Taking DAS training, but not enjoying it

[Ki3r]

cbmotorsport said:

Are you telling me that you religiously put in every life saver you were taught to do to pass your test? There are the obvious ones, exiting big roundabouts, changing lanes etc which are common sense, but a lot of the ones you were taught to do when learning (particularly the slow speed ones) are really made unnecessary with experience, and good observation.

Why wouldn't you? It takes seconds to do, surely its worth doing to make sure there isn't anything you aren't expecting.

[ambuletz]

Ki3r said:

Why wouldn't you? It takes seconds to do, surely its worth doing to make sure there isn't anything you aren't expecting.

of course you should always do it. but in some instances you know all the traffic around you (like if you was riding down a road that you know nobody is on).


maybe OP needs to get a 125 and ride around for a while? When i first did my CBT it as sensory overload compared to driving a car. the instructor wanted me to go faster down the road when I was only doing 20mph. when i first got my 125 i was nervous on the first few days to even filter, I was just keeping up with traffic. in no time i was being cheeky and testing out my limiter on an empty stretch of the A13 (before they had average speed cameras).

[Dgr90]

I didn't hate my DAS lessons, but there were definitely times where I didn't enjoy them. I felt like I was out of my depth, the bike felt like an absolute rocket ship. I couldn't believe they would trust learners on such a fast bike! (nc750... 50hp-ish?!?) In reality, its about as slow as 'big bikes' come but my brain just couldn't process it. My instructor was brilliant, he found us a junction onto a NSL road and told me to get up to speed quickly. That single moment changed my whole perception, as although it scared the pants off of me that first time, I realised that it wasn't actually fast. I relaxed on the bike, and flew through both MOD 1 and 2 no problems. Now have a CBR600F, and although it has 100ish hp it really feels quite tame.

Oh, and now I will take any excuse I can to get out on the bike. I love it. It just took a while to become 'normal' rather than scary.

[northwestrecovery]

I cant believe what i have just read ,did the loose women cast just write in ? don't forget your hi vis vests and tell an adult where you are going .What are those cakes with strawberries in called ? f**king TARTS ! HA HA

[kurt535]

cbmotorsport said:

kurt535 said:

Lifesavers are called that for good reason.

Genuinely surprised at some of the comments here.

Essentially, any significant change/move of your road position into a space where another truck/car/biker/pedestrian could be lurking in your blind spot is worth a look.

99% of the time there will be nothing. It's the 1% you're hedging against.

Are you telling me that you religiously put in every life saver you were taught to do to pass your test?

As a recent former school owner and qualified Instructor riding @ 30k miles a year, yes sir.

They have undoubtedly kept me sunny side up for this long so won't be changing anytime soon.

Each to their own but Im told being hit by an unexpected car//truck and ending up on the ground hurts quite bit.

[K8-600]

kurt535 said:

cbmotorsport said:

kurt535 said:

Lifesavers are called that for good reason.

Genuinely surprised at some of the comments here.

Essentially, any significant change/move of your road position into a space where another truck/car/biker/pedestrian could be lurking in your blind spot is worth a look.

99% of the time there will be nothing. It's the 1% you're hedging against.

Are you telling me that you religiously put in every life saver you were taught to do to pass your test?

As a recent former school owner and qualified Instructor riding @ 30k miles a year, yes sir.

They have undoubtedly kept me sunny side up for this long so won't be changing anytime soon.

Each to their own but Im told being hit by an unexpected car//truck and ending up on the ground hurts quite bit.

I always try to keep in my mind how vulnerable I am so lax riding isn't an option unless I want to have a bad accident at some point. I try to make sure I know what is around and still do the check. I know that if I hadn't of done the checks there have been a few occasions where bikes have seen my making progress (faster than surrounding cars) and decided to put a pass in and if I hadn't of checked we would of most likely had an accident.

For the sake of turning your head, why wouldn't you?

[Tonberry]

I taught myself to ride a geared motorcycle on the roads of Thailand. As you can imagine it was more than a little disconcerting initially but after the first 1000 KM or so and a few long out of town trips on the equivalent of A & B roads, all fear and aprehension left and it became very enjoyable.

Give it time, get some saddle time on your own and you should begin to feel more confident.

[essIII]

I did my Mod 2 3 weeks ago and have done about 300 miles since then (wish I'd had the time to do more) and I can totally understand where you're coming from.

It wasn't until the ride home from my Mod 2, where the instructor remained silent and I'd had a huge weight lifted from my shoulders, that I genuinely enjoyed an entire 60 minute ride.

I questioned more than once whether this was something I really wanted to do, but once the pressure of the test is out of the way and you're sat on your own bike, in your own gear you'll forget all those days on that floppy clutched CBF600. That's not to say it's easy after the test - st no, you're now entirely responsible for avoiding all those Zafiras intent on your destruction, but it's 100% more fun after the test! Stick with it!

[HustleRussell]

northwestrecovery said:

I cant believe what i have just read ,did the loose women cast just write in ? don't forget your hi vis vests and tell an adult where you are going .What are those cakes with strawberries in called ? f**king TARTS ! HA HA

A tart is a pastry
get it right.

[Piersman2]

joema said:

Stress of failure? You don't need the licence so don't worry, take the test as many times as you need.

It's a shame that schools can't loan out 125's for like a month or something so you can go out and ride and just get used to it in your own time.

This is pretty much what I did when I got into it back in the 90's before all the new license rules came in. I bought myself a cheap 125 and rode everywhere on it for 6 months on my car license, then decided to do the CBT to get rid of the 'L' plates, and then eventually the full license so I could get myself a Bandit.

Great way to see if it's for you AND get some real life experience under your belt before taking it up to proper bike. Jees that 600 Bandit felt like the starship enterprise when I first got it, but the need to be concentrating on stuff like positioning, clutches, brakes, gearchanges, etc... had all been dealt with on the 125. Didn't stop me having a couple of 'shhhhhiiiiitttttttt' moments on the bandit but each of those was due purely to the extra speed the bandit could get to... and lessons learnt from them.

[moanthebairns]

northwestrecovery said:

I cant believe what i have just read ,did the loose women cast just write in ? don't forget your hi vis vests and tell an adult where you are going .What are those cakes with strawberries in called ? f**king TARTS ! HA HA

Why is it I read this above statement and profile the user. He would describe himself as a "fast road rider" and pretty fking damn handy behind the bars, with his Clinton enterprise tat jumper he bought at the bsb thinking it's cool looking zipped up over his leathers.

When in actual fact he'd probably get his arse handed to him in inters on track, gleaming virgin knee sliders and pins it every straight whilst comfort braking the fk out of corners on the road.

[Gavia]

Piersman2 said:

This is pretty much what I did when I got into it back in the 90's before all the new license rules came in. I bought myself a cheap 125 and rode everywhere on it for 6 months on my car license, then decided to do the CBT to get rid of the 'L' plates, and then eventually the full license so I could get myself a Bandit.

Great way to see if it's for you AND get some real life experience under your belt before taking it up to proper bike. Jees that 600 Bandit felt like the starship enterprise when I first got it, but the need to be concentrating on stuff like positioning, clutches, brakes, gearchanges, etc... had all been dealt with on the 125. Didn't stop me having a couple of 'shhhhhiiiiitttttttt' moments on the bandit but each of those was due purely to the extra speed the bandit could get to... and lessons learnt from them.

CBT has never meant that you can dump L plates, only a full test can do that.

[Hungrymc]

kurt535 said:

cbmotorsport said:

kurt535 said:

Lifesavers are called that for good reason.

Genuinely surprised at some of the comments here.

Essentially, any significant change/move of your road position into a space where another truck/car/biker/pedestrian could be lurking in your blind spot is worth a look.

99% of the time there will be nothing. It's the 1% you're hedging against.

Are you telling me that you religiously put in every life saver you were taught to do to pass your test?

As a recent former school owner and qualified Instructor riding @ 30k miles a year, yes sir.

They have undoubtedly kept me sunny side up for this long so won't be changing anytime soon.

Each to their own but Im told being hit by an unexpected car//truck and ending up on the ground hurts quite bit.

Fair enough, but for me, they are only one part of your observation system. Its many years since I learned and took my test, but I did feel that the very rigid teaching on lifesavers missed the point. The objective is to know what's around you and what could interfere with you. I think if you keep that in mind, it becomes simple and obvious where they are needed and where they may not be.

[optimate]

Hungrymc said:

Fair enough, but for me, they are only one part of your observation system. Its many years since I learned and took my test, but I did feel that the very rigid teaching on lifesavers missed the point. The objective is to know what's around you and what could interfere with you. I think if you keep that in mind, it becomes simple and obvious where they are needed and where they may not be.

iv got to agree with you they hve acting like a nodding dog with epilepsy when you been riding years and aint got some know it all ramberling in your ear and got to play mr perfect robot rider

your alot more aware of whats around you and and when to look

and if they aint behind you and you nailing it it on a liter bike you know dam well know one you pased is going to be coming up in your blind spot unless you just passed a lambo

[Gavia]

optimate said:

iv got to agree with you they hve acting like a nodding dog with epilepsy when you been riding years and aint got some know it all ramberling in your ear and got to play mr perfect robot rider

your alot more aware of whats around you and and when to look

and if they aint behind you and you nailing it it on a liter bike you know dam well know one you pased is going to be coming up in your blind spot unless you just passed a lambo

Corrected below for you. It's impressive how much you managed to get wrong in such a short amount of writing. It still doesn't make a lot of sense even with everything corrected though.

I've got to agree with you, they have you acting like a nodding dog with epilepsy when you have been riding for years and haven't got some know it all rambling in your ear and got to play Mr Perfect Robot Rider

You're a lot more aware of what's around you and and when to look and if they aren't behind you and you nailing it it on a litre bike you know damn well no one you passed is going to be coming up in your blind spot unless you just passed a lambo

[Biker's Nemesis]

Gavia said:

optimate said:

iv got to agree with you they hve acting like a nodding dog with epilepsy when you been riding years and aint got some know it all ramberling in your ear and got to play mr perfect robot rider

your alot more aware of whats around you and and when to look

and if they aint behind you and you nailing it it on a liter bike you know dam well know one you pased is going to be coming up in your blind spot unless you just passed a lambo

Corrected below for you. It's impressive how much you managed to get wrong in such a short amount of writing. It still doesn't make a lot of sense even with everything corrected though.

I've got to agree with you, they have you acting like a nodding dog with epilepsy when you have been riding for years and haven't got some know it all rambling in your ear and got to play Mr Perfect Robot Rider

You're a lot more aware of what's around you and and when to look and if they aren't behind you and you nailing it it on a litre bike you know damn well no one you passed is going to be coming up in your blind spot unless you just passed a lambo

Are you BB's new engerlish techa?

[uk66fastback]

I passed my test in 1981 the second time - the first time I failed simply through over-confidence. The test was much easier then and tbh unless I was really into bikes, I wouldn't even bother doing it now, it sounds like a nightmare.

Back then, I couldn't afford to even run a car so it wasn't as if I had a choice, it was a necessity. All weathers, no winter gear a lot of the time, just daft.

Maybe when you've finally passed your test and got the run of the road and can choose when and where you go, you'll learn to love it more, if you don't you don't.

I've owned a bike for a year or two over the years, not ridden it and ended up selling it again ... then a five year gap etc til the next one. It happens.

Hiring a 600cc one on holiday later this year will be enjoyable though - me and the wife had a 250cc for two days last year and it was as slow as fk.