U-turns.Make of this what you will....

[Delvard]

But it's interesting. I bumped into my old DAS instructor this past week, crackin' bloke get along well with him. Got chatting about tests etc and I asked him if everyone was still failing on U-turns and breaking speed limits (THE most common errors as far as he was concerned). He laughed but went onto tell me that in the past month the examiner here in Plymouth has passed 5 learners that he knows about who've 'dabbed' there foot down when doing a U-turn.
I was really suprised as I'd failed my first test due to not doing a rear observation after completing a good u-turn. I asked what he thought about this apparrent change in rule. He wasn't aware of any change but went onto say so much is down to the examiners perspective of your ability on the day. ie If the rest of the ride, before and after the U-turn is first and foremost confident and displays good rider ability in all other areas, all is not lost if you dab your foot down. It may go down as a minor.
I'm not saying do it but I'm saying all is not maybe lost if you do....




Andy
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[yambabe]

I dabbed my foot down on the U-turn on my first test and only got a minor for it. Failed cos I left an indicator on.
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[KevlarPants]

yeah, my instructor said that one might get away with a dab if you are lucky on the day.

[Biker-Kev]

Whats the rear observation after u turn? My instructor has never mentioned it
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Theory: Passed 8/11/2005 Practical: Passed 13/12/2005 Proud holder of A2 license

[Delvard]

[Biker-Kev]

So is that a look over your shoulder then pull over?

After the U-Turn do you just pull over on the left of the road? My instructor has never mentioned this
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Zhongyu ZY50, Aprilia SR50, Motorhispania RX50, Aprilia RS125, Honda VFR400 nc24 and my corsa
https://www.bikepics.com/members/bikerkev/
Theory: Passed 8/11/2005 Practical: Passed 13/12/2005 Proud holder of A2 license

[Delvard]

[Biker-Kev]

okay cheers mate
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Zhongyu ZY50, Aprilia SR50, Motorhispania RX50, Aprilia RS125, Honda VFR400 nc24 and my corsa
https://www.bikepics.com/members/bikerkev/
Theory: Passed 8/11/2005 Practical: Passed 13/12/2005 Proud holder of A2 license

[ISLAND GIRL]

I have been taught that a dab is acceptable on the U turn, today I went out and did four on four different roads and was 100%, was well pleased.
As for stopping after I have just been taught that you do the rear obs before stopping but do not have to worry bout using the indicator on stopping Feeling better about my test today.

[kath600]

probably best to stick with the thought though that its not ok to dab foot in a u-turn tbh.

if you got a minor on the the rest of the test but you think you did ok and didn't worry about dabbing foot thing, then you'd be gutted when you are told you have failed.

i was taught it was not ok to dab foot all!!!

probably helped me to pass first time
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[mchaggis]

For all the scorn about doing feet up U-turns, the slow control it uses is crucial to a hell of a lot of riding done in built up areas or in congested traffic. As a tool to show that you can ride very slowly under control, it is pretty useful.

As for doing feet-up U-turns on the road, pfft!. Plenty of U-turns, but none feet-up. Why bother?
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[BenBray]

Maybe I'm being soft, but whats your oppinion on dabbing a foot down in dodgy weather conditions? acceptable? I mean if you slip with a slightly hovered foot, you could kick up and save it - and if its wet/potentially quite slippy - it shows you've thought about road condition and potential hazards.

Just a thought!

Ben
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Current Bike: nc30

[priller]

[BenBray]

I meant sort of putting your foot almost down at the middle of the turn in case the bike started to slip at all, essentially creating a bit of hover for a little while... meh... just a thought.
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[mr.z]

Got to say this is totaly new on me, i know an examiner so i'll give him a call and see what he has to say about it.. makes sense, as long as your in total controll and still make the manouver..

I very nealry failed doing a u-turn, 9/10 i'd do perfect but the first was allways a badun..

If you do mess it up then ask if you can do it again because your nervous and mess up, if they say yes then your ok, if not youve lost nothing (examiners discression with this)

Thing with a u-turn is who here honestly uses it? i allways do a 2-point turn (trying to use the camber or gradiant of the road if i can to roll backwards with feet allong the floor) makeing carefull observations before and during, unless you have quite a bit of space a u-turn could be dangerous or expensive and is rarely usefull.. (most sportsbikes wouldn't be able to uturn in a tight space anyways! but my transalp was piece of pish, used it allot more then)

I guess more than anything its a mesure of low speed controll
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[colin1]

i did a u turn today in heavy traffic. saw the gap and knew i could make it but it didnt leave much margin for error. Probably not very sensible but it felt good. turning circle on my yp250 is pretty good. i wdnt try it on anything that wasnt a big dirt bike or big scooter. anything less than a 250 wdnt have pulled away quickly enough for me to avoid being rear ended when i completed the u turn in fornt of the oncoming car
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[fuzz]

[Misc]

I was taught it would be a straight fail because if you put a foot down this shows you have no control.

[krebsy]

From what I can remember I did:

Rear observation
Move off
Rear Observation
U-Turn
Signal left
Left Observation
Pull in
Stop
Cancel indicator.

---

If it's not clear then you don't do the move. I was taught that you check when you move away and again just before you do the U. That way you are showing you are moving off correctly and are also hecking before changing direction. There's no need to do a rear obsservation once the bike is pointing the other way as you wouldn't have done the move if there was traffic coming. You need to pull in correctly as per the stopping procedure once the U has been done.

Set off correctly. (1st rear check)
check behind and U-turn. (2nd Rear check)
Pull in correctly. (L-Hand Lifesaver.)


--

Delvard, the 2nd method you describe is what I was taught as you have to do the 2nd check to be sure it is safe to turn. If you check, move off and then U-turn without checking again then they can fail you for incorrect rear obs. you changed direction without making sure it was safe to do so.

Mind you, when you do the U-turn you should be looking in the direction you want the bike to end up in after all, so when you are about to turn you can look behind you as the 2nd check and keep looking in that direction as you whip the bike round.

One thing I learned for the U turn is that the bike won't fall over as long as you give it some throttle. don't try to do a "too slow" U-turn as it just sets the bike up for a fall and your foot will go down if you think the bike is dropping. If it feels like it is going to fall then crane your head round further, make sure you are looking back down the road and give it some juice. It'll be round before you know it.

When practicing before the test, the other trainee was doing slow and shaky U's on the playground and I was going twice as fast and turning the bike around inside his loop because I was leaning it right over, giving it some juice and looking at where I wanted the bike to be, not at where the front wheel was currently going...

Lots of Ramble there, dissect at your leasure...

K.
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[Annabella]

I failed my first test by dabbing my foot down just before I completed the U-Turn - more out of panic than anything else as it was a busy narrow lane.

I got no minors, just that one major. I think I failed because I knew I had ridden well up until that point (near the end of the test). I actually said the the examiner when I pulled up, "I've failed haven't I?", his reply was "You hadn't, but you have now!"

So, in hindsight, best thing to do is to ignore putting your foot down and not to panic...
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