Any tips?

Hi,
I've eventually got around to booking my mod1 training, and hopefully will have me on 2 wheels in no time
I just wondered if anyone had any tips for a new biker just about to start doing her tests?

Blimey I passed my test in 1984, but just try to relax, don't get stressed by early mistakes, view them as opprtunities to learn, and above all enjoy yourself.

Once you have passed, get out and ride, miles are the best thing to hone your skills.

As above, relax & enjoy, don't try and think to much about it just concentrate on clutch & throttle, I went from no experience to full licence & I'm no genius! But ultimately smile & enjoy!! Good luck

As said above enjoy. I looked forward to my lessons & test because it was an opportunity to ride a big bike.

Wrap up warm and dry.

Nothing worse than doing lessons when your wet, cold and miserable.

As above . . . and . . .

Errrm a bit obvious . . . but . . .

Listen to your instructor . . . . and Monkey See . . Monkey Do

I like to frequent industrial estates

Seriously it is a great place to practice all the slow speed stuff - which is well worth it, is an art in itself and since you'll be start/stop on you test it will hopefully be more natural and one less thing to have to think about.
Try and relax and be smooth with everything. Look and think well ahead.

Cheers
Rosco

I tried to think it was just another lesson.

Really read the road well and think ahead, stay focussed and You'll be fine.

It flies by too. Couldn't believe how quick it went!!



I was taught to not use the back brake but to make it look like I was LOL.



If I passed with only one minor, you can chuck



But I did the old test.

Breathe - sounds daft but you can find yourself holding your breath which can make you unrelaxed.

Your Mod1 is the cone work with swerve and emergency brake in the mix, if it is like the Peterborough centre the tarmac is very grippy.

On the emergency brake barely use the back as locking up usually means instant fail.

You have to be at the correct speed through the censors for the swerve and emergency brake. My trainer tought me to know the correct speed by sound alone, this meant I could keep looking ahead and not down at the speedo which helped me a lot.

This applies to when you do your Mod2 as well - if you think you have made a mistake don't fail yourself, put it behind you and keep going - the assessor is the only one that can fail you not yourself.

It happened to me when I did my Mod2 test in June, it was over a speed sign, I thought I had failed, I then gave myself a talking too and just carried on to ride my ride, I passed with 3 minors.

Hope this epic helps in some way - it didn't start as an epic.

Aye, it's easy to think you've failed when you haven't.

re: breathing

I think I was probably blue by the time I finished my U-Turn manoeuvre.

Try not to look at the front wheel or a few inches or feet in front of it. I was very guilty of this before and after I passed my test.

React to hazards / potential hazards. No harm in taking a more suitable road position or adjusting your speed. It shows that you've actually seen the hazard.

Rightly or wrongly - Target fixation works so make sure your target is where you want to go rather than what you really don't want to hit / ride over / into.

Try and avoid diesel, white lines, man-hole covers (especially when wet) , pedestrians and other vehicles too and you'll be fine.

Good Luck
Rosco

For Mod 1 take your time, think of all the maneuvers as like you have been practicing, and also you will have much more space on the test pad than at the training school, so by nailing the ones with bike moore should make you an ace for the test.
As others have said above listen to everything the instructor and examiner says.

In all the training go at your pace, if your not happy with something or want to do it again, say so its worth it in the long run.

For Mod 2 as ellie says treat it like another lesson and try not to dwell on mistakes, when I did mine last year I thought within the first 5 mins I had failed as I had stalled, but the examiners are generally nice and seem to assess things a bit fairer than car assessors (well I found this, they all seem much nicer to).

Try to take it all in stages not rush it, so properly get to grips with the bike so it all becomes a more second nature thing then everything else kinda slots into place, think out loud on the lessons and the test, talk your self through what you are going to do, so for a t junction and you are turning right, go through in the run up to it about, road positioning, slowing to a stop and also looking out for hazard, say them to your self when you see them. I found all that worked for me and I managed to pass first time and I am a bit of a numpty

though do bare in mind when you are stopped in traffic and talking to yourself in your helmet about the process of moving away etc you may get some funny looks off folk!!

sorry for the novel

May sound a bit daft but I failed Mod 1 a couple of times (ok 4 as I have difficulty relating false situations such as these off road things to real life situations - same in all walks of life as I dont do rehearsals or work based role playing Ballards either) as I was trying too hard and thinking about the cones etc too much.

Popped some chewing gum in my mouth, concentrated on chewing it as I was going onto the test course and found I was much more relaxed and not fixating on cones, speeds etc.

As for the Mod 2 just concentrated on enjoying the ride and not over thinking it. Made sure I was relaxed with examiner and him with me and off we went, was over before I knew it and knew I had passed as we were riding back to the centre as there was nowt I would have done different - 0 minors

You will be fine and dandy, be confident but not careless and before you know it you will be out on your own grinning like an eejit

Hiya we were lucky when I did my lessons we managed to get some
Practice on the actualy test track. Might be worth asking your instructors? Also for the first part where you have to park it in the reverse it in that when you can push it forwards round into the next bay,sooooo much easier. Also with the figure of 8 dnt have to keep it tight can use a bit of space and run wide gives you plenty of time to turn. As for the speed traps bit I found when practising I kept shutting off the throttle so learnt to keep it pinned in second (forget mechanical sympathy) on me test was doing 40 instead of 32mph :S better than going too slow.tehehe as for the on road test try not to be hard on yourself if you make a mistake I was int lessons and found I get annoyed and frustrated. Other than that concentrate and relax and above all enjoy yourself

Hi, I did my DAS on the 31st of last month, I was so convinced I was gonna fail as I was so nervous! But on the day I flew through it, my only advice is stay relaxed and enjoy it, I'm sure you'll be fine it seems more daunting than it is, good luck!

Simon.

I did my test a few months ago. For Mod 2 just try and forget the examiner is there, just pretend its a sat nav in your ear instead. And get lost on the independent bit, I wasted at least 5 minutes of my test on that bit!