I want to learn to ride a motorcycle because why the hell not? it’s not the sensible option at my age but actually i’ve never been into sensible options because there nearly always boring. I don’t know any motorcyclists ( actually thats a lie…one of my mates has not got a bike at the moment and the other has been riding for so long that i don’t think he feels that confident to advise a beginner as all the rules and regulations have changed.
My old man hates the idea of me buying a bike ( he has no interest in cars or motorbikes, likes bicycles though) but i’ll win him round. So people i’m on my own with only you to guide me (cue the violins, sad music playing in the background)
Anyway, I wanna ride a motorbike, i have a crap budget £500, crap parking on the estate where i live, but I am not defeated.Yay Oh i forget to mention that i bought a bicycle a few months ago that cost £500 ( ok so i’m impulsive?? i did cycle 59 miles for charity though txtPost_CommentEmoticon(’’) So I could have chosen a better time to start this craziness. Oh and the old man is paying for a gorgeous tattoo backpiece in two weeks time for my birthday which is bloody expensive!! He refused to give me any money towards this new venture so I opted for a tattoo instead cos I love em. Do I still have your sympathy. No BOO! anyway moving on people if your still with me!!!
Here’s the rub!!!
I have telephoned three places so far to enquire about CBT and most of them have recommended that I use a moped. Two have offered me further training in gears at an additional cost. CBT £130 + Gears training £130. But i want to do my CBT on a geared 125 and if i happen to mess up then i want to complete it for free. Does anyone know where I can do this please.
Get bikes and East side Riders said that they recommend mopeds to new riders. I’ve been thinking about taking the CBT in schools that are a bit further out. Help please!!!
Welcome to the forums, and good luck with the motorbikes and CBT.
You don’t mention your age, but I presume you’ve not driven a car yet so driving and gears are all new?
I guess some of it is just how confident and how determined you are. The schools may be trying to warm you up for things gently and enjoyably (admittedly making more money for themselves too).
If you feel confident you’ll pick things up quickly, going straight for the 125 may be fine. If you’re one of the 10% who “fail”, you can just do it again - though that would then cost the same as the gentle moped intro.
Some schools might even start you off on a moped before moving you onto a 125 same day? Worth asking?
Also Camrider will do a guaranteed CBT pass deal for you. So if you do fail on the first go, which I’m sure you wont unless Dominos have hired you and sent you for the CBT under their company name, then you can redo the day as many times as it takes!! Good luck!
Try asking to see if any companies will let you have a ‘free taster’ of riding. Before i did my CBT (with Passmasters in South Ruislip), i booked up to have a little ride before actually booking the CBT - they introduced me to a geared bike straight away, and showed me the basics. From that, i had the grin factor (cos lets face it, thats what biking’s about!) and they were able to advise i’d be fine on a geared bike for the actual CBT!
Either way, welcome on board and good luck with it!
P.S. Parents can be fooled; didn’t tell my olds i’d got a bike until about 6 months after getting it! Kept it round a mates! Lol!
Hello and welcome to LB. You’ll find lots of helpful people on here, try to come the the Borough Market Meet tonight from 6pm and get to know the crowd and check out the bikes on show.
On the CBT front, I went with www.probiketraining.com many years ago. They CBT package was good value (£120, geared, including Helmet and some kit), they are very friendly and most instructors were ex-police riders … so very good and damn quick. They really helped me build up confidence, roadcraft and travelling at a speed in a safe manner. I highly recommend them.
The only down-side is their location, Billericay, but once your riding down the country lanes you soon appreciate their choice of location. I think they also offer CBT’s in Woodford Green. Back in the day, I used to speak to Paul there.
Have a look at Metropolis (Based in Vauxhall). I did CBT, Mod 1 and Mod 2 in about four weeks. They were really helpful and advised each time whether i was ready for the next test.
Well i’ve always thought the the internet can be a dangerous place!
and most of you are lucky this is not a dating site as I get the impression that some of you think i am way younger than I actually am. You have no idea how much this amuses me right now. When i mentioned my old man i didn’t mean my father Hee Hee!! i meant my other half. ‘Husband’ always sounds so twee to me and ‘partner’ i use it sometimes but …anyway hysterical. I have two tweenies to look after, and a supportive ‘husband’ (ohh that word it’s like some kind of ownership). Hence, it’s tricky just going off and doing what the hell you like cos theres other people to consider. Which is where you lot come in cos this is an awful lot of money spending, commitment and if i do something I like to give it my all… blah, blah, yawn,yawn. I like to be well informed…
On a serious note though, thanks for all the feedback about CBT. I think i need to see if I can go down and have a look around as will eventually be looking to do a test DAS or A2. It would be nice to stick with one company if possible? As I said though I want Gears damn it!!! So I want to see which company has the best deal and who is the most supportive about this. So far Mr Robbs was quite encouraging but there are no reviews on line about his company, Camrider sound alright too but they are mostly at the weekend. I want to learn during the week when the tweenies are out. Distance is another thing i’m wondering whether it is better to learn further out than zones 1 & 2.
Bigger better facilities etc quieter roads/
Ahhh the tattoo is a two- headed inuit bird and the tattooist doing it is a right misery but supposed to be good. I hope he cheers his face up as i’m gonna have the pleasure of his company for 2 sittings of over four hours. Hee Hee what fun!!!
Thanks for the invite to this Borough market meetup will make my way there as soon as i get more experience! Keep you posted.
Hi, Try Metropolis at Vauxhall Bridge. They let my friend start the day on an automatic bike andmoved him on to a geared 125cc later in the day. Speak to Chris, he runs the training school, can’t recommend them highly enough. I passed on DAS 1st time four years ago thanks to Chris and his team of first rate instructors!!
I recommend Motag at Crystal Palace - they’ve got loads of space to practise and were very helpful when I did my training. (google them and you’ll get the location and also the details of the head office where you can book). I took the CBT with them in 2004 on a geared bike, having not ridden before, and then the A2 in 2005. I am not sure if the quality or trainers has changed in 5 years, but the price was fairly reasonable then and the instructors I had were great. The price is the same there whether it’s a bike or moped.
Good luck - am sure you’ll find a decent training school!
When are these Borough market meets held? I didn’t make the last one purely cos I don’t have a bike. Quite frankly, I thought i’d look a bit of a prat without one. But I thought today it would be good to get to know people with bikes before I buy one. Whats the worst that can happen you all send me to Coventry cos i don’t own a bike yet.BOO!
p.s still waiting for my license to be sent back from DVLA (yawn, yawn)
I sent it them after making loads of phone calls told it is Free, they sent it back asking for a fee for motorcycle entitlement to be added, I sent it back again next day delivery £5.10. I’m still waiting 4 weeks later. Moan moan.
Oh well i’ve had time to research CBT!!! I guess and still have not made a decision about where to do that. Might go for (Get Bike) scooter option, then gears training =2 days, £220. Cos i spoke to a really nice guy and it’s at the end of the Picadilly line.
Every Wednesday night, and you don’t have to worry about not having a bike, plenty of LB-ers turn up without their bikes so you certainly won’t be an odd-one-out. You will be very welcome.
’)
So I could have chosen a better time to start this craziness. Oh and the old man is paying for a gorgeous tattoo backpiece in two weeks time for my birthday which is bloody expensive!! He refused to give me any money towards this new venture so I opted for a tattoo instead cos I love em. Do I still have your sympathy. No BOO! anyway moving on people if your still with me!!!
