Forget stopping distances, there's plenty of space at the test centre. They're looking to see your front end take a dive and stay down until you're not moving any more.
At 2:50 you seem to be very very quick off of the clutch, this is what is causing it to jerk forward (and if you rev it right up, it'll wheelie), and this seems to be quite consistent through a lot of your gear changes. Try and release the clutch more slowly, let it go out to the biting point and then release, you can still do this quickly, but it needs to be a transition from lever fully in to lever fully out. It's the same concept as braking, you never want to just grab a fist full of breaks immediately, you can still brake sharply, but again you need to transition from lever out to lever in so that you don't lock up the brakes (which isn't the end of the world if you have ABS, but still better to avoid). You will notice rust build up when you're not using the bike, I notice it particularly on the brake discs. This is usually just surface rust that will come off when you use it. For the chain, there's loads of brands for chain cleaner and lubricant, and a useful thing is a three sided brush (search up motorcycle chain brush, you'll see one). My chain got really bad recently because it has just been raining constantly up in Scotland and I'm not able to get out too much, and because the bike sits in my garden, it just collects the rust. Managed to get most of it off though, and I think a metal brush could also work to get the rest. Something I recommend getting into the habit of is doing lifesavers/shoulder checks when changing lane position or moving from a major ride into a minor road (e.g., 7:50), you'll need to do this on the test so it's good to build the habit. Another tip I was taught on my DAS is to hold the clutch on the biting point when doing things like going around roundabouts or turning quite sharply, because it can help you to keep the line without gaining speed. Brilliant u-turns, I'm rubbish at them haha. Just keep the clutch on the biting point, keep the revs high, release/pull the clutch very slightly if you need to adjust speed, and you can also use a little dab of rear brake if needed. The best way to know you've got clutch control right is that you can have the revs as high as you want, but it still won't go any faster. For your emergency stop, don't pull in the clutch immediately, this will increase your stopping time. What you want to do is pull in the clutch just as you're coming to a complete stop so that you don't stall. In the test, you should be in second gear when doing the emergency stop, and if you're able to time it right you can quickly change down to first just as you're fully stopping, but do not pull in the clutch right at the start. Mod 1 test is very clinical, and it's so easy to fail by simply putting a foot down. For mod 1 you need to manually move the bike whilst not sitting on it, do a slalom between cones, do a figure of eight, demonstrate slow control, do a u-turn between lines, and then there are a few faster exercises, one where you do a lap and stop in between cones, you've got a hazard avoidance exercise where you need to swerve between cones, and you've got the emergency stop too. Mod 2 is just like the car test, and the examiner will follow you either in their own car, or on a bike. Brilliant bike you've got there, best of luck with the tests, ride safe :)
Try the u-turn from a stop to help with balance and slow speed clutch. Use a large car park with plenty of empty bays away from everyone. Instead of cones use tennis balls/dog balls cut in half on the ground for the weave and figure 8. Try and use the throttle a little more coming down the gears too instead of using the gears to engine brake. You automatically do it in your car, after years it's second nature. I'm going thru the same. I recently had to change my chain due to neglect even tho I tried to look after it every other ride in the winter. I'd park my bike at work after cleaning it the day before and it still looked dirty compared to those already in there, wtf? Only a 20min commute. Never again, belt or shaft drive for my next bike! 😉
2:20 I had that exact trouble with the sticky gearbox today on my ride, where it wouldn't pop into gear by itself. When I get through the footage, I'll make a short and pop the link here so you can see how I dealt with it. I've had this bike more or less a year now, and I still get frustrated when it happens
You can also "block change" gears. As long as the bike is moving, you can just tap all the way up and down through the gearbox with the clutch in. Handy for last second decisions 😉 Also, next time you get stuck between gears, go ahead and bring the clutch out ever so slightly. Keep pressure on the lever as you're letting the clutch out. You'll know the right place for it when the lever slips into gear. Keep the clutch there and tap your way all the way down to neutral or first. Be very careful not to let it out too much, or you risk damage. You could also just pull it in and let out gingerly for every gear.
I did get one point where it wouldn't engage from neutral to first, it's not in this video but I've done what you've mentioned. I slightly released the clutch and it engaged the first gear!
@@LeonsVlogsx If you're stuck in neutral, it's usually better to dip the clutch out completely, with no pressure on the lever, then getting into 1st as normal. Then there's no risk of damage.
Chain should have a blued finish or something similar from the factory. A bit of regular ol' 85W90 gear oil soaked into a rag does the job without making a mess. Main downside of gear oil over special chain lube is that you ought to do it a bit more often because it's not sticky. You can give the chain a clean after every ride (especially in wet/dirty/salty conditions), then let it dry (if you used water) and go over it with the oily rag. Bit of surface oil is all you need to keep the moisture out. If it's a particularly rainy week and you're not riding, go ahead and pick a spot of dry weather to top that oil off with the rag. It's not necessarily been washed away, but it doesn't hurt to verify. I've found that this method does a better job of keeping my chain in good condition over spray lubes, even though it's a secondary recommendation in the manual.
13:00 Try shift your weight a bit to the rear. When I did my emergency brake for my license test I let my body move forward with the braking force and ended up pointing the rear tyre at the clouds! Landed neatly and within the stopping distance so all's well that ends well, but it's something to consider
Other than the cone stuff you did for your CBT, you'll also need to perform an avoidance manoeuvre. At the test centre that'll be done using cones, but my favourite way to practice for it was using those narrow speed bumps. Just go at them at 30mph and (safely) dodge them at the last moment. You'll be surprised how agile a bike can be. Before you attempt this though, are you familiar and comfortable with countersteering?
Good job on those emergency stops too! Don't forget though, they're "emergency" stops, so keep the pressure on the brakes until you've come to a complete stop. Don't ease off like a normal stop. The forks should bounce up at the end.
After a couple of those stops I was definitely getting and feeling a lot more confident on jamming the brakes on, but whilst maintaining full control of the bike!
No, chain shouldn't be going rusty. I believe rusty chain is an MOT fail. When you (or anyone) buy a new chain, on the back of the box it tells you what to put on it. On the two boxes I've got at the moment, it's actually a picture diagram - two different boxes one is DID the other is Regina, basically they're saying the same thing, gearbox oil. SAE 75, 80 kind of thing. I now use Wurth chain and brake cleaner aerosol to clean the chain, easy to do if it's only had oil on it before. The oil is applied with an old toothbrush, from a bit of the oil in a sptay can cap, kind of thing. Wipe off excess with a rag and good to go. The whole job shouldn't take longer than 10 - 15 minutes. Years ago I did use greases and all sorts of stuff, boil in the tin and so on, apart from being a huge faff, could also be very messy. And after one ride the grease had completely gone, apart from the sides of the links. The inside of the chain was dry. Quite a bit of the missing grease could be found to be accumulating on the bike. HTH 😊
Forget stopping distances, there's plenty of space at the test centre. They're looking to see your front end take a dive and stay down until you're not moving any more.
At 2:50 you seem to be very very quick off of the clutch, this is what is causing it to jerk forward (and if you rev it right up, it'll wheelie), and this seems to be quite consistent through a lot of your gear changes. Try and release the clutch more slowly, let it go out to the biting point and then release, you can still do this quickly, but it needs to be a transition from lever fully in to lever fully out.
It's the same concept as braking, you never want to just grab a fist full of breaks immediately, you can still brake sharply, but again you need to transition from lever out to lever in so that you don't lock up the brakes (which isn't the end of the world if you have ABS, but still better to avoid).
You will notice rust build up when you're not using the bike, I notice it particularly on the brake discs. This is usually just surface rust that will come off when you use it. For the chain, there's loads of brands for chain cleaner and lubricant, and a useful thing is a three sided brush (search up motorcycle chain brush, you'll see one). My chain got really bad recently because it has just been raining constantly up in Scotland and I'm not able to get out too much, and because the bike sits in my garden, it just collects the rust. Managed to get most of it off though, and I think a metal brush could also work to get the rest.
Something I recommend getting into the habit of is doing lifesavers/shoulder checks when changing lane position or moving from a major ride into a minor road (e.g., 7:50), you'll need to do this on the test so it's good to build the habit. Another tip I was taught on my DAS is to hold the clutch on the biting point when doing things like going around roundabouts or turning quite sharply, because it can help you to keep the line without gaining speed.
Brilliant u-turns, I'm rubbish at them haha. Just keep the clutch on the biting point, keep the revs high, release/pull the clutch very slightly if you need to adjust speed, and you can also use a little dab of rear brake if needed. The best way to know you've got clutch control right is that you can have the revs as high as you want, but it still won't go any faster.
For your emergency stop, don't pull in the clutch immediately, this will increase your stopping time. What you want to do is pull in the clutch just as you're coming to a complete stop so that you don't stall. In the test, you should be in second gear when doing the emergency stop, and if you're able to time it right you can quickly change down to first just as you're fully stopping, but do not pull in the clutch right at the start.
Mod 1 test is very clinical, and it's so easy to fail by simply putting a foot down. For mod 1 you need to manually move the bike whilst not sitting on it, do a slalom between cones, do a figure of eight, demonstrate slow control, do a u-turn between lines, and then there are a few faster exercises, one where you do a lap and stop in between cones, you've got a hazard avoidance exercise where you need to swerve between cones, and you've got the emergency stop too.
Mod 2 is just like the car test, and the examiner will follow you either in their own car, or on a bike.
Brilliant bike you've got there, best of luck with the tests, ride safe :)
Try the u-turn from a stop to help with balance and slow speed clutch.
Use a large car park with plenty of empty bays away from everyone. Instead of cones use tennis balls/dog balls cut in half on the ground for the weave and figure 8.
Try and use the throttle a little more coming down the gears too instead of using the gears to engine brake. You automatically do it in your car, after years it's second nature. I'm going thru the same.
I recently had to change my chain due to neglect even tho I tried to look after it every other ride in the winter.
I'd park my bike at work after cleaning it the day before and it still looked dirty compared to those already in there, wtf? Only a 20min commute.
Never again, belt or shaft drive for my next bike! 😉
Thanks for the comments and guidance, really appreciate it!
2:20 I had that exact trouble with the sticky gearbox today on my ride, where it wouldn't pop into gear by itself. When I get through the footage, I'll make a short and pop the link here so you can see how I dealt with it. I've had this bike more or less a year now, and I still get frustrated when it happens
th-cam.com/video/j2-R8nXAv3s/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for that Nick, i'll keep this in mind next time I'm having issues out and about!
th-cam.com/video/j2-R8nXAv3s/w-d-xo.html Here's how I deal with the sticky gear issue. Plus you get to enjoy some Aussie Bush scenery!
You can also "block change" gears. As long as the bike is moving, you can just tap all the way up and down through the gearbox with the clutch in. Handy for last second decisions 😉
Also, next time you get stuck between gears, go ahead and bring the clutch out ever so slightly. Keep pressure on the lever as you're letting the clutch out. You'll know the right place for it when the lever slips into gear. Keep the clutch there and tap your way all the way down to neutral or first. Be very careful not to let it out too much, or you risk damage. You could also just pull it in and let out gingerly for every gear.
I did get one point where it wouldn't engage from neutral to first, it's not in this video but I've done what you've mentioned. I slightly released the clutch and it engaged the first gear!
@@LeonsVlogsx If you're stuck in neutral, it's usually better to dip the clutch out completely, with no pressure on the lever, then getting into 1st as normal. Then there's no risk of damage.
Chain should have a blued finish or something similar from the factory. A bit of regular ol' 85W90 gear oil soaked into a rag does the job without making a mess.
Main downside of gear oil over special chain lube is that you ought to do it a bit more often because it's not sticky.
You can give the chain a clean after every ride (especially in wet/dirty/salty conditions), then let it dry (if you used water) and go over it with the oily rag. Bit of surface oil is all you need to keep the moisture out. If it's a particularly rainy week and you're not riding, go ahead and pick a spot of dry weather to top that oil off with the rag. It's not necessarily been washed away, but it doesn't hurt to verify.
I've found that this method does a better job of keeping my chain in good condition over spray lubes, even though it's a secondary recommendation in the manual.
Cool, thanks again for the help. This weekend's plan is to give the chain a bit of TLC. The last thing I want to do is it breaking on me!
@@LeonsVlogsx It can take a lot of neglect and a good bit of abuse, just don't dump the clutch too many times 😉
I had 30 years of car licence before I decided to do bike test then a few more before buying one
13:00 Try shift your weight a bit to the rear. When I did my emergency brake for my license test I let my body move forward with the braking force and ended up pointing the rear tyre at the clouds! Landed neatly and within the stopping distance so all's well that ends well, but it's something to consider
Something I wouldn’t have thought of without you mentioning it! Will give that a go next time and see how much better it is, thanks a lot! 😁
Other than the cone stuff you did for your CBT, you'll also need to perform an avoidance manoeuvre.
At the test centre that'll be done using cones, but my favourite way to practice for it was using those narrow speed bumps. Just go at them at 30mph and (safely) dodge them at the last moment. You'll be surprised how agile a bike can be.
Before you attempt this though, are you familiar and comfortable with countersteering?
Good job on those emergency stops too! Don't forget though, they're "emergency" stops, so keep the pressure on the brakes until you've come to a complete stop. Don't ease off like a normal stop. The forks should bounce up at the end.
After a couple of those stops I was definitely getting and feeling a lot more confident on jamming the brakes on, but whilst maintaining full control of the bike!
@@LeonsVlogsx Keep at it and you'll be doing stoppies in no time ;)
But also focus on being smooth. That's what will keep you out of trouble the best.
No, chain shouldn't be going rusty. I believe rusty chain is an MOT fail. When you (or anyone) buy a new chain, on the back of the box it tells you what to put on it. On the two boxes I've got at the moment, it's actually a picture diagram - two different boxes one is DID the other is Regina, basically they're saying the same thing, gearbox oil. SAE 75, 80 kind of thing. I now use Wurth chain and brake cleaner aerosol to clean the chain, easy to do if it's only had oil on it before. The oil is applied with an old toothbrush, from a bit of the oil in a sptay can cap, kind of thing. Wipe off excess with a rag and good to go. The whole job shouldn't take longer than 10 - 15 minutes. Years ago I did use greases and all sorts of stuff, boil in the tin and so on, apart from being a huge faff, could also be very messy. And after one ride the grease had completely gone, apart from the sides of the links. The inside of the chain was dry. Quite a bit of the missing grease could be found to be accumulating on the bike. HTH 😊
Good job turning your head on those U-turns!
Thanks a lot, appreciate the comments!
@@LeonsVlogsx You're welcome, lad. Wasn't too long ago when I was doing this (on the same bike too 🤣), happy to help 😉