Following on from here:-
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=305351
I signed up for Rapid training and went out with them last weekend, the weather was a perfect 20c all day with plenty of Sunshine.
We (me and my non IAM mate) pulled up a bit early at the meet to get brekky, Mark our instructor for the day arrived shortly aftwerwards, No BMW RT, No BMW Twatsuit and No Hiz Viz - Surely this guy could not be Ex-Plod?
After doing Bikesafe I signed up for the IAM, and at £140 for a years membership of the IAM and a local club, including exam fee this is not bad value, you also get the book thrown in which I reckon is very well written and an easier read than the Police Blue book.
The only issue with the IAM is the religious application of the system for the purpose of applying the system. Accelerating really gently and rolling off the throttle early to avoid braking / save fuel / preserve tyres etc. is not why I ride a motorcycle. With the IAM I was riding to pass a test as opposed to riding naturally.
So do I leave enough room to react or am I throwing the bike into corners with a false belief in my immortality, is my positioning OK when making (proper) progress, time to find out.
They do recommend you read the Police Blue Book first, but they do not insist or start quizzing you on arrival, IMO this book is maybe a bit more detailed than the IAM one, but a harder read, if your of low attention span get the IAM one. On arrival there is a chat about your riding history and what you want from the course and then your off.
Over the day we swapped who went up front, after our initial briefing and radio fitting / check we were off, I started up front for a bit and then we (me and my mate) swapped throughout the day, after about 20 - 25 minutes each up front we would stop for a chat.
The roads were very well chosen, a little bit of everything but leaned towards B-Roads and country lanes, this meant relatively little traffic, plenty of corners and other challenges such as surface changes, animals, people and crap on the roads.
At times the instructor would lead, but only for a while and then the spotlight was back on one of us. The roadside chats were informal and encouraging, it was all real world advice in every day language.
My mate was initially dissapointed that Mark did not rip into him and point out a thousand errors (he is convinced he is a far worse rider than he actually is)
I think having such a well qualified full time instructor provide a lot of praise and offer some good constructive advice made his day, improved his confidence and gave him pointers on where he does need to improve so he can focus on these areas rather than worrying about every aspect of his riding.
What I liked best was there was no pressure to change your style, I noticed Mark did take slightly wider lines than me, but was happy my lines were good and safe and I did not need to change what worked well for me.
Your not criticised if you brake hard, accelerate quickly or occasionally top 63mph (The speed at which your IAM observer will give up chase)- as long as your doing it properly. There is also no pass and no fail, you go along, ride how you ride, get given advice and then can take it or leave it.
Overall I rode how I would on my way to work or when touring two-up across Europe with the Mrs on the back, it did take a session or two up front to loosen up and ride normally and ignore the fact I was being observed. At the end of it I got all 9's and 10's on the scorecard which I was happy with.
I think next up for me would be an off-road School, then maybe a fourth visit to the CSS as I feel I need a brush up and polish on my cornering skills more than anything else.
My mate is also going to do a CSS school as his worst area is probably corner entry and general cornering confidence and you can't beat some quality coaching on a race track to help with that.
For anyone with a beard / hi-viz / pipe phobia this is probably the perfect advanced training.
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=305351
I signed up for Rapid training and went out with them last weekend, the weather was a perfect 20c all day with plenty of Sunshine.
We (me and my non IAM mate) pulled up a bit early at the meet to get brekky, Mark our instructor for the day arrived shortly aftwerwards, No BMW RT, No BMW Twatsuit and No Hiz Viz - Surely this guy could not be Ex-Plod?
After doing Bikesafe I signed up for the IAM, and at £140 for a years membership of the IAM and a local club, including exam fee this is not bad value, you also get the book thrown in which I reckon is very well written and an easier read than the Police Blue book.
The only issue with the IAM is the religious application of the system for the purpose of applying the system. Accelerating really gently and rolling off the throttle early to avoid braking / save fuel / preserve tyres etc. is not why I ride a motorcycle. With the IAM I was riding to pass a test as opposed to riding naturally.
So do I leave enough room to react or am I throwing the bike into corners with a false belief in my immortality, is my positioning OK when making (proper) progress, time to find out.
They do recommend you read the Police Blue Book first, but they do not insist or start quizzing you on arrival, IMO this book is maybe a bit more detailed than the IAM one, but a harder read, if your of low attention span get the IAM one. On arrival there is a chat about your riding history and what you want from the course and then your off.
Over the day we swapped who went up front, after our initial briefing and radio fitting / check we were off, I started up front for a bit and then we (me and my mate) swapped throughout the day, after about 20 - 25 minutes each up front we would stop for a chat.
The roads were very well chosen, a little bit of everything but leaned towards B-Roads and country lanes, this meant relatively little traffic, plenty of corners and other challenges such as surface changes, animals, people and crap on the roads.
At times the instructor would lead, but only for a while and then the spotlight was back on one of us. The roadside chats were informal and encouraging, it was all real world advice in every day language.
My mate was initially dissapointed that Mark did not rip into him and point out a thousand errors (he is convinced he is a far worse rider than he actually is)
I think having such a well qualified full time instructor provide a lot of praise and offer some good constructive advice made his day, improved his confidence and gave him pointers on where he does need to improve so he can focus on these areas rather than worrying about every aspect of his riding.
What I liked best was there was no pressure to change your style, I noticed Mark did take slightly wider lines than me, but was happy my lines were good and safe and I did not need to change what worked well for me.
Your not criticised if you brake hard, accelerate quickly or occasionally top 63mph (The speed at which your IAM observer will give up chase)- as long as your doing it properly. There is also no pass and no fail, you go along, ride how you ride, get given advice and then can take it or leave it.
Overall I rode how I would on my way to work or when touring two-up across Europe with the Mrs on the back, it did take a session or two up front to loosen up and ride normally and ignore the fact I was being observed. At the end of it I got all 9's and 10's on the scorecard which I was happy with.
I think next up for me would be an off-road School, then maybe a fourth visit to the CSS as I feel I need a brush up and polish on my cornering skills more than anything else.
My mate is also going to do a CSS school as his worst area is probably corner entry and general cornering confidence and you can't beat some quality coaching on a race track to help with that.
For anyone with a beard / hi-viz / pipe phobia this is probably the perfect advanced training.
All the instructors are hard core petrol heads, they all hold a pretty exemplary biking C.V. and will all be Police class one motorcyclists. (current or retired).
.
