Help! Lots of it

[gummibear]

I just came back from my learn to ride course at roadsafe, they told me not to do the basic handling skills yet because i'd probably fail it and to wait until I get better at riding. The reason I was behind everyone else was because I was the only one who hadn't driven a manual car before, and took a while to get used to the clutch. But I don't have a motorbike to practise on, is there anyone in Wellington who'd let me practise on their bike and help me prepare for the basic handling? I'm rebooked for it on 9th of feb, and really want to pass it then and be able to get my learners. Please, please help me out, I know its a huge ask but I really want to be able to ride and get a bike and not wait forever. :weep:

[Zealnz]

I've added you on msn if you need help :)

[325rocket]

you need to get hold of some one with a dirt bike so you can practice off road.
sorry i dont have one.

[scracha]

you need to get hold of some one with a dirt bike so you can practice off road.
sorry i dont have one.
Should only take you a couple of hours max buddy. Sod the dirt bike, go to South Auckland and practise kerb crawling at walking speed.

[scootnz]

Really? I did my basic handling skills test never having driven a car at all, or ridden any motorbike. When I got there and saw the bikes available, I quickly nabbed the 50cc auto step through, and did the BH on that. Bugger trying to learn footchange clutch/gear technique in one short session.

[quallman1234]

We have a bunch of dirt bikes. At home, Specifically my sister's little DRZ125 with a manual clutch. Don't let it get you down just keep going at it :).

I live near hutt high so could teach you down at the strand.

[Padmei]

When I did mine a couple of years ago that was my plan but they said you can't do it on a moped or 50cc or under.
Don't be despondent but also don't underestimate the skills needed for the test - I had a bike when younger & I currently mountainbike technical tracks but actually found it v tricky t get around the cones. The woman doing it on her new bike failed as did others in a friends test group. Not trying to be negative but get as much practise as you can but keep on its awesome...

[McDuck]

I passed mine ok.... then again i am a petrol head. I recoment finding a different teacher person. When i ddi mine there were 2 instructers for the 7 students and jsut spotted problems and helped with them.

[quallman1234]

When i was watching my brother today i noticed that the instructor (andrew), was being a bit more villgiant because there were so many people doing it!, I did mine with 2 other riders and he spent time with everyone and even wrote the BHS's up before we started the test hehe.

Gimme a yell if you wanna take my offer up.

[325rocket]

Gimme a yell if you wanna take my offer up.

take his offer up

[Roki_nz]

I did mine having never ridden a motorbike before and I passed. I can understand the clutch issues since you had never driven a manual car.

As for practicing if you don’t have a motorbike just use a pushbike. I know its not the same but its close enough to get your body knowing how to move etc on a motor bike

[gummibear]

Yea, i've been practicing on a pushbike lots now, but don't find it difficult at all. I tried some cone(shoe!) weaving too on that, and after a few tries, could do it ok. Quallman- was your brother the one in the red tshirt? I also wouldn't be able to make it to the hutt or i'd probably take up your offer, but may have found a motorbike to borrow, i'll find out today. How long on a motorbike do you guys think i'll need? A few hours or a few days??

[Lissa]

When I did my Basic Test I had never riden a bike in my life, I did one lesson for about an hour just to get the basics before I passed, so I don't think you really would need days of practice to get it..... Think confidently :yes: and good luck!

[Str8 Jacket]

Yep, have faith chick! I don't drive a car, never had my car licence either and when I did my learn to ride with Andrew I managed to highside the lil 125 and still pass my BHS.... Learning to ride takes ALOT of patience and you'll get there eventually. Take Quallman up on his offer, he has lots of area near his place where you can practice....

[quallman1234]

My brother did it at 5pm instead because there werent enough bikes.

Note all the classes were mega full.

[Speedracer]

When I did my basic handling, cost $110 all up bike and gear included. (3 years ago)
And guess what?
There was no time limit and I was the only guy there. 1 on 1 tuition. I did it down in the old winter show buildings carpark. (near newtown)

The guy made me do much better than the passing standard. I picked it up pretty well and it took a couple of hours. He said some people are quick, some people take a while but they all get it.

It was all done on a nice heavy 250cc bike too (VTR?), so it wasn't easy.

I wish I could remember the name of the outfit!

[gummibear]

Yea! i found someone to help me on sunday, now what do you guys think I should work on for the bhs? Speedracer-man that sounds like an awesome deal, at roadsafe it's for learn to ride its $130 for learn to ride, then another $130 for the bhs+$60 bike hire at roadsafe, but it is worth it i guess. And the location would be ten times better for me too, i could walk there instead of begging parents for a ride or catching the train!

[quallman1234]

I caught the train for many years girl, Harden up. ;). I also used to bike 120kms + a week. - Now i have my bike hehe :).

Tell us how your lesson on sunday goes :clap:.

[Maha]

When I did my Basic Test I had never riden a bike in my life, I did one lesson for about an hour just to get the basics before I passed, so I don't think you really would need days of practice to get it..... Think confidently :yes: and good luck!


Yeah its like picking our nose really innit?...cant really fuck that up can ya?....:blink:

[HenryDorsetCase]

Yeah its like picking our nose really innit?...cant really fuck that up can ya?....:blink:


if you see brain, you've fucked it up.

trust me on this

[Rosie]

Yea! i found someone to help me on sunday, now what do you guys think I should work on for the bhs?

The motorbike road code, and the ltsa website should have a list of all the things they cover for the BHS test, which should give you ideas of things to practise.

Practise lots of starting and stopping, so you can use the clutch nice and smoothly. Once that is going well, practise changing up and down a gear, and then practise weaving through 'cones' (shoes, tennisballs cut in half etc work well).

You'll get there with practise! I drive a manual car, and it still took me ages to figure out the clutch on a motorbike. :mellow:

Good luck! :sunny:

[RnB Fan]

LTSA web site is best for explaining what you need to know for your BHS. Practice all the "slow stuff" as from memory BHS was all about bike control - riding around cones, riding slowly in a straight line and braking.

Good luck and have fun.

[Wasp]

I have a bandit and we have plenty of bucket racers (small bikes) that you can use if interested

[gummibear]

Ok, 2nd chance tomorrow, and I feel ten times better about it now. I've practiced on the fxr a few times and found it way easier! I can start, stop, change gear, turn, brake, basically everything in the bhs except cone weaving, but i'll practice that today hopefully. But even though I feel so much better, i'm still not sure if I can pass, but am very determined to. I'm not sure if i'm just more confident now, but the gns felt so much harder to do things on than the fxr is. I also think the seats on the gns should be thinner, it's way too fat! So once again, any advice?

[Rosie]

Good luck! :sunny:
For cone weaving, you really just need to practise, so you can figure out the lines to take, and get the flow going. Two little bits of advice though: Always look where you want to go; and, little short bursts of throttle will help the bike to stand up, if you feel you're losing your balance, a little blip of the throttle should get the bike upright again.

[gummibear]

I passed! Its incredible, i crashed and absolutely sucked but still passed! Rosie, your advice worked excellently, and thanks to everyone else too. Scratchie tomorrow, i can't wait!:sunny:

[CookMySock]

gummibear, your friendly and helpful bikeshop should hire you a shiney little 125 that you can putter around at the park on. We paid 50bucks for my wife for a whole day. She was utterly bored with it after 3 hours. :cool:

Congrats on passing !


Steve

[Gummie]

:banana:feels good when its done.

[breakaway]

Nicely done. Now I think what you need is a mentor to come around and show you the ropes.

I remember my BHS on my RG150 2 stroke demon. I remember the tester was like "If you over rev I'll take points off". It's a bloody 2 stroke :girlfight:

[gummibear]

Yea, learners, its so exciting! All you peoples ideas sound fantastic, i'll try them all! I can't wait till tomorrow, to go gear searching and shopping! You bikers must have so much fun, this is all so exciting for me, almost as good as actuali riding. For gear, what do you guys prefer out of patterned or plain helmets?

[CookMySock]

You bikers must have so much funoh hell yes. hee hee. Biking leads to other things too - it gets us out and about.


For gear, what do you guys prefer out of patterned or plain helmets?ooh you must buy the spunkiest you can afford. YOU must like it - that is the main thing, but to answer your question my wife and I have plain helmets as they go with our bikes. Actually, I don't know if I am convinced that I like mine yet.

DB

[NZsarge]

I passed! Its incredible

Congratulations :niceone:

[Rosie]

For gear, what do you guys prefer out of patterned or plain helmets?

The most important thing is that the helmet fits properly. Other than that, it's a matter of personal taste. Plain helmets in lighter colours tend to be more visible, but you may decide you like some of the graphics better.
Bizarre girlie tip: silver and white are fairly visible colours, and aren't going to clash with any future bike/gear purchases (buying a pink helmet, for example, would guarantee you fell in love with a red bike at an insanely cheap price)

Have fun shopping :D

[Blue Velvet]

Cool gummibear, did you go back to Roadsafe or try the other outfit in Newtown?

Have you been gear shopping yet? Agree with Rosie re helmet, fit is most important. But generally you can order helmets in another colour etc.

Might pay to read up/get advice on helmet fit though. Two motorcycle shops I've been to in the Wellington region would have let me buy ill-fitting helmets if I hadn't known what to look for when trying them on.

Will try and find some links...

[gummibear]

Yea, back to roadsafe. For helmets, i really don't know how it should fit, except for "snugly" which isn't too specific, any tips would be great. I'll do a search on it though

[Nasty]

Yea, back to roadsafe. For helmets, i really don't know how it should fit, except for "snugly" which isn't too specific, any tips would be great. I'll do a search on it though

Buy your helmit from a bike shop. Try on the different brands to know how they feel as they are all different and for different head shapes. The helmit should be fairly snug, but should also be comfortable and secure. Once you try a few on and the shop had discussed what you should be looking for in a helmit you will know what you want to buy.

[Badger8]

Yea, back to roadsafe. For helmets, i really don't know how it should fit, except for "snugly" which isn't too specific, any tips would be great. I'll do a search on it though

Snugly = a close fit, but not overly tight.

You need to be able to get it on without pushing your brains out your nose (but remember the padding will squish with use), but if it's flopping around, it's too big.
Once it's on and the strap done up, try rolling it around whilst keeping your head still. If it's flopping about, or even worse if you can roll it off forward, TOO LOOSE! last thing you want is your head bashing around inside it (or even worse, it coming off) if you do get in strife.
Move your head around a bit, look over each shoulder quickly then stop turning your head quickly, if it's flopping around, too loose.
The other thing to consider is we all have different shaped heads, and all helmets are differently shaped. Some people have a Shoei shaped head, an Arai shaped head, etc etc etc. Find the helmet that fits you the best, this is a very important thing from the safety aspect. And of course check for a safety approval sticker, AS/NZS4321 (i forget the number)
And of course, shop around! go check out all the places in your area, dont be in a rush to buy the first one that fits. Be sure to find the best one for you.

Happy gear hunting! :niceone:

[Rosie]

Yea, back to roadsafe. For helmets, i really don't know how it should fit, except for "snugly" which isn't too specific, any tips would be great. I'll do a search on it though

A vague description of how my helmet fits:
My helmet folds my ear lobes 'inside out' when I put the helmet on, then they pop back to normal once it's on (helmet that is too small can keep your ears pinned in 'inside out' position). Once the helmet is on, the cheek pads squeeze my cheeks a little, not enough to be uncomfortable, but you can feel that it's there. I only have to open my mouth a little wee bit to be able to feel the chin strap. It doesn't press on my jaw/neck when my mouth is closed, but it isn't far away.

And, as Badger8 said, it doesn't move around when you pull/twist it.
All helmets (legally) for sale in NZ have to comply with the same safety standards. A cheap helmet that fits really well is going to look after your head better than an expensive one that doesn't fit as well.
Comfort is also important, once you find a helmet you like, leave it on and browse around the shop for a while, to see how it feels after you've been wearing it for a while.

[Blue Velvet]

I found the helmet purchase the hardest of all the gear, finding one that fit properly etc.


Buy your helmit from a bike shop.

The two shops I mention in my previous post were motorcycle shops so it's not a total safeguard against being sold something not right for you. If it doesn't feel right or you're not sure, don't buy it just because they say it's right.

Sorry gummibear, I haven't had time to search for any information. Will try today.

Edit: This link is pretty good - http://www.thebellstore.com/Fit/fitprint.html