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

[Kleinfeld]

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

[Kleinfeld]

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.

[Kleinfeld]

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"

;-)

[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

[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

[Kleinfeld]

sbird said:

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.

Thanks :-) ...and yeah the funny thing is that on my CBT I actually had to do an emergency stop for real at the traffic lights as they changed more quickly than I thought.

I found riding on the road so much easier and fun than all the maneuvers stuff...which is why I can't wait to get it out of the way.