Exam 2nd Try: Jan 17 (Thu) 11.30am

So the three of us who failed the compulsory exam together 2 months ago were back in the exam circuit, alongside 3 other boys.

We did our practice rounds and the atmosphere was filled with anxiety - even I had a fair share of knocking out cones, losing clutch control, etc., especially everyone is trying to do some more start/stop practice. It's basically a traffic jam!

It's a record low temperature for this winter - 12oC, and my fingers were numb after 20 minutes of holding the clutch and brake.

I thought it's good news that I got to be the 2nd in the queue to sit the exam and not the first again.

The instructor on duty introduced the examiner from the Department of Transport. This examiner looks a lot younger and nicer, and refreshed us with examination criteria. "If you are on Neutral gear after turning and the stop, you can land your right foot when you get inside the box in the centre and switch to the right gear." - I didn't know that this is acceptable until now... and "Your bike needs to be going straight and steady after the turn for Emergency Stop - if you bike is wobbly then you'll still have a chance to do another round".

He is a lot more positive than the previous examiner, who only mentioned "if you blah-blah, you'll fail..."

Guy in black turtleneck was the first to go. He's smooth and deserved to pass.

I'm on next. Struggled a bit to move the bike forward (I always have the fear of letting clutch to go too fast...). Straight up to the centre box and I passed the first task.

#2 task: Turn left and back to centre.
The first left was my "Achilles corner" where I crashed, but I went pass it on snail speed fine. Geared up and do 2nd left, no problem. Geared down, brake and back to centre. Passed.

#3 task: Turn right and back to centre.
Same as #2. Passed.

#4 task: turn either route and go for Emergency stop when back to centre lane.
I chose the right this time to avoid the Achilles... which was a perfect choice because I was just very smooth at the right. I got more nervous when I geared up and turn right again, thinking that I should focus more on the stop to avoid failing at the last second (by putting right foot down). I grabbed the hand brake and stepped on the foot brake, pulling the clutch, and landed safely.

I PASSED----!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The exam was quick.

The person behind me was the boy with classy Arai helmet. He failed last time (for the 2nd try) by landing on his feet on the final Emergency stop task. But this time he made it - he passed too!

When he treated me with a candy, my hands went very shaky.

The 4th guy with an olive coat was a bit wobbly, but managed all his rounds and did fine. A pass for him.

The 5th guy who is very quiet and with dreadlock, also passed.

The 6th guy, the boy with funky jeans who failed 2nd try, turns alright, but he switched gear too soon before getting any closer to the box... Anyway, on his last turn, when he tried to stop - his right foot stepped out, and failed.

So apart from him, the rest of us all passed which was very encouraging.

When we were waiting for the results, I found out that the turtleneck guy had his 3rd try, and the olive coat guy was the same as me (2nd try). So I felt quite lucky that I am not sitting another round - and that I am not really an idiot..! Some of them had 4-wheels driver license within one try, and found motorbike exam a completely different experience.

My first road class will be on Feb 23, and I'm really looking forward for that!!!

Compulsory Class: Jan 12 (Sat) 5.30-7.30pm

The motoring school forced everyone who failed the exam to sit another 2-hours of "improvement course". Basically there are instructors watching the 6 of us riding and giving comments while doing rounds of mock exams.

Nothing too much of a problem I thought, apart from once another girl crashing into my bike while we are both turning into the same lane (my shin hit on the leg-guard). Clearly not my fault, so I think I'm fine.

The instructor did make helpful suggestions.

When your turn is not smooth and knocking cones off the lane edges:
- Start turning from the far side of the lane so that the turn is not that sharp, i.e. if you make the 180-degree turn to the left, start from the right edge of the lane.

When you switched to the neutral gear before stopping:
- Kick the gear lever a few times, and hard, right before stopping. The action should well be accompanied by pulling the clutch in and also the hand+foot brake. So gear-switching action will be at the last 2-3 meters or so before entering the stop box in the middle of the lane.

When you can't stop fast at Emergency Stopping test:
- Apply more hand brake, but in a smooth, delicate way. Pulling too hard will make the bike jump.

Those who are not taking the mock exam are free to play around in the bike area. I had a few tries at the 8-lane. The first few times I missed the turns a lot, but the more I practice, the smoother I get, and eventually I can do full 8s. Brilliant.

OK let's see how I do on Thurs.