After the CBT

[TrentHardcore]

I’m doing my CBT today. What is the best plan of attack after it? Is it best just to get on the bike and ride or take myself somewhere quiet and practice?

[annemarie]

Best plan would be to get the certificate first and then worry about the bike.
I got my 125 after the CBT and just started riding, quiet roads, busy roads. I just went for it and tbh the busiest city traffic conditions help a lot with training, as you kind of forced to practice slow control, slalom, u turns and all round observations all at the same time.

Good luck!
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HD Street 750, Honda CBF125

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[Teflon-Mike]

CBT is your first lesson not a licence. So the objectivce AUGHT be to take tests and get a poropper licence,m even if that is 'only' the A! 125 only licence.

This begs suggestion of more lessons.... which needn't ber DAS lessons, but still.... alternative is to go it alone, and 'self teach'.. or in ole money go to the shchool of hard knocks.. which on a bike can come hard, painful and expensive cos without a teacher to tell you how to do it right right at the beginning, you can only learn by your mistakes, which on a bike we call falling off.. and that tends to hurt an cost.. then on your own yo have to first try work out why you fell off, then figure out what you might do different so as to not do it again.. go try it... and hope it don't also make you fall off...

So WHERE would you most like to do your falling off?

Personally I did it in trials... mud tends to be a bit softer than tarmac, there's some duffer called an 'observer' watching/scoring you, to call the St Johns, and no Scanias to run over you whilst you wreath on the floor..... but alternatives are endless really and like I said, where would you prefer to do your falling off.....

When it came to my O/H's time in L's.... she had eight years and four repeat CBT's, and toddled to work every bight accross the city.. cos twonks kept te4lling her she was only a girl, she didn't need a licence cos she was too gurly for a big bike.... unlike me who told her that if she couldn't pass a test in eight effin years she had no business on a bike.... sort of proved by a litany of falling off anedotes, on the public highway and being picked up by coppas and petrol station attendants after....

Like I said where would you prefer to do your falling off?

Plan for her, was to build her her own bike... see Pup-Project: Honda CB125TD-C; Resto & Beyond... ... buyilding her own bike was a confidence builder; she'd had 8 years being told 'girl' you don't 'waste' big money on a little bike, and had a succession of freinds/relatices instead waste her money on a succession of clapped out old heaps that didn't really work.. and helped her fall off.... so building her own bike meant that first she learned mechanics and could do her own maintenance and fixing, second know that the bike she built was as good as it should be and that IF she fell off that was HER fault not the bikes.....

So... the place I would suggest you start is lesson 3 of the CBT,, pre-ride checks and routine maintenance... get your owners manual and the Haynes book of chinky lies.... pspend a littlke time adjusting the gear and brake pedals to suit your fetts, the crake and clutch lever to suit your hands; check the brakes tension and lube the chain, check the petrol and chanmge the oil.... might as well find and find out how to check tappets whilst you there.... WHICH you can do all on your own drive/patio.. yuou can reviuce CBT manual handling whilst you are about it....

THEN, you might move on to some of the other CBT elements. like the biting point, pulling away ans stopping, perhaps riding in a circls and changing gear... on DBT you did thius 'off-road' on tyhe play-ground so a quiet car-park would be good.. just remember on your own there';s no one to help you pick yourself or bike up if/when you fall off, or tell you what you did wrong, so can be painful and expensive... and you STILL need to self teach and work out what you did wrong to start with.... Moving on, on the road... well... yeah. where would you preffer to fall off? And would you preffer yo be using the back bumper of a Bently or a FIAT as an emergency brake?

Them 'expensive' lessons looking worth the while yet?

For Snowie.. to build confidence and offer practice, first ioff she had LESSONS, once a week with an instructor for aprox 2 hours a time; suggested that 8 aught be enough to get anyone to test standard; between times so she coulf 'practive' what she was taught we set her little exercises, LIKE riding to Twicross zoo top get a leaflet of opening times... or going to see her Mum in the city, or riding to Water-Orton, where there's a) a local quad.. sorry BIKE Meet once a week. so she could see some big bikes and talk to other bikers, b) a tyre house where she could get a price on a new pair of hoops for my bike.... IE the destination sent her some-where she WOULDN'T normally go, in whatever weather day/light/time of day traffic to get experience she wouldn't riding the same rods to and from work every day, OR ridding around the houses, maybe imprinting the local test route on her brain, idea was to get her out and about, in a veriety of situations and circumstances, stretching her comfort zone, putting lesson learning into practice, SOLO so she wasn't just cloning some-one elses, probably my (probably BAD habits), actually learning to r4ide NOIR just pass test...

Like I said WHERE would you preffer to do your falling off, and without any-one to teach you anything WHAT you either got to learn or practice?

If you insist on going it alone in teh school of hard knocks, you HAVE to get out the shgallows at siome point and be prepared to do do your falling off in the deep; waters of citry rush hourm, wgiuch is bot far off where your test, will eventually take you IF you go for a full licence...

If NOT what the chucj you doing one a biker, mate? L'#s ois for lerne NOT test dodger..... if you have no intention of taking tests... give up!

Otherwie, wher tyo practice.. fiorst place I sould say is in your arm-chair, doi8ng Theory/Hazard 'mocks' ... get thet nailed do tests... they cost £30 or so and fiorst step to fill licence.

On the bike.. back to rthat CBT like quiet car-=park practising/revising CBT excersiuses, and remember, that starts with pre-rie checks and bsic masintenenmce yo can do in ytoyur drivc4e, and such things an manual handling putting bike on and off the stand, wheeling it in and out of a parking bay.,.. stuff that IS acxtually part of the Mod 1 testr... and all worrg practicing... pracyive the launch and riding in a circler as well s the slalom, and THEN, best place to practice Mos 1 IS on a Mod 1.. they opnly take 20 minutes and cost £15, its a sheap lesson, AND yo can get a pass cert fort it.... and itrs done on a DSA tenis couirt, like trials, with some-one to watch you, ytell you what you did wrong (if anything) pick you up if you fall off and call an ambulance/AA

Aftr that Mod 2 should be breeze, costs anbout 75 and again some-one to pick you up, tell you what you did wrong and call medics IF you effup.. and you CAN get a full livrence fort it....
Full suite of tests foir ANY catgory only cost about £120 'all in'.. and you can get a full and proper licence for it... and ditch the ruddly L-plate....

THAT is where you should be doing your early miles;l getting that licernce.. after th4e real learning begins.. but you shouildf be pretty well prepred for it, and IF you want higher licences, WELL they is the same chuffing tests you passed once... just on a bigger bike, so you should be able to pass them, and with minimal expensive training 'just' to get comfy on heavier more powerful bike.....


So its all gri9st to the mill snd stepping stones to the big-0boy ;licence at the end pof the day...

BUT that is the ultimate answer ro Where should I do my post CBT early miles?" Answer is 'every-where!" and ultgimately "On a test"

So go get a theory hazard practice disk, and settle in your arm chair, when you have booked/passed theory.haz do the same for Mofd 1 then mod 2... do the lot, have fun, and remember, the real learning starts after the full licence.. and STILL question is where would you prefer to fall off
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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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[1198]

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[Easy-X]

If you change up the engine is going from high revs in low gear to low revs in high gear... changing up is easy as you just release the throttle and then change.

Changing down you're doing the reverse: low revs in high gear to high revs in low gear...

In this situation if you release the clutch without increasing the revs a little you'll get some engine braking which actually you might want if you're slowing to a stop. If not you'll want a little throttle to try and match engine speed to road speed for the chosen gear.

I say "try" because there's no magic formula on how much throttle you need... you'll need to use the Force
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

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