Direct Access Motorcycle Training

[anon]

YAMAHA DIVERSION CLUB
TECHNICAL LIBRARY
ARTICLE 03/01 - DIRECT ACCESS MOTORCYCLE TRAINING
Compiled from various postings by MrSpock

DAY 1

Today saw the start of my Direct Access Scheme (DAS).
Got up nice & early, got the bike on the trailer, headed up to the training area.
Arrived nice & early, instructor said to me to bring the bike off the trailer and over to the office (about 100 yards).
You should have seen the look on her face when I rode it over to the office!
Got complimented on the bike (black R reg XJ600N), which made me happy.
Sat drinking coffee & doing paperwork until my fellow trainee arrived a wee while later.
We discussed the plan of attack for day 1, then got kitted up and went out into the pouring rain.
Was delighted to see that the training pad was about twice as wide as the area where I'd been practicing my U-turns & figures of 8.
Spent an hour or two doing things like cone dodging, figures of 8, emergency stops & slow races from one end of the pad to the other. Break for more coffee & bacon butties, then out on the road. WOOHOO!

Thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being out on the road on a big bike, still got the silly grin on my face!
After a bit of town work we headed out onto the highway, such a great feeling to be doing 60+ on a bike knowing that there was tons more in reserve if I needed it.
My wee 125 would hold 60, but it was close to red-lining at that speed and the mirrors would just be a blur.
On the divvy though, nice clear mirrors, comfy riding position, felt like I belonged there!

The day just flew in, roll on tomorrow!

Time for a well earned cup of tea and a long hot bath.

DAY 2

Day 2 of DAS was blessed with the finest weather I've experienced on a bike.
Mild, sunny, light breeze.
Started with a quick chat (and a cuppa!), headed straight out on the road.
First stop the petrol station to fill up the bikes then back out on the roads.
Roundabout theory & practical session this morning.
Parked the bikes near a major spiral marked roundabout, walked over to it and talked through all the possible combinations of approaches & exits, what to look out for, what to keep in mind, lane discipline etc, then had a bl**dy good laugh as we realised that every car approaching the roundabout spotted 3 folk (2 of whom are 6' males) in fluorescent jackets pointing at the roundabout, deep in discussion, and every car slowed down! Must have thought we were Plod!
Back on the bikes, plenty of roundabouts & traffic lights, then up through the residential part of the town, doing loads of left & right turns on & off minor roads.
Hill starts & pulling away uphill & downhill from junctions next followed by a break for coffee & buns
Next stop, out on the open road and 15 miles of stunning swooping coast road all the way down to Largs, which being a seaside resort is a good place for ice cream. (and a cuppa!) ;D
Quite a few bikers in Largs, so if any VDers were there, sorry I didn't say hello, we were in the car park on the front at about 12.30, 2 CB 500s, one XJ600 & 1 CG125.
Back from Largs via the hill road, (the Old Largs Road for those who know it).
Because I know the road well, I got put in front again with the simple instruction to enjoy the ride, set my own pace etc etc.
15 miles of unclassified valley and moorland road during which we encountered:- sheep on the road, cyclists, horses being ridden on the road, walkers, hairpins with a gravelly surface, cattle grids, well, it would be quicker to list the countryside hazards we didn't encounter.
A brilliant run, silly grin the whole way, got complimented by the instructor once we were back in Greenock.
The reward for all of this fun was a fair old bit of time doing u-turns on a nice narrow bit of street with a severe camber.
All too soon it was time to head back to the yard to put the bikes away (and also for another cuppa!).

I'm now starting to feel comfortable on the bigger bike, noticing the much more positive feel to cornering at (moderate) speed, 50 mph or so.
I'm also feeling more confident about being able to tip the bike into the u-turn and know that it's going to do exactly what I want it to do.
Today gave me a large taster of what the joy of biking is all about, on the open road the "voice in the helmet" was completely silent, I love biking!

DAY 3

Day 3 of DAS, first day of the working week for the rest of the world. Let lunacy reign on the roads!
First up in the lunacy brigade, White Van Man #1 (WVM#1). VWM1 decides he's lost, sees three motorcyclists coming towards him, so pulls a u-turn right in front of them!
Proceeds to drive @ 15-20 mph for next half mile or so, approaches a junction, slows down, (doesn't indicate), brakes (still no indicators) and comes to a complete halt in the middle of the junction (still no indicators).
Sits there for what seems like an eternity, I'm just about to play 50:50 with him and pass him when he decides to move.
Still not indicating, he turns left.
We proceed on our merry way.
Loony number two then made his presence felt.
We are going right @ a roundabout, indicating right, in RH lane. Black Honda (car) man approaches roundabout in LH lane, goes right round without indicating, cuts in front of us and takes same exit as us.
We then join a slow moving queue of traffic.
Mr Honda, who was so keen to get in front of us now proceeds to wave people out of every side road in front of him!
Cue WVM#2. Approach another set of lights, staggered white line to allow lorries to turn into and out of side road.
WVM2 decides that staggered white lines don't apply to white vans, rolls right forward and blocks pedestrian crossing part of junction just as pedestrians start to cross.
And so it continued. I was glad of the fact that I've spent 6 months on a 125 as I wasn't fazed by being on the 600 alongside the loonies.
This was a more technically demanding day than yesterday, hill starts, U-turns and emergency stops being the order of the day. Some of the hills in Greenock are 1 in 6 or steeper, I now suspect that I could pull away smoothly up the wallpaper in my living room!
We had a couple more runs on the open road, increasing our feel for the bikes at higher speeds.
I am now starting to feel comfortable taking sweeping A-road bends at 60mph knowing that I am well within the safety envelope, being nowhere near the limits of the abilities of either myself or the bike.
It's an advantage doing the quick stuff on roads which I've ridden often on the 125, the more stable and positive feel of the bigger bike making the cornering a much less frantic manoeuvre.
Back into town, more emergency stops, u-turns & hill starts (out of curiosity, how do they do hill starts in somewhere like Suffolk?)
Then back to base to wash the bikes and put them away for the night.

Feelings from today:- not as big a high as yesterday, but yesterday was a sheer delight. Today was a workmanlike day as befits the start of the working week. I feel considerably smoother on the 600, my left hand has a better feel for the clutch, I'm getting out of "125 mode" at junctions, which basically involved flinging the throttle wide open as soon as possible. Result, turning right out of a side road is now smooth steady and controlled.

Hard to believe that tomorrow is day 4 already. The weather gods have been kind to us so far, we shall see what tomorrow brings.


DAY 4 - THE DAY OF RECKONING

"A foggy day in London Town" goes the old song.
That is as nothing compared to A Soggy Day in Greenock Town.
Test day, and the weather decided to descend.
Got a good soaking taking the XJ out of the garage & putting it on the trailer,
Got up to the training school yard, unloaded the bike & started looking for the valium.
Funnily enough, once I started riding to the Test Centre I felt strangely calm.
Waited at the test centre for what felt like a fortnight, then the examiner came in and we were off.
He followed me by car (obviously just a fair-weather biker ), nice clear and early directions.
Across a few junctions, turning in and out of various side roads.
"Pull in to the side & stop, switch off & dismount."
Examiner explains emergency stop routine & off I go round the block.
E-stop signal given, and I'm not as sharp on the controls as I should have been, however, he tells me that he will not ask me to repeat that maneouvre.
Wheel the bike round, then do powered u-turn. Again. I felt that I should have been slicker when doing it, especially when the examiner crosses the road and starts pacing out a distance along the opposite kerb.
By this point I'm fairly sure I've failed.
Still, on we go, another mile or so, then take a left up a steepish hill (about 1 in 8).
Pull in & stop, close enough to a parked car that I do an angle start along with the hill start.
Pulled away comfortably, confidence starts to return.
A circuitous route back through Greenock & Gourock, negotiating roundabouts, traffic lights & odd filter lanes onto dual carriageway to return to the Test Centre.
The compulsory pillion question gets asked, I answer to the best of my ability.
I'm thinking to myself that it's about 50/50 for the test, the examiner gives me the result of the test.
Suffice to say that I have removed the L-plates from the XJ600. ;D
World, beware, I am now a qualified motorcyclist with a full licence.

Let the real learning begin!

Thanks to everybody for their kind wishes and thoughts, hope to meet up with some of you in the near future, when I dare say that my wallet will need to take a bit of a dent. Tonight, the Divvy Club bar has a tab going in my name, get yourselves absolutely slaughtered on virtual drinks!



Sincere thanks to MrSpock for sharing his experience with us. I hope it helps anyone else who is thinking of taking the plunge themselves

Trev James