So ive got my cbt tomorow morning and all i keep reading and being told is how dangerous my first year wil be and how i will be invisible etc and ive gone from jolly and excited to effing crapping myself! i have the gear and the bike (apprilia habana 125) but i feel physically sick now!
I dont drive and ive only ridden the bike up my carpark and back so im pretty sure im going to miserably fail an unfailable test
help me!!!
Nicola
x

you’ll be alright.

i have done practice tests online and i keep failing..how the hell are you supposed to remember the difference between toucan pelican puffin etc crossings?! :/

You’ll be fine don’t worry.
I’m still not driving cars,did my cbt and test 4 years back.
Good Luck!

thankyou mkchris…not worrying is easier said than done! x

i did my cbt waay back in 1993,so can imagine it (the test) being somewhat changed.the thing i know will be the same though,is that the instructor will make sure that you are comfortable with riding your bike.they should give you ample opportunity with getting used to riding your bike in a safe environment.ask them as many questions as you need to (that’s what they are there for).when it comes to the test ,they should ask you to ride on quiet roads (not much traffic).
when you do pass 😉 take it easy and practice on quiet roads during the day (until you feel better about riding your bike). at the end of the day ride your motorcycle as you would your bicycle (have eyes in the back of your head e.t.c) and ride defensively,keep in the middle of your lane (don’t feel intimidated by other vehicles).you have just as much right as them for using the road 😉
most of all though enjoy riding your new bike (and good luck with your test 🙂

I used to teach cbt. It’s not an unfailable test, It’s a training course. However, I’ve been know to invite people back for additional training before signing them off. Only twice did I give people a full refund and suggest bikes were not for them. Both of whom thanked me for my honesty. The people who were “invited back” were generally those who thought they knew it all before they got there, those who believed they were buying a certificate. There’s always a school around the corner who will compromise training for bums on seats. That’s the reason I gave it up in the end. Bottom line, go with an open mind. Listen to the instructor, ask if It’s not clear and if he doesn’t sign you off on the day, remember the only reason is because they’re looking out for your safety. Cbt can actually be a lot of fun.

well im just being honest and its only my story… 😉

18 months before my daughter was born we needed to save cash so we sold the second car, i bought a 125 and did my CBT so i could commute to work.

i did it up until a week before the baby was born and to be honest i was glad to sell the bike and see the back of the thing.

you are invisible, you can be the biggest and best rider in the world with all the right gear, perfect working bike but it means jack sh*t when some idiot doesnt see you and well, the rest could be history.

my brother only last week ended up in intensive care, a seasoned rider out on a sunday blast, came off a main rondabout, round a bend and was faced with a car on the wrong side of the road after it swerved out too far after doing a u-turn.

8 broken ribs, collapsed lung, broken wrist and collar bone…

the CBT was a joke to be honest, i was crap at the u-turn a sod to get right, they made me come back a week later and i passed. looking back it is mental you can just have 8 hours of training then be let out onto the roads.

again just my thoughts…. not to put you off or wind up any biker son here 😉

just read the othe rpost above

However, I’ve been know to invite people back for additional training before signing them off

to be fair my instructor did this and he did make sure i wasnt a total kn*B

Hang on, hang on.

A CBT isn’t your driving test. The T stands for Training (and the B for Basic) – they show you how to operate your bike to a level where you’re allowed to then start learning to ride. They cover how to make it go, stop, and turn, and where to look so you don’t die.

It’s not failable, if you’re really struggling they’ll ask you to come back the next day (as happened with a mate of mine).

Again, it’s not a test. You don’t need to know anything about puffins, pelicans, or seabirds in general. Don’t worry.

It’s easy as pie, and you can’t fail, if you’re not upto scratch on any part you just keep coming back untill you get it. Just remember it’s training not a test, you can’t fail, but you might need more trainng (usualy free).

My top bit of advice would be figure out why youre being told to do things, I took the instructions at face value (e.g. look over your right shouder) whereas I should have been thinking about looking for cars being stupid and trying to overtake not just wobling my head for the examiner.

i have done practice tests online and i keep failing..how the hell are you supposed to remember the difference between toucan pelican puffin etc crossings?! :/

toucan = two-can = cycle path crossing

pelican = old skool crossing with green man on the far side of the road, usualy controlled by a timer and a push button

puffin = new skool with low level green men on the post, and a little black box on top of the post that leaves the lights red untill everyone has crossed.

They’re all the same

red= stop

red + amber = about to go green (i.e stop but prepare to move off)

amber only = about to go red, stop if it’s safe (but remember if the lights green as you aproach it can only do one thing, go red so you should be prepared to stop even when aproaching a greeen light).

Good luck.

As others said it isn’t a test, but you will have to demonstrate you’ve grasped the basic skills – but not necessarily in any formal way. It should be fun (I know I enjoyed mine) after all it’s your first adventure out on your bike.

You have to ride a motorbike like you are invisible. Read the road ahead and dont take uncalculated risks.
If you’re worried about it, don’t do it. If you want to do it, then accept that there is a risk and do your best to protect yourself.

“if you don’t get knocked of or have your scooter nicked in the first year you are in 5% of the population” apparently (?)

I would recoment a course similar to this
http://www.bikesafe-london.co.uk/ i did that and it was great fun

this is a good book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorcycle-Roadcraft-Police-Handbook-Motorcycling/dp/011341143X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342527159&sr=1-1

Get your full test done and make sure you wear decent protective gear.

On a bike, you’re not just thinking about your own ride, you’ll end up doing everyone’s ride/drive mentally for them.

I even had a student run off a roundabout and I still passed him. It was a question of apptitude though. After that, he wound his neck in and started concentrating. He demonstrated that he could ride safely. Of course, I had no control over whether he did or not after I passed him but I trained him to his full test and he became quite a tidy rider.

hhmmmf..well thats a mixed bag of feedback!..i do want to do this not only for the fact that its so much cheaper to run than a car but because its something ive always wanted to do..i am 28 and yet to get on the road so i feel its time i pulled my finger out my arse..as it were

I guess its just overwhelming having to learn all these things that ive never even thought of or noticed before.

In an ideal world i would like it to be similar to driving lessons where i could have a few hours each day to get to grips with it…unfortunately i live in the middel of town and this is where he will be taking me with about a million big ruondabouts and loads of crazy drivers about.
I do want to enjoy it im just a bit scared i will piss the instructor off because i dont know anything! 🙁

re “”and ride defensively,keep in the middle of your lane (don’t feel intimidated by other vehicles).you have just as much right as them for using the road””

i thought i had to keep to the left to let cars by? :/

The CBT is very relaxed and the expectations of the instructor are minimal. He just wants to see that you can ride safely. No mega skills needed and certainly no barking of orders and criticism that tend to come with driving lessons.

You’ll enjoy it.

I had to go back a second day for my CBT.In hindsight was a great thing. It was a lot for me to take in, I was physically and mentally tired, so going out on the roads would have been a bad thing for me. It was my first ever time on a bike as well.

Don’t be put off, its all for your safety. After that i passed DAS in a weeks intensive course 🙂

Good luck.

well id like to think im not a complete moron so theres that at least…who knows i could fill in for stoner when he retires this year 🙂

dolcered what is DAS?

who knows i could fill in for stoner when he retires this year

Are you moody and anti-social?

what is DAS?

Direct Access – you learn on a big bike, basically. Doesn’t apply to you on a 125.

Are you moody and anti-social?

He has an STW account, doesn’t he?

he might be moody but **** he is fun to watch..nearly blew my hair off standing against the fence watching him take he big straight at silverstone

apologies.i just meant that you shouldn’t let cars e.t.c push you into the kerb. i just rode my bike,like i rode my bicycle (staying in middle of the road,unless a car/e.t.c wanted to overtake.then pull into left when it safe for you to do so. apologies if i don’t type what i mean very well 😳 at the end of the day,once you have done your c.b.t, you will feel a lot better (and your instructor will be a damn sight better than me/not difficult 😆

dolcered what is DAS?

DAS is Direct Access training.

As far as i remember your CBT allows you to ride on the roads for 2 years on L plates, after that you can retake it, or do the full test. I was 30 at the time, i decided rather than get a 125cc or a restricted bike that i would go on and get my full licence.

I opted for a weeks intensive course, learnt on 500cc machine and sat my test, and passed. The learning curve was steep,then one day it all clicked into place.

I bought a learners big bike after that, an kawasaki ER-6f, big enough for my shortness and as powerful as i want to get. Took it to the TT last year with the OH on his proper bike (so he says) Kawasaki Ninja.
We are team green on our bikes 🙂

i thought i had to keep to the left to let cars by? :/

Not sure if that’s a serious question? If it is, don’t do it. If you give a car half a space they’ll try and fit a whole car through it. Ride in the middle of the lane so if a car (or bike/lorry/van) wants to overtake they need to do so as if they were passing another car.

I’ve only had my licence for a year. Did my CBT, then DAS 2 weeks later, having never even sat on a bike before – the best thing I’ve done.

Accept there is a risk and have that in your mind. If you ride like a loon chances are you’ll end up in hospital, don’t and you stand a better chance of not.

I’ve commuted pretty much everyday (break over the winter with ice on the roads) on my bike (90 mile round trip on A roads, B roads and Mway) and haven’t had any near misses or scares – maybe just lucky, maybe just careful.

I would say though, I wanted to do it, if you’re scared or anxious it’s hard to stay calm, relaxed and in control.

Also – flippin’ u-turns!!!!!

Also – flippin’ u-turns!!!!!

agreed, glad it wasn’t my bike i was practising on. Then one day i just got it.

i genuinely did think i had to stay to the left out of the way..because im not going very fast wont i piss the drivers off?!

You’ll be fine, just stay calm. The trainers all yell at you, don’t panic. I think they are just testing how you cope under pressure. U-turns are a doddle if you can ride a mountain bike. It’s roundabouts I hate – hadn’t noticed until I tried them on a motorbike how few people know how to indicate properly, or care that it is important.

What I found is that you have a lot of info coming at you quickly, need to master the controls of the bike, read the traffic and the road signs and take the instructions from the shouty guy in your ear, all at once.

If you can practice the slow speed stuff at home before you go, you will be well ahead.

i cant practice here as there is always police about,its the roundabouts i am fearing the most! im not exactly big either..you can see on my profile pic my bike makes me look tiny..so i dont think i would fair well from a collision

also someone told me that when a lorry passes you that you can feel it suck you in !!

I was paired up for my DAS with a nit wit who kept staying on the left in the gutter despite constant nagging in his (and therefore my) ear from the instructor. They wouldn’t let him on a big bike as he technically hadn’t demonstrated sufficient skills on his CBT. This went on for 4 sessions! I think maybe bikes weren’t for him.
They gave me another session for free as we’d spend so much time dicking about with the idiot on the 125 and not enough time getting me up to speed (literally!) on the 500.

this is so **** confusing..half the people i know who have bikes are telling me stay to the left as middle riding is a bit dirty and now you guys are saying stay in the middle

A truck isn’t going to suck you under. Trucks shouldn’t be passing you anyway, if you are making “reasonable progress” they are limited to 56mph on an A road I believe ?

Don’t be scared, listen to your instructor, ask for help if you don’t understand anything and don’t panic, you will be fine.

For the purposes of training, stay in the middle. Do what your instructor says, not your friends.

thankyou xx 😳

As already said, you’re being trained, and if you take the training on board as it’s given you’ll pass.

The instructor will tell/show you which bit of road to ride on.

Dont even worry about it. Do the CBT enjoy it and just enjoy riding. Ride safe and keep an eye on the car drivers and you will be fine. I got my license 5 years ago and wish i had done it long before that.

The instructors will keep you right with what you need to know by the end of it you will be able to get out there and start to get experience.

All the best!

Do what your instructor says, not your friends.

This. You’re over-thinking what is, so far for you, an unknown quantity. You won’t just be stuck on a bike and be told “off you go then, luv” whilst a handlebar-mustached hells angel laughs raucously in your ear.

CBT will teach you to handle the bike. Lessons will teach you the skills you need to pass your test. You’re not expected to ‘just know’ all this; if that were the case, no-one would need lessons.

Ignore armchair experts. At best they’ll tell you the same thing an instructor will, but they could also give you contradictory advice which, whilst well-meaning, might confuse you and hamper your chances of passing.

The one exception is the advice I’m about to give you now. If you haven’t already, buy gloves.