Opinions on Mod 1 and 2 please.

Opinions on Mod 1 and 2 please.

Author
Discussion

Morrisboy

Original Poster:

68 posts

139 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
I have complete my CBT and passed the theory test (50/50 and 61/75, happy with that!) so it's on to Mod 1 and 2.
Just looking for any opinions on whether to do it as a block or a day a week (or variation of this).

Matt_Zeus

152 posts

95 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
I did a 3-day DAS. Training on Saturday, Training and Mod1 on Monday, Training and Mod2 on the Monday after.
Passed Both first time, only had 1 minor on the Mod2.
I had been riding a 125 for a year after CBT.
If you're confident in your riding then I would say do it in a block, the instructor is there to help you.

Harji

2,196 posts

160 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
You'll do a lot of riding for MOD1 and 2, so after a while it will all be about practice for the tests so block book them if you can.

Nath911t

583 posts

196 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
The only advice I can chip in with is don't book Mod 2 until you pass Mod 1, unless you know you'll breeze it. The DAS 3/5/7 day courses are fine but from memory if you failed M1 then you can't go ahead with M2 and likely to lose the test fee, which for M2 is quite a bit. I'm also sure there's a few days grace before been able to do M1 again. Just saying ....

kurt535

3,559 posts

116 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
Nath911t said:
The only advice I can chip in with is don't book Mod 2 until you pass Mod 1, unless you know you'll breeze it. The DAS 3/5/7 day courses are fine but from memory if you failed M1 then you can't go ahead with M2 and likely to lose the test fee, which for M2 is quite a bit. I'm also sure there's a few days grace before been able to do M1 again. Just saying ....
+1. Ex-school owner here. Pass Mod 1 first then book Mod 2. Some schools will push for a course with both included; don't agree to booking it.

Experience showed people needed a decent two days to be confident of passing Mod 1. It helps if your chosen school books time on the actual assessment pad at weekends, a facility that may still be on offer from the DVSA (I left business 2 years ago).

Mod 2 can take up to 3 days for a newbie to be test ready but would i would stress is nearly every biker doesn't see the need for post-test training so it will probably be the last bike-centred rider training you will ever receive. So, if it takes 4 day's training, don't sweat it!

Also, watch out for schools selling 'session trg'; its a far more expensive way to get training and is actually limited in the hours you actually receive....


HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
I did a 5-day package (which included CBT, Mod1 & Mod2). Only when Mod1 was passed did we book Mod2. I assumed the tests were in order of difficulty so expected Mod2 would be easier to fail but it is in fact rather easy to fail Mod1 and you would then basically forfeit your test fee, a day's instruction and a day's bike hire for the Mod2 day and end up paying for it all again.

Morrisboy

Original Poster:

68 posts

139 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
All good advice, many thanks.
I'll split the Tests to avoid the potential for losing the Mod 2 fee.

Matt_Zeus

152 posts

95 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
If you do book both you need to book them at least 3 days apart.
You can cancel Mod2 without losing the fee as long as you give 3 days notice.

If you fail Mod1 you have to wait 3 days before re-taking it.
If you fail Mod2 you have to wait 10 days before re-taking it.

Killboy

7,159 posts

201 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
I did 3 days DAS, then Mod 1 & Mod 2 the same day. Wasn't going to wait around.

LFB531

1,233 posts

157 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
Everyone will have had a different adventure getting through;

I made a stupid mistake on Mod 1 and failed. Booked another 2 x 3 hr training sessions, then went back and passed Mod 1, had a cuppa then passed Mod 2 all in the space of 90 minutes.

Was prepared to take the risk on the Mod 2 test fee for the second attempt as impatience set in!

MDUBZ

833 posts

99 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
People develop at different rates and the amount of instruction and time required will vary - There's not a lot of info on age or experience etc to go by from in your OP or on your profile - I assume you are doing a Direct Access course and will jump straight to a large bike?

my experience:

I booked a 6 session Direct Access course which included CBT, Mod 1 and Mod 2 (I'd never ridden before). It was over the space of 4/5 weeks. After session 5 I booked an additional 7th session ~2 days before the Mod 2 to give myself a bit more road experience and time to make the controls bit more ingrained and feel less alien than leaving 7 days before the last session and the Mod 2: this worked perfectly for me. I didn't want to do it over an intensive week because I didn't want to take a week off work, I didn't know if i'd be any good at it and I wanted to allow time to get additional sessions booked if i needed it.

however with the benefit of hindsight, hmmm, there wasn't a lot of room for error but i'd probably take this option again... If you already have experience on a bike and or feel confident do it faster however if you feel you want to progress at your own pace you might want to book a couple of sessions, see how you get on and then book the mod 1, pass and then work towards the Mod 2 in the same way.. Don't look at cost saving, if you rush it and don't progress it will cost you more in the long run and good quality coaching time can only be a good thing.

I hated the 125 and mid way through the 2nd session I was worried i'd wasted my money on the course. I was hooked after 5 mins on the 600 however. I was going to get a 125 to ride between sessions to get more accustomed with the controls and get some experience prior to the test and then sell it on - I was told by the instructors not to bother as it would hold me back..

I have 20 years or driving experience (most of it spirited), and i've lived around the same area during that time so I felt fairly comfortable with road positioning etc which I'm sure helped - some bad habits have crept in over that time too: not leaving the full 2 seconds stopping distance for one: 1 instructor took real exception to it even though I had more than enough room and visibility to stop in. He was training me to get me through the test, so fine. Because driving a car is now 2nd nature, I found that the mirror, signal, manoeuvre (speed, gear changes etc) took much longer on a bike because using the controls required conscious effort

I think I could have done it in the 6 sessions but for the other person on the same course held back my development.
- 1 session finished early as she dropped the bike 6 times (i had to keep riding up the road to pick it up off her).
- having decided she wouldn't do the Mod 1 as she wasn't ready - got lost on the way to the test centre so i had to wait at the side of the road for 10 minutes while the instructor went off to find her - this was about 30 mins before the start of my test!!!!
- her road positioning and speed (lack there of) put me into a couple of dangerous situations which i never would have found myself in if i had been riding on my own.

Tips:
Look for recommendations on a good school in your area - The school I used had a great rep but not all instructors are equal - I had 4 in total, all very different in their style and approach, all good but some worked better for me than others.

Give yourself lots of 'thinking time' on the road - allow more time on unfamiliar roads as you have to process much more information while you're still consciously working through things like lifesaver checks and using unfamiliar controls, gear changes etc.

Get in the habit of hitting the indicator cancel button after making a turn.. The bloody things don't cancel like they do in a car! (one of mine is BMW and they are not fitted as standard so using them at all was a novelty wink )

Ride for yourself not others - Do what you need to do to learn and be safe: as per above my associate learner rode inconsistently and created dangerous situations for me e.g As the lead bike she 'accelerated' on an entry slip road to a grand speed of 40mph to merge into traffic doing 70+ : the instructor encouraged her to speed up several times, but in the end we both thought fk this and left her to it (he went left, i went right).

most importantly, enjoy it - it's great fun!

oh and be careful what you promise - in order to get a motorbike I agreed to having a 3rd baby - A deal I didn't think i would have to keep: I st you not the day I passed my test and put a deposit down on a bike, I had a stick with 2 lines waiting for me at home!!!

Morrisboy

Original Poster:

68 posts

139 months

Thursday 27th July 2017
quotequote all
Good information MDUBZ.
I will not pay the same price as you, I'm 63 and wifey is 65! We are not considering kids...

Yes, DAS and looking at Triumph Street Twin. This is to make up for years of regretting not doing my test when the learner limit went from 250cc to 125cc. I stupidly decided not to keep my bike (Suzuki TS250) and gave up. Now I'm approaching retirement it seemed an ideal time to make up for lost time.
Experience? Driving since I was 17, no accidents or convictions. I'm a hot rodder and have driven some "different" stuff, last rod was 500+ bhp so power does not bother me.

Thanks for all the very helpful comments and advice, all useful.

MDUBZ

833 posts

99 months

Thursday 27th July 2017
quotequote all
blimey man, what you waiting for... get it done!!!! still worth finding a decent school, never to young to learn something new - I discovered a minimum speed limit sign in the theory test - can't say i've ever noticed one or been anywhere close to falling foul of it's instruction so completely irrelevant smile


Charlie Chaplin was still hitting the mark in his 80s wink

NITO

1,077 posts

205 months

Thursday 27th July 2017
quotequote all
Why is everyone talkig about mod 1 & 2? I thought at over 24 years old it's just a case of cbt, theory and then the practical test??

sooty61

686 posts

170 months

Thursday 27th July 2017
quotequote all
NITO said:
Why is everyone talkig about mod 1 & 2? I thought at over 24 years old it's just a case of cbt, theory and then the practical test??
No, you need to do Mod 1 &2. I too am approaching retirement and did mine last year and loving it. You should breeze it having ridden before.

Scobblelotcher

1,724 posts

111 months

Thursday 27th July 2017
quotequote all
I went from never having sat on a bike to doing both tests on the Friday of the week.

So I did;
Sunday; CBT
Monday-Thurs; Mod1+2 training
Friday morning Mod1+2 tests

I passed both but it was a bit hit and miss for me. I found the week difficult and I think if I'd of done the test 10 times I may of passed 6 or 7 times. I'm not sure if I'd recommend doing what I did as someone who had never been on a bike before the Sunday. I think this would be doable if someone had some level of riding experience before the week.




NITO

1,077 posts

205 months

Thursday 27th July 2017
quotequote all
sooty61 said:
No, you need to do Mod 1 &2..
Thanks, just re read the gov flowchart and note that it says take two part practical test. I assumed they would be done together as the mod 1 is just a 20 minute figure of 8 and basic maneouvres just like the cbt, but obviously on a bigger bike, ok, makes sense now, cheers.

Kickstart

1,061 posts

236 months

Friday 28th July 2017
quotequote all
Sounds a complicated business
Back in 1987 did my test in Weybridge with the examiner standing on pavement as I rode past twice and then did emergency stop...
I felt hard done by as my older brother could ride a 250 whereas when I learnt you were limited to a 125

PraiseKek

5 posts

80 months

Friday 28th July 2017
quotequote all
This is what I hate about getting the bike license... with the car test, you can do an hour's lesson, and keep doing that until you feel confident enough to pass. With bike license, its an intensive course with a st ton of money on the line and it can be overwhelming.

Harji

2,196 posts

160 months

Friday 28th July 2017
quotequote all
PraiseKek said:
This is what I hate about getting the bike license... with the car test, you can do an hour's lesson, and keep doing that until you feel confident enough to pass. With bike license, its an intensive course with a st ton of money on the line and it can be overwhelming.
It isn't overwhelming, I passed first time having never sat on a bike before, two lessons for MOD1 , two for mod 2. With Motorcycle training, it's more intensive, but there are reasons for that are obvious and if you have to ask why then maybe it isn't for you.

Also, for the money, you get a bike, fuel, an instructor, jacket , gloves, helmet (if you wish) and the lessons are usually for the whole day rather than the hour.

My piece of advice on doing it , relax, it'll all fall into place.