Bike Test - Hints and tips?
Discussion
I've got my bike test this Thursday with my Direct Access course starting tomorrow. Passed the CBT without too much bother, though it was pointed out clutch control pulling out of junctions could do with some work. Had a go on the 500 yesterday, found it easier to ride and control than the 125, with my clutch control improving. I know what the problem is, my mind keeps telling me not to slip the clutch as that's what i was taught when driving a car. However i know it's the best way to control the bike at low speeds, so has to be done. So other than working on that for the next couple of days, any other stuff i should be concentrating on, and any "insider secrets" that might help me learn and hopefully pass first time? Any tips that might help me along a bit?
Cheers
Cheers
The biggest peice of advice I could offer as a new rider is THE BIKE WILL GO WHERE YOU ARE LOOKING.
Simple as that. Sounds daft, but if you look 10 feet in front of you in a bend, you'll wobble round fairly upright thinking you are leaning over a lot. If you look far round the bend (to the exit point if possible) the bike just kind of goes there and you don;t notice how far over you are leaning. Sounds wierd, but I think true.
Exactly the same with the U-Turn that EVERYONE seems to dread. I was the same. Look right back over your shoulder down the road, not at the curb opposite. I truely believe this is the biggest stumbling block - certainly was for me, looking back. When I looked down the road, I did the turn, when I didn't I went up the curb or ended up at right angles to it pulling my hair out. The other thing I found for the U-turn when getting better was, slow in, fast out. I.e. if you get half way round, don't wobble the rest, look down the road and let the cluth out a little more to pull you out of the turn.
And relax as much as possible.
Other than that, good luck.
Simple as that. Sounds daft, but if you look 10 feet in front of you in a bend, you'll wobble round fairly upright thinking you are leaning over a lot. If you look far round the bend (to the exit point if possible) the bike just kind of goes there and you don;t notice how far over you are leaning. Sounds wierd, but I think true.
Exactly the same with the U-Turn that EVERYONE seems to dread. I was the same. Look right back over your shoulder down the road, not at the curb opposite. I truely believe this is the biggest stumbling block - certainly was for me, looking back. When I looked down the road, I did the turn, when I didn't I went up the curb or ended up at right angles to it pulling my hair out. The other thing I found for the U-turn when getting better was, slow in, fast out. I.e. if you get half way round, don't wobble the rest, look down the road and let the cluth out a little more to pull you out of the turn.
And relax as much as possible.
Other than that, good luck.
A couple of things to make the U-turn easier.I'm an instructor and here's a couple of things that may help.Think of how many junctions you done on your CBT ok.Now physically think of the angle you move off when you turn right from standstill at a junction.When you reach the left side of the road just keep the bars turned to the right instead of straightening them,that's basically a U-turn if you think about it!Another good one for doing a U-turn used by an advanced instructor i know is when you move off,after a bike length pretend you do what you would do when your going to fart on a hard plastic seat,lift one of your arse cheeks,the right arse cheek ofcourse to turn right in your U-turn.This automatically puts your body posture in the correct position for counter-balancing your weight during the Turn,Just have a Vindaloo the night before the test and you'll fart like a trooper naturally(not too close to the examiner obviously,they don't like that!
Just drive the bike,and once the bars are turned,keep them turned!Oh,and get all thoughts of the front brake out of your head during the turn!
Just drive the bike,and once the bars are turned,keep them turned!Oh,and get all thoughts of the front brake out of your head during the turn!rumpelstiltskin said:
Another good one for doing a U-turn used by an advanced instructor i know is when you move off,after a bike length pretend you do what you would do when your going to fart on a hard plastic seat,lift one of your arse cheeks,the right arse cheek ofcourse to turn right in your U-turn.This automatically puts your body posture in the correct position for counter-balancing your weight during the Turn,
Worked for me but must admit he left out the curry bit!
Passed a couple of weeks ago and loving it!
Best of luck and remember the mirrors and life savers. You'll be fine confidence is everything.
virgil said:
lots of useful stuff
i'm finally figuring that bit out, spent too much time looking at the ground in front of me, once i learned to look ahead i found it a lot easier to turn without worrying about falling off!rumpelstiltskin said:
Some useful, yet rather strange, stuff
I'll rememeber that one, i'm not too bad on u-turns once i've done a couple, its just the first one of the day i tend to make an arse of, after that i don't find them too difficult.One of my big worries was falling off, partly down to being chucked off my dads bike twice in the past (admittidly at low speeds, so no damage), it knocked his confidence and mine. However i think i'm just about past that stage now i'm getting a bit of confidence and i'm trying not to doubt my ability to stay upright and not staring at the sky with the bike on top of me!!
Thanks for the advice and good lucks, hopefully it'll go well and i'll be joining the biking fraternity in the very near future!!
Observations are very important, don't forget your lifesavers!! Don't worry too much, I thought that I had messed up a few times but ended up with 2 minors 
If you feel you make a mistake, deep breath and carry on. Also listen to your instructor, he should really know what the examiner at your local testing centre is looking for in particular (in my case speed and mirrors). Oh, and good luck
If you feel you make a mistake, deep breath and carry on. Also listen to your instructor, he should really know what the examiner at your local testing centre is looking for in particular (in my case speed and mirrors). Oh, and good luck Here's my two-penney worth (literally).
U turns are all about balance - not so much the bike, but balancing throttle, clutch and rear brake.
You know the way the throttle cables etc tend to pull tight against the headstock when the bars are on full lock? (Hopefully not too tight!) Well, get your 2p coin, turn the bars to full lock and put the coin between the cables and the headstock. Now pull away and keep going round in circles without dropping the coin!
Once you've nailed this exercise, the standard U turn is a doddle.
BTW - I take no responsibility if you drop the bike trying the above.
Dave
U turns are all about balance - not so much the bike, but balancing throttle, clutch and rear brake.
You know the way the throttle cables etc tend to pull tight against the headstock when the bars are on full lock? (Hopefully not too tight!) Well, get your 2p coin, turn the bars to full lock and put the coin between the cables and the headstock. Now pull away and keep going round in circles without dropping the coin!
Once you've nailed this exercise, the standard U turn is a doddle.
BTW - I take no responsibility if you drop the bike trying the above.
Dave
Two areas about your test...
1) Yes... U-turns... I messed mine up every lesson, I always tried to guage it so I'd take the longest widest easiest route, but by the time i was halfway across the road, I wouldnt be halfway through the u-turn (ie, not at 90 deg when on the white line) id then try to over compensate by turning tighter and invariably run out of momentum/concentration/balance and dab a foot. On my test I mentally set myself the challenge to do a u-turn in half of the road ... impossible, but it made me start my turn tighter than usual, and left me a nice easy finish to the turn.
2) Observations... It dont take 2 mins for an examiner to see that you can ride a bike or not, the test is very much about will you ride it safely or not. It's all about repeatedly showing that you will look at the right places and do life savers at the right times. Do all you were told in yuor CBT and you'll be fine.
Then pass your test and never do a U-turn ever again The correct procedure is... feet dragging on tarmac ride forward and turn 90 degrees, brake hard so the front shocks load up, let off the break so the forks spring the bike backwards and reverse the bike to finish off facing the way you need. Sorted.
1) Yes... U-turns... I messed mine up every lesson, I always tried to guage it so I'd take the longest widest easiest route, but by the time i was halfway across the road, I wouldnt be halfway through the u-turn (ie, not at 90 deg when on the white line) id then try to over compensate by turning tighter and invariably run out of momentum/concentration/balance and dab a foot. On my test I mentally set myself the challenge to do a u-turn in half of the road ... impossible, but it made me start my turn tighter than usual, and left me a nice easy finish to the turn.
2) Observations... It dont take 2 mins for an examiner to see that you can ride a bike or not, the test is very much about will you ride it safely or not. It's all about repeatedly showing that you will look at the right places and do life savers at the right times. Do all you were told in yuor CBT and you'll be fine.
Then pass your test and never do a U-turn ever again The correct procedure is... feet dragging on tarmac ride forward and turn 90 degrees, brake hard so the front shocks load up, let off the break so the forks spring the bike backwards and reverse the bike to finish off facing the way you need. Sorted.
Here’s my tip and it worked for me, although you don’t have much time left. I went on the Internet the night before and typed ‘Eastbourne motorcycle test routes’ into Google. Came back with a list of about 6 routes. 3 were obviously not direct access because they had no dual carriageway. One was obsolete because a road in the route had since become one way. That left 2 choices. I drove them both twice and made mental notes of all the junctions, blind spots, possible emergency stop points, manhole covers, traffic lights and anything else I could think of. Come the following day on my test I felt relaxed knowing I had covered the routes the night before. Passed first time :-)
We've gone over most of the test routes in the past two days, and there's only so many places you can go in Aberdeen within the timeframe so i've a rough idea of where we'll be going, where the u-turn and emergency stop will be, and how the roads are laid out. That bit shouldn't be too difficult.
However, i HATE
ing U-TURNS!!!! Dropped the bike today doing one on what is possibly the widest bit of road possible (and not a place used for the test), that really knocked my confidence. Out of about 20 that i did today i managed 3 without putting my foot down. Everything else is fine, did a mock test and i got 4 minors, however i failed on the u-turn despite having 3 goes at it! At a bit of a loss as to how to fix the problem, only got tomorrow morning to fix it
However, i HATE
ing U-TURNS!!!! Dropped the bike today doing one on what is possibly the widest bit of road possible (and not a place used for the test), that really knocked my confidence. Out of about 20 that i did today i managed 3 without putting my foot down. Everything else is fine, did a mock test and i got 4 minors, however i failed on the u-turn despite having 3 goes at it! At a bit of a loss as to how to fix the problem, only got tomorrow morning to fix itMark,
Just keep your head up, and look down the road where you want to end up. Don't be staring at the kerb, the tarmac, or anytihng else other than a spot, I dunno, 20-50 yards down the road?
Keep the revs up to a constant level, and control the speed with the rear.
Do a few in the morning and you'll be fine mate.
Fingers crossed and good luck.
Cheers.
Just keep your head up, and look down the road where you want to end up. Don't be staring at the kerb, the tarmac, or anytihng else other than a spot, I dunno, 20-50 yards down the road?
Keep the revs up to a constant level, and control the speed with the rear.
Do a few in the morning and you'll be fine mate.
Fingers crossed and good luck.
Cheers.
- lifesaver..pull away from kerb...road position for u turn..last lifesaver...drag back brake...slip clutch...round you go...nice & gentle on the clutch, don`t race the engine...if you find you are toppling over & fear for a foot down....let out the clutch progressively as a last resort..it should pull you out of a terminal fall that will bugger the test...the other side is a U turn is that you have been too cautious & you run out of room...which will need to be identified mid turn as you will need to ensure the rest of the manauvere is completed using full lock...
best of luck...
One U-turn cheat is to pull the choke out a bit as it will make the bike idle higher and thus reduce the chance that you will make the engine chugg if you let the clutch out with too little gas.
I do agree with the slow in fast out method, turn the handlebars as far as you can, as it starts to tip over at about 90 degrees nail the throttle and even though the bike will sit up you still have plenty of room left.
Either that or practice it until you can do it text book. You will find that after you have been riding a while you can try out a u-turn and even though you haven't practised them in ages it will just work because your bike control will have improved since you did the test.
I do agree with the slow in fast out method, turn the handlebars as far as you can, as it starts to tip over at about 90 degrees nail the throttle and even though the bike will sit up you still have plenty of room left.
Either that or practice it until you can do it text book. You will find that after you have been riding a while you can try out a u-turn and even though you haven't practised them in ages it will just work because your bike control will have improved since you did the test.
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