Regarding the Basic Handling Test

[Slyer]

Better to be guaranteed to succeed!
I failed it and put it off for another 1.5 years..

[robo555]

I had zero experience on a bike, did the 45min training + BHT and it was easy. It was done on their automatic Honda bike which didn't require me to change gears. The cones was the hardest, but it's pretty easy once you try it a few times. I got my licence the same afternoon. After that basically get a bike and learn how to change gears.

I recommend taking the BHT on their automatic bikes if they have one, no point making it harder for yourself.

[Slyer]

What! That's cheating!
Doing it on an automatic one pretty much removes all the difficulty.

[CookMySock]

Doing it on an automatic one pretty much removes all the difficulty.

I do not think so. That cone weave is quite tricky unless you are on a tiny scooter.

Steve

[Slyer]

The cone weave was piece of piss!
The hardest part is working the gears when doing the braking and stop in the box and things.
Mastering the takeoff takes a bit too.

The lady I was paired with did it on an automatic scooter and she was useless, did I mention she crashed it into a wall and ended up being taken away by an ambulance?

[CookMySock]

Well I guess some things are easy for some, and other things easier for others. I did the cone weave on their GN250 with flat tyres, and it was nasty. I doubt I would have got my 650 through the course LOL.

I can't believe you failed it though! LOL. Sorry, but that is really funny.

Steve

[BiK3RChiK]

I'm glad I did a few practice sessions at my local park before going to do my BHS test. and I'm also glad I didn't take my sport bike on the course but used their loan GN125! The hardest part of the test for me was the cone weave.. everything else was fairly easy and that was in the pouring rain too!

[Slyer]

Failed for not looking through the corner.

And yeah, the cone weave was real easy on the GN125, I just did some more tonight and it was harder on the sport bike.

[CookMySock]

Failed for not looking through the corner.

Ah thats a bit tough on you I think. Geez its only a test to make sure you can balance on something with two wheels, and you know where the brakes are. Looking through a corner?? this isn't the full road test.. Oh well.

Steve

[Slyer]

Yeah I was pretty pissed at the time too.
I wasn't even given a second chance to do it, you can only do it once.

I did stall a few times but not enough times.

[Blossom]

The lady I was paired with did it on an automatic scooter and she was useless, did I mention she crashed it into a wall and ended up being taken away by an ambulance?

sheesh... I hope she took the hint.


If you can do your bhs with someone who has loan bikes for you to use then it does mean you dont need a bike first and most of them will do some training with you first. I think it would have been much harder to do the bhs on my vl250. The loaner 2 stroke was much easier and smaller.
I must of sat/pillioned on 20 or so bikes before I chose my bike and by then I knew what style I liked, what I wanted, and how much bang I could get for my buck.
Having an experienced someone else who you trust, test ride bikes for you and check the mechanic side of things makes good sense also. An experienced biker is going to know to check for things that maybe you don't.
I am sure there are a few guys about here somewhere that could help you out checking bikes out if needed.
Being a nana I am going to say take your time. Your first bike is going to be with you for quite some time. Not all 250's are created equal.

Nana lecture over.. Good luck.

[Slyer]

I doubt it was a two stroke!
Ring a ding ding ding?

[Blossom]

I doubt it was a two stroke!
Ring a ding ding ding?

I think it was and old kawa 125 with kick start and all. and it was pretty crappy. But did the job just fine. It belonged to the guy who does ridesafe.

[joshy28]

Bump

Can anyone tell me where i can take the BHT close to home - Meadowbank. I have my own bike freshly bought horayyy!!

Looking for a good and reasonable priced place to go, but will contact 021 new rider in the meantime

[editrix]

Hi. I'm new.

I bought (and love) and practiced a bit on my little Kowasaki 250, then went to do the basic cert test. It was utterly, utterly horrible and disastrous.

The would not let me use my own bike. I had to use their scooter. They would not let me wear gloves. They did not teach me anything. The man yelled at me, bullied me, had me in tears, and then told my partner that if she attempted to communicate with me from the roadside in any way he'd fail me on the test. He also told me that only scooters are any good, and that Harleys etc I could shove up my ###.

They didn't ask for any ID, so I could have had my partner take the test for me!

And when I said I wasn't learning anything and would go somewhere else, the guy actually moved the cones closer until I could manage to do the slalom successfully.

My advice: if you possibly can, look around and choose a cert place where they treat you decently instead of telling you off and bullying you. This has nearly put me off riding a bike for life.