Fell off the bike....during my test :-p

[black-k1]

moanthebairns said:

Give up. Seriously, I could be nice and go on about getting back on it, or how we all make mistakes, a bad day at the office, but if your binning it by just grabbing a load of front brake, when you know you need to brake there and then, WEEKS in advance, in an empty car park you clearly have the grace and manual dexterity of Mr Blobby.

If this s meant as a joke then it's pretty non funny and it definitely requires smilies. If it’s not meant as a joke then you are very wrong! There are a good number of very experienced motorcyclists who have made a mistake and over braked the front in wet condition, ending up on their bum.

[N Dentressangle]

black-k1 said:

moanthebairns said:

Give up. Seriously, I could be nice and go on about getting back on it, or how we all make mistakes, a bad day at the office, but if your binning it by just grabbing a load of front brake, when you know you need to brake there and then, WEEKS in advance, in an empty car park you clearly have the grace and manual dexterity of Mr Blobby.

If this s meant as a joke then it's pretty non funny and it definitely requires smilies. If it’s not meant as a joke then you are very wrong! There are a good number of very experienced motorcyclists who have made a mistake and over braked the front in wet condition, ending up on their bum.

I was rubbish when I started, and got one or two bits of similar advice in a similar thread here. It was discouraging, but I'm bloody minded enough to be a bit persistent. I'm glad I did - 7 years, a couple of Euro trips, and 50k miles of commuting later, I'd really miss my bike licence if I didn't have it.

Lots of good advice on this thread - keep at it and you'll get there eventually. We all learn at different speeds, and even now I'll happily admit I found the M5 this morning rather challenging!

[lindrup119]

moanthebairns said:

Give up. Seriously, I could be nice and go on about getting back on it, or how we all make mistakes, a bad day at the office, but if your binning it by just grabbing a load of front brake, when you know you need to brake there and then, WEEKS in advance, in an empty car park you clearly have the grace and manual dexterity of Mr Blobby.

I disagree. We all make silly mistakes. We might not learn from them we just hope people forget about them quickly.

Good luck OP.

[Kleinfeld]

moanthebairns said:

Good for you, taking it in good humour. But you have surpassed GWM's crashing on a trackday sighting lap tale.

Seriously though, go to your instructor and get him to tell you where you need to focus, get tailored lessons to suit, don't come on here asking for tips. Sure it passes the day, but some is bad advice, some good and some meh. How do you know what to listen to. You don't, speak to your instructor.

I know, thanks :-). My instructor didn't seem to make a huge deal out of it once he knew I was ok. Just said that it can happen, I'm good enough, and to get the test booked again.

He said "Was that your first fall? It won't be your last...". I hope he was talking generally rather than about me specifically :-p

[Rh14n]

I did something very similar on the Mod 1. I was doing perfectly until the old-fashioned 'Swerve and Stop'. In practice I'd been spot-on with it but on the day nerves got the better of me. I braked but didn't release the throttle enough, lost control and slid to a stop. Unfortunately, I did a worse job than you by breaking my arm in the process!
One or two people suggested I should give up but I wasn't about to let it beat me so after a few months to recover I got back on the bike and although it took some guts to do that manoeuvre again I had to do it and passed my test with no further problems.
This sort of experience is good for the character and I'm so glad I persevered.
I now have a Triumph Street Triple and absolutely love it.
My advice - get back on that bike and go for it!

[moanthebairns]

black-k1 said:

moanthebairns said:

Give up. Seriously, I could be nice and go on about getting back on it, or how we all make mistakes, a bad day at the office, but if your binning it by just grabbing a load of front brake, when you know you need to brake there and then, WEEKS in advance, in an empty car park you clearly have the grace and manual dexterity of Mr Blobby.

If this s meant as a joke then it's pretty non funny and it definitely requires smilies. If it’s not meant as a joke then you are very wrong! There are a good number of very experienced motorcyclists who have made a mistake and over braked the front in wet condition, ending up on their bum.

Its an internet forum, it would be pretty boring if we never all had a laugh at each other wouldn't it. 90% of my post I don't even agree with what I've written.

[rapide]

I can't remember the guidance on stopping distance for your test; but I do remember that it's very very generous. Obviously you might want to practice being able to stop quickly(!) but for your test just take it easy. You're nervous, it's not real life anyway. My rendition was a long way from what I'd call an emergency

[Kleinfeld]

Rh14n said:

I did something very similar on the Mod 1. I was doing perfectly until the old-fashioned 'Swerve and Stop'. In practice I'd been spot-on with it but on the day nerves got the better of me. I braked but didn't release the throttle enough, lost control and slid to a stop. Unfortunately, I did a worse job than you by breaking my arm in the process!
One or two people suggested I should give up but I wasn't about to let it beat me so after a few months to recover I got back on the bike and although it took some guts to do that manoeuvre again I had to do it and passed my test with no further problems.
This sort of experience is good for the character and I'm so glad I persevered.
I now have a Triumph Street Triple and absolutely love it.
My advice - get back on that bike and go for it!

Ouch...seems I got off lightly then! Thanks for sharing, I'll defintely be having another go at the test.

[Kleinfeld]

rapide said:

I can't remember the guidance on stopping distance for your test; but I do remember that it's very very generous. Obviously you might want to practice being able to stop quickly(!) but for your test just take it easy. You're nervous, it's not real life anyway. My rendition was a long way from what I'd call an emergency

The stupid thing is you get twice as long to stop in the wet, over an already generous distance. It was definitely the anger at myself for making an arse of the U-turn that did for me. I should have taken a minute or two to calm down before doing the emergency stop.

Edited by Kleinfeld on Monday 30th November 15:19

[ajcj]

Before my MOD2, the instructor said to me that there are three things you really don't want to hear through the earpiece during the test:

1. Please cancel your indicator

2. Do you know what the speed limit is here?

3. Do you want help picking your bike up?


He did say that in 20-odd years of instructing, he had only had one student who had heard all three in one test!

[battered]

Get a bicycle. Ride it around, to the shops, on/off road. It all counts, what you need is time on 2 wheels.

As for not wanting to drop a RF600, I'd say that on your first bike you are likely to drop it so it's probably better to get one without too much vulnerable plastic. Or get one of the ex driving test ER5s with crash bars, they put the cage on them for a reason you know!

[Hooli]

battered said:

Get a bicycle. Ride it around, to the shops, on/off road. It all counts, what you need is time on 2 wheels.

As for not wanting to drop a RF600, I'd say that on your first bike you are likely to drop it so it's probably better to get one without too much vulnerable plastic. Or get one of the ex driving test ER5s with crash bars, they put the cage on them for a reason you know!

I had a RF600 as my first bike. Dropped it stationary a few times with only tiny scratches.

[marcgti6]

As Rh14n says, you're not the first and you'll definitely not be the last.

The guy before me did the same thing. Arrived on a bike, went home in an ambulance.

Second time lucky...

[Yoda400]

I have no idea how many times I dropped the bike trying to learn u-turns. It ate into my confidence in the end so I did the test on a 125 (which I could u-turn on easily) and rode restricted for 2 years. I don't know how I thought I could ride a bike that was too tall for me to put more than one toe down, as a beginner with not much experience. Even now I'd want to avoid it! This doesn't help you. Listen to everyone else.

On the stopping though, off road practice is the way forward. I learned more in two days than in months or years of all weather road commuting. Gravel and slides were normal off road so you get used to it, and confidence is everything. Hope it goes well for you, suddenly it will all click into place.

[Triaguar]

Oh to be young today the trials and tribulations of the digital age. I did my test in 1972 on a honda C 90 step through.

The examiner walked round the test route and occasionally watched you from a shop doorway, there were lots of places you could fall of without them even seeing you... For my emergency stop I followed one of those old disability cars around, the blue ones like a covered motorbike, we were doing about 20 MPH ... The examiner stepped out into the road, tapped the old clip board and I delivered a faultless stop.. Not really difficult, OP I think you are making a bit of a song and dance about something this easy really.

[Triaguar]

One of these:

[Snifflytooth]

^^ where have they all gone? If these were introduced back for 'motability' or whatever they call it, millions would be slashed off the NHS bill - or whoever funds it

[sbird]

My first CBT ended with me on the road, with the bike on top of me. If you're anything like me, then after a couple of days you'll want to give it another go.

As others have said, I think the best thing to do is to go see your instructor and talk it through. They'll have seen all sorts, and will be best placed to show you what you need to do differently.

[BrassMan]

You remember learning to ride a bicycle?

Get on and ride, ya puss.

[epom]

I appreciate its grand for me, and others to say that its east. But it is pretty basic. Do your best to manage the nerves, think of nothing else except the next manouvere. Plan ahead. You will be fine, the fail will actually stand to you in the end. Good luck.