Been riding a 125 for a few months now and am looking to do my DAS in July.
Because I work I am very limited to time and am thinking of doing a 2 day course. I will only be able to do 1 lesson a week on Sundays set over 2 weeks followed by test day on a Monday. Is there alot that needs to be taken in and is it a good idea to leave a weeks gap in between lessons? I trust my riding ability to the max and am a very fast learner so I dont think I will have a problem but then again I have never had any DAS experience. What am I to expect?
“I trust my riding ability to the max…”
Oooh, dangerous statement, mate! Page 28 of the Roadcraft (The police rider’s handbook to better motorcycling) says: “…you need to take into account real ability as opposed to perceived ability (what you can actually do as opposed to what you think you can do - in the average rider there is a significant gap between real and perceived ability. A key objective of rider training is to bring perceptions in line with reality)…”
Get on a 500 and twist open the throttle like you do on a 125 and you and the bike will soon be parted. I recomend getting as much training as possible. There are plenty of threads on here about goods bike schools.
Mate, I was riding a 125 for almost 2 years before I did my DAS, and even with my two years it was recommended to me to do a 4 day course and I’m glad I did.
Up to you what you book but you may want to do an assessed ride with whatever school you use and let the Instructor be the judge of your ability. Due to my work (shift work) I couldn’t get all 4 days together so I ended up doing a Sunday, Monday, Thursday and a Friday.
Best otion would be to speak to the Instructors … and once you get it all sorted and pass the test, you’ll love it.
Good luck.
When I said I trust my riding ability i mean as in …Knowing my limits and what I will be capable of and not 
What are the main points which instructors pay attention to in DAS training?
Several things to take into account first
Have you taken your theory test? as that will explain a lot to you.
For the DAS, it is just general riding in test conditions… you also have to excel at certain manouveres (spelling) like u turns, emergency stops, the wheeling stand exercise and slow ride exercise. The instructor will also ask you certain questions about your bike… just to see if you know about the parts and what it does blah blah
Hope this helps mate
How long had you ridden 4 before taking your DAS Weaver?
No offence LondonBiker…but why not stay with the 125 for longer, say a year or even two, in all weathers conditions etc. You can’t teach/learn experience.
I rode a moped for 6 months and a geared 125 for 3 months. Took a 3 day DAS course and passed the test on the 4th day. I now ride a FJ1200 as my first bike. (I did ride off road 25 years ago though!)
You do need to learn to manouver a larger bike and get used to the speed, power and weight of the bike. The week gap is not a particularly good idea. You are better having them consecutively as you have a better learning curve and get used to the bike faster. Your instructor will also be able to keep tabs on your progress and get you into riding the bike more easily.
Do your theory test asap, it is valid for two years. Good luck!!
You won’t be able to do it in two days. I’d be very surprised if you did. I recently did 3-day DAS and had tons of experience on a smaller machine and it still wasn’t easy squeezy.
Like others said, riding a 500 is a very different kettle of fish. Especially slow control takes a lot of practise. Spend a few hours practising u-turns on a 200kg machine with people making your nervous, this is very very hard and almost a failed test if you blow it.
Instructors as well as examiners will want to see a million things, such as:
- proper safety position at stops
- proper lane positioning in all situations
- proper speed
- proper distance
- proper rear observations & lifesavers
- proper signalling
- slow control
- that you know your machine technically
- that you know how to instruct a pillion rider
- u-turn using clutch, throttle and rear brake with no feet down
- emergency stop with no skidding
DAS is hard work man! You’ll be knackered at the end of each day. Physically as well as mentally. There’s a lot of stuff to remember… Be prepared to be told you suck by your instructor and be ready to admit to mistakes and change many bad habits you will have accumulated in “real world” riding. You need to lose all of them if you want to pass the test.
But – go for it. I’m not with the people that say ride the 125 for another year. Get a bigger bike, it’s awesome but remember “With great Power comes great Responsibility!”