Newbie of road question

[Thw Hobbt]

Probably a daft question but...


My other have has booked me into Simon Paveys off road school for Christmas.
Now the last time I saw dirt under my wheel was a few muck about in a forest on a Honda 125 in 1978! so I am a little rusty.

I am hiring the gear from the school but my question is assuming the weather is crap, what sort of stuff do I need to keep warm, and as a wearer of glasses should I get some sort off goggles?

Thanks for the help

Barry

 

[Nutty]

You need to take your regular lid, so whatever glasses you wear with that will be fine. I was freezing on the course when it rained, as they just give you a glorified poncho. Take your own armour and base layers, and you'll be fine.

 

[Thw Hobbt]

Thanks for the info, not sure if I am excited or frightened by it!

 

[Nutty]

Thanks for the info, not sure if I am excited or frightened by it!

Be afraid, be very afraid

 

[APE]

Thanks for the info, not sure if I am excited or frightened by it!

Yep it's not an easy course - make sure you've got decent boots and I'd take the day after off work to aid recovery

 

[Mr Toad]

The course is quite physical, they advise you not to over dress and become dehydrated. There is normally a support van with drinks and stuff parked on the site that they use, so you could always dump stuff in there if your over dressed. Be prepared to be very wet and muddy if it rains before or during you two days. But it's great fun, loads to learn and not worrying about dropping your bike.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Good solid boots, waterproof gear, camel back and your standard helmet and visor will be fine

Oh, and as APE says, book a day off after your course

 

[Pathologic]

A word to the wise

Don't go by bike! You will want someone else to do the driving or to be in a nice warm car by the end.

don't ask me how I know.

Your other half must either love you or be hoping to get rid of you

Whatever you do enjoy yourself. Takes you out of the comfort zone, the mildy concerned zone and the oh My god how am I going to do that zone. You feel great...... when its over. Couldn't recommend it enough

Have a great time.

Regards, Path.

 

[Yonkyo]

I did the course a few years ago for my 50th birthday treat .

It rained all day, and i emerged at the end, battered and bruised. But i thoroughly enjoyed myself, and would do it again..... if someone paid.

After 35 years biking, i'd thought i new everything about bike control. But i came away with lots of new skills (which are also applicable to the road).

As others have said, wear decent kit.....

Decent body armour is essential - you will fall off a few times, then fall of again..
A good pair of boots - Sidi Couriers were great for me.
Decent helmet - Arai tourX (without goggles) with clear visor was excellent.

Best bike to ride?

1. 1200GS - i fell off this a lot less often than the...
2. 800GS - i hated this bike, it just felt far too top heavy, and i fell off often.
3. 650 thing - not enough power for the hill climbs.

Have someone drive you home afterwards...

Enjoy..toungincheek

 

[Thw Hobbt]

Thanks for the advise

I am going by car so my wife can drive me home the following day.
I have chosen the 1200 as that is what I have and it makes sense to learn how to pick one up!

From the posts its seems I may need more amour, all of mine is in my gear.
Do you recommend getting something else?

Thanks for all of the kind help

Cheers

Barry

 

[APE]

Thanks for the advise

I have chosen the 1200 as that is what I have and it makes sense to learn how to pick one up!

Hmmm I'm not sure about that. There's a specific drill for picking up the bike so you can try the technique on a 1200 without having one for the full two days. Just remember the extra weight compared to the 650 and the fact that it gets harder to lift as you get more tired - and the more tired you get the more you fall off - so a bit of a vicious cycle.

I used a 650 for the two days and on reflection would have prefered a lighter bike than that - can you use one of those 400/450 BMW enduros ?

Remember the skills you learn apply to any bike so anything you can do to stay fresh is a benefit imo.

 

[Thw Hobbt]

Hmmm I'm not sure about that. There's a specific drill for picking up the bike so you can try the technique on a 1200 without having one for the full two days. Just remember the extra weight compared to the 650 and the fact that it gets harder to lift as you get more tired - and the more tired you get the more you fall off - so a bit of a vicious cycle.

I used a 650 for the two days and on reflection would have prefered a lighter bike than that - can you use one of those 400/450 BMW enduros ?

Remember the skills you learn apply to any bike so anything you can do to stay fresh is a benefit imo.

Good point but its booked now so I am stuck

 

[APE]

Good point but its booked now so I am stuck

they're quite reasonable I'm sure you could amend the booking - but a lot of bods like to have done the course 'on their bike'

- only my opinion

 

[EggChaser]

I think they keep the 450 models for the more advanced levels of their courses

I wouldn't worry too much about the weight of the 1200 they do teach you how to pick it up and if you get bored you can also get one of the others to drop a different model on it's side so you can pick that up as well.

You also get a short session to ride the other models round a loop as well. I actually regretted picking the F650 instead of the R1200. With regards the other models, I did find the F800 a bit too twitchy on the throttle and the X-Challenge really over the top for my comfort zone. The X-Country was a bit too boring.

 

[Nutty]

I found Paveys 1200GSA easier than the 800 to pick up due to the pots sticking out the side.

 

[Thw Hobbt]

Thanks for the encouragement, I think I needed it.What type of body amour did you wear?

 

[Yonkyo]

I found the Twat Suit 2, offered very good protection when i was being ejected violently from my bike on numerous occasions.

The jacket has good shoulder and elbow armour and the Troos have good Knee and hip protection.

I also wore a Knox back protector underneath though.

The goretex liner also kept me dry, though i sweating my bollox off...