Well, I've not actually taken the test yet but I've done all my training and I'm ready for Mod1 now so I think I'm now "qualified" enough to chuck in my tuppence worth!
Before taking my first training session I have only ever ridden a 125 and that was for my CBT, I have no other riding experience. Having checked out on here what the test involved and other peoples opinions I was quite worried about it, especially the swerve test. Last weekend I did a 3 hour training session on my first 500cc bike, it took some getting used to, especially the manual maneuvering and the low-speed riding (slalom/figure 8/u-turn) due to the weight of the bike. I didn't do any of the "high" speed stuff as I spent all of my time going over and over the low-speed, but by the time I'd finished my 3 hours I was confident that I could do what I had practiced. So yesterday I went back and did just another 2 hours training with another instructor and am now feeling brilliant about it all! I had no problems with my low-speed stuff (well, the training centre figure of 8 has a slight uphill gradient and I kept forgetting to add extra power on the uphill section and consequently put my foot down a couple of times), and so I concentrated on my "fast" riding. Having only ridden a 500 for 3-4hours I was managing to enter the bend at low speed (approx 15-18mph) then open the throttle on the way out and fly through the speed trap and the avoidance. I think I did a couple of 49kph and the rest were all above 50, in fact on my last attempt I did it at 57kph! Admittedly it was dry but if you get the line right the bike never really tilts as you can get it through in a straight line. If you come out of the curve quite wide you end up cutting across the normal line so you are heading straight through the avoidance without changing direction (if that makes sense? I'd draw a diagram but you know...).
So as you can probably tell I'm extremely proud of myself thus far! Coming from approx 15hours of riding experience I feel confident enough to sit Mod1 on a 500! I never thought I'd be able to do it but I genuinely felt very confident and comfortable yesterday. My instructor gave me a mock test and had it been my actual test I would have passed.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, those who have ridden for some time will fly through easily, and those that haven't ridden before can still fly through it! The swerve isn't scary at all and the hardest part is controlling the bike in the low speed situations.
Oh, and with regards to the swerve being pointless I somewhat agree but only in the situation they give you (out of a bend...) as if that was the case you wouldn't nail it towards the hazard (deer/cat/small child/etc). However if you are trundling along at 30mph and someone runs out or something else (football comes out in front of you etc) then you would need to swerve as you can't emergency stop in the given space/time due to the fact that your breaking would prevent you from steering out of the way. Or at least that's what I think!
Just one other thing... for those thinking of taking the DAS (or even the restricted DAS) try not to hit the cones... I did a couple of round the bend, through the speed trap runs to get a feel for the speed before adding the avoidance in to it. On my first attempt with the avoidance I clipped one of the cones with my foot. As I rode up to the instructor I was shaking my head and asked if that would have been a failed test, he said no because even though he heard my foot touch it, the cone never moved! And then on one of my u-turns I actually ran one of the cones over (just the edge, not the pointy bit) and again, it didn't move
. But my advice would be... avoid the cones!!! It's just not worth it!
