Going 4 my L's soon...

[boozatboo]

Gee now that I think of it... nobody has actually mentioned what does happen at the test.... sorry....

there's a lot of practice with getting on and off the bike.
clutch control... finding the friction point...
emergency stopping...
slow manouvering.... using friction point, right foot on back brake and throttle...
definitely a lot of theory...
second day we did more emergency stopping and started going from 1st to 2nd gear.
using indicators...

It's all pretty basic stuff... if you are already riding you'll be ok... don't worry they
spend most of the morning just talking about it...You'll probably find it fairly
boring if you've had a bit of practice...

Anyway good luck ...

Let us know how you go...

Andy

[seiko1]

Friction point?
Don't they call it "Riding the Clutch" anymore

[snakeyez82]

thanx Boozatboo, i actually didn't know what i'd be doing at the course, i did ask my hubby but he couldn't really remember much (lol), thats helpful info to know!

Last night he surprised me & had bought another brake handle during the day, & he changed it last night, & we also now have a new oil cap & o-ring thingy on order & will arrive this week, yay! Also.... i booked my test today, yayyy! I'm doing the pre-learners course in 13 days time, now i'm REALLY nervous! But honestly, thanx everyone for the encouragement, i'll try to pass the test with flying colours, & will update if i pass! (& will probably hide if i dont!)

[dutchy]

hi and welcome, and good luck on the L's

[smithy5]

G'day and welcome snakeyez

[snakeyez82]

An update, i did my Pre-L's course on Mon-Tues this week, & i passed, yayyyy! Then on tues right after i finished the course, i went to the local RTA & did my computer test & passed 100%, so i got my L's that day, yeahhhh!

The only bad thing is that i've been sick for 3 weeks now (this is my 3rd week), & this week i've been coughing up my lungs & small animals (sorry if thats T.M.I, lol) but i didn't go to the Dr's til today, cos i didn't want to cancel my course, lol, so silly me went ahead & did it anyways - my hacking coughs weren't too disruptive to the class, & i managed to pass anyways! But i just got back from the Dr's & found out i have a chest infection (DOH!!! ) so unfortunately i can't go riding til at least next week, boo hoooooo!! Oh well, guess that'll learn me next time.

[robracer]

Congrats on passing the test's
Now let, me be the first to let you know that a little chest infection shouldnt stop you from riding & therefore you should harden the fark up & get out there & ride!

[gpxpunk]

Congrats on passing , now get out and ride your arse off. lol

[smithy5]

Chest infection ......... put an extra shirt on and ride .............

[Seth]

This is Mr's account so when he starts posting I'll need my own but he went for his Pre-Learner's and did well throughout the day, the last 20 mins before the end he dropped the bike when turning the corner and he knew why, he was meant to accelerate and let the clutch go with the turn and Instructor was prompting him to go faster around the bend, I guess he wasn't comfortable and getting close to the barriers he jumped off. Anyhow, Instructor did not correct, talk to him or anything, just benched him and told him to return for the Remedial

There were two other guys there worse than Mr (personal admission not just Mr's observation) and one was made to return the other was able to pass! Two others stacked it twice (different instructor) at the start of the lesson when they just have someone pushing you on the bike and both girls passed the 2nd day so I'm a bit peeved at the instructor.

Mr's a bit more optimistic as he thinks the extra lesson would be good for him. Is this normal? Or is it just luck of the draw regarding which Instructor you get? The other guy that was made to return stacked it the last 2 mins before the first day ended and he had to return as well.

Anyhow, regarding going for L's I want to go for my L's now too I want to go for classes before going for the Pre-Learner's as I've never ridden a bike before and don't know if I will get it as quickly as Mr did. However, I'm very short 150cm so I got to find a bike that I can reach the ground with first.

[mike-s]

Yeah it happens. in my class (6yrs ago) only 4 of the 8 passed. one couldn't get the hang of it and gave up pretty early. one freaked out and ran into a plastic barrier surrounding one of those rta nightlight trailers ( she held her wrists up high like you see some people on bmx's do and then freaked and straightened her arms & made the bike go WOT while she also object fixated) and two failed in the test. We had a pretty good instructor who gave us good guidance. One person just had to re-do day 2 the next weekend and then hopefully passed.

[Seth]

^Thanks Mike! Yeah he ended up just having to return to redo day 1 and he's doing day 2 today so hopefully he passes. It seems that he's not the only one with said instructor as when we contacted SU we asked if he'd have the same instructor and the reply was quite comical but nonetheless it was a definite no

In another note I'm going for my Pre-Learner's on the 9th so very nervous as I've never ridden a bike before and being quite short I don't even know if they'd let me

PS:- Any other advise or comments about what happens/gets taught on day 1 and 2 of pre-learner's I'd love to hear more info. TIA

[Grouchski]

Hey Congrats on passing your L's! My missus has just done hers as well.
Here is an easy way to get the hang of U's. Look for a spot in the middle of the road and use that as a pivot point. If you focus on that and not whats in front of the bike, you will naturally turn the corner. Best thing to use is the white lines in the middle unless they aren't there.
Does anyone know though of any rider training schools? Back in England, just about everyone goes to the schools to learn the skills they will need just like driving schools? It's usually a bloke or two who take people out with communications so that they can tell them what they are doing wrong there and then. I remember my instructor giving me some great pointers while riding. It worked out a lot cheaper as well than the expensive setups like HART or WHEELS whatever it's called.
I suppose my question is does anyone know about these or do they even exist?
If not, I will just buy a comms set and teach her myself. Could put a strain on the relationship though haha. Criticism is never taken well.
Cheers

[Bushy]

congrats bro

[boozatboo]

Hi grouchski...

there are courses here called Stay Upright courses that you can do...
I think the link to these is in another thread...
There is also a course at St. Ives... where you practice on a simulator...
if I could just remember what the heck its called...HART course...

If you have trouble finding the websites let us know.. they
are pretty easy to find...

Good Luck !!!

Andy