Mopehead CBT question?

UnoriginalGuy_2

Quick question to anyone who owns a motorcycle or mopehead...

How green do you think they design these CBT courses for? Like I've never been on a mopehead/motorcycle before, heck I never learned to ride a push bike when I was a kid, and I'm just wondering if you think I'll make an !!! of myself if I took a CBT (or fall over and break my face)?

Also how much balance does riding one take? I know they're a lot wider than a bike...

I've just been looking at a car recently and did some maths of a two wheeled alternative and it looks pretty good. Plus it might be fun (*if I don't die). I wouldn't be willing to take one on the motorway but fortunately I can commute without that (40 MpH is the fastest road between home and work).

Thoughts? Opinions? Chance of death?

neilmcl

UnoriginalGuy wrote: »

Like I've never been on a mopehead/motorcycle before

We'd never have guessed.

Its called a moped.

Takoda

Mopehead!!!!!!!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Markyt

They assume you don't know one end from the other. Don't worry about it, get booked in and enjoy it. If you want, look up a couple of places offering tuition and see if they do a 'taster' type session where they'll run through the very basics and let you have a quick go at riding.

debralee_2

They tend to recommend that you have a sense of balance i.e. can ride a bicycle!

UnoriginalGuy_2

Fine. Just let this thread die. It is clear that nothing helpful will come of it.

Takoda

UnoriginalGuy wrote: »

Quick question to anyone who owns a motorcycle or mopehead...

How green do you think they design these CBT courses for? For total beginners. Like I've never been on a mopehead/motorcycle before, heck I never learned to ride a push bike when I was a kid, and I'm just wondering if you think I'll make an !!! of myself if I took a CBT (or fall over and break my face)? Wear a full face helmet then you won't break your face if you fall off.

Also how much balance does riding one take? I know they're a lot wider than a bike... Slow control stuff is trickier than riding around in a circle at a reasonable speed.

I've just been looking at a car recently and did some maths of a two wheeled alternative and it looks pretty good. Plus it might be fun it is (*if I don't die). I wouldn't be willing to take one on the motorway you won't be allowed to ride on a motorway until you pass your FULL motorcycle test but fortunately I can commute without that (40 MpH is the fastest road between home and work). A small bike would be ideal for that journey but if you have a physically small bike be prepared to be bullied by some car drivers.

Thoughts? Give it a go.

Opinions? Small bikes are a cheap method of transport. However scooters offer better weather protection AND better storage as they often have underseat storage.

Chance of death?During the CBT? - slim. the first part is off road often inside a large circle of car tyres for protection. If they don't think you're safe then they won't take you out for the on road part.

Chance of death after CBT - depends how you ride the bike. Use your eyes and read the road ahead and you'll be fine. Try to ride defensively and you should be fine - assuming you pass your CBT.

HTH

Takoda

UnoriginalGuy wrote: »

Fine. Just let this thread die. It is clear that nothing helpful will come of it.

Great! I'm really glad I spent 5 minutes of my life trying to help you now! Won't make that mistake again.

UnoriginalGuy_2

Takoda wrote: »

Great! I'm really glad I spent 5 minutes of my life trying to help you now! Won't make that mistake again.

Thank you for your comment. I did read it and I do appreciate your advice.

Just hard to find this thread helpful when all the other comments are just poking fun (and not in a constructive way).

Billy-no-Money

Don't take it to heart - if you remembered the original 'mopeds' you'd know where the name came from - they used to be a 'motorbike with pedals', shortened to moped. Without that history you've no reason to know it's spelt like that (and I quite like mopehead anyway, describes teenagers quite well).

Anyway - being helpful - there are other threads on this but my thoughts are:
1. 'Mopeds' strictly speaking don't exist anymore, but generally it means a 50cc scooter, max speed 30mph. If you're 17 or older - go for a 125cc.
2. A 125 will easily cruise at 50mph, and in a 30 will mix with cars quite happily.
3. A 125cc Scooter is easy to ride as it's fully automatic, decent weather protection and underseat storage too.
4. Don't forget in your budget to allow for helmet, gloves, jacket, waterproofs etc. You can get all of these pretty cheaply if you shop around. Most places doing CBTs will supply these for the day if you just want to give it a try.
5. The CBT is designed for complete beginners, but you'll enjoy it more if you at least read the Highway Code (don't know if you drive). Most on a CBT have never ridden - that's the whole point.
6. Don't ride in the gutter. You've got as much right to the whole lane as a car driver.
7. Take extreme care if you 'filter' past lines of traffic - it's a skill that takes time to learn, don't trust to luck
8. Lastly - don't buy a cheap Chinese scooter! Infinitely better to get a secondhand Jap or Italian brand than a brand new Chinese heap of junk.

It's not as dangerous as you might think - accident stats are heavily skewed toward certain types of riders, just try not to be one of them. The overall fatality rate is approximately one per ONE MILLION kilometres. Much higher than that of a car driver, but still far from a certainty. You can do a heck of a lot to make this risk even lower.

Go for it!

Rolandtheroadie

My own experience of where I sat my CBT was that whether it took me a day or 2 days, they would stick with me till both me and they were comfortable with my riding. Remember, it's not a pass or fail, it's training.
Once you've done it, get a Honda c90 step through. I think it's the most popular bike in the world (that may be the honda c50 too though) and is a semi automatic, will do 40-50 MPH and return around 80 MPG.

My instructor on the CBT gave a lot of advice on safety gear, road positioning, handling a bike etc etc and it was a great help. Go for it.