Training or not?

[DanielM8]

Thanks all for your insightful responses. from What youre All saying ive gathered that i shiuldnt worry but Should get training a bit and do it all Before novembers change... hmm ok. Cheers! This seems like a really laid back communty aNd i Look forward to participating more as I grow in my motorbiking.

Thanks

[Tricia1000]

He admitted it, about half way through the training. His father had been a TT racer. Apparently my student had been conceived at a TT meet.
He learnt heaps the other day, considering he rocked up, thinking he knew it all. When it came to the 1st gear slow ride exercise, there was nothing smooth about the way he was riding, and he kept blaming the bike. So I tried to give him some advice on an easier way of doing the exercise. Still no luck. So he said why dont you show me. This was on his bike, which I had never ridden before. And I showed him, so then he REALLY started to listen.
Really nice guy in his 50's, but appalling bad habits..

Tricia 1000
RoADA (Dip)
Consultant to NZTA

Did he say that, or are you just assuming that's what all guys over 30 are thinking?

Bet it's the latter.

I'm cynicle, and I believe I've seen enough of humanity and it's short comings to justify it!

[Drew]

This seems like a really laid back communty

I'll quote this to you in a year, if you're still posting.

It should be fairly laid back, it tends to get a bit stupid though. Don't take anything too seriously and it great fun.

[Drew]

He admitted it, about half way through the training. His father had been a TT racer. Apparently my student had been conceived at a TT meet.
He learnt heaps the other day, considering he rocked up, thinking he knew it all. When it came to the 1st gear slow ride exercise, there was nothing smooth about the way he was riding, and he kept blaming the bike. So I tried to give him some advice on an easier way of doing the exercise. Still no luck. So he said why dont you show me. This was on his bike, which I had never ridden before. And I showed him, so then he REALLY started to listen.
Really nice guy in his 50's, but appalling bad habits..

Tricia 1000
RoADA (Dip)
Consultant to NZTA

Fair enough.

What is the aim of teh first gear slow ride exercise, please?

[george formby]

shit, did you give sminky the bash?

Na. I was getting stuck inot LaLa & Tinky Winky. Po was videoing.

[DanielM8]

I'll quote this to you in a year, if you're still posting.

It should be fairly laid back, it tends to get a bit stupid though. Don't take anything too seriously and it great fun.

a bit of bantering and playful bashing is part of the fun

[Tricia1000]

To have control of your bike at slow speed. He was like so many others who have ridden for a long time. Can ride at the speed limit, or over, without any trouble. bUt when it came to riding under 20k or less, needed a big hand.
Reminded me of a guy that came to an ACC training day. He should've been learning about really slow speeds, but kept saying that his bike was over heating. It wasn't, but he didn't want to lose face, cos he was on an R1, and just couldn't/wouldnt ride slowly. When we did the on road part, he showed his true colours then, by just about trying to kill himself. One of the other students told him his riding was shocking, and I told him I couldn't understand how he had managed to stay alive for so long. He was about 24.

Tricia 1000
RoADA (Dip)
Consultant to NZTA

Fair enough.

What is the aim of teh first gear slow ride exercise, please?

[george formby]

To have control of your bike at slow speed. He was like so many others who have ridden for a long time. Can ride at the speed limit, or over, without any trouble. bUt when it came to riding under 20k or less, needed a big hand.
Reminded me of a guy that came to an ACC training day. He should've been learning about really slow speeds, but kept saying that his bike was over heating. It wasn't, but he didn't want to lose face, cos he was on an R1, and just couldn't/wouldnt ride slowly. When we did the on road part, he showed his true colours then, by just about trying to kill himself. One of the other students told him his riding was shocking, and I told him I couldn't understand how he had managed to stay alive for so long. He was about 24.

Tricia 1000
RoADA (Dip)
Consultant to NZTA

I practiced the BHS test with my G/F. As a consequence I'm still practicing but getting much betterer, it was a real eye opener realising that after 30 years or more riding I was pants at it!

[Banditbandit]

Training is commonsense. KB is full of it. Don't listen to KB!

KB is full of shit too ...

[Banditbandit]

T

That's fucking terrible!

No dis respect to yourself or your missus, but I'm pretty fuckin afraid if riders can have one hour practicle experience, and then get on the roads.

It's an hour more than a car driver needs, but fuck, a car won't fall over and slide into one of my kids!

Fuck me .. I was riding on the road on a bike I rebuilt before I had a licence ... when I bought my Trumpy 650 my wife insisted I get a bike licence .. so I sat the oral and got a "Restricted Licence" .. that meant I could not go over 30mph on the bike (Yeah right!) (for the chikldren 30mph = 50kph) ... after 6 months I paid 50cents to renew it .. then six months later paid another 50cents to renew it ..

I finally sat my full licence on a scooter (an old dunger of a thing) .. the cop made me ride 100 yards in a straight line, turn around and go bacl .. nd he wrote out my fuull licence ... I went and parked the scooter and went home on the Trumpy ... (scarey huh?)

BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE ...

In the 1980s when I got a Jap bike for commuting - that's when I really learnt to ride ..and realised I actually knew sod all about riding a bike ... I did some training for new riders (yeah yeah .. but shit I needed it) ... more recently I did some training on Hampton Downs - (fuck that's a fun track to play on) . I went to play on the track - but till learnt something ...

Some of my mates who rode like I did in the 1970s did not make it - buried in several places around the country ... if we had the bikes there are tosday a lot more of us would not have made it either ..

[Tricia1000]

If you think one hour is not enough, I know someone who went to a BHS provider, within NZ, had never ridden before, on scooter or geared bike, had never been able to master a manual car, and was in and out in 12 minutes, with certificate safely in hand!!!!!

When that rider started riding on road, for the first few months, needed someone to ride in front, and show with their hand, what gear the rider behind should be in .....
Now that's scary stuff!!

Tricia1000
RoADA (Dip)
Consultant to NZTA

That's fucking terrible!

No dis respect to yourself or your missus, but I'm pretty fuckin afraid if riders can have one hour practicle experience, and then get on the roads.

It's an hour more than a car driver needs, but fuck, a car won't fall over and slide into one of my kids!

[Drew]

Training needs to be relevant too. I question the relevance of your first gear slow riding, but not so much that I'll take the course.

[Tigadee]

Thanks all for your insightful responses. from What youre All saying ive gathered that i shiuldnt worry but Should get training a bit and do it all Before novembers change... hmm ok. Cheers! This seems like a really laid back communty aNd i Look forward to participating more as I grow in my motorbiking.

BHS is longer and harder now (or will be soon), so training is essential. You probably know how to steer a bike/scooter but the learning how to use the gears will take up quite a bit of your concentration in the beginning, so training is important. Practice the parts of the (old) BHS on your scooter to get a rough idea of what you will be doing: Stops, turns, slalom, etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpwjJMRl_5U

I had done as you suggested earlier, riding in quiet streets (and a car park) for two weeks on my little 225cc Scorpio before I even ventured out into the big bad roads of Auckland.

Good basics here clearly explained - have a look through, especially the motorcycle handling tips: http://www.youtube.com/user/motorman857

[Gremlin]

Training needs to be relevant too. I question the relevance of your first gear slow riding, but not so much that I'll take the course.

Any numpty can twist the throttle hard in a straight line and I've seen plenty of it.

Controlling a motorcycle at low speed is all about balance and handling. The steering is heavier due to tyre friction (tyre is barely moving relative to the ground). When you go around a roundabout or through an intersection you're not doing it at high speed. Being able to control the bike at very low speeds smoothly, flows on through to plenty of aspects of riding. The practise also makes you more comfortable with what the bike and you can and cannot do...

[george formby]

Any numpty can twist the throttle hard in a straight line and I've seen plenty of it.

Controlling a motorcycle at low speed is all about balance and handling. The steering is heavier due to tyre friction (tyre is barely moving relative to the ground). When you go around a roundabout or through an intersection you're not doing it at high speed. Being able to control the bike at very low speeds smoothly, flows on through to plenty of aspects of riding. The practise also makes you more comfortable with what the bike and you can and cannot do...

Practice shows the bike is more capable than I am & also gives me the confidence to use more of that capability. Just about every aspect of the training & practice is applicable to open road riding.