Failed Mod 2, dropped the bike.
Discussion
My Mod 2 was a shambles on Friday, kept making daft mistakes on the lesson before the test so didn't feel too confident, felt the test was going ok, after 20 minutes we ended up on a bit of back road, wasn't sure of the speed limit, after a few minutes realised it was a NSL, got the bike up to 40 before I had to slow down for a corner, then on a s
tty side road junction, I dropped the bike, junction is slight downhill, poor visibility due to parked cars so have to creep and peek, surface leading up to give way is rough and pot holled, had the bars turned slightly right, edged out, stalled the bike and it went down, not so much a drop more of a slow motion lay down, picked the bike up (650 Gladius) myself before the examiner got out his car, examiner terminated the test, took the radio off me and left me there for the instructor to come and collect me, bike just had a broken brake lever end so I was able to ride it back.
Instructor said i'm not the first and wont be the last to drop the bike at that junction.
Back at the test centre the examiner said to the instructor I had failed at that point anyway as I was indeed going too slow in the NSL, wasn't looking for me doing 60 but if I had got it up to 47-48 i'd have been fine.
Been taking one lesson a week since doing the CBT in August, first time I've dropped the bike and it's during the bloody test.
I'm 49, had my car licence 32 years, been driving HGV's (all Class 1 artic) for 22 years, the bike is by far the hardest thing I've had to do, driving a 44T truck is a piece of piss in comparison (I found the learning and the tests easy in 98), been thinking about a bike licence for the last ten years. Bought a bike in July to give me an incentive, an 87 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500, then as my tests got closer I bought a K4 GSXR 600, the Vulcan has turned into a project (which I don't mind) but the GSXR is ready to go, MOT'd, insured, full tank etc, cant wait to get out in the nicer weather but at the same time pissed off with the whole thing.
tty side road junction, I dropped the bike, junction is slight downhill, poor visibility due to parked cars so have to creep and peek, surface leading up to give way is rough and pot holled, had the bars turned slightly right, edged out, stalled the bike and it went down, not so much a drop more of a slow motion lay down, picked the bike up (650 Gladius) myself before the examiner got out his car, examiner terminated the test, took the radio off me and left me there for the instructor to come and collect me, bike just had a broken brake lever end so I was able to ride it back.Instructor said i'm not the first and wont be the last to drop the bike at that junction.
Back at the test centre the examiner said to the instructor I had failed at that point anyway as I was indeed going too slow in the NSL, wasn't looking for me doing 60 but if I had got it up to 47-48 i'd have been fine.
Been taking one lesson a week since doing the CBT in August, first time I've dropped the bike and it's during the bloody test.
I'm 49, had my car licence 32 years, been driving HGV's (all Class 1 artic) for 22 years, the bike is by far the hardest thing I've had to do, driving a 44T truck is a piece of piss in comparison (I found the learning and the tests easy in 98), been thinking about a bike licence for the last ten years. Bought a bike in July to give me an incentive, an 87 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500, then as my tests got closer I bought a K4 GSXR 600, the Vulcan has turned into a project (which I don't mind) but the GSXR is ready to go, MOT'd, insured, full tank etc, cant wait to get out in the nicer weather but at the same time pissed off with the whole thing.
Rubin215 said:
I'm extremely surprised the examiner left you there if the bike was still rideable and you were unhurt, I instructed for ten years and I have never know that happen.
In my experience, the examiner would normally finish the test no matter how many faults unless they felt the student was dangerous, in which case he would guide the student back to the test centre and cut the test short there.
You have paid for an allotted amount if the examiner's time and every minute on the road is practise.
What would have happened if you had just set off by yourself and ridden back alone?
You would have been breaking the law on several counts but he is the one who has abandoned you.
As a learner (DAS) the only time you should never be on the road unless you are accompanied by an approved instructor or examiner.
Speak to the training centre manager and ask what they think.
Yeah, I wouldn't have said laying the bike down was dangerous, just a silly mistake caused by stalling, been through that junction before during a lesson and did loose balance, had to put both feet down, should have remembered it in the test I suppose, didn't feel particularly nervous (like to think i'm too long in the tooth to get worked up), my Mod 1 was fine (which is the one most people struggle with), no nerves, was absolutely pissing down (test was nearly cancelled), was soaked through, thought "if I fail I fail" and I passed with a clean sheet. In my experience, the examiner would normally finish the test no matter how many faults unless they felt the student was dangerous, in which case he would guide the student back to the test centre and cut the test short there.
You have paid for an allotted amount if the examiner's time and every minute on the road is practise.
What would have happened if you had just set off by yourself and ridden back alone?
You would have been breaking the law on several counts but he is the one who has abandoned you.
As a learner (DAS) the only time you should never be on the road unless you are accompanied by an approved instructor or examiner.
Speak to the training centre manager and ask what they think.
Not going to make a fuss about it with the test centre as they may remember me and have my card marked the next time, maybe the examiner was just following procedure, I did see similar on a YouTube video (RJH training) where a learner took a wrong exit off a roundabout, went up a motorway slip road by mistake, he stopped when he realised but the examiner left him, drove back to the test centre and told the instructor to go and rescue him.
Cheers guys, i know one lesson a week has not been ideal but it's time and money, work Monday to Friday so have been taking a two hour lesson either Saturday or Sunday, lessons are £80, so have been spending about £320 a month since August, Friday was £185 (two hour lesson and test fee etc) plus a day off work, got another test booked in a few weeks, need to keep going with it, far too far into it now to give up, pretty sure it'll be well worth it in the end.
As far as I know a lot of bike examiners use the car (some don't ride at all), bit of a disadvantage I think as joe public doesn't know you are on a test (not that anyone would care anyway), all they see is a bike with big daft L plates, at the start of the test I had to move back into lane one on a duel carriageway after exiting a roundabout, car in lane one was reluctant to let me in, I got in safely but would have been a lot easier with two bikes there, if the examiner is in a car you feel on your tod, even though he's in your ear with the radio .
As far as I know a lot of bike examiners use the car (some don't ride at all), bit of a disadvantage I think as joe public doesn't know you are on a test (not that anyone would care anyway), all they see is a bike with big daft L plates, at the start of the test I had to move back into lane one on a duel carriageway after exiting a roundabout, car in lane one was reluctant to let me in, I got in safely but would have been a lot easier with two bikes there, if the examiner is in a car you feel on your tod, even though he's in your ear with the radio .
TheInternet said:
How long are those lessons? All the ones I've found are one day minimum, not an hour here and there like driving lessons.
My lessons are two hours and cost £80 for the 650, think they are about £65 for the 125, think i'd find a day lesson a bind, two hours is perfect, I found the CBT a drag, wanted to go home at lunchtime."Far, Near, Rear" observation is a good tip, will put that into practice, the RJH training guy on YouTube uses "new road, check mirrors, cancel signal, get up to speed whether it be 30, 40 or 60", was trying to keep that in my head, unfortunately left my head in the NSL during the test.
My observation and planning skills are pretty good from driving the lorry (far better than the average car driver) but the big difference is things move a lot slower in the lorry so you have more time to take in info, you can take a roundabout or a junction as slow as you want in the lorry, not got that luxury on a bike, probably 95 percent of my driving has been in HGV's for the last 20 years, on exiting roundabouts on the bike for a while I was doing three left life savers as i'm used to pulling a 45' trailer and checking the mirror multiple times.
Lesson learned too as I had no idea stalling the bike could cause a drop, just a combination of the bars being turned and slight downhill keeping the bike moving but stuck in gear. If I do that junction again (either lesson or test) i'm putting both feet down (i'll tell my instructor this), i'd rather pick up a minor for that that drop the bike again.
iamneallyons said:
Just get back on the horse and keep trying, i watched a lot of "motojitsu" youtube channel which i found absolutely superb!
He is good, a lot of post test practice stuff too, I've found RJH Trainings vids very good too, and the Cop Motorman, so much good stuff on YouTube. Hi Guys, thought i'd post an update to this, passed my Mod 2 earlier, same examiner too, felt a lot more confident this time though, less nervous, had a great lesson last Saturday (even though it was on a crappy Keyway 125 as the 650 Gladius was off the road), great lesson thismorning before the test so I was in a much better frame of mind, all done though, going to take my GSXR600 round local streets to get used to it.
Gilhooligan said:
Apparently common at the centre in Glasgow that I’m about to use for MOD 2, as the examiner doesn’t have the use of one of his arms any more so can’t ride.
That's the guy I got, he was in a white Volvo last time and a black Moka this time, he's actually quite a fair examiner.anonymous said:
[redacted]
Hi Guys, thought i'd post an update to this, passed my Mod 2 earlier...going to take my GSXR600 round local streets to get used to it.
Good work! What year is the GSXR?s1dew1nd3r said:
Mate i will just start by saying.. It doesnt matter if you have had your driving licence for 50 years, your riding a bike now - its a TOTALLY different game, its not a given that just because you have a driving licence and can drive trucks that your going to be able to jump on a bike and be remotely anywhere NEAR an average standard let alone a decent standard.
My advice would be flog that gsxr and get something like fazer or mt07, if you dont have any sort of history riding bikes then starting off on a gsxr isnt a bright idea. I bought an fzr600 for my first bike but in fairness iv been riding bikes since i was a kid, just take your time mate.
Theres a great youtube channel called "motojitsu" watch a load of them, take it in - practice practice practice!
Good Luck, let us know how you get on and when you pass!
You must have missed the bit where i posted i passed on the 6th of February, cheers for the advice on the GSXR but i've done about 1000 miles on it so far and it's absolutely fine, used it to commute to work a few times (though that's only 5 miles), biggest disadvantage as a new rider on a sportbike is the difficulty doing lifesavers, also the steering has taken a lot of getting used to (clipons, limited lock, steering damper), get a bit of a sore back after an hours riding but just stop for a break, the power is absolutely fine, it's pretty docile under 7K, i absolutely love it though.My advice would be flog that gsxr and get something like fazer or mt07, if you dont have any sort of history riding bikes then starting off on a gsxr isnt a bright idea. I bought an fzr600 for my first bike but in fairness iv been riding bikes since i was a kid, just take your time mate.
Theres a great youtube channel called "motojitsu" watch a load of them, take it in - practice practice practice!
Good Luck, let us know how you get on and when you pass!
I also bought a 2014 Ducati Monster 696 a few months ago so have the choice of that or the GSXR.
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