Further Training.

[RichT]

I passed my test about 18 months ago and have never looked back. Ride in all conditions and at least 3 times a week (usually more). Have been thinking about doing some form of advanced rider training, but I am unsure what to go for and other than an insurance saving I'm a little dubious of the benefits. (Let me explain that bit).... Since passing I have become good friends with the guys at the school I passed with. As such I have had lots of advice and tips, go on ride-outs with them fairly often and have done a couple of trips.

So I thought I'd ask the "collective" for some advice/opinions.

IAM (SAM) - Seems alright, but experience so far makes me think that once you've passed you're obligated to preach about it and view the rest of the biking world from a different perspective. (No offense intended, just going by what I've seen so far).

Bike Safe - Police rider training. I like the thought of this one, as in addition to improving your techniques, these are the guys who are gonna be watching you. The ones who know what they're talking about anyway....

California Bike School or the like - Seems more track focused but a collegue has done a couple of days with these guys and highly recommends 'em. Said he learnt a lot. (Pricey though).

Other?

I plan to book for early spring as a jump start for next summer.

What do you think peep's? I appreciate any form of advanced training is a good thing, but what would you choose and why?

I plan to do my first track day next year at some point as well - advice there would be good too.

[Luckypants]

I would recommend a BikeSafe as it is cheap (or even free) and short. Typically lasts a weekend and will give a taste of 'advanced riding'. Try it and see if you think there is much you could gain from this type of training, then move on to the course that you think will benefit you.

[Alpinestarhero]

Bikesafe is good, I did a day, I didn't get alot from it BUT I don't think I was in the right state of mind on the day. I'll be doing another one soon though and now I know what to expect I should be able to get more from it. The things I did obtain about road positioning have proved very usefull and I am now a slightly better rider as a result (and more confident with my motorcycle).

Try bikesafe first, and then see about doing more training. What sort of riding do you do though? I'm pretty keen to do some advanced slow-control type of riding, since I spend alot of my riding life in first and second gear, slipping the clutch and wiggling my way about london :lol:

[RichT]

What sort of riding do you do though? I'm pretty keen to do some advanced slow-control type of riding, since I spend alot of my riding life in first and second gear, slipping the clutch and wiggling my way about london :lol:

:-D My riding is a mixture of town riding (filtering etc), A roads and dual carriageways mainly. Little motorway riding as my commute doesn't require it.

When I changed from my Bandit to the SV I spent a day riding with my old instructor. He had two pupils with him and I tagged along, gave him a hand and performed the manouvers on my new bike to get aquainted with its handling etc.

[Ceri JC]

I've only done IAM, so my comments on the other 2 are hearsay/speculation:

Depends what you want. By the sounds of it, you actually ride your bike as opposed to going out and trying to kill yourself at weekends, so I'd worry more about the road riding stuff. CSS is supposed to be superb and if their vids and Keith Code's books are anything to go by, it certainly should help you corner better. Unless you're looking at becoming serious at trackdays, or taking up racing, I'd postpone doing CSS. I'd say do Bikesafe and if you like it/get on with it, consider IAM or ROSPA.

I agree with you about IAM, some people are a bit too evangelical about it and some have difficulty conceeding it's ever wrong or that it has any flaws. My POV is that its not perfect, but that unless you are very experienced or exceptionally naturally gifted, you will get at least something out of it. At your level of experience, I would suggest you stand to gain a great deal. Don't get too hung up on the silly minutae like not being allowed balls of your feet on the pegs: once you've passed, you can drop the bits of it that you think are useless/wrong and use the bits that fit in nicely with your riding style.

[Stu]

IAM is perfect.












:lol:
Seriously Bikesafe would be a good cheaper taster, then either of IAM or Rospa whichever is more convenient or you like the sound of. You don't have to become evangelical about IAM I know plenty that have just drifted away either before doing the actual test or after passing. It's just that sometimes many people (like me) find it so massively beneficial and considering the relatively low cost they can't help but at least recommend others check it out fir themselves.

[RichT]

Cheers guys - looks like BikeSafe to start then.

Really didn't mean to offend, or appear to judge btw. I'm sure those IAM members I've met represent the minority.

[Lissa]

Bike safe is great. Pete and I did a full weekend with Warwickshire police a couple of years ago, and had a ball:D

You could also give Rospa a try. Unlike the IAM, their training is free and you only have to pay for taking the advanced test.

http://www.roadar.org/riders/how/index.htm

[yorkie_chris]

You never know, it's unusual, but in some cases people have actually recovered from IAM. orose for example has now bought a gixxer and even intends to shave his beard :-P

I'd say do bikesafe first.

[Alpinestarhero]

Bike safe is great. Pete and I did a full weekend with Warwickshire police a couple of years ago, and had a ball:D

You could also give Rospa a try. Unlike the IAM, their training is free and you only have to pay for taking the advanced test.

http://www.roadar.org/riders/how/index.htm

I might give the RoSPA thing a try. I'm not too bothered about tests but I do like to learn

[stevie]

You never know, it's unusual, but in some cases people have actually recovered from IAM. orose for example has now bought a gixxer and even intends to shave his beard :-P

I'd say do bikesafe first.

:smt046 I must still be in rehab as I've only got a goatee now, I still observe for the IAM but I'm also a civilian observer for North Wales Bikesafe and Merseyside Bikesafe.

I'd go for the Bikesafe package first as this "bridges the gap" between passing your test and taking further training.

Then you have either the IAM which once you've passed that test, you don't take it again. Or you could go down the RoSPA route, which is similar but you get re-tested depending on which grade you achieve i.e. Bronze is after 1 year, Silver is 2 years and Gold is 3 years. This keeps you more current on technique and stops bad habits forming.:mrgreen:

[Baph]

I did BikeSafe with NW Police (interesting that there's an observer on the .Org).

TBH, I came at Bikesafe knowing the theory behind it all, pretty much knowing what they were going to say before it was said. I also came at it with far more mileage than any of the others on the course at the same time.

I didn't really get that much out of it. There were a couple of criticisms, but that was mainly due to some bad habbits I'd developed.

For that reason, as Stevie has quite rightly said, I'm looking at RoSPA. Though I'll be saving up & going for RoSPA in the Alps. :D

[stevie]

Though I'll be saving up & going for RoSPA in the Alps. :D

Does that mean you'll be learning advanced yodelling as well???:smt040

[Mark_h]

Don't get too hung up on the silly minutae like not being allowed balls of your feet on the pegs: once you've passed, you can drop the bits of it that you think are useless/wrong and use the bits that fit in nicely with your riding style.

Absolutely right about only using the bits that work for you.

"Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of the wise".

As for balls of your feet on the pegs, I spend hours trying to get people to do just that. Either I'm doing it wrong (I'm an IAM observer) or the other bloke got it wrong. So far as I can see you get much better feel and control with the balls of your feet on the pegs unless you are doing really slow riding where you need to be covering the rear brake.



You could also give Rospa a try. Unlike the IAM, their training is free and you only have to pay for taking the advanced test.

Don't know about other areas but my IAM club has free "training" too. You pay for your test and IAM membership like you do for ROSPA then an annual fee for the bike club (about £20) to pay for the social side of things. Some places expect you to pay for or contribute to the observers fuel, but my lot do it for a cup of tea, a bacon butty and the chance to strut about being all self important while patronising folks.


I agree with the others above. Give bike-safe a go to see if the "advanced riding" style works for you. Then if you want to go further either ROSPA or IAM will do pretty much the same thing. It really comes down to how the local team work it and if you get on with the people you're working with. Most clubs will give you a free first session. If they treat you like an idiot at that session, or you just don't like the feel of it then go elsewhere.

The big difference between advanced riding and track days is where the focus lies. Track days are all about machine control and fast lines. Advanced riding is all about machine control and safe lines. They should both give you something in the machine control department and at the end of the day if you can consistently hold a line on the track or the road you'll not be far wrong.

Obviously track days are a lot sexier than advanced riding but once hooked on track days it can work out very expensive with a garage full of bikes and ever more exotic tracks to blat round.

[RichT]

Thanks for the advice all. I think I'll do a BikeSafe weekend and take things from there.