Hello, new to the forum and i'm having some difficulties....

[Kinzeyyy]

Sorry if this is a long post. i'm looking for a bit of support and advice cos i'm getting quite frustrated with myself. and wondering if anyone has done their cbt with learning difficulties or if anyone on here has trained anyone with learning difficulties.

I've been having taster lessons before i do my cbt as my balance and coordination is not very good. I've not been diagnosed with dyspraxia , but i think thats what i suffer with. when i was a child i've never been able to get to grips with riding a pushbike. and been taught many of times to swim but never been able to do it. and theres other things like my writing etc that lead towards dyspraxia tendancies.

As it came to do my cbt out on the road i completely messed it up.
i was okay in the yard, passed with flying colours. It took me quite a few lessons on the yard but i got there.

when it was time to go out onto the road. I was all over the road, felt like i was going fast at 20mph and kept stopping, i even dropped the bike. well, a scooter it is.

To be fair i've never been on the road before riding or driving.

i'm wondering if my nerves kicks off the dyspraxia or something. i felt all uptight on the bike, chicken wings and all. or if it was just nerves making me all uptight.

anyways, this week i've had a lesson on the road to see if i can make any progress. which i have done. I rode without stopping unnecessarily, rode a bit faster, listened more. not so much all over the road but was heading to the right hand side of the lane all the time. i was still feeling all tensed up like before. didnt drop the bike but nearly did. and rode a bit better towards the end of the lesson.

Instructor said i had done alright. But its a balance thing for me and i looked all squ-iff (can't spell it lol) sitting on the bike. i could feel that cos i was all tensed up. and then he asked me if i suffered with dyspraxia.
But i'm fab at riding in the yard, can do figure of 8's and stuff.

when i first started the lessons i had chosen a scooter to train on as i was told it was harder to balance on a scooter than a bike, so used that to test my ability and got there in the end. plus was well scared of the bikes at the time.

i've got another lesson next week, hopefully a bit more progress.

I need to be safe on the roads.

If no progress next week, do i just give up? I've spent a lot of time and money to go towards my goal. and i don't want to give up on everything in life cos i've got learning difficulties.

I have a 125 that i rode on private land once in first gear a couple of months back, as my other half is a biker so he helped me.
I enjoyed that more and apparently i looked better on it and when i stopped i didnt hunch over the front. and as far as i can remember i didnt struggle. being on the bike, my legs in the different position i felt more comfortable.

i'm just worried if i take bike lessons on a normal bike with all the different controls and gears will it set me back? and worried i'll be all to hell again out on the road. it was the plan in the first place to get my cbt on the scooter and then learn the gears and stuff afterwards by myself and my partner.

I dont want to give up as i havent had the best upbringing to achieve things that i should. but there again its making me feel exhausted and i dont want to be put off after trying and failing all the time.

I'm wondering also if to go to this other training centre. according to their website they're polite, patient and have a 'can do' attitude. but they require trainees to be able to balance.

any suggestions even if its not what i want to hear (please be kind) i would be grateful.
thanks for reading.
____________________
Kinzey

[Nobby the Bastard]

Right

First off, scooters have very small wheels. Compare them to the usual size of a mountain bike. It makes them very twitchy.

The same applies with motorbikes but they tend to have different geometry and the weights of the wheels and the vehicle itself slows the steering.

I assume you've cycled on the road? Have you cycled at all? To all intents and purposes it's exactly the same but with controls in different places.
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[stinkwheel]

I have a biker friend who is quite badly dyspraxic. He rides but he always rides sidecar outfits these days because physically balancing the bike is difficult for him.

In many ways, it's even more difficult to ride a sicecar outfit but it's achieved more by manipulating the controls than by manipulating your bodyweight. If you have an official diagnosis, it may be possible to ride a three wheeler or combination for your CBT and test.

That said, once a motorcycle is moving more than walking pace, it will tend to stay upright and travelling in a straight line. It's almost entirely user input through the handlebars that makes it do anything different so once you've got the slow speed stuff down, the trick is not to make it fall over.

I always thought this video demonstrates how stable a motorbike is once it's rolling:
https://youtu.be/kQ5hV-ESBd0
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Nobby the Bastard]

I've had a bike pitch me 12 feet into the air and then fuck off down the road till it eventually meet a hedge....
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[Kinzeyyy]

[Kinzeyyy]

[Nobby the Bastard]

I always get bewildered by people who couldn't ride a cycle but seem to think a motorbike would be different.

You are going to hate this but if you can't ride a cycle you can't ride a motorbike.
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[Kinzeyyy]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

You may well be right on that score - but think about it: Do you really want to involve an engine in your two wheeled transport when you are still unable to ride a bicycle? You're going to be doing 30, 40 or more miles an hour on a scooter. Wouldn't it make more sense to at least be able to ride a push bike at 10-15 miles an hour before trying to go twice as fast as that? Especially these days when a cheap electrically assisted push bike can be bought for a few hundred quid.

If it were me, I would start there. I would "master" that before introducing an internal combustion engine into proceedings. There's a lot to be said for incremental, stepped progress in this context, particularly if a person is beginning from a very low baseline.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[Bhud]

If I may suggest, give pushbikes another go. The principle of how they stay upright is the same as for motorbikes. You can treat it as balance practice before you do your CBT. Get a good seat and advice on setting the seat height and forward/backward position. This might give you more confidence about riding a bike. I think it will help. There will be people in your local area who can help you with this. My local council subsidises group classes in bicycle riding, and they get all sorts. Lots of adults take lessons in riding pushbikes - nothing to worry about and nothing to lose. If you really don't like the idea, then riding your 125 on private land more may help.

[Diggs]

In a past life I used to do CBTs and take pupils out on the road. Generally speaking if someone could do the cones bit, they could, with a bit of practice and confidence, do the road bit too and pass their test. Some people took to riding on the road straight away whilst some took months to get the hang of it. Some never did and there is no shame in that. I could have all the lessons in the world but it won't change the fact that I can't sing, and I am not a worse person for it... The most important thing is to not exceed your limitations, because if you do, you will drop it and it does hurt...

What about some one-to-one tuition, with your partner taking you as pillion to a quiet bit of road so you don't have to do the difficult stuff straight away? If you find that you can handle that, then and only then ride somewhere with traffic...
____________________
Now - Speed Triple, old ratty GS550, GSXR750M
Gone (in order of ownership) - Raleigh Runabout, AP50, KH125, GP125, KH250, CBX550, Z400, CB750FII, 250LC, GS550, ZXR750H1, Guzzi Targa, GSX750F, KH250 x2, Bimota SB6R and counting...

[Pete.]

[Evil Hans]

I think if you're managing it in the yard but failing on the road then balance isn't your issue, it's just confidence.

Keep plugging away at it, and it might come to you!

Meanwhile, it might be worth borrowing a bicycle to get some more practice in.

Good luck!!
____________________
Triumph Sprint ST 1050. And it's Red.

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[doggone]

There is the other thing too he/she hasn't driven a car either so an awful lot of road experience is lacking.
I would not like to advise anyone to go out on the road if they hadn't at least done some cycling though I suppose being a car passenger would help a bit.

[Zen Dog]

[Easy-X]

I'd have to agree with Nobby. I spent decades cycling before going for motorcycles and TBH the CBT was pretty trivial. You might not like it but I'd spend all my spare time between motorcycle lessons on a push-bike. Don't like the seat? Bin it and buy a new one, that's what I've done with every new push-bike anyway I'd suggest getting a hybrid or mountain bike with road tyres over a racing bike.

Alternatively as you're on a scooter there are the three-wheel ones with two wheels up front. If the front wheels are close enough together the DVLA consider them a two-wheeled vehicle.
____________________
Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Nobby the Bastard]

A hint for banance.

Although gyroscopic effects help the stability of a balancing two wheel venicle and weight movement does have an effect, you will be amazed by how steering input actually has to do with keeping a two wheeler upright.
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[Easy-X]

Yeah, the rake angle. That's why stoopid cruisers are a c*nt to turn
____________________
Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Ayrton]

I have mild dyspraxia and also struggled with my first cbt (not sure how related it was though) and had to do it over 3 or 4 days. I found I needed a couple of sessions to get comfortable riding and being on the road and then I loosened up a bit and was fine. Definitely don't give up on it.

If you found you were better on a geared bike then do the CBT on that and practice on private land as much as you can (which is what I also did). Tbh I've never thought it a good idea to do the training on a scooter just to make things easier so you cant get the certificate. You may as well do it on a geared bike and take advantage of having the instructor there to help you, instead of figuring it out yourself.

[Nobby the Bastard]

I meant if it's falling to the left you turn left to compensat and then turn back to straight.

Reverse of counter-steering when you force the bike to fall to one side by actually turning away from a bend before bringing the steering back to go round the corner.
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[Kinzeyyy]

Thank you everyone your replies.

I will see if I can borrow or buy a cheap bicycle.
See if it is a balance issue. Can't see it being that as I
Can ride the scooter in the yard no problem. But maybe I just need practise .

I think Evil hans maybe right. It might just be a confidence thing as I was all uptight when I first started in the yard then i was fine after practicing. now it's on the road instead.
Just need to relax a bit more if I can instead of gripping on tightly and going a bit faster will help.
The bicycle will help my confidence on the road , with looking at signs and stuff too. If I can't balance on the bicycle, I will keep trying until I can. And I need to find some private land for the motorbike. Not many places around here.

My hazard perception score on the DVSA app was pretty good like 75 to 80 % right considering I thought I didn't gave a clue but will still keep at that too.
Cheers all
____________________
Kinzey

[Kinzeyyy]

[Nobby the Bastard]

To an extent a motorbike being heavier than a cycle will hide, for a short distance, an inherent inability to balance. Riding a cycle which is much lighter will show up an inability to balance. If you can do it on a motorbike in a yard but can't do it on a cycle for the same distance, you cannot balance.
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[Kinzeyyy]

I reckon the training centres should have a few bicycles there for customers to use before they start training. To show the instructors if they can balance or not. If not then they can use the bicycles until they can do so. It saves people from borrowing, buying and riding embarrassingly in front of neighbours lol .
____________________
Kinzey