Discussion
teddosan said:
You got failed on figure of 8 being too wide? Blimey... I thought you could take it as wide as you like? ??
That sucks. I was told by my instructor to go as wide as i liked.
The examiner stopped me after 4 circuits, and told me not to take the mick and to do it smaller, which i did.
Shame they didn’t ask you to.
Keep at it.
20 years ago I learnt to ride on a 750 in Kuala Lumpur, after a year or so on the bike I went to Bristol to do Direct Access, instructor had lived in Kl and told me not to worry, if I'd lived for a year on the 750 in S E Asia it would a a dawdle, the D A test ride on real roads was a breeze, but I struggled like hell on the Cbt, I'd never been on a 125, I scrapped through and instructor was very dubious about me going out on the road. I pusuaded him to let me ride the Cbt course on the 500 and it was easy.
Just keep at it, it's all a little contrived, and good luck
Just keep at it, it's all a little contrived, and good luck
Ah, MOD 1. I remember having to take a day off work, hiring a van and bike (a piss poor shagged ER-5) for the day, loading it all up having never done it before, driving for an hour to my 'local' test centre. Unloading the bike myself for the first time, getting told off for leaving it to tick over on choke before I started.
I dabbed my foot down in the figure of 8, no idea why, FAIL. I cannot recall doing a figure of 8 to this day.....
I thought about giving it up, as it was quite the hassle and expense plus the bloody stress. I did it again and passed, when I sat MOD 2 I wondered wtf all the fuss was about, probably one of the easiest test's I've ever sat.
It cost me a good few hundred pound to sit a pointless f
king test that would have been better spent on advanced riding after I passed. Not that I'm bitter and would like to see it scrapped.
I dabbed my foot down in the figure of 8, no idea why, FAIL. I cannot recall doing a figure of 8 to this day.....
I thought about giving it up, as it was quite the hassle and expense plus the bloody stress. I did it again and passed, when I sat MOD 2 I wondered wtf all the fuss was about, probably one of the easiest test's I've ever sat.
It cost me a good few hundred pound to sit a pointless f
king test that would have been better spent on advanced riding after I passed. Not that I'm bitter and would like to see it scrapped. MOD 1 is a killer - I failed my first attempt, test centre is on the coast (high winds) and as soon as I started I got buffeted and hit a cone (still, could have been a child etc...). So failed (I think I did something else wrong). Build up for my second attempt - cancelled a few days before due to striking. Build up for third attempt...cancelled a few days before due to 'too much moss on the surface' I kid you not.
Much more nervous on next attempt and put a foot down on uturn (instant fail). I was pretty relaxed after that so aced the rest...and to my amazement he passed me and made no reference to the foot down. My instruction was amazed as he saw it happened and assumed I'd failed.
Stick with it though, the MOD 2 is a piece of cake in comparison.
And if you think you are having a bad day...the previous week at the test centre a girl was finished her mod 1, waited for the large 6ft gates to open, somehow dumped the throttle and the bike flew up the gate, bent the metal gates, smashed the bike up, now that is a bad test day!
Much more nervous on next attempt and put a foot down on uturn (instant fail). I was pretty relaxed after that so aced the rest...and to my amazement he passed me and made no reference to the foot down. My instruction was amazed as he saw it happened and assumed I'd failed.
Stick with it though, the MOD 2 is a piece of cake in comparison.
And if you think you are having a bad day...the previous week at the test centre a girl was finished her mod 1, waited for the large 6ft gates to open, somehow dumped the throttle and the bike flew up the gate, bent the metal gates, smashed the bike up, now that is a bad test day!
ozzuk said:
And if you think you are having a bad day...the previous week at the test centre a girl was finished her mod 1, waited for the large 6ft gates to open, somehow dumped the throttle and the bike flew up the gate, bent the metal gates, smashed the bike up, now that is a bad test day!
Same story from the centre I did - a young lad had nailed a perfect pass up to that point, just waiting for the gate to be opened and got confused/excited/fatigued and dropped the clutch - queue him fking off with the bike and smashing into a wall, broken leg, ruined bike.I passed MOD1 and 2 first time. A rider I knew intorduced me to his friends, whose bikes included GSXR's, Haybusa, ZX6r and MV Augusta F4. All of them had been riding for a few years, all of them took the test multiple times, its not uncommon.
My only advice would be to relax. I honestly didn't give a monkeys if I failed (in the knowledge I can do it again and was not desperate) so I didn't feel nervous at all. But you really have to not give a monkeys, not a pretend one.
My only advice would be to relax. I honestly didn't give a monkeys if I failed (in the knowledge I can do it again and was not desperate) so I didn't feel nervous at all. But you really have to not give a monkeys, not a pretend one.
Edited by Harji on Wednesday 8th January 10:54
Edited by Harji on Wednesday 8th January 10:58
I'd never pass a test now, and I've been riding 40 years! 
Go round the block, if you came back, you'd passed. Had to do an emergency stop but the instructors we so terrified of the lack of skill of the riders that they'd step out about half a mile away. You had to accelerate up to them to do the stop so they could see it.
Then straight out to by a Honda CBX! God knows how I'm still here. Although plenty of my contempories never made it out of their teens.
Go round the block, if you came back, you'd passed. Had to do an emergency stop but the instructors we so terrified of the lack of skill of the riders that they'd step out about half a mile away. You had to accelerate up to them to do the stop so they could see it.
Then straight out to by a Honda CBX! God knows how I'm still here. Although plenty of my contempories never made it out of their teens.
Hard luck OP,
I was also under the impression you could take the figure of eight wide, as long as it was smooth and you didn't put a foot down (this is going back 6 years mind).
If it helps I failed MOD1 first time for being 1mph out on the speed trap.
As many have said stay relaxed and enjoy it for what it is and what you will gain from it.
I was also under the impression you could take the figure of eight wide, as long as it was smooth and you didn't put a foot down (this is going back 6 years mind).
If it helps I failed MOD1 first time for being 1mph out on the speed trap.
As many have said stay relaxed and enjoy it for what it is and what you will gain from it.
Don't let it get you down. It's just a daft little thing. As others have said I've never ever done a figure of 8 on the road.
The guy who taught me, his training place had cones for the 8. But also Futher out had a few spray paint marks on the floor to mimic the figure of 8 area at our local test center. Infact everything was set out exactly like the local test center
But keep bashing at it
The guy who taught me, his training place had cones for the 8. But also Futher out had a few spray paint marks on the floor to mimic the figure of 8 area at our local test center. Infact everything was set out exactly like the local test center
But keep bashing at it
When I was instructing, and sending pupils to test at Mitcham or Erith, there was no maximum figure of 8, albeit they would say something if you took the piss. The point of the exercise is after all to ensure you have sufficient clutch and slow control to pull out of junctions without going into oncoming traffic.
As others have said, very surprising the Fig 8 was a fail. I was also told to go wide so at the very worst perhaps it should have been a minor.
Just a shame about the most recent attempt but sounds like you have no problem with your riding and these are very easy things to practise or just mistakes that won't be made on the next attempt.
Good luck
keep us posted
Just a shame about the most recent attempt but sounds like you have no problem with your riding and these are very easy things to practise or just mistakes that won't be made on the next attempt.
Good luck
keep us postedTwigtheWonderkid said:
I'd never pass a test now, and I've been riding 40 years!
Go round the block, if you came back, you'd passed. Had to do an emergency stop but the instructors we so terrified of the lack of skill of the riders that they'd step out about half a mile away. You had to accelerate up to them to do the stop so they could see it.
Then straight out to by a Honda CBX! God knows how I'm still here. Although plenty of my contempories never made it out of their teens.
I'd struggle with the test now, too. I took mine in the first or second year of CBT but the examiner for the test proper was still a bloke with a clipboard standing on the pavement. Test centre was at the top of a hill, you had to go down to the bottom, which involved negotiating a double offset mini roundabout, round a large roundabout and back up, then turn left into a cul de sac where he did the emergency stop test. I felt the back lock up so let off a little and stopped between his legs which made his eyes widen a bit. I'd been a despatcher in London for most of the previous year so I had to curb my usual habits for an hour, really!Go round the block, if you came back, you'd passed. Had to do an emergency stop but the instructors we so terrified of the lack of skill of the riders that they'd step out about half a mile away. You had to accelerate up to them to do the stop so they could see it.
Then straight out to by a Honda CBX! God knows how I'm still here. Although plenty of my contempories never made it out of their teens.
OP, easy enough to practice the 8s. Find something to mark out your local empty car park and go round and round until it's second nature.
As others have said it is surprising they failed you on that. I was told to use as much space as needed and did just this, going quite a bit wider than I needed just to set myself up ok, and received a 'minor' and passed. This was 2 years ago so they may have tightened up since then or it may just have been an examiner who was a bit keener.
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