Congrats! Well done
jameslb101 wrote: "being too wobbly" on the U-turn. Although I'd agree it wasn't the smoothest turn, I still made it without resorting to putting a foot down so it seemed a little harsh and more like a minor fault, but that's the Mod 1 test for you! I would however, be the first to admit that my low speed bike handling is my weakest area.
Although this might seem a relatively minor point, it's well-worth correcting as it can have a significant effect on riding comfort, ease and safety.
Here's the reminder card content that I used to give out:
Clutch Biting Point – it must be instinctive.
Head & Eyes Up – Trust your hands and feet, they know where they are
Look where you want to go
‘Wrist down’ on the throttle
Drive Through Corners And Roundabouts – Slow in, Fast(er) out
Brakes, then Gears, in a straight line
Always Stop With The Bike Upright
Feet Up In Tight Turns – Rear brake only
jameslb101 wrote: apparently I went a bit wide on left turns and my general positioning wasn't perfect.
If you can't accurately place the bike in the lane width for a turn, then any other positioning is very much of secondary importance!
Serious question: do you know 'how' and do you consciously practice, for all turns, counter-steering?
Running wide in a corner could be a fairly serious mistake, one of those 'cancel the milk and papers' events that could really ruin your day. AKA a 'once in a lifetime [end] event'.
jameslb101 wrote: as I was was aiming to position for view, safety and stability as in a car but perhaps I was too 'extreme' in this on the rural sections.
Would you really place 'view' higher than 'safety'? That may be why the examiner was a bit meh about it
http://the-ride-info.blogspot.co.uk/p/d ... ining.htmlWhere In The World?
If you've recently taken a CBT or test-level course, then you will probably have been encouraged to ride about a metre out from the kerb, or in the centre of your line. Real-world riding suggests that moving across the lane width can have significant benefits - but also serious risks.
Enter, two mantras:
• Safety - View - Advantage
• Safety - Stability - View
It doesn't particularly matter which you use, as long as you understand what you can gain from each.
Safety. Children are warned: "Run away from danger". For you, a grown-up, thinking rider, this means keeping as far away from danger as reasonably possible, e.g. if there's a car in the junction to your left, move across to the right of your lane. If there are two hazards (add an oncoming car to the example above) then separate them either in time, i.e. change your speed so that you only encounter one at a time, or distance, i.e. go equidistant between them.
Stability. Choosing the best surface to ride on, i.e good tarmac rather than oil, gravel, horse . . . 'dust', or sunken drain covers.
View. See and be seen. One classic example of this is following HGVs, several of which now sport warning signs: "If you can't see my mirrors, I can't see you". Try to make eye contact with other road users; if the driver at the junction mentioned above can't see you, it's far more likely that he will pull out! A more extreme example of 'View' is positioning for corners, which is really beyond the scope of this 'game'.
Advantage. Again, this is slightly more involved, but one example is adapting your following position to overtake when leaving a bend, using the advantages of an earlier view and the bike's superior acceleration.
In the second version: Safety - Stability - View, Ask yourself how you chose the position in the lane width you're riding in. Then 'project ahead' and choose - or plan - where you want to be, rather than deciding when you get there - by which time it's really too late to decide that you really ought to be somewhere else!
jameslb101 wrote: One other thing; I thought I'd enjoy the 'rustic charm' and almost agricultural simplicity of a 125cc machine. In reality they're plain soulless, absent of any joy or sense of fun. Perhaps it was just that I was on a knackered one with a slipping clutch, but not having the oomph to top 60mph was frustrating to say the least.
One of my 'most fun ever' moments was overtaking a bored-looking gent in a 911 on the training scheme's Honda CG125
Flat out, downhill (the Honda, not the 911) with me laughing like a loon ;D
Anything posted by 'Horse' may be (C) Malcolm Palmer. Please ask for permission before considering any copying or re-use outside of forum posting.