Premier motorcycle courses across the UK
FAQ Frequently Asked Questions
In my 20 years in the industry I’ve been asked thousands of questions about Advanced Motorcycle Training. Our aim with the information here is to provide the most popular questions and the answers at a glance. There is no particular order to follow.
Absolutely not. Beyond the licence acquisition test (the ‘L” test), there is no
requirement for anyone to take part in further training.
Observing is a mostly passive process seeing what you do and offering helpful suggestions for you to take on board. Training is much more pro-active and is the art
of instilling best practice by a combination of theory, demonstration, emulation and practice in controlled circumstances. Coaching is also a proactive process with feedback and building on the skills gained from
proper training to a level of competency. Proper training and coaching are a short cut to skills, best practice and good habits.
Advice is always something that people seem happy to give freely and it is very different to coaching or
training with a professional. Free advice is nearly always worth what you pay for it, but can lead to disastrous consequences
if you fail to understand the context and theory behind the advice.
Yes, advanced motorcycle training is recognised as being for all riders with a full licence.
You will be riding at a higher level and with more fluency than you are now.
We all like to think that we are capable riders and maybe we are. But, advanced motorcycle training
isn’t
so much about how good you are now or how good anyone else is, it’s about developing your competence and skills to the highest level possible.
There is published industry knowledge showing that most riders think they are better than the average
rider. We can’t all be right. in fact, our own survey of riders showed that 85% of riders think that
they
don’t need any further training but they all know a rider that does. Interesting don’t you think?
At the risk of sounding like I’m bragging, but you did ask….I have industry specific qualifications that
take time to develop the necessary skills to pass. Not only that, they are independent to any
association I
may have with motorcycling organisations.
I got top marks for my riding and teaching in all categories of the Post-Test training test held by the
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. I hold an Edexcel BTEC teaching award for advanced motorcycle
training, a
RoSPA Advanced Instructor’s Diploma in which I gained 98% for my riding test and 93% for my coaching.
This is
equivalent to Distinction standard.
Yes, I spend my life riding a motorcycle. I have about 40,000 hours on road teaching experience in all
kinds of conditions.
No, absolutely not. There is confusion about advanced riding but it definitely doesn’t involve pursuit.
Yes, they ride to a system that each rider has taken time to learn. If you want to ride like that I can
teach you.
That’s great. Advanced motorcycle training is about personal development and you can have as much or as
little as you want.
I can only think that this is a general term meant to be encouraging rather than a fact. The reality is
that poor advanced motorcycle training is worse than having none. In my experience as an Expert Witness,
in
all cases, a significant contributory factor to the situation was either a lack of, or poor training
either by
the ‘instructor’ or the rider.
That depends on how you value the price or the cost. The lessons are very reasonably priced and on a
professional level as with many other professional services. Training with us will reduce your risks and
the
cost may be much less than you might ultimately pay.
The IAM is a road safety organisation. As an organisation there is some good information to be gained
from
them. I’m a professional trainer and my time is dedicated to advanced motorcycle training.
Absolutely. Our Get-Cornering module is exactly designed to help riders negotiate bends safely and with confidence. It is
important to note that cornering skills on road are different to those required on the track. Our course is road focused.
No. We want you to turn up and ride in the kit you normally ride in.
Yes, all our training is done with good quality radio communication.
That’s a really interesting point you make. I can’t comment on your mates’ riding but I can say that a
number of riders who have been on our courses already ride quickly enough but think that they don’t.
Well that depends on whether your mates are qualified to tell you what you’re doing wrong? My suggestion
would be to come along for our riding assessment and we can point you in the right direction with your
understanding.
Without seeing you ride I can’t say what may be right or wrong. Come along for an assessment and let’s
put
your mind at rest.
No it’s not right and counter steering is recognised across the whole motorcycle world as the way to
extract more turn from a motorcycle. There’s a new gimmicky phrase in the UK industry called ‘positive
steering’ which from my experience has done nothing except have a negative effect on the person trying to
understand what it means!
Yes, come along for an assessment and let’s get to the understanding as to why this may or may not be the
case.