Please remember to bring your glove, helmet & guards, receipt for the lesson and booklet for CDC Practical Lesson 1. For CDC Practical Lesson 1, you will be riding using motorbike with no mirror. They are the old motorbike. For the first part of the lesson, the instructor will divide the group into first timer and repeat/experienced rider. If you have experience in riding, please do not join the first timer as the first timer will be learning very basic stuff like moving off and stopping.
CDC Practical Lesson 1: Mainstand
Before you start, you will most likely be asked to push the bike off the mainstand. To push the bike off the mainstand, there are two ways. The first way involves using brute strength to push it down. The second way is to push the bike slightly backward first so that you can use the forward momentum of the bike when bike swings forward. This make it slightly easier to push the bike off the mainstand. Remember to place your right hand on the front brake so that you can stop the bike when you push it off the mainstand. Else, the bike might drop. If you are still have problem pushing it down, then you might want to nudge the crash bar below the handle bar with your knee.
To put the bike back to mainstand, you have to place one foot on the footstand of the mainstand. Next, ensure that both of the feet of the mainstand is touching the ground by balance the bike. After that, step hard and pull the crashbar upward. The bike should be on mainstand.
CDC Practical Lesson 1: “Bang” Tyres
For the first timer, you will be asked to move off in gear one forward and brake just before hitting the wall hanging with tires. Then you will be asked to move backward and repeat the routine until the instructor think that the group is ok with the basic control of the motorbike. The trick for this part is to apply gradual braking using both front and footbrake. Do not press the brake too fast especially the front brake as this will cause abrupt braking. Just aim for where you want to stop and begin to apply brake as you are nearing that point. Try to use more rear brake as it will result in a gentler braking. Repeat or experienced rider will skip this part and go straight to mini circuit.
CDC Practical Lesson 1: Mini Circuit
After that, the whole group will be asked to move around the mini circuit in the bike nursery while shifting to gear 3. My tip for this part will be to continually shift between gear 2 and gear 3 when moving around the mini circuit even though the instructor did not say so. This is to familiarize yourself with gear shifting so that you can upgear and downgear smoothly. In addition, while you are riding around, try out your front and rear brake to slow down slightly so that you can know roughly the braking power of the motorbike braking. Doing all this will prepare you for the next part of the lesson.
There will be an evaluation round for each of the parts below after practising a few times. The evaluation round is the round that determines whether you meet the requirement for the particular portion of the lesson. The instructor may or may not inform you that you are on the evaluation round.
After riding around the mini circuit for several round, you will be asked to come to a stop before the cone while in gear 3. If you have been trying to practice what I suggest, then this part should be ok. Just aim a point before the cone and apply rear brake first to slow down when there is some distance. After slowing down, clutch in and then slowly apply front brake and rear brake until the bike comes to a stop. Apply rear brake more if you find yourself stop abruptly. Remember to bring down your left foot when your bike is coming to a stop. If you are able to do this properly, then you will be riding around in the main circuit.
CDC Practical Lesson 1: Main circuit
You will be riding 2 – 3 rounds the main circuit first. After that, you will be asked to ride until gear 3 and then stop before the cone by using engine brake (kicking down to gear 2), Front and rear brake. Just before coming to a stop, clutch in and kick to gear 1 while holding on to the brake. If you have been practicing gear shifting, you should not have problem with this.
Next part will be short distance braking whereby you will be asked to move off in gear one and then stop before the cone which is less than 1 metre away.
Following that, you will be asked to riding until gear 5 and then downgear to straight to gear 3 before reaching the bend. This is likely the only time you can ride around the circuit with gear 5. The trick is to use your rear brake to slow your bike now and then clutch in first before kicking the gear down two time in one go. By releasing the clutch, the bike will slow down due to engine braking.
CDC Practical Lesson 1: Mini Figure of 8
You will return back to the mini circuit whereby you will be riding in the mini figure of 8 inside the mini circuit. The tip is to look where you turn and use rear brake when you feel that you are moving too fast. If you are able to execute what is required, then you will be able to pass CDC Practical Lesson 1. Most new learner will take at least 2 lessons to pass lesson 1 because there is not enough time to complete all the requirements of CDC Practical Lesson 1. Good luck! If you managed to pass CDC Practical Lesson 1, do visit this post so that you can read about CDC Practical Lesson 2. Else, you can visit this post to learn about other CDC practical lessons.
Pls do try to complete all your theory lessons and tests as soon as possible to prevent any bottlenecking. Both theory and practical lesson can be cleared at the same time. Some learners progress were impeded as they are unable to book their next practical lesson due to not clearing their theory lessons and tests fast enough. Do visit this post to learn more about other CDC practical lessons.
As i am no longer learning in CDC, i might not be able to give the most updated information. Thus, i am forming a telegram group so that i can create a learner community to engage all CDC motorcycle learner whereby you all can share your learning experience and learn from each other. Do join the Telegram group by clicking here. The link is https://t.me/CDCMotorcycleLearner
Telegram is chosen instead of whatapp because it allows user to create username and hide your handphone number. Do consider to install telegram from google app store.
If you have any question or thing that you do not understand, you can contact via telegram or email. For faster response, please contact me via telegram or whatsapp. The QR code is the link to contact me via telegram. Telegram is messaging app for smartphone similar to whatapp.
Hi, just curious if you know when does CDC open up their slots for practical lessons? e.g. every wednesday or something?
i am not very sure about this. THe best way to get the slot is to camp at the website at the end of each session as people who passed will cancel their extra lesson. This will free up the slot.
Hi, sorry if this qn is stupid. But I always have trouble getting up and down of the bike. May I know if I will be penalised for putting the bike on side stand after pushing down from main stand in order to get up and vice versa.
don’t think you can do that. best to consult instructor on this
I feel that while the instructor tell you what you need to do, they do not tell you how you should do it clearly specific to each learner not able to meet the requirement. It’s more like they tell you whether you pass or fail and a bit of what you done wrong but not so much HOW you can pass their requirement.
That is the reason why i wrote this blog so that all learner can prepare themselve before the lesson. Instructors normally do not have enough time to specifically tell you your mistake as there are too many learners.
Hi Arcane
But most learner’s dare not complain about this lack of advice from the instructors. They basically very quick and energetic at shouting you fail at which point but fall short of telling you why and how you can pass it using certain techniques useful for each learner. My experience with their car driving instructor is totally opposite. The car instructor is expert in telling me where I go wrong, WHY I went wrong, HOW I can get it right. And it’s a one to one. I suspect it’s harder to pass bike license than car. Their instructor to learner ratio is appalling but highly profitable based on the ratio and per lesson FAILURE RATE. We keep paying and paying for lessons which we have to figure out where we go wrong and how we can pass by learning bit by bit per lesson. At $24 a lesson it may sound reasonable but it takes multiple of that to pass just one lesson. So each lesson typically costs quite a lot per learner. But being authority Fearing singaporeans we just say BOH BIAN and accept the lack of guidance.
Thanks for this blog, very valuable advice given.
By the way, to share my overseas experience, I also took riding lessons in Vietnam and the system there is every man for himself. Street peddlers on bicycles, jay walkers, trishaws, e-bikes. School children ride bicycles, e-bikes and 50cc bikes on the roads with everybody else. However during training, the instructor would ride with me and guide me along on my traffic mistakes.
Riding a bike is a way of life and means of livelihood in Vietnam. In the school circuits, there is no plank or e-brake. Some simple pylon and figure of 8 technique is taught but there is no time limit, no immediate failure. There is generally safe riding behavior in most of the areas except Highway 1, riders will keep to the right lane, cars and heavy vehicles on the left, ride slow, ride with the flow and don’t make abrupt movements and all is well.
Over here, many people especially students and youths are just taking motorcycle lessons for leisure and don’t think much about it.
The roads here are unsafe because people drive / ride at high speeds. So the test has to be strict and its also a good source of income. Only the “best” are released into the road, others just pay more to keep trying until they give up.
I am writing this for the benefit of others because, if they are stuck here and don’t have opportunity to migrate, they have to suck it and embrace the system. Nonetheless, some of the techniques taught in Singapore are valuable, its just that instructors don’t have time to provide personal one-on-one guidance. Read the training manual, learn from mistakes, pay and pay and keep trying.
Hi can i book practical 1 multiple time as in book slot 1 and slot 2 in advance or i have to book 1 at a time only, pleaee reply asap
you can book both slot 1 and 2 in the same day but if you manage to pass on slot 1, then slot 2 cannot be cancelled