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Hi everyone, I'm hoping you can offer me some advice.

  I'm pretty new to scootering- I've wanted one for years and years and finally convinced my partner.  We both love the Mojito.

So, here's the thing- I grew up in the country and learned to ride on trail bikes, got my bike licence when I was 17.  I haven't ridden for about 25 years.  I'm now well and truly on the wrong side of 40 and now live in the city.  I'm quite apprehensive about riding in the traffic (my experience is limited to roaring around paddocks and bush trails in the country).  We've had the Mojito a little over a week and I take it out for a ride around some very quiet local streets, just to get accustomed to it but I haven't ventured into busier roads yet. 

I had initially thought of doing the Pre Learner rider course (which is compulsory here in NSW) but it turns out that I'm excluded from that option because I'm already fully licenced.  I did a private 1 hr lesson through HART today which was good, but I think I need more, especially as I'd like to learn defensive riding techniques.  I can't really afford too many private lessons at $110 an hour.  

I really want to get out there and ride in the traffic, but I feel quite rusty and apprehensive.  I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions

Cheers

Sue

Im sure HART can offer more lessons.

There are probably other institutions around that will offer similar courses.  I know here in Qld, with QRide there are options as to wat you can do, and ongoing training.  It's good that you are aware and realise that you need more training, and want to gain more confidence.  You see some people out here, on the side of the roads, doing 40kms, because they obviously aren't confident. It's kind, of a why bother, thing.

Im sure some others from NSW will help you with options.  Good luck with it

Thanks Dakoda, yep, the next course in their range is a half day advanced handling course, which I feel is still 2 steps further along for me so I feel like I'm in between levels, you know.  The last thing I want to do is get on the road,not feel and appear confident, and antagonise other road users. 

HART have several options that might be suitable for you.    check out HART web site (click for a new window to open)

• Post Learners (I quote from their web site)  $150.00 for 1/2 day including bike or scooter
  

  This half day course is aimed at those riders who have obtained their Learner License and want to get some practice and experience prior to the Pre-Provisional Course and test. It is also a great course for those who have not ridden for a few years and want to get the feel of riding again in a controlled environment.

  The course aims to develop the skills learnt on the Pre-Learner Course and take them to the next level. The course is conducted on our road circuit with a maximum of six attendees per instructor.  
  

• Riding Dynamics (again quoting from their web site)  $120.00 for 1/2 day not including bike
  

  This half day course is structured to enhance and refine physical riding skills whilst not forgetting the basics. The course concentrates on cornering, braking and hazard avoidance skills but attention is also paid to improving eye direction, posture and throttle control.

  This course is aimed at returning, newly licensed or provisional riders usually riding bikes up to 650cc. Courses are generally run on weekends and are conducted on our dual lane 80km/h closed road circuit with a maximum of six attendees per instructor.

The Post Learners seems an excellent option for you at $150.00 for 3 hours, and then if you wanted to, you could progress to Riding Dynamics which is at a higher skill level than Post Learners but lower than Advanced.

I did a three hour course (I think it was "Riding Dynamics") with HART last year to brush up on my skills as I had not ridden for almost 10 years, I found the instructors there to be really great and the course great value for money.

Thanks!  That does sound perfect for me.  I'm going to check it out.

Hi Sue,

Not sure where you are in Sydney so this may be of little use, but my wife and i did our pre-learner course this week at Tuggerah with a mob called Wheel-Skills. They also offer a 3 hour intermediate course "and be prepared for your Provisional course or simply be safer on the road...."

It is $140 in GST. You can take your scooter (if you have a trailer) or hire a unit (they do have scooters) for $55. The guy we had impressed my wife very much in his instructional style (she's a high school teacher).

If of any use their URL is www.wheel-skills.com.au Contact details are on the site.

Good Luck

TonyJ

Rosey:

So, here's the thing- I grew up in the country and learned to ride on trail bikes, got my bike licence when I was 17.  I haven't ridden for about 25 years.  I'm now well and truly on the wrong side of 40 and now live in the city

We consider training to be the most important item you purchase when you buy a scoot, you'll probably change your scoot but the skills remain with you. If you really want to give the skills a boost do the training one on one not in a group, then you have the trainers undivided attention & you will improve faster.

Thanks everyone for your advice- seems like the HART Post Learner is the go.  Cheers

Rosey:

So, here's the thing- I grew up in the country and learned to ride on trail bikes, got my bike license when I was 17.  I haven't ridden for about 25 years.  I'm now well and truly on the wrong side of 40 and now live in the city

Hello Rosey, I was the same as you. Got my scooter license at 17, then gave it up when I was 7 months pregnant at almost 20. It was 35 years between rides for me. When my husband and sons surprised me with a 100cc at 50 years of age I thought holy crap! I'm going to need a bucket load of lessons. Not true, I had 2 lessons and was told I had aced it and was booked in for my test. Much to the disgust of the males in our household I passed with a  100% score. 4 months later I bought a 400cc scooter and just recently updated to the 2008 Tmax. On the larger scooter, corners were my sore point. I joined a local bike club and had more than enough "teachers" and now ride with absolute confidence.

Ride safe and enjoy

Wow, that's fantastic.  I hope I'll be able to say the same soon.  I've booked in to do a post learner course in 10 days time, so I'm hoping that's a good start.  It was brilliant reading your note- thanks.

Hi all, I had a great day today- did my postl earner training at HART (thanks Kiwi- for the  great tip).  It was about 4hrs in duration and just fantastic.  I really felt that I my skills improved.  I found that the slow speed excercises were more difficult than I'd anticipated (U'eys, withches hats and so on).   That HART centre is well set up, and the course really well run.  There were 6 of us in the class but I felt that I had plenty of 1 on 1 interaction with the instructor too.  I'll definitely continue doing some training (I'll book in for the advanced course as soon as we're a bit more flush).

I drove there (stupidly) and on my way home I was thinking that my driving skills have improved siignificantly; a nice and unexpected by- product.

When I first went for my bike licence (a long time ago in a tiny country town) the police officer conducting the test told me to ride up the main street, do a U- turn, come back to the station and park it.  When I returned

Sorry- computer malfunction!  So when I returned back to the police station he was already back behind his desk, writing up my paperwork.  I guess I've never felt like my skills had been tested.  Today was fantastic- I felt challenged and like I'd improved

That is great to hear Rosey.

And another satisfied customer of Kiwiscoot advice

Rosey:

Hi all, I had a great day today- did my postl earner training at HART (thanks Kiwi- for the  great tip).  It was about 4hrs in duration and just fantastic.  I really felt that I my skills improved.  I found that the slow speed excercises were more difficult than I'd anticipated (U'eys, withches hats and so on).   That HART centre is well set up, and the course really well run.  There were 6 of us in the class but I felt that I had plenty of 1 on 1 interaction with the instructor too.  I'll definitely continue doing some training (I'll book in for the advanced course as soon as we're a bit more flush).

My dad talked me into using HART (Sydney) for a refresher,  I found them great,  the centre is very well setup and despite being 6 in the class it feels more like one on one instruction, in fact the whole family,  my dad, mum, sister and myself have all used HART at different times.