Beginning bike question | GTAMotorcycle.com

Beginning bike question

J

john117

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Hey,
I went to RTI training course this past weekend and loved riding the motorcycles! I drove the cbr125, it was nice but I found it a bit weird on the corners. I drove my friends ninja 250 and it was absolutely amazing! Anyways, I failed the M1 exit at RTI because I crossed the line during the 1st test and I was under the speed limit. I was kinda crushed but I really want to buy a ninja 250 now so I can practice before the retest. I am not sure if its such a good idea though since if I fail the retest, I will have to either do M1 exit at MTO or keep on redoing by M1 if I cant find an available date. The insurance for me is pretty cheap (around 100 a month since I am little older). I am not sure if I should buy a used ninja 250 to improve my skills or just go to the retest hoping for the best? I didn't have any major troubles during the weekend, I was killing the course but I got really nervous for the test.

Thanks
 
john117 said:
Hey,
I went to RTI training course this past weekend and loved riding the motorcycles! I drove the cbr125, it was nice but I found it a bit weird on the corners. I drove my friends ninja 250 and it was absolutely amazing! Anyways, I failed the M1 exit at RTI because I crossed the line during the 1st test and I was under the speed limit. I was kinda crushed but I really want to buy a ninja 250 now so I can practice before the retest. I am not sure if its such a good idea though since if I fail the retest, I will have to either do M1 exit at MTO or keep on redoing by M1 if I cant find an available date. The insurance for me is pretty cheap (around 100 a month since I am little older). I am not sure if I should buy a used ninja 250 to improve my skills or just go to the retest hoping for the best? I didn't have any major troubles during the weekend, I was killing the course but I got really nervous for the test.

Thanks
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I don't think you would lose enough points for crossing the line and being too slow in just the one exercise, you must of had other infractions as well. However, if you know for sure you're going to be riding and won't give up on trying to pass the test I would suggest buying the bike to practice if you can get insurance with just an M1. You can always sell it if you can never pass the test and get close to the same amount you bought it for or lose a little.
 
Some places have a refresher course that you can do before you book your second test.This may be a better option , you can get a more one on one type of instruction and practice.

With regards to the Ninja 250 being a great first bike. I fully agree. In fact its a great bike all around.
 
Hi John!
Here's the thing, do you want a motorcycle or just your motorcycle license?
Maybe concentrate on getting your license right now.
And don't be planning on what happens after you fail because you're not going to.
The examiners look for that decisive confidence that indicates to them you're in control... so don't be nervous!
But Ninja 250s must be everywhere these days, so many were sold. Sure, buy one if that's what you really want.
I took the tests on my own bike. It's obviously going to help your confidence which (as mentioned) is a crucial component for success.
So good luck.
 
john117 said:
Hey,
I went to RTI training course this past weekend and loved riding the motorcycles! I drove the cbr125, it was nice but I found it a bit weird on the corners. I drove my friends ninja 250 and it was absolutely amazing! Anyways, I failed the M1 exit at RTI because I crossed the line during the 1st test and I was under the speed limit. I was kinda crushed but I really want to buy a ninja 250 now so I can practice before the retest. I am not sure if its such a good idea though since if I fail the retest, I will have to either do M1 exit at MTO or keep on redoing by M1 if I cant find an available date. The insurance for me is pretty cheap (around 100 a month since I am little older). I am not sure if I should buy a used ninja 250 to improve my skills or just go to the retest hoping for the best? I didn't have any major troubles during the weekend, I was killing the course but I got really nervous for the test.

Thanks
Click to expand...

$100 a month on an m1? that seems highly unlikely, no matter how old you are.

personally i dont even get the point of the m1. pretty much no insurance company will cover an m1 driver, so how would anyone even get to practice unless they actually take a course and go straight to m2?

i also took RTI and failed the test. didnt help that the first day our lessons were over by 3pm rather than the supposed 4:30 end time. im trying to figure out a way to practice and wanted to just get a bike to do so on my own but thats pretty much impossible since i dont have an m2.
 
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Where do people come up with this you can't be insured as an m1? Is this a city thing? Fact: td does. I'm sure there's more that will. They all know it's only good for a short term. Granted I live in the sticks but I know for absolute certain that a friend who went and got his m1 2 years ago had and still has a r1 and was insured to ride it. He got it late in the season so his m1 lapsed and he went the next spring got it again, then got his m2 and the insurance amount didn't change at all. He's with state farm. He was also 29 at the time.

That out of the way, op I'd suggest going to retest again before you make a purchase. Not to say you won't get it but on the side of money it's a smarter move. There will always be lots of 250's out there to buy at any given time. :dontknow:
 
I have my m1 and I got insurance no problem on a 375cc bike, its not inexpensive but wasnt anymore expensive then my car insurance. I was driving before I did the course and i found it helped alot, even instructor said that was likely why i was doing so well... of course you will learn bad habits if you start riding before taking the course, but the course will sort those bad habits out if you take it seriously and the experience riding does help, not to mention after the class is over you can go and practice even more on your own bike.

The biggest thing for the test is you have to put it out of your mind that it is a test, you need to be entirely focused on the task at hand and how they want it to be performed, I can understand the being under the speed, there was some people in my class who had this problem to, not so much on the test but in the lessons. It helps alot to get a bike that your really comfortable on, in the class I started on a cruiser style and didn't like how heavy the front wheel felt... i then went to a cbr 125 and it was ALOT better.... another guy was on a cbr 125 but had problems with how short the shifting pedal/lever is, he went over to an enduro style bike and did much better. I would recommend getting a bike and practicing before you take the test again, do it asap while the lessons are still fresh in your head and you remember exactly how they go.

Good Luck!
 
I was about 80/month on M1 with cbr250 at statefarm a few years ago. Got M2 right away and dropped to 65.
Buy a bike, insure, register, practice, take test get M2, get cheaper insurance. It's easier done than said. The hardest part is standing in line at service ontario knowing you are just minutes away from taking a bike legally on the street for the first time.
 
Roomie said:
Where do people come up with this you can't be insured as an m1? Is this a city thing? Fact: td does. I'm sure there's more that will. They all know it's only good for a short term. Granted I live in the sticks but I know for absolute certain that a friend who went and got his m1 2 years ago had and still has a r1 and was insured to ride it. He got it late in the season so his m1 lapsed and he went the next spring got it again, then got his m2 and the insurance amount didn't change at all. He's with state farm. He was also 29 at the time.

That out of the way, op I'd suggest going to retest again before you make a purchase. Not to say you won't get it but on the side of money it's a smarter move. There will always be lots of 250's out there to buy at any given time. :dontknow:
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you're totally right. Checked out TD insurance and it's about hundred dollars a month on an m1 for a suzuki tu250
 
When you go for your retest and you get a few minutes to get used to the bike practice your tight right hand corner and accelerating to 25-28 from first to second smoothly. Most riders fail the M1 exit test because they either go out of the lines on the first exercise (5 points) and then they go to slow (5 point maximum). As you are only allowed 11 points and 12 is a fail that puts you in a tough spot and forces you to nail the rest of the evaluation almost spot on. If you can make that "tight" right hand corner and get stopped in the box in a timely manner you are setting yourself up very well for the rest of the evaluation. remember the 25-28 km speed as this will help you on most the exercises. Not the dog leg thought that is more of a 20 km speed exercise. Hope that helps and boosts some confidence.
 
Bradsma said:
When you go for your retest and you get a few minutes to get used to the bike practice your tight right hand corner and accelerating to 25-28 from first to second smoothly. Most riders fail the M1 exit test because they either go out of the lines on the first exercise (5 points) and then they go to slow (5 point maximum). As you are only allowed 11 points and 12 is a fail that puts you in a tough spot and forces you to nail the rest of the evaluation almost spot on. If you can make that "tight" right hand corner and get stopped in the box in a timely manner you are setting yourself up very well for the rest of the evaluation. remember the 25-28 km speed as this will help you on most the exercises. Not the dog leg thought that is more of a 20 km speed exercise. Hope that helps and boosts some confidence.
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yep i definitely screwed up the initial tight right turn on the test. on warmups i was mostly doing fine but of course during the test i **** it up.
 
I'm not sure if this helps, but I went back to the Humber parking lot one day when it was empty. Tried running the course with my Shadow, and had a hell of time maneuvering the turns... So I guess, I'm saying that I would look at the refresher option with their bike, and retest with their bike. And just relax.
 
hey guys,
thanks for the replies! I got insurance on ninja 250 for around 1k a year so I am gonna go practice on it for a couple of weeks in parking lots etc and then go for the retest at rti. Hopefully I will be okay >.>

thanks again!
 
I actually used 12" pylons to recreate the skill test in our local school parking lot. My wife rode it for 7 hours over two evenings, practicing low speed control etc. She was flawless on test day.
 
Supernam said:
I don't think you would lose enough points for crossing the line and being too slow in just the one exercise, you must of had other infractions as well.
Click to expand...

The first right hand turn and then riding the associated curve back and forth and stopping with your front wheel in the box comprise the first four testing exercises, even though they run all together at the start of the test. Given that you can accumulate 5 demerit points on any one exercise, it is not uncommon for people to get the 12 points required for a fail at this stage.
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