Saturday was the first day of my DAS training and it went really well

It is so much nicer riding a 500cc (ER-5) compared to my 125. Everything is smoother and feels safer (easier to keep up with traffic, particularly on dual carriageways, less affected by strong winds etc).

My main problem seems to be left hand turns. I have a habit of going to wide, I don't know why exactly, but I was practicing this morning and its getting better. Apart from that I seem to be doing ok, except for at the end of the day when we were heading back to the training school, I ballsed up merging into the outside lane which knocked my confidence which in turn made me more hesitant.

The rest of my training is on Wednesday and Thursday, with the test on Thursday afternoon.

Glad to hear your getting used to the bike bikes.
Remember to take it easy and not to rush things- that's when things go sour

Try looking a wee bit further on your left handers. Like further down the road you're turning into.

I think that is one of my problems. I had a similar issue with a long sweeping left hander which I think would have improved by looking further ahead. My instructor said we would spend more time on cornering on Wednesday (we had a guy on a 125 with us on Saturday so couldn't spend as much time on that).

Uw.L - I definately want to take things slow and steady, less chance of panicing and making a mistake. Trying to keep the nerves in check too.

This forum has been a great help for me; lots of useful tips. Thanks guys

Do 125s only go in straight lines

Good luck for Thursday and remember to breath!

Yeah i was going to post about looking down the road your turning into, and NOT at the opposite gutter or where ever your worried about going... Quite simply, you go where ever you look

A Nice trick that worked for a friend of mine is to push down on the bikes pegs, it leans the bike over a little more and hence turns the bike

You could always try actively countersteering aswell... But i'd try just looking down the road first, then the other stuff.



EDIT: And if your going to do the countersteering or peg push, then try it on a straight bit of road first, so you know what to expect!

Am i getting this right mate, Your DAS is only 2 and a half days?..Is that really enough training...when I did the DAS it was over 5 days, that was 4hours on the saturday and 8 hours on the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and another 4 hours on the Friday..im just concerned that your training is not long enough..anyway mate, lets look at your left hander. 1st of all mate you need to find whats called the vanishing point( this will tell you what the road is doing) and will allow you to take up the correct road position, so If the vanishing point( as far a you can see to the horizon) gives a clear view then it tells you to open her up, if on the other hand your view is becoming restricted (vanishing point is closer to you) then it tell's you that the road is about to change direction, so its time to plan your position or manouver..on a left hander move closer to the white line( not too close or over it) ease off the power and drop down a gear or 2 Lift and turn your head (look into and out of the bend) the way you want to go and your bike will go there...dont just look with your eyes when you take a bend( left or right) but turn your head and look properly..once your at the bends apex, then open her up a little till your vanishing point gets further away from you then chase it

......Good luck on Thursday Mate

Sounds like you're doing ok the 500's are much easier to ride than the little 'uns..

Good luck for Thursday

Good luck on thursday Mart, just keep a cool head and try not to let things rustle your feathers too much

nice reply chili, but you need to read the post m8, mart is talking about L/H TURNS, not bends.
so, Mart. remember the OSMPSL routine from CBT?
move the bike to the left side of your section of road, so when you get to the turn you are about a foot to 18 inches from the curb, follow the line of the curb into the turn, looking as far up the road you are turning into as is poss. once you have completed the turn mirror check & move into the centre of your lane.
poss reasons you go wide are
too fast into the turn,
starting the turn too far to the right/centre of your lane,
looking at the centreline of the road you want to turn into,
coasting through it rather than riding the bike through on a positive throttle.
HTH

I thought i was wrong there for a mo DP , but i was replying to the post where he said he messed up on a long sweeping left hander... ...looks like were both needin readin lessons mate

Hi Mart,



All the best for your test on Thursday just relax and remember to take deep breaths, dont feel self conscious hes just there to see how safe you are.



but just remember that its just a test.

Yes thats about right. It was what the training school recommended for
me as I had been riding my 125, 3-4 days a week for a year after
passing my CBT with them. However, I'm under no illusion that this is
all of the training I'll need. I'm looking in to doing additional
training, as long as I pass on Thursday.

Thanks for the vanishing point tip, I'll give it a go.

devilpaint - you and billy are both right, I was having trouble with L/H turns at junctions, and long bends. I'm pretty sure my trouble stems from not looking far enough ahead. Hopefully with a bit more practice I'll nail this.


Thanks to everyone for the tips and best wishes. I'll keep you posted on how I get on!

Best of luck for the test!