Resend my activation email : Register : Log in 
BCF: Bike Chat Forums


Changing Instructor / School mid-way during training?

Reply to topic
Bike Chat Forums Index -> New Bikers
View previous topic : View next topic  
Author Message

gwernybwch
Nova Slayer



Joined: 30 Jul 2008
Karma :

PostPosted: 16:59 - 25 May 2019    Post subject: Changing Instructor / School mid-way during training? Reply with quote

I'm wondering if there is any protocol for changing instructor / school mid-way during training?

Are instructors wary of taking on a student that has been training with another (I'm thinking of Builders, Solicitors and so on that will just not pick up a job which somebody else has started?) or do they just treat them as just another customer?

The background is that I have done my theory test and MOD1 (passed both first time) and are going for my MOD2, but after years of off-road riding, I have picked up so many bad habits. He has zero patience and me continually making these mistakes REALLY annoys him to the point that I have been on the end of several a Sergeant Major esk rants.
(In his defence he is technically excellent and knows the local roads like the back of his hand).

Thanks in advance for any replies.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Pete.
Super Spammer



Joined: 22 Aug 2006
Karma :

PostPosted: 20:53 - 25 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your money, your choice. Some people just don't get on, nothing unusual in that.

I'm really struggling to see what off-roading techniques can be inhibiting your road riding skills though. If you have that much off-road experience you must have developed decent machine control - taking to the road is a matter of learning and sticking to the rules more than anything plus doing certain things in the right order. What is it you keep doing wrong to set him off?
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good Very Happy
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

gwernybwch
Nova Slayer



Joined: 30 Jul 2008
Karma :

PostPosted: 21:58 - 25 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pete. wrote:
Your money, your choice. Some people just don't get on, nothing unusual in that.

I realise that as a customer I can seek to go elsewhere, but I suppose what I am trying to find out if there is ciche / mafia of instructors in an area. If you didn't get on with one, that another would take me on without there being any issues.

Pete. wrote:
I'm really struggling to see what off-roading techniques can be inhibiting your road riding skills though. If you have that much off-road experience you must have developed decent machine control - taking to the road is a matter of learning and sticking to the rules more than anything plus doing certain things in the right order. What is it you keep doing wrong to set him off?

I pretty much started off riding a bike in training like an off-roader; fingers over the clutch and front brake and my foot just touching the rear brake, brake with back brake before the front. Occasionally try to balance by putting my leg out ala trials riding.
I'm not used to riding bikes with indicators and mirrors, so forget to switch off indicators and do shoulder checks when I could have used mirrors.
I've knocked a lot of these issues out but as I'm country boy, I'm a bit nervous in city traffic so a lot of these muscle memory type reactions creep back in.

It seems that it is the repeated errors that sets him off. I spent a morning with another rider who had poor throttle / clutch control and kept on stalling. Now that was a morning of hearing "For Fcuks Sake" over the radio......
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Ste
Not Work Safe



Joined: 01 Sep 2002
Karma :

PostPosted: 23:02 - 25 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

Which part of your riding are his Sergeant Major esk rants about?
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Sister Sledge
World Chat Champion



Joined: 17 Aug 2018
Karma :

PostPosted: 06:31 - 26 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry but I lost it at sticking the leg out haha!

What about doing a sh*t heap of practice about this? You know your errors and are actually working on them too. Surely practice would stop any instructor from ranting? How about practice away from roads to start off with and take it from there?
I agree with others though that some people just don't work together and clash - I'm sure another instructor would take you on no problem. It's their gain and anothers loss.

Must admit that on my return to bikes I found it tough going in busy traffic. You learn fast though.
I'm lucky in that one direction from my house is rural and the other is 10 miles and I'm in a city.
____________________
CCM 404 DS
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

trevor saxe-coburg-gotha
World Chat Champion



Joined: 22 Nov 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 07:08 - 26 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

gwernybwch wrote:
Now that was a morning of hearing "For Fcuks Sake" over the radio......


I'm a short tempered, irritable bastard but this shit pisses me off. I don't care how amazing someone is as a rider they should realise that teaching and imparting knowledge, etc. is another game entirely. In many ways, it's better to have someone who's not as good a rider, but knows how to keep a learner calm and get the best from them. Nobody is going to do their best when they're getting bollocked and harangued. Stupid fucking squaddy cunts with their break and build bullshit. Why do so many of them run bike schools. That shit might have its place on the artillery range but these dicks really need to understand that there are potentially much better ways to bring the best out in learners.

I hope you find somewhere better. Good luck.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Sister Sledge
World Chat Champion



Joined: 17 Aug 2018
Karma :

PostPosted: 07:16 - 26 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

trevor saxe-coburg-gotha wrote:
gwernybwch wrote:
Now that was a morning of hearing "For Fcuks Sake" over the radio......


I'm a short tempered, irritable bastard but this shit pisses me off. I don't care how amazing someone is as a rider they should realise that teaching and imparting knowledge, etc. is another game entirely. In many ways, it's better to have someone who's not as good a rider, but knows how to keep a learner calm and get the best from them. Nobody is going to do their best when they're getting bollocked and harangued. Stupid fucking squaddy cunts with their break and build bullshit. Why do so many of them run bike schools. That shit might have its place on the artillery range but these dicks really need to understand that there are potentially much better ways to bring the best out in learners.

I hope you find somewhere better. Good luck.


This. This so much.
Swearing isn't cool, doesn't make people tough. Same with spitting all the time.
That behaviour will turn people away or make them simply not learn. They think about the swearing and not what they're being taught.
____________________
CCM 404 DS
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

pinkyfloyd
Super Spammer



Joined: 20 Jul 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 08:43 - 26 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shame you was not closer I'd happily swear at you into shape. I mean batter you into shape.

There is no issue with changing instructors but you may well lose your money you have paid so far and you will find yourself paying extra for another school.

For a Module 2 training and test we would book you in for a full 6 hour day session to assess your riding and get you ready for test with a test later that day or the following day.
____________________
illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

gwernybwch
Nova Slayer



Joined: 30 Jul 2008
Karma :

PostPosted: 08:48 - 26 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks all for the replies.

From what I'm reading it shouldn't an issue changing instructors / school.

@sistersledge I have thought about buying a 125 to do some practice on. Although I'm not sure how much that would help. I live in the sticks but are going to be taking my test in the City and alot of my mistakes come out when I'm nervous in traffic or in urban traffic systems.

trevor saxe-coburg-gotha wrote:
gwernybwch wrote:
Now that was a morning of hearing "For Fcuks Sake" over the radio......


I'm a short tempered, irritable bastard but this shit pisses me off. I don't care how amazing someone is as a rider they should realise that teaching and imparting knowledge, etc. is another game entirely. In many ways, it's better to have someone who's not as good a rider, but knows how to keep a learner calm and get the best from them. Nobody is going to do their best when they're getting bollocked and harangued. Stupid fucking squaddy cunts with their break and build bullshit. Why do so many of them run bike schools. That shit might have its place on the artillery range but these dicks really need to understand that there are potentially much better ways to bring the best out in learners.


I couldn't agree with you more.
I was taken aback the first time that I was on the receiving end of it and couldn't quite believe that it was coming from somebody that was supposed to be training me. But now I just switch off to it.

He really sees himself as an 'instructor' rather than a 'coach'. On a couple of times when we are having a break I have briefly introduced things like 'learning styles', 'personality types' and I can tell this mumbo jumbo isn't going to enter his world.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

grr666
Super Spammer



Joined: 16 Jun 2014
Karma :

PostPosted: 08:52 - 26 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

trevor saxe-coburg-gotha wrote:
gwernybwch wrote:
Now that was a morning of hearing "For Fcuks Sake" over the radio......


I'm a short tempered, irritable bastard but this shit pisses me off. I don't care how amazing someone is as a rider they should realise that teaching and imparting knowledge, etc. is another game entirely. In many ways, it's better to have someone who's not as good a rider, but knows how to keep a learner calm and get the best from them. Nobody is going to do their best when they're getting bollocked and harangued. Stupid fucking squaddy cunts with their break and build bullshit. Why do so many of them run bike schools. That shit might have its place on the artillery range but these dicks really need to understand that there are potentially much better ways to bring the best out in learners.

I hope you find somewhere better. Good luck.


You'd have hated learning to drive a bus in the 90's then. Not sure my instructor had a civil word for me until after I had
passed. It genuinely felt like being in the armed forces with all the shouting. I was 21 at the time and after passing
my test he changed completely. He said they are hard on the youngsters to see if they have the temperament
because the job and more acutely the passengers will most definitely wind you up once you get out there. He wasn't wrong.
That said I was being paid to train up as a driver, so it's not like I was a paying customer as such. I'd go elsewhere if
I thought I was handing over cash to have some micro dick get off shouting at me.
The one that will forever stick in my head is "NEARSIDE... NEARSIDE... NEARSIDE!!!!!!!!!"

Plenty of good schools out there. Find one.
____________________
Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off. Thumbs Up
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Polarbear
Super Spammer



Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Karma :

PostPosted: 10:13 - 26 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, change your school/instructor if not happy.

One thing though, is it the same mistake that sets your instructor off each time? Are you not learning from your mistakes.

I know from training engineer cadets that after the 20th time of telling someone how to do something and they still screw up can try the patience of a saint. Laughing
____________________
Triumph Trophy Launch Edition
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Riejufixing
World Chat Champion



Joined: 24 Jun 2018
Karma :

PostPosted: 10:43 - 26 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

trevor saxe-coburg-gotha wrote:
I don't care how amazing someone is as a rider they should realise that teaching and imparting knowledge, etc. is another game entirely. In many ways, it's better to have someone who's not as good a rider, but knows how to keep a learner calm and get the best from them.


Indeed. Car driving instructors, for instance, are "graded" according to both their driving and teaching abilities, and thir ratings are available to see. It's advisable to get someone with the best teaching ability.

Is there such a grading scheme for motorbike instructors?
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Pete.
Super Spammer



Joined: 22 Aug 2006
Karma :

PostPosted: 10:46 - 26 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

If your instructor is demonstrating his impatience/exasperation over the radio then yeah find another one because that's unproductive as well as unprofessional. Sound like you'll be well shot of him.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good Very Happy
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

Bhud
World Chat Champion



Joined: 11 Oct 2018
Karma :

PostPosted: 12:22 - 26 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

My instructor was an ex-squaddie too. Initially, this made him seem a lot cooler and fun to be around. He seemed to be full of funny anecdotes and stories, but as time went on, I came to realise that he just had 3 or 4 stories he would recite to whomever would listen. Whatever. I gathered that those stories were important to him but I imagined that they were important only in a sort of haze of reminiscence, not the cornerstone of his sense of self. This belief turned out to be mistaken.

It was absolutely clear right from the start that he was a very good rider and had an unusually in-depth knowledge of traffic laws and the Highway Code. So I stuck with him on my training days and even considered he was a bit "old school", like me, and was just a common sense unPC sort of guy. He would swear a lot, with expletives, when you made a mistake. He absolutely did not have a "teaching" manner, or any training in modern teaching techniques. But he didn't seem evil or ill-intentioned with it.

What turned me against him and highlighted his real motives and his fragile ex-squaddie ego was what happened on the day I passed my Mod 2. I came out of the room after the usual formalities and chat with the examiner. I had a few minors (none on my Mod 1, and 100% on my theory test) and all I cared about was that I had passed. I can't lie - I had been anxious about it.

The ex-squaddie riding instructor wanted to see my test checklist. He saw the minors and went on a rant and rave there and then in the testing centre. While I was extremely happy, I was also shocked that he didn't share any of my enthusiasm nor even said "congratulations" or "well done". He was absolutely full of it. In seconds, I reflected back on all his past habits and behaviour and language. I realised, it was just an old and insecure man who never got over his bully of a father (yes, he shared such stories). I couldn't bear to listen to 10 seconds more of his utter nonsense so I asked him, "how much do I owe you", shoved him his cash and went away before I was tempted to do something silly.

In retrospect, the fault was all my own. I had assumed that ex-squaddie types were gruff but basically men's men, benign and practical and honest. I didn't realise that they were basically broken men who couldn't live in a world in which they respected other people, but had to constantly try to put them down to elevate their extremely minor or mediocre and old achievements in life to some level of distinction. This was an important learning experience for me.

My advice is, never return respect to someone who shows or expresses disrespect to you in any form. If they say you're overreacting and throwing your toys out of the pram, shrug your shoulders and move on. If the world left these deluded heroes-in-their-own-minds behind, join the rest of the world and progress your own life goals your own way. Lots of other bike schools would be happy to get your business.


Last edited by Bhud on 12:24 - 26 May 2019; edited 2 times in total
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Kentol750
World Chat Champion



Joined: 24 May 2016
Karma :

PostPosted: 12:22 - 26 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is accreditation available from the MCIAC, however, it's not mandatory. If a company has this accreditation, it generally means a high standard. The Dvsa has started clamping down on bad practice, but this is more to do with sites and vehicles rather than individual instructors. We regularly get pupils from other schools all over the east Midlands. As Pete said, it's unprofessional and, unproductive if you're not learning.
____________________
Some bikes.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

trevor saxe-coburg-gotha
World Chat Champion



Joined: 22 Nov 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 06:06 - 28 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bhud wrote:
My instructor was an ex-squaddie too. Initially, this made him seem a lot cooler and fun to be around. He seemed to be full of funny anecdotes and stories, but as time went on, I came to realise that he just had 3 or 4 stories he would recite to whomever would listen. Whatever. I gathered that those stories were important to him but I imagined that they were important only in a sort of haze of reminiscence, not the cornerstone of his sense of self. This belief turned out to be mistaken.

It was absolutely clear right from the start that he was a very good rider and had an unusually in-depth knowledge of traffic laws and the Highway Code. So I stuck with him on my training days and even considered he was a bit "old school", like me, and was just a common sense unPC sort of guy. He would swear a lot, with expletives, when you made a mistake. He absolutely did not have a "teaching" manner, or any training in modern teaching techniques. But he didn't seem evil or ill-intentioned with it.

What turned me against him and highlighted his real motives and his fragile ex-squaddie ego was what happened on the day I passed my Mod 2. I came out of the room after the usual formalities and chat with the examiner. I had a few minors (none on my Mod 1, and 100% on my theory test) and all I cared about was that I had passed. I can't lie - I had been anxious about it.

The ex-squaddie riding instructor wanted to see my test checklist. He saw the minors and went on a rant and rave there and then in the testing centre. While I was extremely happy, I was also shocked that he didn't share any of my enthusiasm nor even said "congratulations" or "well done". He was absolutely full of it. In seconds, I reflected back on all his past habits and behaviour and language. I realised, it was just an old and insecure man who never got over his bully of a father (yes, he shared such stories). I couldn't bear to listen to 10 seconds more of his utter nonsense so I asked him, "how much do I owe you", shoved him his cash and went away before I was tempted to do something silly.

In retrospect, the fault was all my own. I had assumed that ex-squaddie types were gruff but basically men's men, benign and practical and honest. I didn't realise that they were basically broken men who couldn't live in a world in which they respected other people, but had to constantly try to put them down to elevate their extremely minor or mediocre and old achievements in life to some level of distinction. This was an important learning experience for me.

My advice is, never return respect to someone who shows or expresses disrespect to you in any form. If they say you're overreacting and throwing your toys out of the pram, shrug your shoulders and move on. If the world left these deluded heroes-in-their-own-minds behind, join the rest of the world and progress your own life goals your own way. Lots of other bike schools would be happy to get your business.


Well said - as interesting as it is insightful.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

ThatDippyTwat
World Chat Champion



Joined: 07 Aug 2016
Karma :

PostPosted: 06:31 - 28 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

If it helps, I stuck my leg out, I grew up on a crosser, and it just stuck.

I managed to get through my test in '95 without doing it, but I developed the habit on anything with an 'upright' position. Come to retake my test last year, after my license had an extended DVLA holiday, and I still did it.

Maybe see if they have a bike that that has your legs more tucked/bent? I don't even think about it now, I think I've managed to get out of the habit by making myself ride bikes that are not conducive to riding in that style.
____________________
'98 VFR800 (touring) - '12 VFR800 Crosrunner (Commuting) - '01 KDX220 (Big Green Antisocial Machine)
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

ThunderGuts
World Chat Champion



Joined: 13 Nov 2018
Karma :

PostPosted: 14:45 - 28 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd just change instructor. Go to a school you can get a recommendation on, chat with their lead instructor and explain where you're at. By the end of the conversation you should have an idea of whether you'll get on with them or not. Any decent instructor will have no qualms about taking on a student part-way through training. If they do, keep looking for an instructor!
____________________
TG.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

trevor saxe-coburg-gotha
World Chat Champion



Joined: 22 Nov 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 06:04 - 30 May 2019    Post subject: Reply with quote

In a lot of the smaller cities there's not quite enough business to sustain two schools.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts
Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 4 years, 304 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
  Display posts from previous:   
This page may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set.

Post new topic   Reply to topic    Bike Chat Forums Index -> New Bikers All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Page 1 of 1

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum

Read the Terms of Use! - Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group
 

Debug Mode: ON - Server: birks (www) - Page Generation Time: 0.15 Sec - Server Load: 0.17 - MySQL Queries: 17 - Page Size: 119.45 Kb