AA restricted test in Wellington

[khabel]

Do the tests they do through the AA in Wellington use the same course or does the course vary depending on instructor?

Just wanted to get a idea of the layout before going for it

[phiretrojan]

Do the tests they do through the AA in Wellington use the same course or does the course vary depending on instructor?

Just wanted to get a idea of the layout before going for it

Yes, i would love to know what you do, as i'm really keen to take mine, but its just the fear what my mate told me you had to do a 180 U Turn around a aroundabout, and with a sports bike it seems hard....

[Kendog]

Yes, i would love to know what you do, as i'm really keen to take mine, but its just the fear what my mate told me you had to do a 180 U Turn around a aroundabout, and with a sports bike it seems hard....

I am not sure where the different tests are run, but I imagine the content if similar for all of them.
But I would suggest if you can't ride a 180 around a round about you are not ready to take the test yet. The on road test I did involved a U turn in a street (no roundabout)

[davebullet]

I would say each tester at each site probably has one or 2 preferred routes.

There are enough posts on here about what they look for, but don't use time as an indicator of whether you are ready for the test.

I personally would recommend at least 6 months riding / 4,000kms before you would have the experience and confidence. Mixing up both commuting and weekend rides.

I recommend you should be comfortable at the following:
1. No foot down u turns in a moderate street. To do this safely - find an unused carpark. I used the local intermediate school parking area in weekends to practice this.
2. Gear changes should be automatic and smooth
3. You should be able to creep along at the lights behind slow moving traffic without "duck wadling" (eg. if you are moving - both feet should be on the pegs)
4. Practice your emergency braking. You won't be asked to demonstrate this for the restricted or full test - but you should know what to do and your / your bikes limits should something cut in front of you regardless of what our laws require (the practical test is failing in this regard IMHO but that's common sense - not the law speaking).
5. Hazard identification. Practice being hazard aware. You will be asked for this in your full test (not your restricted from memory).

[robo555]

For practising U-turns, I found it helpful to use the lines on a carpark, to easily tell you whether you're doing better or worse than last time. Turn your head, pressing the rear brakes while turning helps.

I was able to U turn using two parking spaces, guess that depends a bit on the bike though.