MOD1 DAS

[supermancss]

Have been riding a year and will soon be able to go for the DAS as I'll be turning 21. Only thing I think I will struggle with is the turn in the road (u turn) I can't seem to get the bike to turn enough, havn't done it on a measured surface but looks the right width.

My hands clonk into the tank making right or left difficult due to clutch or accelerate control problems ;(

[Dabz]

by the looks of things you're riding a thundercat - are you doing the mod1 on your own bike? The turning circle on any sports bike is going to make life a lot more difficult, you'll find the bike schools tend to use different bikes which have an easier turning circle.

I hadn't been able to do a decent u-turn in the road for years while riding sportsbikes, now I have a street triple I find it pretty easy

good luck for your mod1!

[Jon_W]

Ask Able Training..... have seen him do U turns on a 'cat....

As Dabz says, there are easier bikes to learn on.

[supermancss]

Yeah I assumed my bike/sports were harder to ride. I did my training with mark march last year aswell. If I decide to go for unrestricted I'll probly give him a message and see if I can do a half day practice to make sure ive got all mirrors etc remembered and use er5 or whatever bikes Mark's got to do the test on. Rest of the manovers are fine just the turn is difficult.

[Dabz]

yeh well worth having a refresher - his bikes will be a lot easier too!

[Col]

Talk to LoU...expert of that manoeuvre ;)

[off_again]

Passed my DAS less than a year go - still vivid in my mind!

U-turn wasnt a problem for me, but the cones were! Round and round and round and round until I got it. I think it was a confidence thing for me and practice really helps. I suppose the old saying about looking where you want to go really helps - so aim for where you want to go and make sure you dont look where you might want to put a foot down!

As for comments about bikes - seen some pretty impressive stuff on bikes that are supposed to be pigs! A bit of throttle (and slip the clutch) and a bit of lean will make the world of difference if you cant get much turning circle. Oh and a bit of back brake too to balance it all out. I found that it all got so much easier when the engine was at higher revs and you wont get penalised for reving the engine, but you will fail if you stall and put a foot down.

Then again, I am no expert and I could certainly do with practice on my slow speed stuff. Oh, and hire a bike school bike - much easier, simpler and no issues ..... worth the money.

[Mark_Able]

Ash, U-turning a Thundercat is ok, as long as you've got the right technique, and confidence. I used a Thundercat to train on for a couple of years, and demonstrated U-turns all the time. There are easier bikes. Swing by sometime, and I can show you. ;)

[supermancss]

What is the width between the lines? Passed my licence 17th March last year, so nearly my anniversary!!

[tonysilvey]

Look up Captain Crash on youtube (I can't access it at work to get you a link).

[Bonnielass]

Don't talk about u turns!! ::) ::)

[Jacde]

I did my DAS on a er5, I did struggle with my U turns initally but found that if I looked round to almost the point I started the U turn I could do a nice tight turn.
Best advice is get as much practice as possible.

[Mark_Able]

What is the width between the lines? Passed my licence 17th March last year, so nearly my anniversary!!

It's 7.5m between the lines. It helps if you take hold of the throttle further round. It means that as the bar comes back towards the tank, you can still twist the throttle a bit. ::)