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Written by bunglehaze
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"Following a recent meeting between the Minister Jim Fitzpatrick, DSA officials and motorcycle interest groups, DSA has announced that the introduction of the new motorcycle test will be deferred by six months to Monday 30 March 2009. This deferment will allow DSA to deliver a wider range of locations to offer the new test." These are the words from the DVLA regarding the proposed changes to the motorcycle test that have been in the pipeline for a while now. The updates to the test have been controversial to say the least and a number of riding instructors are unhappy with the additional procedures required in order to pass, to quote a riding instructor from Sheffield "we have the space to lay out a copy of the new test and even our instructors struggled with it" The new motorcycle test aims to improve the standard of road safety for motorcycle and moped riders. This user group has been identified as having a high risk of injury or death, this is particularly the case for young and inexperienced riders.
The new test event will contain two elements. The higher speed exercises and other exercises will be tested on safe off-road sites and take about 10 minutes to complete. The accompanied on road element of the test will follow, consisting of a road ride covering a variety of road and traffic conditions and will also include normal stops, hill and angle starts. Candidates who have demonstrated riding skills of a dangerously incompetent level during the off-road part of the test will not be permitted to proceed to the on-road element.
These new exercises include: - At least two exercises carried out at slow speed, including a slalom
- At least two exercises carried out at higher speed, of which one exercise should be in second or third gear, at a speed of at least 30 kph (approx. 19 mph) and one exercise avoiding an obstacle at a minimum speed of 50 kph (approx. 32 mph)
- At least two braking exercises, including an emergency brake at a minimum speed of 50 kph (approx. 32 mph)
On the day of the test, candidates will be asked by the examiner to demonstrate their riding ability on either the left-hand or right-hand circuit. Please note that the standard off-road layout may change due to local conditions on the casual sites.
It has been clear for some time that the motorcycling community has been opposed to the new test and with the news of the postponement comes a general feeling of incompetancy towards the DVLA who have had plenty of time to get enough test centres opened up and yet still managed to fail spectacularly.
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Written by James Hanuban
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Here we have a few things you should check on your motorcycle on a regular basis. I assume you have a handbook with the specs for your bike, if not, go get one. You may be able to find some data for your particular motorcycle on the net. You can also pick up workshop manuals for various models on eBay in PDF or CD form for little money.
Whereas with a four wheeled vehicle you may get away with being lax with things like tire pressures etc, this is not the case with a motorcycle. You should not risk compromising the safety and stability of your motorcycle, for the sake of a bit of routine maintenance.
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Written by Shell.com
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Steering a bike’s easy - you either lean into the turn, or turn the bars right to go right, and left to go left, right? Wrong. Once you’re on the move, shifting your bodyweight to try and lean into a turn has almost no effect. If you don’t believe us, try riding along with no hands and leaning your weight one way or the other - you can initiate a gentle curve, but tighter turns are impossible unless you flick the whole bike violently, in which case you’re indirectly turning the bars anyway. So you have to use the handlebars but not the way you might think - you need to turn them the opposite way to the way you want to go. It’s called counter steering and here’s how you do it.
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Written by VFRHocks
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I am sure many of us on here has had to spend lots of our hard earned cash on getting ourselves kitted out and getting the bike.
Here is a few tips that I hope someone might be able to make use of and hope others continue to add.
1. The kit
We all want to be safe but also look the part. At the end of the day you have got to be comfortable in what ever you wear and it has to fit right. Go to lots of bike shops and try lots of things on, don't settle for something cause you want to get out on the bike or because you feel pushed by the salesman. If they are be too pushing, tell them, if they don't get the message then walk away. They need the sale more than you, there is plenty of shops out there. Shop around and be cheeky and ask for discount, you dont know unless you ask.
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Written by 2wheelskool
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This article should be on every motorcycle web site in the UK. I am writing to inform readers of the terrible position many trainee motorcyclists and training schools will be in come October 2008 when the new motorcycle test commences.
You may think this does not affect you unless you are a new rider wanting to get your licence. Think again it is going to affect the whole bike industry. If it becomes too expensive and too difficult to get a licence then the trickle of new bikers will dry up. Look at the housing market take out your first time buyers and it cascades up the chain affecting everyone, owners, trainers, dealers, publishers, even manufacturers. |
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