Advanced Motorcycle Training.

Passing you motorcycle test is just the start of your motorcycling.

Every year thousands of people are killed or seriously injured in road accidents as a result of human error. Many accidents involving motorcyclists are not the fault of the rider, who usually comes off worst. You need to do your part and learn to handle your machine in a safe, systematic, smooth and progressive manner,

There is an enormous amount of things for you to consider whilst you are riding, things like road surfaces, potential hazards, actual hazards, road positioning, use of gears, etc.

Many riders like to go on track days predominantly to use the speed of the bike in a relatively safe environment; it is also a good place to practice your handling skills on bends.

However our roads are not racetracks, when you are on the road you have to consider many things. For this you need to practice your Roadcraft.

The main thing you need when riding is INFORMATION,
For an example, consider a simple bend in the road. You need to know which way the bend is going, how tight it is, what the road surface is like, position of any junctions or driveways on the bend, what is after the bend, what is coming the other way. Once you know these things then you can decide how fast you can enter the bend, which gear to be in, your road position for entry, through and exit.

To gain the information, you need to hone your Observation skills. Many riders do not notice the signs that are there to help you. There is often a bend warning sign, sometimes with a junction marked on it, sometimes there is SLOW written on the road, often there are chevrons on the outside of the bend.
Apart from the road furniture that is there to help you there are other things that you can do, for example, look across the bend can you see where the road goes after the bend. Is there any oncoming traffic? Any other hazards round the bend? You might not be able to see across the bend but it's always worth a look. Position yourself on the approach so that you can see around the bend as far as possible, taking into account anything that you have already seen such as junctions or oncoming traffic.

The above is just a simple example of some of the things that you need to consider, your surroundings change all the time and you need to be concentrating all the time.

At SMART RIDER we can help you hone your skills, often we are pointing out things that are quite simple but make a big difference to your safety. It is not uncommon for students to say things like. "Well that's obvious, but I had not thought of it."

Why not come along for a couple of hours and see if we can improve your safety, it's not expensive and it could save your life. Have a look at our Enhanced Rider Scheme page.

All of our instructors are experienced observers or senior observers for the Institute of Advanced Motorists (I.A.M).