Labels: Adrian Flux, bike, bike insurance, bikesure, cheaper motorcycle insurance, chinese scooter, compulsory basic training, quad, quad bike, quad insurance, sportsbikes, young rider insurance
link | posted by Bikesure Grant at Friday, September 05, 20080 comments links to this post
So, as well as their exhaustive insurance and underwriting training, which lasts several months, we round up all the trainee staff who aren't already into bikes, and send them off to do their Compulsory Basic Training (CBT).
As you can imagine, letting a bunch of novices loose on a bike often has hilarious consequences, so we got the latest batch of
CBT: Richard Rowsell
The day was 14th June 2007 when I took my CBT...
The phrase that I repeated most during this experience would be "oh cock", let me explain.
On the morning of the 14th I called M.I.C.K.S (Riding School - apparently it's supposed to stand for Motorcycle Instruction Course Keep Safe, but since it's run by a guy called Mick, we're guessing he was a C.Hi.P.S. fan) to see if there are any spaces, I found that there was an opening later that day at 13:15.
13:05 - Arrived at M.I.C.K.S
13:20 - Given brief about what we will be doing and reassured that all will be ok and have fun
13:40 - Taken to the off road area to try out the bikes, completed the moving off and stopping section. We were allowed to go down a track and back that I did several times at high speed with no problems. Here comes the first "oh cock"... I went down a part with loose stones and turned around, I moved off and changed up the gears but missed a gear change and massively over revved causing me to think "oh cock, this isn’t good" so I grabbed the front brake and due to the big stones we were on, buried the bike into the floor. I continued forward but luckily kept upright, leaving the bike in a cloud of dust.
// Damage Report - Electrics OK - Foot peg Bent - Gear Lever is now at new Snazzy Angle - Front Left Indicator is Hanging Off - Front Light at Funny Angle \\
14:30 - Taken back to base where lots of Gaffer Tape was the order of the day... followed by several minutes of bending the gear lever into a less interesting position
14:50 - Said to Julie (An instructor) "I may have dropped the bike" Got told, "you're not a biker as you have to crash 3 times to earn the title of biker"
Sulked for 20 minutes…
15:10 – Taken out on road on recently repaired (if Gaffer tape counts) bike, although the gear lever is still at a funny angle
15:15 – First junction, buggered up clutch and pulled a mini wheelie!
15:40 – 60mph side road, getting overtaken by massive lorries. This is scary as hell, as my mirrors don’t even show anything behind me, as they are rubbish {we are going at 35mph}
15:55 – Radio contact is lost!
16:00 – Car overtakes me and cuts me off from the group so I cannot see the instructor and he cannot see me
16:46 – Other pupil in front of me stalls the bike on a big junction, the instructor is the other side of the road
17:25 – QE Hospital roundabout – Instructor goes straight on, other pupil goes round the whole roundabout! "oh cock" I know to go straight on but follow to keep her company just in case she panicked.
17:40 – CBT COMPLETED
Thanks goes to Rob “the Bossman” Balls for the opportunity to do this.
Labels: cbt, chinese scooter, compulsory basic training, learner bikes, learner legal, learning to ride, moped, motorcycle instruction, teenage rider insurance, young rider insurance
link | posted by Dave Wilson at Monday, June 18, 20070 comments links to this post
The opening sentences give you a flavour of what's to come:

Read the rest of the manual at the Chinglish Files. And if you've got a Qingqi scooter, or any chinese import motorcycle, remember that Bikesure can give you a Chinese Scooter Insurance Quote, even if no-one else has heard of it.
Labels: bikesure, chinese scooter, funny, insurance, scooter
link | posted by Dave Wilson at Wednesday, April 11, 20070 comments links to this post
Bikesure doesn't work like that. Our long experience with insuring custom bikes, trikes and rare classics means we quote for each and every bike on its own individual merits. This means we are one of the few companies able to cover every road-legal model of scooter, no matter how unusual or new to the market. So give us a try for Chinese Scooter Insurance.
Now if only someone could do something about the "Chinglish" slogans that the manufacturers write on their bikes...

"Shen Yang - The New Generational Scooter Fron Earth"

"No One In the World Can Be My Best Partner Except the Dio - New Generation"
More here with pictures!
Labels: chinese scooter, insurance, moped, scooter
link | posted by Dave Wilson at Wednesday, February 14, 20070 comments links to this post




