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Reminds me of the excitement when I learnt! Congrats.
And the weight shouldn't be an arm ache, perhaps you were tensing.
skinny-
Yea it was literally just the weight of the steering on my skinny arms, having just jumped off a Yamaha 125 lawnmower. All the nerves have gone now!
I’d already ordered Motorcycle Roadcraft Police Rider’s Handbook, Lee Parks’ Total Control, and the Twist of the Wrist books. When I’m learning I need to understand why/how, remove the uncertainty of something before putting it into practice. Lots of great reading to do before I can next jump on a bike.
pdlouche
CSB Update!!
I now hold a CBT in my mitts! I don’t think this should be so freely handed to any little scrote after a morning’s riding and a U-turn, but I suppose that’s on the head of the various training bodies across the country to make that call.
The CBT took til lunchtime today, as it was broken into sessions. I’ve apparently met and surpassed all the necessary standards, so in good position for a DAS.
Wednesday last week was the first time I’d ever even sat on a motorbike, no mean feat to get the confidence to go around 45mph on a little 125cc. Wednesday was basic manoeuvres in the car park. I really didn’t like shifting though - foot was slipping in the flat crepe-soled boots and the shifting felt bad. It was a late start and a few delays so no point going on the road.
Thursday I went to the huge ass warehouse-sized moto kit shop here in Swindon and spent probably 4 hours in there. Exhausting. No way I could trust riding on the road without proper kit, and since I plan on going DAS then better start from day one (/two) in correct kit.
Took ages, trying so much kit to see what felt best. Ten mins or so in each helmet to check for fit and comfort. Eventually I went for an HJC flip-front for comfort and glad I did. Apart from the weight penalty it’s just so much nicer. RST boots and “pro-series” jacket and trousers too. All the armour, all the insulation, and confidence if I spill.
So anyway Friday first another practice in the car-park to try get used to riding in boots, but still the shifting felt bad. Once on the road I got flustered a couple times, especially since it was getting to lunch time. Around 40 mins on the road, and two stalls I think. One before and one after a junction. By the second it was clear I needed to shake it out. After lunch another 30-40 minutes that felt better but not great. U-turn and emergency stop easily ticked off, but it was getting to kids kick-out time so we postponed the rest til today.
Today was a massive improvement. The time to let it all sink in, felt like a different rider.
Before we started, the shifter had already been hammered back out, and then I moaned the position of the peg, it was also dented so that got hammered back. Then suddenly shifting felt a whole lot better. I suppose when it last got dropped by a student (not me!) it was all dented inward too much.
An hour and a half non-stop, getting up to 40 on the dual carriageway and over 45mph once we were out on (50) country roads. Nearly made it back without stalling once, but just ran out of revs when holding it steady waiting to join on a roundabout, was in too high a gear. Car went round way slower than necessary and I ran out of throttle to ease off!
When we got back I had 10 or 15 mins in the carpark on the 600. Felt amazing. All the controls felt more positive, but instant arm-ache from the weight!
Anyway. Theory test booked for the 3rd December (earliest available date), and then if I pass it I’ll have an ‘assessment’ on the 600 and get started on training properly.