Didn't make CBT : (

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BobSaunders

Original Poster:

3,027 posts

154 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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Took my CBT yesterday. Didn't make it. Wasn't allowed out on the road :-(

Mixed class, one guy re-certifying CBT after two years (circa 18 years old), another from a previous class who didn't "pass" but had previous experience from his home country (India) (circa 16/17 years old), and another chap who had some previous experience from his home country (India) (circa about 25-28 years old).

So, it was first time on a geared "motorbike", previous experience was that of a automatic scooter in 2005 in Australia with a go and stop. So first 20 minutes was spent stalling the bike, let alone moving more than five meters.

Eventually cracked it, got used to balance, brakes, clutch, shifting up to second and third gear, anticipating stops and changing down, was able to make life savers, ride slowly in figures of eight, indicate (and cancel..) etc.

However, I kept looking down whilst attempting the emergency stop (or so i was told).

Instructor took me outside and informed me that i wouldn't be going out on the road. No point arguing it, and accepted it with the agreement that he knew better than me!

So it left me with a couple of hours to play in the car park whilst everyone was out on the road. Worked with another instructor on emergency stop and left and right "junction" turns. After 15 minutes the other instructor told me that based on what he had seen for the last few minutes he had no issue with me on the road - but he had not been working with me that morning so couldn't take an overview.

Subsequently when instructor one returned from the road ride, i overheard instructor two telling him that he had no issue with me and i was ok for the road. Still no road ride however, i guess IS1 has made a decision - not an issue in my opinion.

Anyway, luckily there was someone training for their mod one on "bigger bike". So i just followed them around the slow course (slalom, figure of eight, stops, right u-turn, stops, bike handling) and worked with the other instructor on that. Pretty much nailed the mod one with a 125cc.... (minus 32mph emergency stop and avoidance) ;-)

Will be retaking the CBT course, apparently they reckon i need an hour in the car park, and then two hour ride out, instead of the full one day. Looks like i will have to pay, hopefully at a reduced cost. I'll be back.

Overall verdict - i went into it to cocky thinking i could just simply climb onto a bike and ride it, and now i have a greater appreciation of kids on scooters and 150cc bikes.. Basically they know f**k all about the road and if you only need to pass a CBT then that's bloody scary.

srob

11,566 posts

237 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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I did mine in 1996 and it seems things have changed a bit! I didn't do any carpark stuff as it was too icey, and the road ride lasted no more than ten minutes as it was so cold.

A mate was doing his and another bloke went over the handlebars on a Honda Vision on his emergency stop (my mate said it was the funniest thing he'd eer seen) - but still passed!

Probably not a bad thing it's tougher now I guess, must still be a git if you fail to progress OP. onwards and upwards though!

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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Since when was this in the CBT? I didn't think you could fail. I have a friend who slid out on their moped on the CBT and still was handed a certificate 2 hours later.

Sounds like they are trying to make some extra ££'s here, no?

BobSaunders

Original Poster:

3,027 posts

154 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
quotequote all
yammyfan said:
Sounds like they are trying to make some extra ££'s here, no?
This has / did cross my mind it is obvious that i am not short a bob or two, and i did make rumblings about wanting to do my DAS.

The up-sell was that i could get a free cbt as part of my DAS..

Edited by BobSaunders on Thursday 30th October 11:04

rich_b

694 posts

245 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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Although technically not a pass/fail if they deem you aren't safe to be on the road then that's that. You did say instructor #2 had to give you further training before deeming you fit.

It's in your and other road user's best interests and I doubt a well established school would just do it for the money.


Edited by rich_b on Thursday 30th October 11:09

BobSaunders

Original Poster:

3,027 posts

154 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
quotequote all
rich_b said:
Although technically not a pass/fail if they deem you aren't safe to be on the road then that's that.

It's in your and other road user's best interests and I doubt a well established school would just do it for the money.
I agree, and i agreed with the instructor on this. However, the money thing always crosses your mind smile

Dorje

118 posts

182 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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Better that they're taking more time with people imo.
I did my CBT last year just before taking DAS, the other student I was about to go on the road with didn't know who to give way to at junctions/roundabouts before we set off. That delayed us for about 30 mins.

Don't worry about it, sounds like you should be prepared for the road ride now. Shouldn't cost you any money to retake CBT, unlike MOD1/2 where there are retake fees.

rich_b

694 posts

245 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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BobSaunders said:
I agree, and i agreed with the instructor on this. However, the money thing always crosses your mind smile
Fair enough. Before my CBT the only experience I had was about 15 mins on a geared scrambler round a field in my teens. They said I was ok to go out on the road but I was apprehensive. I think if I hadn't had years of road experience in a car then I'd have gone to pieces on the bike.

peteO

1,790 posts

184 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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i had never been on a bike before my cbt. i got asked to come back on another day to complete more car park work too. no shame in it. better that then crashing whilst out on the road after faffing in a carpark for 3 hours....

when i had to go back i wasnt charged.

BobSaunders

Original Poster:

3,027 posts

154 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
quotequote all
I've got 14 years in a car of varying power. But, to be honest i didn't expect to feel so vulnerable on a bike, it was the looking down thing more than anything - muscle memory eventually kicked in and it was second nature after a while.

TheGreatSoprendo

5,286 posts

248 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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I don't get the "you can't fail your CBT" thing. Whilst it may not be technically a fail, the instructor can decline to give you a certificate if he feels you haven't met the required standard, which seems to be exactly the same as "failing" to me.

When I did my CBT last year, the young girl who I did it with was doing her CBT for the second time. The previous week, they had refused to let her go out on the road due to her lack of bike control. The day I was there, she was allowed on the road, but when the instructor and I got held up at a junction, he told her over the radio to pull to the side of the road and wait for us. Instead of just pulling up at the kerb, she inexplicably panicked, mounted the kerb and crashed into the wall of a pub car park! Cue 2nd "fail" in as many weeks and an extremely pissed off instructor...

peteO

1,790 posts

184 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
quotequote all
TheGreatSoprendo said:
I don't get the "you can't fail your CBT" thing. Whilst it may not be technically a fail, the instructor can decline to give you a certificate if he feels you haven't met the required standard, which seems to be exactly the same as "failing" to me.

When I did my CBT last year, the young girl who I did it with was doing her CBT for the second time. The previous week, they had refused to let her go out on the road due to her lack of bike control. The day I was there, she was allowed on the road, but when the instructor and I got held up at a junction, he told her over the radio to pull to the side of the road and wait for us. Instead of just pulling up at the kerb, she inexplicably panicked, mounted the kerb and crashed into the wall of a pub car park! Cue 2nd "fail" in as many weeks and an extremely pissed off instructor...
daaaaaaamn..... maybe she should just call it a day...

N Dentressangle

3,442 posts

221 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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BobSaunders said:
I've got 14 years in a car of varying power. But, to be honest i didn't expect to feel so vulnerable on a bike, it was the looking down thing more than anything - muscle memory eventually kicked in and it was second nature after a while.
I wouldn't worry about it - it takes longer to learn some things than we expect, especially as we get older and more conscious of our own mortality! If you enjoyed it, go back and finish the job.

I did do a riding assessment years ago with an instructor who thought it was OK to spend up to 10 days with someone getting them up to what he thought was CBT standard. I've never met a more negative and critical teacher, and I wasn't surprised his learners lacked confidence.

TheGreatSoprendo

5,286 posts

248 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
quotequote all
TBH I felt a bit sorry for her. The instructor went ape st at her before storming off in search of gaffer tape to fix the indicator which, by now, was hanging off. She was a lovely girl, but was only 16/17 and had never driven a car so had no road sense whatsoever.

peteO

1,790 posts

184 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
quotequote all
TheGreatSoprendo said:
TBH I felt a bit sorry for her. The instructor went ape st at her before storming off in search of gaffer tape to fix the indicator which, by now, was hanging off. She was a lovely girl, but was only 16/17 and had never driven a car so had no road sense whatsoever.
sounds a bit of a tit himself for allowing her on the open road!.. and the last thing a newb needs is the instructor going ape st when they do something wrong... but yeah if i was here i'd just get the bus!

thatdude

2,654 posts

126 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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If it's your first time on a motorcycle with manual gears then I'd say a single day to learn everything isnt too shabby at all. I first rode a motorbike when I was 14, and I was just pushed away in second gear, told to let the clutch out quickly (so the engine started) and just poddle about in 2nd gear. I didnt learn to change gear until a few hours later!

So you've had a good day of good tuition (my cousins were enthusiastic but not really good at training!) putting you in an excellent position. You've shown yourself you can ride, so that's the nerves out of the way.

Next time you tackle it, you'll be in a much more relaxed position and will be fine. When I did my CBT (17) I had already been rdiing bikes around fields for a few years (here and there every few months) so I had a head-start. But If I did a CBT with no prior experieince then I wouldn't have been allowed out on the road.

11 years later, I have done something in the region of 90,000 miles on 2 wheels...and counting.


beanbag

7,346 posts

240 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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Bloody hell things have changed a bit. I did my CBT 16 years ago and you couldn't fail! In fact, I started on a geared bike but struggled so I was given a scooter for the test which was basically a quick lap of the road around the car park.

We then had a cuppa and the guy gave me a certificate and passed everyone else. Job done!

Things have changed.

sjtscott

4,215 posts

230 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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srob said:
I did mine in 1996 and it seems things have changed a bit! I didn't do any carpark stuff as it was too icey, and the road ride lasted no more than ten minutes as it was so cold.

A mate was doing his and another bloke went over the handlebars on a Honda Vision on his emergency stop (my mate said it was the funniest thing he'd eer seen) - but still passed!

Probably not a bad thing it's tougher now I guess, must still be a git if you fail to progress OP. onwards and upwards though!
I did mine in 1996 and mine was nothing like yours! The OPs experience sound similar to mine all that time ago.
I did the car park stuff on a school playground and then went out on the road for a couple of hours - about 6 hours all in for my CBT day.
There was one girl on my course who just couldn't master the figure of 8 without putting her foot down - they really tried to give her time and kept the rest of us waiting but then gave up eventually.

I went from never riding anything powered and two wheeled let alone manually geared 125 to getting a CBT cert in that one day.
There were guys doing CBT at the same time as me on auto scooters I can't see how anyone could ever fail to get a CBT cert on one of those!

Gypsum Fantastic

412 posts

210 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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I did my CBT a few months back and the school had a policy they you paid the money to pass the CBT. So if they couldn't get you up to scratch on the day, then they would have you back another day for no extra money. Gave me a bit of faith that they would try and give you decent instruction rather than rip you off with follow-up visits.

Iang84

962 posts

165 months

Thursday 30th October 2014
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peteO said:
i had never been on a bike before my cbt. i got asked to come back on another day to complete more car park work too. no shame in it. better that then crashing whilst out on the road after faffing in a carpark for 3 hours....

when i had to go back i wasnt charged.
Like yourself I had never been on a bike but I did crash on my road part of the CBT I dumped the clutch and hit a kerb but was still handed a pass cert mind you it was the only mistake I had made that day