Brand new to motorbicycling - 2023 we go again..

[warren t claim]

I hate to sound like a moaning little bitch here but compound work in the blazing sun was worse. 

Running around after learners whilst wearing full bike gear and boots was not a pleasant experience I can assure you! I remember one hot summers day when I was a bottom of the rung instructor and was only allowed to do off road compound work meaning that we'd have two CBT sessions booked in four hours apart. I had to endure eight hours of running after learners.

Despite being totally nude under my bike gear, an image that you really don't want to linger on, Ex_Mrs_Claim had to peel me out of my bike gear when I got home.

[warren t claim]

Another heatwave memory involved me having to do two 50cc scooter CBTs on a day that hot 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Due to the perfect storm of us having several DAS bikes in for their MOTs and me turning up for work in my car I was left with having to do four hours road work on the company Fireblade without any wind chill topped off with a massive amount of back and wrist ache.

[JJ0063]

So I’ve ordered myself some RST textile trousers which have a thermal lining, let’s see if they make it more enjoyable than long johns under jeans😂

 

£25 on Vinted…

 

[catsinthewelder]

I find its usually hands and feet that get really cold when you're out.  Good gloves make a hell of a difference,  I picked up some fairly ugly winter gloves on Freecycle as I couldn't find mine before the CBT.  A week later my thick leather ones turned up in time to ride 30 miles to the MOT and my hands felt like they were going to fall off by the time I got there.  Been wearing the ugly ones since then.

I have a feeling that the nice feeling of stability comes from the weight of the bike you're riding rather than the engine size.  I've been offered a go on my partners uncles bikes so can put the theory to the test at some point soon as his F650 isn't much heavier than my Keeway (his V Max definatly is though).

[wuvvum]

Definitely got the "big bike" feeling of stability with the Hyosung 125.  Which made the fact that it accelerated like a tired Chinese CG125 knock-off even more incongruous.

[JJ0063]

1 hour ago, catsinthewelder said:

I find its usually hands and feet that get really cold when you're out.  Good gloves make a hell of a difference,  I picked up some fairly ugly winter gloves on Freecycle as I couldn't find mine before the CBT.  A week later my thick leather ones turned up in time to ride 30 miles to the MOT and my hands felt like they were going to fall off by the time I got there.  Been wearing the ugly ones since then.

I have a feeling that the nice feeling of stability comes from the weight of the bike you're riding rather than the engine size.  I've been offered a go on my partners uncles bikes so can put the theory to the test at some point soon as his F650 isn't much heavier than my Keeway (his V Max definatly is though).

In all honesty the main thing I found was my knees/thighs were bloody freezing but of course jeans and long johns aren’t the ideal choice when it’s 5c out so I can’t really expect not to be cold. 
 

Luckily I have a decent quality Oxford jacket that came with the bike, a decent snood, Oxford gloves that I must admit I didn’t at all think about my hands being cold, and have RST boots which again with decent socks were fine to be honest.

Hopefully with these thick lined textile trousers I’ll have a bit more shielding from the elements and find it a bit more enjoyable. Going to give that another couple of weeks and then decide whether to go for DAS or not. 
 

Must also start doing a bit of homework on the theory too.

[Rustybullethole]

Everyone feels the cold differently and keeping warm is of course key to riding in all weather. Have long sung the praises of an all in one water  proof. Cheap and keeps out the draft. Get a baggy one and you can layer up big time underneath. My hands feel it big time which has not improved with age and injuries so I like muffs. My knees get it on a run so bike trousers or my work ones with built in knee pads help massively.

Last time I took a big tall single out on a snow covered road I ended up sliding on my side and eating said snow. Small bikes that you can ski with your feet down seem to work better. Hmmm.

[mk2_craig]

9 hours ago, JJ0063 said:

So I’ve ordered myself some RST textile trousers which have a thermal lining, let’s see if they make it more enjoyable than long johns under jeans😂

 

£25 on Vinted…

 

I had a pair of these, they're good. Just wish I had invested in the matching jacket, the one I had was too short and often I'd find my lower back was exposed to the elements!

[JJ0063]

Forcing myself to not pull out and just do it..

[JJ0063]

First go on the app with no revision, 2 wrong, I’ll take that! 

[Sham]

Nice one.

There is a hazard perception test training thing that you can get a months subscription on for £10. Well worth it since I'm told by my son that the people at the test centre reckon that it's aimed squarely at 17 year olds and seasoned car drivers often fail by reacting sooner than the system expects to a hazard, scoring no points.

Training your brain to react the way they want is apparently very useful.

[JJ0063]

2 hours ago, Sham said:

Nice one.

There is a hazard perception test training thing that you can get a months subscription on for £10. Well worth it since I'm told by my son that the people at the test centre reckon that it's aimed squarely at 17 year olds and seasoned car drivers often fail by reacting sooner than the system expects to a hazard, scoring no points.

Training your brain to react the way they want is apparently very useful.

Cheers, will take a look! 
 

I’ve done both car and HGV theory before and passed both easily so hopefully I’ll be ok here too. I’m sure the HGV one is double the amount of questions too. 

[Paul-l]

2 hours ago, Sham said:

There is a hazard perception test training thing that you can get a months subscription on for £10. Well worth it since I'm told by my son that the people at the test centre reckon that it's aimed squarely at 17 year olds and seasoned car drivers often fail by reacting sooner than the system expects to a hazard, scoring no points

This is definitely true, I did some of the free samples and failed miserably

[straightSix]

I'd echo what's been said about the hazard perception but if you've passed the HGV one that's got a much higher pass percentage so you should be fine 👌

[martc]

I'll echo echo the hazard perception test - Child No2 has it on her laptop and as mentioned above I either reacted too quickly or spotted several hazards and didn't know which one the software was asking for... 

On the matter of the cold - I have a pair of 'Racer' heated gloves. They weren't cheap but are very effective, in fact i tend to just leave them on the lowest setting which takes the edge off and prolongs the batteries charge (they last at least two hours on low).

[groovylee]

On 05/03/2023 at 17:01, JJ0063 said:

Nice one, I’ll get on Amazon!

I don’t know if maybe it’s something I like the idea of more than the reality but I think like @Dave_Qsays I just ought to do it. 
 

I have an AGV K1 full face, nothing special but not a £30 eBay special either 

i found my AGV K5 to be noisier than the other ive had. as others have said, def wear earplugs, it make the experience a lot more fun.  also, i tend not to ride my bike over hte winter, because being cold and wet when you have a car seems a bit daft. in the summer however, riding is awesome!

[JJ0063]

Had a chance to get out on this today and am pleased to say the trousers seem to be the answer. They are SO warm, completely block the wind and cold. 
 

Must order some earplugs but overall much nicer coming home and not having frozen legs.