8.30am and the roads at Comfortdelgro CDC were wet so I wasn't sure if I would do well for Lesson 2, which consists of Figure-8, Crank Course, Emergency Braking and Bumpy Course. FIGURE-8 Sure enough, I performed poorly for the first few rounds of the Figure-8 and Crank Course. The instructor was strict but gave specific tips on how to improve and adviced me not to be too afraid of the wet conditions. For Figure-8, signal left, check back right and left before moving off. Quickly go to 2nd gear before hitting the start line. As shown in the first photo on the right, cancel your indicator just after entering or passing the white starting line. Then maintain speed at a steady trottle. Make sure to let go of the clutch while going around the course. Before approaching the yellow exit line, signal left (somewhere at the puddle area in the 2nd photo). Slow down by applying rear brake. Not too slow though as you need to reach the next white line after turning left (see 3rd photo). Just before stopping, step down to first gear. I would advise stopping a bit more to the right so you have more space and wider angle to enter the crank course. |
I was really bad at handling the bike at the crank course. I wasn't allowed to stay in first gear and do half clutch, so at low speed (2nd gear), the bike was very juttery (almost stalling). Every time the bike was about to stall, I applied a bit of trottle and the bike would lurch... thus, it's best to apply a steady trottle at 2nd gear and apply rear brakes when necessary. Oh, check back right and left before moving off. At the end of the crank course, best to stop if there are on-coming traffic.
EMERGENCY BRAKING
The emergency braking is pretty much the same as Class 2B except that you need to hit 40km/hr and stop between the yellow and red line. Make sure you look straight as looking down may cause you to get demerit points. Before moving off, check back right, right foot down, step down to first gear, right foot back up, signal right and get ready for Bumpy Course.
BUMPY COURSE
Turn off signal indicator immediately after moving off. Stay in 1st gear, and maintain half clutch before standing up and leaning forward. Go as slow as you can by playing with your half clutch and rear brake. For the first few attempts, the instructor was yelling at me for not standing high enough. Later he told me that I must really stand up and true enough, it was much easier to control the bike when standing upright as opposed to "half-standing". We were made to do as many attempts as possible until 10am. Overall, I didn't do so bad and passed Lesson 2.
I've booked Lesson 3 and Circuit Revision on 27 Dec (back-to-back). For those who aren't aware, you can book lessons back-to-back so as to make good use of your travel time to CDC. For instance, I booked my Circuit Revision from 8.30-10am slot and then Lesson 3 from 10.20 to 12noon slot. By doing Circuit Revision immediately before the next lesson, you would have familiarise yourself with the bike and be more confident during the lesson.