No experience to full A.

[Claret_john]

Hi all.

I'm new to the forum so I thought I'd introduce myself and give a little back story.

I'm 36 from the North West and was going to do my bike licence whilst in the army in 2009. Unfortunately I broke my back in Afghanistan in 2008 and and after a lot of rehab I never thought about doing it again.

That is until 2 months ago when i thought F*** it. Im sick of being bored at the weekends and need a new challenge. My wife agreed and she booked us on a taster morning in Blackburn. I was told on this taster morning I was ready for my CBT and if the rest of the group was not so far behind he would if done it that day. Ever since I have been obsessed.

I now have passed my Theory and my CBT is next weekend, 2 weeks after that I have booked a 4 day direct access. 2 days training the mod 1 & 2 on the afternoons of days 3 & 4.

Do you think as a complete novice it can be done? As a complete rookie how long did it take you?

Cheers in advance.

[Ste]

How many hours of training will you be getting?

[Nobby the Bastard]

When I did my test there were people doing a 5 day course as novices and passed. That was in the early 90's though....
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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

[Claret_john]

It starts every morning 9am and finishes about 3. I reckon about 12 hours for first 2 days and some training before taking mod 1 / 2 (if I make it to mod 2)

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

[Easy-X]

IIRC I did a couple of days training per mod. If you include the CBT that's 5 days... so sounds doable
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Ste]

For the first two days that will be about five hours training per day.

I'd want to find out how much training time you'll be getting on the third and forth days if not just so that I know what I'm paying for.

What you're intending on doing sounds like it should be fine. At your CBT, ask if you can try a bike bigger than a 125

[doggone]

If you are already competent with basic control and have road knowledge from driving cars it might be a good way to go at it in a full immersion way like learning a language because you have to.
It will still take many months or years to be fully confident in almost any situation - all kinds of things catch us all out like loose surfaces, adverse cambers and of course other drivers doing unexpected or stupid things.

[Pete.]

[pinkyfloyd]

It can be done. But it'll be hard work.

We usually assess peoples bike control on their CBT and either recommend either straight onto DAS, an improver day (where we get a good 5 or 6 hours riding in to cram as much experience as possible in a short time) or at the worst case, getting a 125cc bike for a few months.

On their CBT I look for bike control, how confident and comfortable are they going through the gears, using slow control etc. All the skills that are needed for the bigger bikes.
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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.

[that_impulse_guy]

after returning to biking from a 25yr leave of absence I passed my CBT easily. All you need to know is that its a one-man-band thing...all the hands and legs do things while you balance around.

What I did notice immediately after doing the yardwork part, is that on the road I wasnt paying as much attention to the signs as I do when driving a car. My mind had become lazy from car driving.

was this a 40mph zone? dunno...didnt see any signs...etc etc..was trying to dodge the Road-Goblins work from the rain the night before...did this 40 just become a 30...dunno...was concentrating on this pedestrian and wondering if their dog is gonna run out...

So I'm 125'ing it for a bit just to get my head working in a more bike-friendly fashion.
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Gone: Yamaha DT50lc, Suzuki DR500, Suzuki A100, Kawasaki z250ltd, RD350YPVS, Suzuki DR Big, Kawasaki AR125, Kawasaki KMX200, Suzuki GS1000S, Katana 1100, GS550M, Suzuki RGV250
Now: Suzuki GSX400X, Suzuki RF900R, NS400R

[MCN]

Direct Access most always 'guarantees' a pass.

They take you from small 125cc up to a 400cc. (I can't remember the restrictions for each part but it is more to do with horsepower (KW) produced by the engine than the engine capacity.)
The training centre issue your 1st bike test cert.
The DSA test and issue the full bike licence.

There are probably hair splitting areas in that too. The bcf massive will furnish the detail I cannot be arsed to google.

They usually won't put you up for the test unless they believe you can pass.

There is quite a lot to learn if a complete novice.

Many candidates already have a licence to drive a car therefore their road craft xshould' be acceptable.

But riding a bike presents so many other risks, that road craft is revisited.

Mechanical control of the bike involves a lot of muscle memory too.

I would take a stab at a guess and say that the majority of people who can complete the course with a degree of competency will pass.

But... the test is a separate deal and has always some eventualities and personal opinion to encounter.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Claret_john]

Can ride a bike and have been driving cars, wagons.

Asking to have a go on a bigger bike after my CBT is a great idea thank you.

Got an Idea what I want for my first bike. A Ninja 650. Luckily I work for the BMW Group and have been offered a S1000RR on a salary sacrifice heavily subsidised but I know that's a terrible idea.

Cheers for your input so far.

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[Fullers1845]

I'd say go for it, if you're ok on the bike then the tests are both easy to pass and easy to fail, but you just re-test until you pass.
I spent 18 months on a 125 before doing A license but that's mainly because it was peak covid (huge test backlog) and then other life stuff got in the way. I kept my 125 after passing for commuting but I think most people avoid 125's though
The SS1000RR, depends how much you can resist temptation on a bike that will hit the ton in first gear...

[MCN]

[ThunderGuts]

If you're realistically good with road sense, knowledge and attitude (the latter is very important) and you're willing to focus and absorb information, yes it's entirely possible. It'll be mentally and physically demanding squeezing it into a short space of time and if the weather is rubbish, you'll be probably struggling to dry kit out from one day to the next, but if you're prepared to deal with that, go for it and good luck!
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TG.

[Abaaba]

It is doable - I did mine 18 months ago from never touched a bike to full A licence holder.

As was said earlier, If you can ride a bicycle then you got the balance and if you can drive (manual) you know the roads/signs - the only difficult thing is gears/clutch is wrong way around compared to cars

watch out for MOD1 though as most people (me) find that tricky compared to MOD2

good luck and enjoy

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[pinkyfloyd]

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

[pinkyfloyd]

We run Sat and Sunday mod 1 prep, but we also cover country roads and real world riding, Mod 1 is usually Tuesday or Wednesday morning, So you get a day or 2 off to compose. After that we hit mod 2 prep, tricky junctions etc for the rest of the day, then a week later we have the mod 2 day itself, some full mock tests on test routes, a recap of some tricky junctions with mod 2 in the afternoon.

We are flat out. The only thing holding us back is test availability, our centre manager does not like bikers it seems, Any spare mod 2 that go onto the system he changes to car tests before anyone can grab them, when someone goes on holiday he does not get cover which reduces the tests by half!
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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.

[dave001]

i cant see how you can fail mod 1, its piss easy if you can ride a bike.

As long as you remember to do the nodding dog bit, so they know your looking and don't miss seeing you do shoulder checks.



mod two can be a pain, if you don't know area, as they will try to catch you out if they have passed a lot that month.

[MCN]

[pinkyfloyd]