ARGH!!!!!!!!

Failed my practical 5 AGAIN.

Got 30 points this time for failure to check blind spots x3, not giving enough room to other road users, wobbling and wrong posture at e-brake.

I know for sure I check all my blind spots and change lane whenever I overtake! Its so damn annoying to be marked down for those.

And what on earth do they mean by wobbling? I always max out demerit points for that and I only recall wobbling at the slope. Also got points for poor acceleration :( Kinda pissed cos I was twisting the throttle more to avoid wobbling and weak acceleration this time.

DRT Completed

Completed the 3 DRT lessons. The lesson was mostly about showing us videos of motorcycle accidents. So now Im left with 4 practical lessons till I can take my TP.

RTT cleared!

Another obstacle overcome.

Now I just have to clear the damned prac 5.
I got cocky and failed my prac 5 last week. Fell off the damn plank near the end. KNS. It was also drizzling. Then during the e-brake section, the girl in front of me crashed and there was a hold up. She injured her arm badly enough to require a sling.
Was told to go back immediately after doing e-brake and skipped the pillion riding.

Tempting

Just looking around before I get my license and saw this awesome looking bike. The Yamaha YZF-R15.

Secret Life of Bikers

Video about motorcycling in Devon, UK. What so special about it?
The narration is done in the style of National Geographic wildlife documentaries where the narration is done in a whisper of sorts with a British accent.

Circuit Revision

Attended a circuit revision and took a bike that couldnt e-start. Decided to stick with it anyway since we wont be able to choose bikes during the TP test. Might as well prepare myself.
The instructor talked for half the duration of the session leaving us with only 45min to ride around. Thats when I realised I've lost my groove. My performance on the figure 8 and crank course was terrible. I also fell off the plank twice. Damn it.
Definitely need more practice before taking practical 5.

Quite a boring session. I guess the most interesting thing that happened that day was some indian guy knocking into my stationary bike as he passed me while I was queueing to enter the figure 8. Like that also can buang.

So anyway for those interested, here's the 2B test route map for CDC.
Click on the thumbnails for full size.

Practical 4 Completed

Finally cleared prac 4!!! Today was a good day. Didnt fall of the plank, didnt knock any pylons and only screwed up the e-brake twice. Due to the good weather in contrast to the last session, there was lots of time spent practicing the e-brake.
The instructor Larry was quite good in explaning the mistakes and how to overcome them. One thing I often find lacking with any instructors in general is their ability to give tips on overcoming mistakes. Sometimes students know their mistakes, they just need tips and suggestions on how to overcome or correct them.
Giving tips and suggestions is way better than listing out mistakes anytime.

RTT is on 14th August, so I can take my time.

Stuck again

2nd attempt at prac 4 today. It was raining cats and dogs, could barely see as my glasses kept fogging up. Missed the plank and fell off many times.

Failed the damned e-brake section again. I keep stepping too hard on the rear brakes, causing the bike to skid. The instructor was not really helpful as well. To make things worse, the raincoats at the center are leaking and my pants got soaked. Not a good day.

Took my internal evaluation earlier this week and have booked my RTT for 14th August. So I guess I still have some time to kill anyway. Can take my time with prac 4, do some circuit revisions and clear my prac 5.

Practical 3 Completed

Gained more confidence in the figure 8 course today. Rode the motorcycle like a bicycle and left turns were no problem. However, right turns were still tricky. I dont really practice alot of right turns on a bicycle so it was quite daunting to lean to the right.
I also picked a bike with shoddy rear brakes. There was quite a bit of freeplay and when the brake does engage, it really locks up the rear wheel. Ended up fish tailing everytime I got out of the figure 8 course. Felt like I was drifting :)

Tough one

Attended practical 3 today and it was tough. The figure 8 and crank course are difficult.
My best timing for the figure 8 was 12.1 seconds and the crank course caused me to crash a few times. Some of the guys with me in prac 3 were doing it for their third time, yet nobody passed.
Even saw a girl from the circuit revision mount curb and crash into a pole. Looks like this practical will take some time to clear.

There was a crowd gathered around the bumpy course area and an ambulance was summoned over. I assume it was because one of the 2A learners got injured.

Theory lesson 3 & 4 completed.

Hmm.. Today's theory 3 and 4 was not what I expected. We only did trial tests and went through the answers for the entire session.
So, next up would be to go for a few e-trial tests and take the internal evaluation before going for RTT.
At the moment there is an internal evaluation on the 25th of June, but is that too soon?

Theory lesson 1 & 2 completed.

Block booked the theory 1 and 2 sessions today.
Maybe its because of the school holidays, but the group was all youngsters.
There was a really small sized punk listening to music on his mp3 player with the volume so loud the entire class could hear his music. Also had a foreigner talking loudly, answering phone calls during the lesson.
Of course we werent spared the incessant ringing of mobile phones set to the maximum volume.

Will be attending theory lesson 3 and 4 tomorrow and practical 3 next Tuesday.

Wishlist

My wishlist.
No sport bikes for me, but the naked bike style appeals to me.

Yamaha YBR 125

Yamaha FZ 150i

Daelim Roadwin 125

Hyosung GT 125

Sym GTS 200

The Daelim looks the most impressive but I think its also the most expensive. Will probably just get the cheapest option. Dont think I can raise $7000.

Practical 2 Completed

Got f**ked at the beginning for speeding. But the instructor was quite good. Couldnt get his name, but he is one of the malay guys. He would get us to do a few rounds while he observed, then he would tell us our mistakes.
Then he gave us more practice rounds before finally assessing us.
What was particularly good about him was that he clearly explained the checking of blind spots. He also got on the road to pressure us to make the checks fast.
When I approached the stop line, he immediately started saying out all the steps.
Check back, inch forward, check traffic, etc.
Quite a good teaching method. Really drilled it into my head for the subsequent rounds, rather than just letting me go on making the same mistakes over and over.

Practical 1 Completed

After a 3 week hiatus due to too many coaching assignments, Im back for lessons!
Today started out gloomy with rain in the morning that lasted till an hour before the lesson was due to begin. Then it became a light annoying drizzle, just like how it was on the first session.

The difference this time was that I managed not to stall the damn bike while doing the cornering. I got used to the turning radius of the bike which made things easier. The only hiccup is my tendency to hold onto the clutch after kicking down the gear. This is alright if Im in first gear, but I still do it when kicking down from 5th to 3rd gear. Luckily, I quickly adjusted this after the instructor pointed it out. Wouldnt want to have done the prac 1 again.

Oh, there were ALOT of girls today. Im assuming its due to the school holidays. Also the classes are full. So on one hand, less attention from the instructor, on the other hand, many many eye candy!

Stalled progress

2nd attempt at practical 1 and I still have yet to pass.
I cant complete the cornering. My bike keeps stalling whenever I try to change to gear 2 because I cant get my bike going fast enough.
Got to go for practical 1, again. Damn it.

Off to a bad start

Went down for my orientation session and practical 1 today. It started to drizzle and I ended up having the entire lesson in the rain :(
Started of with the orientation, what to do, etc.
Then we were allowed to fiddle with the bikes. The bikes in the center are Yamaha YBR 125s, they actually look quite cool. Quite heavy though.


Motorcycles are different from bicycles, the left lever is the clutch and the right is the front brake. THe rear brake is controlled by the right foot and the left foot shifts the gears. So many actions to take note of.
There is no indication of the gearing you are in and in 1st gear, one must "half clutch" or the engine stalls. That is the most annoying thing. A intuitive action is to let go, but that would kill the engine. Grr..
Stopping was annoying. We were asked to ride around in 3rd gear but have to stop in 1st gear. This invovles braking slightly, clutching in, closing the throttle, then kicking down the gears before braking at the desired point. Co-ordination problem man.

Worse thing is that I keep bringing my cycling habits in... I normally apply the rear brake first before applying the front. We're supposed to apply both brakes at the same time on a motorcycle but with minimal use for front brake, hard on the rear brake.

Because of the rain, people were crashing on the circuit. Does not really instill confidence in a 1st timer watching these people crashing.

Have to attend practical 1 again.

Why motorcycles seem dangerous

Looks like the light for the motorcyclist only turned red when the police officer started running out. So Im assuming the driver ran a red light.

Guess the fear comes from knowing that even if its not your fault, you're the one that suffers while the driver gets to go home to his family and wank in front of the computer.

Online booking

Just collected my training booklet on Friday. Got home, logged in and looked at the schedule for theory lessons. It seems that the Class 2B course is quite popular. No slots available till the 13th of March!
There's a practical on the 19th of February but I'm rushing a 2000 word HR essay which must be handed up on that day. Will need all the time I can get.

It seems that I wont be starting lessons till March :(
Also realised China doesnt allow foreigners to ride in their country. So maybe head towards India? Will get myself certified in the mean time.

The First Step

Took the first step on my journey today. Enrolled for Class 2B license at CDC. Think I will go down on Friday to collect complete the enrollment.

The 10-Step Plan

I feel like taking a trip up to China on a 2B bike upon my graduation.
Dreaming is one thing, but a plan will keep me focused and on track. So here is my 10 step plan towards achieving the dream.

Step 1: Sign up for 2B license
Step 2: Pass 2B license
Step 3: Buy a motorcycle
Step 4: Learn simple maintenance
Step 5: Gain riding experience
Step 6: Ride to Malaysia and Thailand
Step 7: Stay alive doing steps 5 & 6
Step 8: Look cool
Step 9: Get sponsorship
Step 10: Ride to Beijing