Learning to ride
Discussion
I am thinking about getting my bike licence. Mainly due to the ever increasing costs of commuting and the congestion (which are only going to get worse).
I have never ridden before so could anyone give me some info.
How long does it take to get a full licence and what is involved. Someone recently mentioned to me about an intensive 5 day course that takes you from complete novice to a full licence. Do these exist? If so how much?
As you can probably tell from the questions I know nothing about this. Any advice would be greatly appeciated.
Thanks in advance
V8man
I have never ridden before so could anyone give me some info.
How long does it take to get a full licence and what is involved. Someone recently mentioned to me about an intensive 5 day course that takes you from complete novice to a full licence. Do these exist? If so how much?
As you can probably tell from the questions I know nothing about this. Any advice would be greatly appeciated.
Thanks in advance
V8man
scan through some old bike threads; but to recap;
contact your local training centre; ask for "Direct Access."
they can vary from 3 days to 6 days, all day or evenings, weekdays or weekends. it all depends on your local trainers.
you need a theory and peception test pass first, again the local trainers will point you to dvla buildings to book in for these, fairly straight forward highway code stuff. again the trainers may have a refreshers book to read.
look at paying £500.
first day will consist of the CBT. training. 125cc going round cones, braking, basics. its impossible to fail. then you move onto 500cc's on the road, then on the last day/afternoon take your test. 20-40 mins with a tester at the local test centre.
if you only want to goto 125cc, then the CBT is enough, and you can L-plate for 2 years before needing the further training,
stoo
contact your local training centre; ask for "Direct Access."
they can vary from 3 days to 6 days, all day or evenings, weekdays or weekends. it all depends on your local trainers.
you need a theory and peception test pass first, again the local trainers will point you to dvla buildings to book in for these, fairly straight forward highway code stuff. again the trainers may have a refreshers book to read.
look at paying £500.
first day will consist of the CBT. training. 125cc going round cones, braking, basics. its impossible to fail. then you move onto 500cc's on the road, then on the last day/afternoon take your test. 20-40 mins with a tester at the local test centre.
if you only want to goto 125cc, then the CBT is enough, and you can L-plate for 2 years before needing the further training,
stoo
Here we go,
if you've never ridden before you will need to do a CBT (compulsary basic training) before you can go onto the road at all, this is usually a one day course. You can do this in isolation if you want to ride a small bike (up to 125cc) on your own.
Once you have a CBT which lasts 2 years you can then do your test, you have 2 options. Either do your test on a 125 which will limit you to a small bike (upto 33bhp) for 2 years (unless you are under 21 in which case it will be untill you are 21). Or do a direct access course (DAS)whereby you do your test on a more powerful bike ( I did mine on a 500cc).
Here is the school I used, it'd probably no where near you but has some good information and will give an indication of costs.
www.matchlessridertraining.com/
If you've never ridden at all before then do a CBT (you should spend a few hours riding about on the open road) and then if you like it do the rest of the DAS, the school should knock the price of the CBT off of the price of their DAS courses so you shouldn't lose out financially.
Also you will need to do a theory test befroe you take the test, it's pretty easy though.
Hope this ramble was of some use
if you've never ridden before you will need to do a CBT (compulsary basic training) before you can go onto the road at all, this is usually a one day course. You can do this in isolation if you want to ride a small bike (up to 125cc) on your own.
Once you have a CBT which lasts 2 years you can then do your test, you have 2 options. Either do your test on a 125 which will limit you to a small bike (upto 33bhp) for 2 years (unless you are under 21 in which case it will be untill you are 21). Or do a direct access course (DAS)whereby you do your test on a more powerful bike ( I did mine on a 500cc).
Here is the school I used, it'd probably no where near you but has some good information and will give an indication of costs.
www.matchlessridertraining.com/
If you've never ridden at all before then do a CBT (you should spend a few hours riding about on the open road) and then if you like it do the rest of the DAS, the school should knock the price of the CBT off of the price of their DAS courses so you shouldn't lose out financially.
Also you will need to do a theory test befroe you take the test, it's pretty easy though.
Hope this ramble was of some use
You should find some Riding schools in the back of MCN as well. I used ART in Crawley, they do a 3 day DAS and a 5 Day, but prefer only people who have riding experience on the 3 days.
I spent 18 months on a a scooter and a geared 125 as means of getting to the train station, I never felt particularly safe or stable due to crap brakes/acceleration and tiny wheels. When my CBT was close to expiry I decided to do the 3 Day DAS course, I really struggled on the 125's, I was unstable and couldn't turn in the road.
The day I went on the 500cc (ER5) it all changed, it feels so much more stable and the feeling of freedom is great.
I ditched the 125 and now have a Suzuki SV650S which I commute all the way to work on now, no more trains!
Go on, you know you want to.
Mags
I spent 18 months on a a scooter and a geared 125 as means of getting to the train station, I never felt particularly safe or stable due to crap brakes/acceleration and tiny wheels. When my CBT was close to expiry I decided to do the 3 Day DAS course, I really struggled on the 125's, I was unstable and couldn't turn in the road.
The day I went on the 500cc (ER5) it all changed, it feels so much more stable and the feeling of freedom is great.
I ditched the 125 and now have a Suzuki SV650S which I commute all the way to work on now, no more trains!
Go on, you know you want to.
Mags
, really easy bike to ride in traffic and with a bit more pace. Mines now awaiting the fitment of a Renegade can, mmmmm nice! I do like the SV and I am glad that I bought a twin as its easy to ride across the rev range and it makes a great sound (hopefully better if I ever change the can)
There are a few niggling doubt's though.
I think it may be very slightly too small for me, I am 6'2" but have very long legs and I have to sit quite forward on the seat to fit my legs in the tank cutouts.
I also find it a bit jerky at low revs such as filtering. I have read a few others on the SV forums say the same but being a new rider probably doesn't help me much. In another thread I was asking about covering the brake on filtering and one of the reason I find it hard is 'cos it seems jerky when I try this, but I guess experience will help.
Other than that I love it, I have the full lowers fitted and its all black which looks great.
I will be keeping it for some time as I am doing huge mileage (7k since March) so I intent to run it into the ground!
Planned jobs are a Renegade can and a double bubble screen for those Winter journeys.
I also will be needing new tyres very soon so maybe some Avon Azaro's or BT020's
Mags
There are a few niggling doubt's though.
I think it may be very slightly too small for me, I am 6'2" but have very long legs and I have to sit quite forward on the seat to fit my legs in the tank cutouts.
I also find it a bit jerky at low revs such as filtering. I have read a few others on the SV forums say the same but being a new rider probably doesn't help me much. In another thread I was asking about covering the brake on filtering and one of the reason I find it hard is 'cos it seems jerky when I try this, but I guess experience will help.
Other than that I love it, I have the full lowers fitted and its all black which looks great.
I will be keeping it for some time as I am doing huge mileage (7k since March) so I intent to run it into the ground!
Planned jobs are a Renegade can and a double bubble screen for those Winter journeys.
I also will be needing new tyres very soon so maybe some Avon Azaro's or BT020's
Mags
It was £300 from the dealer, but this is an '02 model SV, not the new angular one.
I don't think they do full lowers for the '03 model, only a bellypan.
I don't think you will find it too small, Its only my weird proportions that make it like that for me.
The nice thing about it being a fairly small bike is its quite light and easy to handle.
I don't think they do full lowers for the '03 model, only a bellypan.
I don't think you will find it too small, Its only my weird proportions that make it like that for me.
The nice thing about it being a fairly small bike is its quite light and easy to handle.
Is the hornet naked? and the new model with the subtle changes?
Is the SV a part faired'03 model?
When I tried a few bikes I was so caught up in the experience I just blatted around some fast roads and never really tried the bikes in traffic and filtering etc. Make sure you try to asses the bikes in all types of traffic.
Mags
Is the SV a part faired'03 model?
When I tried a few bikes I was so caught up in the experience I just blatted around some fast roads and never really tried the bikes in traffic and filtering etc. Make sure you try to asses the bikes in all types of traffic.
Mags
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