Off road virgin

delamitri

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Am slowly being convinced by a mate to try some off roading, have never done it before

Was wondering if anybody knows of companies offering enduro weekends for beginners, think I should give it a go before I start looking for a suitable bike

Thanks
 
Lots of companies run two day courses such as BMW,Honda and KTM on either small or large capacity bikes or there are a couple of chaps on here that do off road days

Just put motorcycle off road training into google for a list of the main offerings
 
You will have a much better time learning to ride off road if
1. You have a degree of fitness - - get out on a mountain bike and put some miles in. Being aerobically fit will help you to enjoy it
2. Steer towards a smaller capacity bike - and by that I am suggesting a 250 4 stroke

I learnt on the byways of Wiltshire, it was absolutely awesome, never found any access in Scotland that let me do anything similar and I really miss it. I learnt lots, brilliant for confidence and dealing with the unexpected.
 
You dont need to pay anyone just buy any half decent 250 ish and join your local TRF.
 
Yamaha offroad school. Highly recommend. The WR250F is a top notch bike, the WR450F, well you figure that one out :D

It is sent from my phone. So fucking what?
 
You may find most schools are either fully booked or closing down for the season around Octoberish.
 
Am slowly being convinced by a mate to try some off roading, have never done it before

Was wondering if anybody knows of companies offering enduro weekends for beginners, think I should give it a go before I start looking for a suitable bike

Thanks

Well I've just been through this over the past two years, having never done any off-road riding before.

BMW Off-Road School


This is a good start as you get to ride their bikes, and they have a selection of size and power. 2 day course and it'll teach you a lot about the basic skills you'll need. I would recommend it as it's a nice venue and new bikes, although it is costly.

Sweet Lamb Adventure Bike Academy

This has been highly recommended and I'm booked in myself. It costs about a third of the BMW Off Road School, but it's more basic surroundings and you use your own bike. I think they may hire now, don't know. But tuition is very good.

Trail Riders Fellowship (TRF)

Costs about £35 per year membership and you'll be in the hands of regular off-road trail riders. BUT, you'll need your own bike and they are not geared up for training newbies, a lot of them can do it, but can't easily explain what YOU need to be doing. They'll happily talk to you and give you lots of advice, very friendly bunch, but when out on the trails, you're on your own unless you latch onto someone who will happily spend time teaching you. Mostly I found you're expected to muddle through best you can. It's bloody hard work at times as they're on trails they want to ride on, rather than easy stuff to get you used to being banged around on the bike.

UK Legal Byways Open to All Traffic (BOATS)

There are plenty of country lanes and fields that look great to ride down, but most of them are PRIVATE LAND or CLOSED ROADS TO VEHICLES. This is a pain in the ass, as if caught, you'll risk being prosecuted for some traffic law violation.

You'll need to find where the legal lanes are, so that you can ride down them safe in the knowledge you are allowed to be there.

Legal Lanes and Tours

Finding legal lanes are like finding GOLD.... they are out there by contacting your local council (as they change legal status all the time). Or buy an Ordinance Survey map, or buy a Garmin GPS Unit that can upload Ordinance Survey maps onto it.

What helped me was joining the TRF and getting to know some guys... then they showed me bike suitable lanes to try.

Ride The Wild (RTW) - Tour Company

http://www.ridethewild.co.uk/

Also, look for off-road tour companies in your area. They'll teach you where to go, record the map on your bike and then go with your mates.

CRASH PROTECTON - BIKE

You will crash, so make sure you have skid plate, crash bars, STRONG hand guards, folding mirrors, knobbly tyres

CRASH PROTECTION - YOU

Get Motorcross Boots (don't use your road boots, you'll risk smashing your ankles badly)

Other considerations....

Neck brace, knee brace, impact shorts, wrist brace, body armour..... sounds like overkill? yes for simple dirt tracks, but if you start getting speed up over rocks, ruts, mud, cambers.... don't say I didn't warn you :D:blast
 
Sweetlamb now have the new KTM 690 in the offerings and its a great school to learn at with their own off road trails and learning area. Molly is a great inspirational tutor https://ktm.adventurerallybike.co.uk/

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There is also the Honda Adventure Centre at Exmoor with the new Africa Twin, Pat, and Flash are great people to learn from https://hondaadventurecentre.com/the-courses/

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Another good independent is Boyd at Overlander Trail Tours ,he has three KTMs to hire out or you can fetch your own and will lead you around the local open trails in Staffordshire .
Prices here https://www.overlandertrailtours.co.uk/prices/

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1. You have a degree of fitness - - get out on a mountain bike and put some miles in. Being aerobically fit will help you to enjoy it

This is generally a good rule for motorbiking in general.


Hijacking the thread because I was going to ask a similar question.
I'm kinda crap offroad. I do get around (at lower speeds) but with way less confidence than on the road of course, I have zero understanding of how to negotiate a bend at speed on gravel (mind, on an ADV).
I did more and more miles in the last couple of years, but wanted to have some proper training to understand at least the basics.

Some of the options I was looking at were the BMW course and Sweet Lamb.

Question is: how basic are the basic courses?
I'm tempted to start from the bottom (you never know what you can miss in learning) but I've spoken with some people who did the basic BMW course and then rode with them and, well... you get the gist.
It's not cheap, hence the question: shall one skip the "intro"? :D
 
Which is closest to you and what bike is your preference as they are both excellent schools to learn the basics at?
Yes they run a Level 1 which is basically learning to pick the bike up [most important lesson], weighting the pegs to help you maneuver and dealing the cambers and ruts.
Its always a school day on the bike.

EDIT if your down London Honda or triumph is probably the closest to you as its not the bike that is important but what you learn.
 
Thanks.

Yes, I cannot really give a damn about what bike/brand the course is.
It's just that I had positive feedback about those two.
 
Question is: how basic are the basic courses?
I'm tempted to start from the bottom (you never know what you can miss in learning) but I've spoken with some people who did the basic BMW course and then rode with them and, well... you get the gist.
It's not cheap, hence the question: shall one skip the "intro"? :D

Well that's a hard one to answer.

If you've been off-road loads of times before, then you might consider the Level 1 too basic. But then you may have already picked up bad habits that are setting you off on the wrong path and Level 1 might just catch you in time.

If you've never been off-road, then you might consider the Level 1 the perfect start point.

BUT, I have to say, when I did Level 1, everyone who attended fell off their bikes (except the instructor), so don't kid yourself that you know it all :D

It's one of those questions, if you have to ask, you need to start at Level 1 :D

Look at it this way, even if you're quite good or a natural, you're going to look bloody excellent on the day, so pay £500 and look like a Boss for a couple of days compared to everyone else. Either way, you'll love it, it's great fun.
 


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