Ok guys,
I'm after a bit more advice.

I probably picked the coldest day this week to attempt my CBT.

To cut a long story short, I wasn't picking things up on a geared bike as quickly as the instructor wanted and was pushed towards doing the CBT on a moped.

The whole point of the training / CBT for me was to give me sufficient training and confidence for me to get out on a motorbike and practice.  With this in mind, I refused to do the CBT on a scooter as this would have left me with a CBT but no confidence and therefore no chance of ever getting on a bike. 

I have since spoken to the school again and am going back for some one to one lessons on a geared bike.  They still think I should do the CBT on a scooter and then have the geared bike lessons.  They are humouring me as I am the customer but anyone else got any experience of this?                                                                                                                                                                             

if you are paying for a cbt on a geared bike thats what you want not a scooter. there are a few trainers on here who Im sure will be posting on this as soon as thay see it                                                                                                                                                                              

The CBT ..Compulsory Basic Training .. Weather you do it on a twist and go or a geared bike it makes (or used to make) no difference . Its Just a training session to see if you are competent to be let loose on the road .. Some find it easier and less to think about using an automatic bike for the CBT then go on a geared bike to train for the test .. Thats how I see it .. I'm sure the Instructors will correct me if im wrong ... Good luck with it Cookie
                                                                                                                                                                             

My honest advice Cookie... Find another instructor. Mine was excellent. I did the off road part of my CBT and wasnt totally confident but he encouraged me and i went on the road. I was a million times more confident on the road as there was more room and i had more time to do stuff. If you have a bad experience at the start then its going to be a lasting memory. Find a new instructor who will instill all the confidence you need xx                                                                                                                                                                             

Yup agree with Nat....................  My first CBT and lessons weren't great, but i went somewhere else (BSM at wheels park in Brum) and they were totally different, I passed my test off the back of their training.  I have a friend who did a CBT with a school in Middlesbrough and tthey largely ignored her (or so she felt) and concentrated on the little teenage oik on his scooter. So she's going somehwere else too.   So not all schools are the same unfortunately.                                                                                                                                                                             

Riverview in Hesketh Bank come highly recommended by 3 people I know. Within easy reach if you have a car.                                                                                                                                                                             

When I took my CBT on a Saturday I rode a standard 125CC, Yamaha. The young lady who took hers with me rode a Scooter... simple reason for the Scooter was to ensure that her confidence on the road was adequate.

She wasn't confident on a geared Motorbike, so the School put her on a Scooter, it's all about how they judge YOUR competence levels. 

Are you confident AND competent to ride a geared Motorbike on the Public Highway? If you need to be thinking about how to handle a geared Motorbike, then this may be detracting from your confidence on the Public Highway.

Simplest solution is to ask your Instructor why HE recommended that you utilise a Scooter.

                                                                                                                                                                             

Cookie it took me several sessions returning to the bike school before I was ready to go out on a geared bike. When you pay your CBT you are paying  to be trained to the required standard no matter how long it takes. So don't worry about not being ready to go out on the road after the first day.

And yes, it's definitely harder to maintain concentration etc when it's perishing cold

Like OMNF I was scared s***less when my instructor 'made' me take to the road for the first time, but like her it all seemed so much easier when I got off the drill in the yard & out onto the road. You just can't practice gear changing properly on the yard cos usually there usually isn't enough space

I think whether you push to continue on the yard on a geared bike or try a twist & go then practice your gear changes once you're out there that's when it will come together & your confidence will start growing

Oh & by the way. I was riding my 125 for 2 years so had to repeat my CBT last July.....I was almost as crap when I was back on the yard as I had been 2 years earlier!!!                                                                                                                                                                              

One of the reasons schools try to move students over to a twist and go's is a lot of schools don't charge the full price for returns, so they would rather get you out of the way and fill the space with someone paying the full price. Stick to your guns Cookie and complete the cbt on a geared bike, it will be better for you in the long run for your dsa trainning.                                                                                                                                                                             

i dont really know what to think to this cookie... from reading posts above it seems that maybe it is "normal" for the school to offer a scooter cbt...... i didnt knwo this and i thought it was bike or nothing... bt hey ya live and learn   bt what i would say chick is that whether its scooter or bike you do it on ..... make sure you like and trust the teachings of the peeps doing your cbt .....   good luck                                                                                                                                                                              

Cookie, I had exactly the same happen to me. Was lacking confidence with the geared bike, so they suggested scooter.

Not knowing any better I went along with this and managed to pass my CBT. A month later I picked myself up a fully geared bike and was away on it with no further lessons! Riding the scooter gave me enough confidence on two wheels on the open road which was what I had been lacking.

Thanks everyone.

I have booked a half day one to one lesson to see how I get on with a geared bike with no other pressures.

Then it'll be CBT, hopefully on the geared bike, if not on a scooter.

I guess my instructor has their work cut out as I'm not for just accepting what I'm being told and have a passion to be on a geared bike.                                                                                                                                                                             

cbt   should  never be  pressured , everyone  gets through it at  there own pace .  unfortunatly  some schools are only in it for  money and dont actually care about the individual . they  offen look for the easy  way  out  for them  and  not  what  the  student actually  wants .. so  i  would suggest going to  another school , explain your complaints . im sure  they  will try to  do  better for  you  ..
                                                                                                                                                                             

I took my training with Two Wheelers in Nuneaton, the Instructor there (Tim Smith) was brilliant... patient, interesting, good way of instructing... he got me through all of my tests first time... and I hadn't been on a Motorbike for just over 25 years... but he knew how to instruct me to get the best out of me...   I think at the end of the day it all comes down to how your click with your Instructor in that he makes you feel good when you are riding... as well as safe and relaxed...                                                                                                                                                                              

i had a mate who was so nervous he "failed" his CBT, ie, never got to a confident level to carry out the road ride. I gave him private off-road lessons for a month or so to build his confidence before he retried it. He not only passed it but then went on to do his Advanced rider training within 6 months of passing his test, something I've not got around to yet.
Sometimes our brains can over-think things and make them seem more challenging than they are. You need to be as relaxed as possible when first venturing out on a bike, be that by using a less complicated bike, by having a more supportive instructor or as you've planned, having extra lessons.

Riding a bike can't be that hard....just look at the rest of us loons. lol.