probably consider it before mod2 to iron out any 'bad habits' as been said

But probably not, I learn better alone I think
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Fzr-600 1999

[Jamopy]

[Derivative]

[the_quick]

I ride 125 and want to pass my test soon.

Even when I feel confident, I would like to be trained and showed how ride properly and safe.

Look for different option - lessons or course. Decided on course (3 days £400 test fees included, with guarntee pass policy) - as it comes very near of the whole course.

Ofcourse you will be able pass on your own 125 without any lessons and than jump on 600cc with restrictions. For me I would prefer to make such jump under instructors eyes.
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Bandit GSF600 '00

[Recluso]

I took lessons.

After losing a £150 deposit on an initial DAS course (don't ask) and then a few months later paying about £300 for my restricted test, I probably paid just as much to do my test on my 125cc as I would have to get my full 'unrestricted' license.

But do I regret it?

Not in the slightest.

I passed both Mods first time (and only one minor on my Mod 2). As it turned out, I didn't need what could be termed *excessive* training but I was able to iron out one or two bad habits and further improved in areas that I was already relatively confident in and so went into my tests with the reassuring knowledge that an 'expert' so to speak was happy with my ability to ride safely and to a test appropriate standard.

At the very least, I would advise going for an assessment ride if your local instructors do such a thing. They generally involve going out for an hour or so and the instructor gauges the amount of training you need and will often highlight any problem areas or bad habits he/she might spot.
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'Just erotic. Nothing kinky. It's the difference between using a feather and using a chicken.'
Honda PS125i > Yamaha YBR125 > Yamaha XJ6 Diversion > Yamaha Tracer 900

[DrSnoosnoo]

I paid just shy of £650 to get all my tests done in a month through a DAS deal. I thought it was brilliant. They teach you how to ride safely - not just to what the examiner is looking for. This showed I think on the low number of minors I got on each test - fair enough I failed my first attempt at MOD1 but that was my fault not the instructors. I found that £650 for all the test fees and lessons saved me money in the long run. I didn't have to buy and insure a 125 bike and meant I had more money to buy a decent "big bike" when I passed.
Though no doubt I've picked up some bad habits, I still remember what I was told I need to concentrate on, the position in the road etc etc INVALUABLE
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I'm Sam; Northern, Ginger, Lover
Did have: '95 ZZR600 '83 CG125 '97 ZZR1100 '15 Hypermotard 821 SP Do Have: '10 ZX10R

[johny2bikes]

Hi... As per my recent post I was trying to do my liecense without lessons (watching YouTube etc etc).

Up to a point it was fine, but I started to get bogged down with details and contradictions. I ended up with a couple of lessons at the end, which helped me a great deal. The main point is the guy I had the lesson with knew what the examiners in my area were looking for and where they were likely to take me on the test. Plus he cleared up all the conflicting info and questions I had.

I went in to the test far more confident and happier knowing what I had to concentrate on.

I did do e tests on my own 125 however.