Doing you Standard A2 license

hornett

hornett

hornett

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3 Jan 2005
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Bridgend
Wondering if anyone has ever gone down the A2 route rather than DAS

At the moment because of work and family I am struggling to organise or book my mod 1 with a training company.

Looking into it my CBF125 is a Standard A2 bike so if I did the mod1/2 on that I would need to be on 33hp bikes for 2 years but it would mean I can book everything myself.

Just wondering if anyone has tried this route, I ride everyday so am pretty comfortable on a bike and doing it on my own seems to make sense

Comments please
 
I don't see why not if you're planning to do it this year.

There are a load of changes at the beginning of 2013. No more automatic upgrading, and that bike will only be suitable for an A1 licence (125cc/11kW max), not A2.

One thing you might want to look into is if you go for an A2 licence now would it still automatically upgrade after 2 years? Or are you not bothered if it doesn't?
 
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hornett said:
Damn, stupid new laws

So basically I need to pull my finger out and do it before 19 Jan :mad:
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Yup :(

Is there absolutely no way you can just take a few days off from everything and do an intensive DAS course? Then you can ride whatever you want, no limits :)
 
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Its the timing, if I do it myself I can book it when I can get to do it, if I go DAS I need time off to do the DAS and then time off for the tests
 
hornett said:
Its the timing, if I do it myself I can book it when I can get to do it, if I go DAS I need time off to do the DAS and then time off for the tests
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There are DAS courses that are generally 3-5 days IIRC which include the tests. e.g. http://www.camrider.com/courses/direct-access.html. There are training schools that will do the lot in one go, so if you can take a week or so off then you can get it all done in that time.

I know it can be difficult to get time off, but I highly recommend just going for the cat A licence. Get yourself a nice Hornet 600 to suit your username :p
 
Your right, just called the local bike place and they can squeeze me in on the 19th for 3 days training with test on the 4 day.

Costing me a pretty penny but "if" I pass its all done and dusted

Nervous now even though I have put 3000 miles on my 125 :eek:
 
hornett said:
Your right, just called the local bike place and they can squeeze me in on the 19th for 3 days training with test on the 4 day.

Costing me a pretty penny but "if" I pass its all done and dusted

Nervous now even though I have put 3000 miles on my 125 :eek:
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Sounds good. How much, out of interest? Also, bear in mind there are two tests - you might find they'll put you through mod 1 first, then they'll book mod 2 at a later date as if you fail mod 1 you'll lose mod 2 test fee if you book both at the same time.

Good luck :)
 
Costing about 690 its Mon to wed with both tests on Thursday. He did say after the two days if he thinks I'm ok I don't need the Wednesday it will cost me less.

I did my theory awhile back just to get it out the way
 
hornett said:
Costing about 690 its Mon to wed with both tests on Thursday. He did say after the two days if he thinks I'm ok I don't need the Wednesday it will cost me less.

I did my theory awhile back just to get it out the way
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That price isn't bad for 4 days, especially as it includes the tests (which I doubt you could have got so soon if you had booked yourself). The training school I went with have pre-booked tests with the DSA that they just assign to your name, so can get tests really quickly. I'm guessing it's the same for most training schools.

Have you asked them what the re-test fee is if you fail mod1 or mod2? You must bear in mind that if you do fail mod 1 then you lose the mod 2 test fee, so you might be able to make things cheaper by booking just mod 1 on Thursday, then if you pass book mod 2 at a later date. Less risk that way.

Unless of course you're happy taking a little bit of risk and potentially getting both parts done in one day :)
 
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Yup, did it this way a couple of months before my CBT was due to expire. Passed the theory and mods 1 and 2 first time.

However I had sat my car test at the same test centre a year previous so had a decent knowledge of the routes/area. Just did some practice in a car park the day before mod 1 and took myself up to Atherton and had a few hours riding around the day of my mod 2.

I didnt book mod 2 til after passing mod 1. Originally the date for mod 2 was months away, but picked up a cancellation for about 5 days later in the end.
 
Good luck mate!

Just take your time and try not to get too nervous. If anything, practice practice practice your maneuvers.

My stumbling block was my u-turn first time around. I was doing it all wrong but could make it work 7 times out of 10. It didn't work for me on test day :p

I went away and nailed the u-turn so I could get around in about half a roads width.

Passed 2nd test just fine :D

Just don't go out and buy an R1 as your first bike because you might just scare yourself so badly you wont ever ride a bike a gain! :p

One of the best bikes I have ever had was an FZS 600 Fazer (the one with the thundercat engine). Awesome first big bike, highly recommended but you might struggle to find a clean example these days with the way Yams used to use butter for components :p

It ain't much to look at, but it is all day comfy and is deceptively quick :cool:

Buff
 
I'm hoping I will be ok as I ride my bike everyday to work and its a 45min trip in all weathers.

Just need to get back into all the good habits which I am doing so every trip.

Only thing that is worrying me is the weight of the test bike. I'm only a skinny 11st. I can throw my 125 about easy, just worried the bigger bike will be a new learning curve.

Oh and on the R1 comment, my work mate just got one and man they are nice but to be honest the bike to me is my everyday transport so its function over speed for me :)
 
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hornett said:
I'm hoping I will be ok as I ride my bike everyday to work and its a 45min trip in all weathers.

Just need to get back into all the good habits which I am doing so every trip.

Only thing that is worrying me is the weight of the test bike. I'm only a skinny 11st. I can throw my 125 about easy, just worried the bigger bike will be a new learning curve.

Oh and on the R1 comment, my work mate just got one and man they are nice but to be honest the bike to me is my everyday transport so its function over speed for me :)
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If anything bigger bikes are easier to handle, especially for mod 1 stuff. You get used to the extra weight very quickly.
 
BuffetSlayer said:
My stumbling block was my u-turn first time around. I was doing it all wrong but could make it work 7 times out of 10. It didn't work for me on test day :p
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I found the u-turn a psychological nightmare! It's so easy to look down and think you're not turning tightly enough but mostly that's because you've looked down. I found it easier in the test centre between two painted lines because I knew I wouldn't wallop the curb if it went wrong.

I tried to do a u-turn once on my Daytona. Never again! I think I'd need my knee on the ground to turn it around with the limited steering lock. It was so much easier on the ER5!
 
I'm doing mine this year, I've got my mod1 booked for the 6th of November and will book mod2 after, only started learning in September and had no prior exp and I don't have a driving license either! , but all seems to be going ok so fingers crossed :D
 
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