just failed my provisional course exam :(

[timmya]

i just realised im such a bad rider..

i really have problems doing a turn on the bike at very low speeds..

not the high revs etc.. the BASIC BLANACING of it all..

anyone got a tip? everyone kept telling me to keep my head up.. yes i did that and i nearly fell..

everytime the bike leans too much either left or right my body or my mind tends to react and automatically my foot goes down..

there has to be a trick to it.. i cant do narrow turns which is needed for the cone weaves.

ARGH its driving me nuts i just lost 139AUD for the whole examination..

on top of that i have to do the leaners course again coz my license expires on thursday..

tim (who needs big help)
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Gilera Dna 180cc - first bike and i luv it..

[colin1]

id suggest lots of pracise riding slowly on a push bike ( a bike with pedals and no engine )

this will develop your balance
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[EDBANGER]

Grip the tank hard with your legs! I always found this helped with the dreaded U-turn.

[divuk83]

Relax your arms and look at where you want to end up. Keep the throttle open and use it very smoothly.

Dave

[tater]

Hi mate, definitely practice on a push bike by doing small tight turning circles and balancing on the spot, yes it will be boring but will help you get over the fear of loosing balance. You can even time yourself so you have something to beat while trying it.

Its all in your mind and you have to train yourself to not react so quick, relax and take your time your not a bad rider you just need to learn to balance alittle better.

Good luck mate, you will crack it soon

[yambabe]

Another way which helped me after I had a couple of drops & lost confidence was to get a mate to help.

Sit on your bike with the engine off, get your mate to push it (whilst keeping a good old grip on the back end) whilst you turn with your feet up. You can't drop it cos your mate has a good hold, but you can get used to where your body position & the bike need to be to do a slow, tight turn.

And remember, once you have your licence you need never do one with your feet up again if you don't want to!

Good luck!
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[timmya]

thanks definately will practice on my bike this week.
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Gilera Dna 180cc - first bike and i luv it..

[KevTM]

leaning slightly forward helps me, i don't if it's because it forces my arms to be bent and making steering easier but it does help with my balancing.

It sounds to me you can ride fine, it's all just in your head that you'll topple over if you don't put your foot down.. a free mind and a bit of confidence and you'll be cool!

Let us know when you pass

[timmya]

^ couldnt have explained it better.

my problem is i get so scared the moment the bike leans on its side.. i feel like im going to fall off..

i did have an accident before although i couldnt remember anything it may be the reason i am so freaked out..

argh.. i was also already smelling defeat as the guy called my name up.. we had a few practice runs which i did not succesfully complete.. not even once

got so nervous also. was just thinking that im going to fail so at the end i did..

i really hope i can get this balancing act figured out i really love biking so much i dont want this to be the thing that stops me.
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Gilera Dna 180cc - first bike and i luv it..

[ApriliaRs125]

I always try them on my bike but i cant manage it because there's not enough room on the road's. On a CG125 i can do a half turn in just over 1 car park space.

Im sure if you keep practicing you will get there soon enough.


scott
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*aprilia rs125 2005 UKRS https://www.theukrsclub.com
*peugeot speedfight 100 1999 Aprilia Forum https://www.apriliaforum.com

[ali-b]

I always had confidence issues with the u-turn while learning...I found the following worked for me...

When you're U-Turning, you're steering and leaning the bike to the left. While you can lean at higher speeds, at lower speeds gravity is more of a factor and you'll find the bike being pulled down towards the ground (sorry if I'm teaching egg sucking). To counteract the effects of gravity, you need to shift your weight to the outside of the turn. Start practicing this bit by bit, if you're not confident in doing this, maybe start by shifting just your head to the outside of the turn, then head and shoulders. All this is doing is shifting the centre of gravity to the outside of the turn (the left side in the case of a standard test u-turn) making the bike feel a bit more stable and you more confident.

A guy who took this advice to its limit ended up sitting with only one 'cheek' on the seat while u-turning on his test...

I should probably point out that this advice isn't something I made up myself, its something my instructor told me when I was struggling with the u-turn.

Oh yeah, and try to avoid hanging off like an elastic orangutan ...they hate that (the examiners, not the orangutans)...

HTH

Alex.

[Zoffo]

All slow speed control is easier once you learn to cover the rear brake. Gentle steady throttle through the turn and use the back brake to control the speed. If you try to use the throttle to control the speed you get too much jerking from the engine braking.
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https://hyperbikes.forumsplace.com/

[ali-b]

Agreed with Zoffo, back brake only!!!...the front brake does not exist when u-turning!!! Ignore it...it is the enemy of u-turn confidence...

If you feel yourself leaning over too far on the last half of the u-turn, just ride it out, the marginal increase in speed will help your balance...the first half of the turn is where you'll make or break i think (personal observation of my own riding), which is all tied up in how much confidence you have in turning the bars...

Another thing I thought of as well, when I did the turn, I started about 8 inches from the kerb, turned left into the kerb, and then swung out right...it felt 'right' to do that swinging motion, but may not be right for you...

I've been reliving the u-turn on my test for about 20 minutes now, and the psychology of it basically went something like this....

5 mins before the u-turn: 'I hope we get that damn u-turn out of the way soon or I'm going to explode'
2 mins before the u-turn (while doing my emergency stop): 'its next its next ITS NEXT!!!'
30 seconds before: 'You can do it, you can do it, think of something else...........errrrrrr........U_TURNS!!!'
Doing the turn: 'FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK'
Finishing the turn THREE FEET FROM THE SODDING KERB: 'errr...that was easy, continue riding to the kerb you numbscull, make it look as though that was deliberate'
Complete rest of test in a relaxed manner as if on another ride out...

The bike can do the turn, right? You can walk it round on full lock (do they still make you do that?) and end up 3 feet from the kerb, so the bike can do it plenty of room to spare...you'll be able to do it too...balance it out, count it thru...get comfy, get straight, turn in, turn out, opposite lean, ride it out straight...

What bike are you practicing/taking test on???

HTH

Alex.