Exam 1st Try: Nov 29 (Thu) 9.30am

Arriving on time and had 30-min testing the bike for the exam with 6 others in the group.

I was simply cruising to the left/right/left/right for the whole time without much trouble. There's once I knocked down 2 cones, and another one-time failure of killing the engine. But for the rest of the time - smooth! Some of the students still have problems killing the engine and I thought, hmmmm I wasn't the worst!

Sad thing is, I was the first in the group to start. The examiner came up and talked through the different tests. Suddenly my heart was pumping faster and I wasn't at the most comfortable form.

Exam time -

Test 1: From outside the lanes driving to the centre.
This part is so correctly done.

Test 2: Turn Left
Corner was smooth, geared to the 2nd, then another turn...

At this point I had to shift back to the 1st gear but apparently I had it stuck at "N"...

Done.

Test 3: Turn Right
I LANDED MY RIGHT FOOT TO SHIFT BACK TO THE FIRST GEAR.

Well I thought this was the end, but the examiner didn't say anything.

And I noticed my signal was still on the left so I pushed the button to signal right "while the bike is moving".

Corner to the right, fine. Geared up fine. Geared down fine. Second turn a bit too fast, the turn went too wide but no crash. Stopped fine.

Test 4: Emergency Stopping
My nerve really got into me and I turn in quite not focused.

On the left turn I noticed the angle wasn't too right, so I pulled the left handle back to make a better turn...

BUT INSTEAD I PULLED THE CLUTCH - AND THE BIKE JUST SLIDE OUT OF COURSE, AND SLAMMED TO THE PILES OF TIRES.

GAME OVER.

Examiner (who belongs to the Dept of Transport and not the motoring school) came out from the booth, and said, "Why did you pull the clutch? It's not going to help you anything."

Honestly I didn't have a clue what I was doing, and so I ended up finishing the exam very early, and sat at the side watching.

The kid at 2nd failed at his 3rd start by landing on his right foot - examiner told him to "move the bike to the side" and that was it for his 2nd try.

The mid-age man on 3rd is smooth and passed. He was once on my class and passed on 1st try (he'd a driving license already tho).

The other kid with a $3000 Arai helmet, also on my class once before, managed to get through all the test but failed the last - by landing on his right foot at emergency stopping. 2nd try for him.

I think the other 3 guys went fine. They all presented their current driving license at the reception, so I guess knowing the 4-wheel really helps.

Upon retrospect, that fear of exam is a very major reason of my failure.

Of course my technique is not perfect, but my "mental state" really need more work.

Evidently, that mock exam I had at the end of the lessons showed the same thing. I was doing fine when we were all practising. But then when we were doing the exam one by one, I went completely off-course, and almost crashed into the guys on queue.

My wrist hurts a little I know, but not at the point that it causes serious problems - since I was able to make left turns smoothly, many times, when I warm-up, and when I practice all night Tues. I cannot blame the left turn anymore (even though *that* particular corner is the most difficult one out of the four, as it's walled on both sides, and it's going slightly uphill with the uneven ground)

Second try is scheduled on Jan 17. I also have a special (compulsory to pay extra) 2-hour session before that.

So no bike in Dec.

The road to probation is such a long way...

Self Study 4: Nov 27 (Tue) 8.30-9.30pm

After a nightmare about failing the exam, I was so freaked out that I spent more cash on another session of self study.

The night was busy with lots of students in the main bike area - one of the instructors recommended the exam area, which I already planned to devote all my time in there.

I warmed up with 30-min of just making circles to the left & right of the butterfly-lane, with stopping and starting in the centre. Initially I smashed at the corners and let the engine go dead. It took me long to get used to the correct balance, speed and control.

I shared the area with another guy (whom I didn't talk to) and he was doing fine all the way. On the contrary, I have a lot of hiccups during my 2nd half-hour continuous mock test. 3 times when I switched from "Emergency stopping" to normal, the 2nd gear was still on without me realizing it. Took me some frustrating minutes to sort that out. I also tend to gear up/down wrongly during the repetition. Nothing goes too perfectly.

Maybe I am pushing myself a bit too hard without much practice, and maybe I am not as talented as my interest goes...But I did try my best. Let's see what will happen in 30 hours from now.

Self Study 3: Nov 25 (Sun) 3.30-4.30pm

It was more than a month ago since I last ride. That exam is on this coming Thurs, and I desperately need some warm up...

Starting right at the examination area with the enclosed lanes - I want to see what will happen if I immediately give myself the exam without any practice. Turned out to be a mess as I turn -- crashed a few cones and ran out of the lane on the second turn.

So I just have to do a few more rounds on the outside... It felt better, but the bike fell when I was playing at the "8" line. Very embarrassing with another male student helping me out. Also I tried the "slope" once (which involved starting on the slope), and lost control of whatever I should be doing... In the end I managed to get downhill, but not in the smoothest way..

My wrist was healing but not perfectly, and I felt the pain getting in sometimes... Must have been some other mischief I did earlier, making my turns slightly uncomfortable (and hence running over cones)...

There was one very disturbing mock exam when I got back to the exam area. There was this one when I let die of the engine on restart, and I just keep letting go of the clutch in a hurry, resulting in a series of hop-dead... Because there were other students waiting in the line, and I felt really bad holding up the area, so I have to get back to the training area in disappointment.

I moved around the motoring school area with not much problem, which made me more worried about my exam performance. (Since driving outside is completely different from the exam criteria).

After today I was not as confident as I should be. Maybe I have to spare a night to practice one last chance this week before the exam...

Failing, or predicting a failure, is never a good thought.