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

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

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Discussion

Kleinfeld

Original Poster:

45 posts

100 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
I've been learning for about 3 months now, have done my Direct Access CBT, theory and had my manoeuvres test last week on a 600cc Kawasaki...think it was ER6?
Anyway it was a horrible rainy day...things were going well until the U turn, I put my foot down despite having done it perfectly 10 times in a row when I was practising beforehand. I got so angry with myself, assuming it was a fail.

I went to do the emergency stop, went through the cones a bit fast at 40mph and just grabbed the front brake - totally forgetting everything I'd learnt. The wheel locked, and the rest is a bit of a blur; next thing I know I was sliding along the tarmac for about 20m on my side. I had all the kevlar and textile gear on, so apart from a few bruises, scratches and shredded bootlaces I was fine; although shaken up and really angry with myself. My instructors bike was fine too, had one of those cages round it :-p

Anyway, I haven't been on a bike since, though it is mainly down to costs (another £75 in total to do the test again) and the dreadful weather. I'm figuring there is no rush since if I passed I wouldn't be going out on the bike until the Summer anyway.

I'm just looking for some tips and advice for when I get back into it; being on the bike is fine but I do have a fear of doing the emergency stop again and it going tits up :-p . I've been told that it is better to make a mistake like that on your test than on the road and go into a lorry or something; can't argue with that to be honest!

The bike sitting waiting in my garage is a Suzuki GSXF 600, with those big fairings on it the last thing I'd want to do is go sliding down the road on it and shred them :-p

lindrup119

1,228 posts

142 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
Only thing I could suggest would be to get back on as soon as possible and find a quiet road not far from your house (private road preferably) to practice both things. I assume you know about looking where you want to go for the U-turn etc and procedure for the emergency brake so it's really just a case of practice makes perfect I think.

Surprised you managed to bin the bike though, would have thought it had ABS but I guess if you gave it a massive yank without the rear on then it's inevitable.

CaptainSlow

13,179 posts

211 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
I hated the U-turn. I only ever managed to complete it a handful of time. Even on my test day I couldn't do it properly beforehand, luckily I pulled it off when it mattered.

Kleinfeld

Original Poster:

45 posts

100 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
lindrup119 said:
Only thing I could suggest would be to get back on as soon as possible and find a quiet road not far from your house (private road preferably) to practice both things. I assume you know about looking where you want to go for the U-turn etc and procedure for the emergency brake so it's really just a case of practice makes perfect I think.

Surprised you managed to bin the bike though, would have thought it had ABS but I guess if you gave it a massive yank without the rear on then it's inevitable.
Usually during lessons I would always be slightly under the required 50kph for the emergency stop, so during the test I overcompensated. That, and the fact I was furious about messing up on the U turn so lost the head. I'm not even sure if putting your foot down is an automatic fail anyway.

trickywoo

11,706 posts

229 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
With regard to the emergency stop and anything on a bike really the smoother you are the less likely anything will go wrong.

Once you have applied some initial brake and felt the weight transfer you can then apply quite s lot of force without locking the tyre - in a straight line at least.

Don't do anything aggressively while the bike settles into what you want it to do, be it brakes, throttle or cornering and you'll be fine.

black-k1

11,889 posts

228 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
Not the best thing to do on a test but I’m glad to hear you’re all right.

While I fully understand that it’s easy to say and very hard to do, what you need to do is relax and look where you want to go, not at the tarmac 10ft in front of you.

When you get back on a bike and start doing U-turns again, concentrate on looking through the turn to where you want to go. You need to almost swivel your head through 180 degrees then “unwind” it as the bike turns. (I know that’s not physically possible but I assume you know what I mean.)

Don’t do an emergency stop for a while. Instead, practice some “normal stops” from a slightly slower speed and over a longer distance, Work on bringing the stopping distance down and the bike speed up a little bit at a time until you’re doing a normal stop from the speed and within the distance required by the test for the emergency stop. You then don’t need to actually do the emergency stop! wink

RizzoTheRat

25,085 posts

191 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
Do you know anyone with an offroader? I did a short session with Simon Pavey at the BMF some years back and he had us locking the front and holding it as long as we could before releasing to catch the bike (F650 GS on grass) before I dropped it. Amazing how much confidence you can get from learning just how far you can push it.

Same with low speed stuff, loads of people hate it and therefore don't practice it. find an empty car park and spend 10 minutes doing some slow riding and it's amazing how your confidence will improve.

lindrup119

1,228 posts

142 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
Kleinfeld said:
lindrup119 said:
Only thing I could suggest would be to get back on as soon as possible and find a quiet road not far from your house (private road preferably) to practice both things. I assume you know about looking where you want to go for the U-turn etc and procedure for the emergency brake so it's really just a case of practice makes perfect I think.

Surprised you managed to bin the bike though, would have thought it had ABS but I guess if you gave it a massive yank without the rear on then it's inevitable.
Usually during lessons I would always be slightly under the required 50kph for the emergency stop, so during the test I overcompensated. That, and the fact I was furious about messing up on the U turn so lost the head. I'm not even sure if putting your foot down is an automatic fail anyway.
Pretty sure it's mostly a fail - not sure it's automatic though. Best not to find out the hard way!

Prof Prolapse

16,160 posts

189 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
Just repeat the exercise until it becomes second nature.

Your failure wasn't because of your braking, it was your panic, and it's difficult to panic at something you've done hundreds of times.

You'll do fine. Just don't hand up your textiles just yet.



Davel

8,982 posts

257 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
I dreaded the U-turn and almost messed it up because of terminal fixation and the kerb.

Keep practising and don't give up because, once you've passed you'll really enjoy the bike.

Bikes are more capable that you think in the wet so just remember to use both brakes to stop and have trust in the bike.

We've all done stupid things and you learn from experience.

Just chill and enjoy it - there's plenty of time - and be ready for the Spring!

Good luck...

I should add that I dropped my bike doing a U-turn a couple of days before my test. All was fine though on test day.

Edited by Davel on Monday 30th November 16:54

Iang84

962 posts

165 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
At least you made it to the test before crashing, I did it on my road part of the CBT rushing a right hand turn I dumped the clutch raced across the road and bashed the pavement coming off and then had 4 oiks in a fiesta pissing themselves with laughter as they pulled out from the turning behind me the instructor saw me come off in his mirror came back asked if me and the bike were fine and then told me that if I didn't feel like riding back that he hoped I felt fit enough to push the bike back the to base, needless to say I got back on the bike and rode it

Reardy Mister

13,757 posts

221 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
Get a trail bike and a field and practice the basic skills. There is no substitute for it. You need to take the mystery out of what happens when you cock up or take liberties with the bike. Practising off road will mean the road will hold very few surprises and you can concentrate on passing the test, not riding the bike.

Also, don't ride angry.


Steve Bass

10,186 posts

232 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
Reardy Mister said:
Get a trail bike and a field and practice the basic skills. There is no substitute for it.
100%^^^^^

Since I got a trials bike, every junction or traffic light is a foot up exercise. pisses me off if I have to take a dab smile

The real key to slow speed stuff is clutch and rear brake control. Practice these and you'll be fine

NDNDNDND

2,001 posts

182 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
Everyone finds the U-turn tricky! For me, the breakthrough came when I started to weight the outside foot peg. When you trail the footbrake to control your speed, you might find you put more weight on the inside of the bike, making it feel like it's falling inwards. When I started pushing down on the left hand peg, I suddenly found the bike felt a lot more stable when turning.

My other tip for the U-turn would be getting as much of the turn done as soon as possible. So many times I cautiously turned the handlebars, worried about upsetting the bike, and then find I'd run out of road! As soon as you're rolling from the kerb, give the bars a good wrench round and properly get the bike turning (remembering to keep your chin up and your head pointing where you want to go) and try to get the bike more than halfway turned before you're at the centre of the road - that'll make the last bit of the turn much easier as you'll be able to turn more gently to complete the U-turn.

Words aren't the same as practice but hopefully that'll help you a little!

moanthebairns

17,918 posts

197 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
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.

DragsterRR

367 posts

106 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
There were three of us on the "Pre-Test" lesson the day I did my test.
10 minutes beforehand we were practising emergency stops.
One of the other lads grabs way too much front brake and bins the bike.
And it was he who had the first test in 10 minutes time.

We fixed his bike up (with duct tape mainly) and cleaned him up a bit (the blood running down his leg wasn't THAT noticable)
He turned up for his test like that.
We were waiting about 75 yards away when he came out of the test centre with the examiner and proceeded to try and kickstart the bike with the kill switch on. (Actually kick, I'm that old).
5 minutes of desperate kicking later, you could smell the petrol where we were stood, the examiner gets on the bike and started it for him.

You can guess the outcome of his test.

So all told, yours wasn't that bad. smile

Hooli

32,278 posts

199 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
Kleinfeld said:
I've been learning for about 3 months now, have done my Direct Access CBT, theory and had my manoeuvres test last week on a 600cc Kawasaki...think it was ER6?
Anyway it was a horrible rainy day...things were going well until the U turn, I put my foot down despite having done it perfectly 10 times in a row when I was practising beforehand. I got so angry with myself, assuming it was a fail.

I went to do the emergency stop, went through the cones a bit fast at 40mph and just grabbed the front brake - totally forgetting everything I'd learnt. The wheel locked, and the rest is a bit of a blur; next thing I know I was sliding along the tarmac for about 20m on my side. I had all the kevlar and textile gear on, so apart from a few bruises, scratches and shredded bootlaces I was fine; although shaken up and really angry with myself. My instructors bike was fine too, had one of those cages round it :-p

Anyway, I haven't been on a bike since, though it is mainly down to costs (another £75 in total to do the test again) and the dreadful weather. I'm figuring there is no rush since if I passed I wouldn't be going out on the bike until the Summer anyway.

I'm just looking for some tips and advice for when I get back into it; being on the bike is fine but I do have a fear of doing the emergency stop again and it going tits up :-p . I've been told that it is better to make a mistake like that on your test than on the road and go into a lorry or something; can't argue with that to be honest!

The bike sitting waiting in my garage is a Suzuki GSXF 600, with those big fairings on it the last thing I'd want to do is go sliding down the road on it and shred them :-p
You plonker! At least you what falling off is like now.

Rosun

141 posts

151 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
What NDNDND says.
Try counter steering by pushing your right hand forward. This moves your COG more to the left allowing more peg pressure on that side.

Kleinfeld

Original Poster:

45 posts

100 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
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.
Notes
"if you dont do anything, you'll never make mistake's"

;-)

moanthebairns

17,918 posts

197 months

Monday 30th November 2015
quotequote all
Kleinfeld 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.
Notes
"if you dont do anything, you'll never make mistake's"

;-)
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.