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A couple of people have asked about my rider training in Germany, so I thought I'd make an actual thread about it. I'll be updating it and adding to it on the fly, so I apologize up front if it gets disjointed. I've got 10 hours in already, so I'll be digging into the memory banks a bit...
Prequel: I start theory. I attend my first MC theory class. Usually, the students meet the instructors, and pick one. In my case, the instructor picks me. He has no idea what he is getting into, but I roll with it. He is about 10 years older than me, and a generally nice guy.
1st lesson: Motorbike training occurs in two-session lessons. The Germans decided that it was impossible to teach the skills required for riding in 45 minute segments, so every lesson is two of those - 90 minutes. My first lesson as a complete and total n00b consists of clutch and roll exercises on a BMW F650GS. I am able to roll around in 1st gear by the end of it, and my instructor is out of breath from chasing me. I bond with him when I tell him that I am not worried about riding a big bike, but actually being able to ride. By the end of the lesson, I can clutch and declutch smoothly while controlling speed, and brake using both or either brake. I can also identify all of the controls on the headset and the foot controls.
2nd lesson: I get "demoted" to the bicycle - a Kawasaki Eliminator 252. However, this is not the end of the world, as I am promised that the BMW will make another appearance if I master the Eliminator. I begin turning and shifting. Seriously - 90 minutes of turning and shifting from 1st to 2nd and back. After a while, the slalom cones come out, and I am introduced to the long (7m) slalom. I produce a recognizable lean and navigate the slalom course.
3rd lesson: I am instructed to get on the bike and enter traffic. My instructor follows me in the car. I have ears, but no mic. So I am subjected to a stream of "we will turn right. Please put on your right blinker. Now stop with the footbrake and handbrake. Downshift. Turn the wheel of the motorbike and prepare to start driving." I realize that my instructor is far more polite than I deserve. We arrive at the parking area and begin stop-and-starts, slaloms, and begin to try u-turns. I also practice shifting in a straight line. Then comes braking with only front and only rear. On the way home, I have to launch from an incline - no stalls!
2wk hiatus for German holidays. I read BBO and watch Capt Crash every day over and over.
4th lesson: I become reacquainted with the motorbike and ride to the training area. The Eliminator is now my best friend, even though the throttle is driving me crazy. However, the rear brake light is not working, so I push my instructor out of the way and begin adjusting the sensor. Later, a coworker informs me that in Germany, women do not work on things with motors. OOOOPS! Some tension builds between my instructor and myself over this, and is compounded by the fact that I lock up the rear brake on a rear braking run. However, I make good by not stalling and by recapping the previous lessons. Ride back from training ground is uneventful.
5th lesson: We spend time with the engine "bay". I am left alone with the bike for a few minutes, and adjust the idle setting. The bike immediately becomes less of a chore to ride. This time, I do not alert the instructor to my mischief! The ride to the training area is non-eventful, aside from the fact that I attain the speed limit and do not need to be told to speed up at all. Practice and training consist of the u-turn and slow slalom. I am able to u-turn to the left (German rule) with ease by the end. The slalom cones come out again, and we practice low-speed slalom. The cones move for the 3rd gear high(er) speed slalom. This requires pressing, and I begin whining about the low center of gravity on the Eliminator - I can't get it to roll over. On the way back to the garage, I begin standing on the pegs during turns, trying to press it. This seems to work, sort of. My instructor is way less upset with me at the end of the lesson, in fact, he seems actually happy. We discuss some minor traffic rule violations.
(TBC... as matters progress!)
Prequel: I start theory. I attend my first MC theory class. Usually, the students meet the instructors, and pick one. In my case, the instructor picks me. He has no idea what he is getting into, but I roll with it. He is about 10 years older than me, and a generally nice guy.
1st lesson: Motorbike training occurs in two-session lessons. The Germans decided that it was impossible to teach the skills required for riding in 45 minute segments, so every lesson is two of those - 90 minutes. My first lesson as a complete and total n00b consists of clutch and roll exercises on a BMW F650GS. I am able to roll around in 1st gear by the end of it, and my instructor is out of breath from chasing me. I bond with him when I tell him that I am not worried about riding a big bike, but actually being able to ride. By the end of the lesson, I can clutch and declutch smoothly while controlling speed, and brake using both or either brake. I can also identify all of the controls on the headset and the foot controls.
2nd lesson: I get "demoted" to the bicycle - a Kawasaki Eliminator 252. However, this is not the end of the world, as I am promised that the BMW will make another appearance if I master the Eliminator. I begin turning and shifting. Seriously - 90 minutes of turning and shifting from 1st to 2nd and back. After a while, the slalom cones come out, and I am introduced to the long (7m) slalom. I produce a recognizable lean and navigate the slalom course.
3rd lesson: I am instructed to get on the bike and enter traffic. My instructor follows me in the car. I have ears, but no mic. So I am subjected to a stream of "we will turn right. Please put on your right blinker. Now stop with the footbrake and handbrake. Downshift. Turn the wheel of the motorbike and prepare to start driving." I realize that my instructor is far more polite than I deserve. We arrive at the parking area and begin stop-and-starts, slaloms, and begin to try u-turns. I also practice shifting in a straight line. Then comes braking with only front and only rear. On the way home, I have to launch from an incline - no stalls!
2wk hiatus for German holidays. I read BBO and watch Capt Crash every day over and over.
4th lesson: I become reacquainted with the motorbike and ride to the training area. The Eliminator is now my best friend, even though the throttle is driving me crazy. However, the rear brake light is not working, so I push my instructor out of the way and begin adjusting the sensor. Later, a coworker informs me that in Germany, women do not work on things with motors. OOOOPS! Some tension builds between my instructor and myself over this, and is compounded by the fact that I lock up the rear brake on a rear braking run. However, I make good by not stalling and by recapping the previous lessons. Ride back from training ground is uneventful.
5th lesson: We spend time with the engine "bay". I am left alone with the bike for a few minutes, and adjust the idle setting. The bike immediately becomes less of a chore to ride. This time, I do not alert the instructor to my mischief! The ride to the training area is non-eventful, aside from the fact that I attain the speed limit and do not need to be told to speed up at all. Practice and training consist of the u-turn and slow slalom. I am able to u-turn to the left (German rule) with ease by the end. The slalom cones come out again, and we practice low-speed slalom. The cones move for the 3rd gear high(er) speed slalom. This requires pressing, and I begin whining about the low center of gravity on the Eliminator - I can't get it to roll over. On the way back to the garage, I begin standing on the pegs during turns, trying to press it. This seems to work, sort of. My instructor is way less upset with me at the end of the lesson, in fact, he seems actually happy. We discuss some minor traffic rule violations.
(TBC... as matters progress!)
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