Have to agree with you fully there Arfur  BC21 do as Arfur says hon.......I'm only a little weed myself and when I got an R6 all the guys at work said you'll kill yourself on that  as it's too fast...to which I answered A bike only goes as fast as you want it to go.    Ok I've had bikes now for 43 years but I still make bad moves and there are times when I'm sh*t scared I'm gonna have an off but then I just stop at the roadside for 5 mins and tell myself " You can do it".....So I'm sure you can do it. and like Arfur says there's no feeling in the world that compares to being on a bike......good luck hon also you Roachy hon                                                                                                                                                                              

Yeh Sylv I agree wiv everyone on here.    I did my CBT at beginning of Oct and i dint get out on the road the first time, and was dreading the 2nd day (3wks later) i felt sick ..but after a bit more practice round the car park, I agreed to go out on the road...  I hadta lead too. We pulled outta the test centre..and i lost them straight away..the other lad wouldnt pull out until the road was really clear lol But I just pulled inta a car park and waited for them to appear..then the instructor told me to pull out in front agen.   I couldn't beleive how much i enjoyed it after the previous weeks nerves.  Just hang in there!  and you too Rachel.. you will both be fine.   I'm like you WB... been that long since ive been on a bike now.. i'm gonna need a refresher just to get the confidence to go up the road !  lol   but i can't wait...     Like every biker you speak to,  says... 'Its the best feeling in the world'   Hang in there guys !  xxx                                                                                                                                                                                 

.....I passed my CBT about 2 years ago now. My first attempt didnt go that great (or for the instructor ) when I come to think of it..  He ended up worse off than me. IF ONLY HE DIDN'T GRAB THE HANDLE BARS!!!!..That'll teach him..   Seriously I was more than determined to do it .. I went back and once I got out there on the road it was fun and the feeling it gives you is out of this world!!!!! ( rmbr that feeling)..... I was careful but not to overly cautious...   Ended passing on my second attempt with only 4 minors.. Now that aint bad.. Pick up yer confidence set your  mind to it and GO FOR IT...   .. Mind over matter   .... You'll only regret it in years to come if you don't ......                                                                                                                                                                             

*chortles*

Nice one Misty!

Did the Instructor ever fully recover? Last I heard, he'd developed a slight nervous tic and they had to section him cos he kept grabbing innocent riders' handlebars... wouldn't have been so bad, only it was usually done at around 95mph on the M8!


                                                                                                                                                                             

  he kept grabbing innocent riders' handlebars...   Don't think you would get sectioned for that  .. More like the jail   Auch Aye  he was OK ( a big wooose actually )   The bike in the piccy I bought it from him( one of his many in a collection) so I guess he aint that scarred  .. But money does change people                                                                                                                                                                             

Would love to find out if having Money would change me                                                                                                                                                                              

Don't think you would get sectioned for that  .. More like the jail
Depends how good your brief is

                                                                                                                                                                             

you all puttin the s...ts up me  for tommorow                                                                                                                                                                             

Oh wheelienice don't let the banter on here worry you, just relax and have fun. Wrap up warm so that being cold don't distract you. Lots of thin layers so that you can still move easierly.                                                                                                                                                                             

Thats good advice HG......   Just think of all the gals on here who have all recently done what you are about to do tomorrow Wheelienice....(ie the infamous FFS Crew!)...and tell yerself you WILL be joining them....you'll be fine                                                                                                                                                                              

Go Wheelie!

Have a fab time... plaster a grin to your face and go for it... the grin will soon spread from ear to ear, I guarantee it!

My instructor kept saying "At least I can hear you giggling every time you come past me, so I know you're enjoying yourself, even if you're not quite getting the hang of it"


                                                                                                                                                                             

thank you all, I  can do my best, and will enjoy.[the gritters are out tonite] HELP                                                                                                                                                                               

Hey Wheelienice...i know....ask Ricdude if he can pull a favour from his work mates, n get them to grit where your gonna be extra nicely!                                                                                                                                                                              

 did't pass today, such a lot to take in in one day, got the clutch control sorted, but struggled with the figure of eight,getting the eyes to look ahead and not at what you are going around was a problem also. I would like some lessons on the gears, then go back and do it again.they were great with me we just ran out of time, not enough knowledge to go on the road. will try again give it one more go. or back to the push bike, I did enjoy it but the  weather was terrible snow rain and bitterly cold. need some practice on a 125, went on a scooter  in the afternoon and flew around,maybe should have taken it on a scooter to get me on the road                                                                                                                                                                             

This appears to be a common issue ......   Perhaps this idea of the CBT lasting two days as a matter of course ain't such a bad idea.                                                                                                                                                                             

"Getting the eyes to look ahead and not at what you are going around was a problem"   Wheelienice ....I know that problem ... Fixation in other words.. Had that a few times and once you get it then that's where you'll go. I,ve had near misses with, wheelie bins , kerbs ( well that one wasn't quite a near miss as an actual one) and I've had a few others..  Keep loooking where you want to go , thats what I was always told  I tell you it helped me no end when It came to my test..   Sorry to hear you didn't pass   .. With all this experience you're getting i'm sure you'll do it next time round.                                                                                                                                                                             

Hey wheelienice don't you dare given in to a scooter my instructor tried to get me to go down that road while I was on my cbt, he even took me to a bike showroom showing me scooters and said if you was on one of these you would fly through your cbt and I just said that I wanted to go for a geared bike and would be seeing him again for further instruction at no further cost, think he was too shocked to say no. lol   I was on a slow rider training morning a week ago with Rospa and I struggled at first with doing the figure of eight even though I have passed my test, its all down to the confidence of not looking at the ground in front of you or the front wheel and concentrating on looking where you want to be going, it all seems so strange when your a car driver as doing this in a car you would probably crash but doing this on a bike but it really does work.   Well done you for not cancelling it in such awful weather, just don't wait too long to go back.   Just like misty said its fixation, I ended up on the wrong side of the road on a corner by not looking where I wanted to go, thankfully the car went passed before I crossed over the white line to the other side but it was close. Just remember to always look at where you want the bike to go not where you don't want it to go.   If you take the scooter option to get you on the road you will gain the road craft but not the experience of using gears so will only have to pay to do another cbt when your ready to move on to a geared bike so stick with it.    I am going to the 1066 tomorrow will see you there if you can make it.   ps blame wannabe on this not being concise she told me not to be in past thread                                                                                                                                                                             

thank you everyone for your input into my problems....i will go wgain but think I will have a couple of lessons if that is possible. CG  will be up the rose tommorow see you there                                                                                                                                                                             

I sent these to someone recently after showing them how to get on and off a bike (my bike lol) and how to start it etc and thought I'd share 'em.   Firstly, I should point out that these aren't necessarily tips for your CBT or test although they are aimed at very new riders.  Indeed these could even in some cases be slightly contrary to what you need to learn.   I would suggest that these are instead a few tips for people who have recently passed their test.  I guess my suggestions for good riding "habits" to get into for your biking "career".  Apologies if some of them are very, very basic for some.   Also, these are tips based on MY riding and MY opinions, so if you follow any of these and subsequently fail your test because of them, don't blame me lol!!!   Geoff’s Top Tips!! Daily Checks (Visual) ·        Fuel (check fuel level) ·        Brakes (use both brakes and ensure they work adequately) ·        Steering (move steering from side to side feeling for any snatching or sticking) ·        Tyres (quick visual check for estimated pressure, stones, nails etc) ·        Switchgear controls (lights, indicators, horn) Weekly checks (Measurement) ·        Brakes (check wear and brake light operation) ·        Steering (check routing of cables and wiring) ·        Tyres (check wear and pressures) Getting on the bike, starting engine and moving off ·        If first ride of day, undertake daily checks ·        Hold both handlebars and whilst keeping light hold of front brake, use weight of bike to assist in pulling yourself on ·        Sit on bike, shifting weight if necessary until comfortable ·        Flip up sidestand ensuring it is fully up ·        Switch on ignition and shift bike into neutral, ensuring neutral light comes on (bike may need rocking forwards and backwards slightly if it was left in gear) ·        Start engine (tip; pulling the clutch in fully when starting can help changing into first later and also ensures no drive to back wheel should bike be not fully in neutral) ·        Pull clutch fully in, engage first gear (one down from neutral) ·        Look all around using mirrors and looks over shoulders as necessary to make sure it is safe to move off. ·        Move off. Stopping, turning off engine and getting off the bike ·        Pull up where safe using both brakes as necessary (tip; gently turning the bars in one direction as you stop causes the bike to drop over onto the other side, so if you want to put your right foot down, turning the bars very slightly to the left ensures the bike falls to the right and not the left) ·        When safe to do so, pull clutch fully in and engage first if necessary (one down from neutral) ·        Holding bike with rear brake reach over with throttle hand and turn off ignition (if on steep hill or similar use kill switch to avoid bike unbalancing) ·        Hold throttle bar and front brake again ·        Once engine if completely stopped, ease clutch out ·        With bike in first gear, allow bike to gently roll onto gear if necessary to use first gear as handbrake of sorts ·        Flip down sidestand ensuring it is fully down ·        Gently swing bike over onto sidestand ·        Once confident the sidestand is supporting bike, turn bars fully left (to allow use of steering lock later) and using both bars to support yourself, dismount Pushing the bike around ·        Keep both hands on handlebars using front brake to control speed of bike ·        Keep bike leant very slightly towards you using hip for additional support if necessary (if bike does start to overbalance, this should mean that it would overbalance towards you making it easier to stop) ·        When pushing bike backwards it may be easier to keep left hand on clutch bar and right hand on seat or similar (tip; if bike is put into first gear, clutch can be used as a makeshift brake) ·        Keep sidestand down if possible such that bike can be dropped onto it if necessary.  However, mind toes and uneven ground that could catch sidestand and throw bike away from you. ·        Practise using above techniques to manoevre bike left and right forwards and left and right backwards, perhaps even doing forwards and backwards figure of eights Slow (walking pace) riding tips ·        Keep looking up in direction you wish to travel.  Never, never look down.  If doing U-turns, this may well mean looking over your shoulder at where you want bike to go to (tip; for U-turns allow a little extra room to set off forwards, getting yourself and the bike settled before turning) ·        Try to maintain constant engine speed and control speed of bike with rear brake and clutch.  Using front brake at low speed can unsettle bike. ·        Stay relaxed ·        Try to avoid dabbing a foot as this can unbalance bike.  If you need to put your foot down, gently stop and put your foot down fully.  Once stable, you can move off again.                                                                                                                                                                             

lol @ CG re: blame WB for not being concise.. hehe..  what you like?!... Just wanted to say that i agree with all you said to Wheelienice, but would like to reiterate one point you made, which was the first thing i thought of, when i saw W's original post......SNOW....RAIN....BITTER COLD...um...that would, i'm sure have made an awful lot of peeps cancel pronto.... So i, for one, am really proud to hear you still had the guts to get out there n make the first steps to two wheel independance....your obviously a gal with true grit and theres NO WAY your not gonna succeed...just stick with it me dear, and it WILL happen!