Bikesafe

[SidG]

Hi all,

Did my DAS a few weeks ago have just started riding an mt07. Anyone one here done Bikesafe? Was thinking of booking one local to me in May. I do feel ok when out but would like to improve my confidence and skills (especially cornering). Guess only comes with clocking up more miles.

Cheers.

[FunkyNige]

I've done it, in Norfolk it's a weekday evening in a classroom and a weekend day out on the roads.
Really useful, wide range of people there, never heard anyone say a bad word about it.

[pozi]

Bikesafe is perfect for someone who has passed their test within the last couple of years and wants an introduction into advanced riding.

However make sure you get paired up for the road ride with someone who wants to learn the same topics, ie if you want more fast road experience avoid the TMax rider who wants to cover riding in town for his/her commute to work.

[xeny]

Well worth doing.

Depending how confident you are, may be worth getting a few miles before you do it, simply so you've got enough free attention/concentration to take in what you're taught through the day and try it, and in turn get further feedback on it.

[dibblecorse]

Well worth doing, done it a few times, always good to go back to basics .....

[bitcrusher]

Did it a few years ago when I was already a fairly experienced rider. Took a few useful lessons from it - sloppy habits that we all pick up as the years roll on. I would imagine as a newcomer to big bikes you'll take plenty away. You have nothing to lose but as others have said there's no substitute for mileage to build up confidence. Ideally, go touring somewhere warm - you'll come back a different rider.

[dibblecorse]

bitcrusher said:

Ideally, go touring somewhere warm - you'll come back an FWB.

Fixed that for you ;-)

[SidG]

Cheers guys.

Looking at Birmingham, morning in a classroom then 3 hour observed ride out after lunch. Cost £50. Looks like I'll go for it. Hopefully have more experience by the time it comes round (not till May/June) and good weather!

[Appleby]

Second everything that's been said. I did it last year after riding for 3. The guys that take you out are all bikers first and policemen second. The classroom stuff gets pretty in depth into why incidents happen and how to avoid them, they also analyse a lot of helmet cam footage of people cocking up.

Fortunately I got lucky and ended up just me and the instructor, we covered whatever I wanted too. I had a few pointers for bad habits I'd picked up and learnt a couple of things they don't teach you in lessons.

I'd highly recommend it to anyone.

[bogie]

After you have done bikesafe if you wish to continue, RoSPA is £30 a year (plus assessment fee first year) and as much free bike safe style training as you like. You just put some petrol in the instructors bike and buy them a coffee. 1/2 dozen rides out and do your assessment

For new riders its excellent way to get some good habits from the start, and help reduce your insurance premium.

www.roadar.org

Edited by bogie on Tuesday 6th February 17:22

[anonymous-user]

I did it a few years ago with my brother who was a born again biker after 20 years out of the saddle . His assessment from the officer was “dangerously slow” which made me laugh.

Good fun and worth doing.

[Stone Cold]

BenjiS said:

Mainly because there is not a lot more amusing than giving it berries around the roads with a fully marked Police bike behind you without his blue lights on!

As others have said well worth doing, good fun too, although I found a police bike constantly in my mirrors a little unnerving, especially as they will egg you on to go faster than 60 in the NSL zones

[CTO]

SidG said:

Cheers guys.

Looking at Birmingham, morning in a classroom then 3 hour observed ride out after lunch. Cost £50. Looks like I'll go for it. Hopefully have more experience by the time it comes round (not till May/June) and good weather!

Hiya,

Am also looking at doing bike safe in Birmingham, been riding about six months and have a zx6r. When are you thinking of doing it?

Cheers

[SidG]

Hi! Either 19th May or 16th June. Think there were only 2 places left for May last I checked. Will probably go for June, I’ve only been riding a couple of weeks since passing my test. So want to get some more miles done before then. Cheers.

[poo at Paul's]

It's worth doing, if only to meet your local bike plods. Once they see you're half sensible, you can have a great ride out, they're real good lads who do it, not stuffy. Also, some of the presentation is really interesting, some very obvious, but even those ridden for years pick some new stuff up.
They told of a case of a car pulling out from a side road onto a biker, where driver said biker had "flashed him out" . Turned out o be some bumps up the road causing bike to pitch about and headlight (which was on as it ran all the time on a 2004 bike) did indeed look like it was flashing at the driver. Poor biker died. Something that makes me even more wary when approaching cars in junctions now.....

BTW, they don't like knee down in roundabouts! Too fast, apparently!

But on a nice half day, it's time well spent and a good laugh too. They really pitch it at a nice level.

[tonyinbrighton]

Sid
They get booked up quickly so don't delay.
I did one a couple of years ago after passing my DAS about 18 months beforehand (been off bikes for 47 years so I'm a late recruit) and now I've moved up to a bigger bike I'm booked on another BikeSafe day in June. It really is a good day out - in my case with Sussex Police - and you'll certainly come away with some handy tips.
Look around also for the Biker Down course, usually run by the local Fire & Rescue guys: here in Sussex it's an evening course and again it's an interesting session, especially in terms of how to take a rider's helmet off whilst minimising risk of injury.
Enjoy your bike!

[creampuff]

SidG said:

Hi all,

Did my DAS a few weeks ago have just started riding an mt07. Anyone one here done Bikesafe? Was thinking of booking one local to me in May. I do feel ok when out but would like to improve my confidence and skills (especially cornering). Guess only comes with clocking up more miles.

Cheers.

Cornering confidence won't necessarily come with more miles. There are plenty of long time riders who go slow around corners.

Getting better can happen by pushing the bike and yourself. But pick the right environment and the right person to help you if needed. The wrong kind of pushing the bike or yourself can lead to faceplant.

[FunkyNige]

creampuff said:

SidG said:

Hi all,

Did my DAS a few weeks ago have just started riding an mt07. Anyone one here done Bikesafe? Was thinking of booking one local to me in May. I do feel ok when out but would like to improve my confidence and skills (especially cornering). Guess only comes with clocking up more miles.

Cheers.

Cornering confidence won't necessarily come with more miles. There are plenty of long time riders who go slow around corners.

Getting better can happen by pushing the bike and yourself. But pick the right environment and the right person to help you if needed. The wrong kind of pushing the bike or yourself can lead to faceplant.

Norfolk police do a 1:1 session where they will cover any area you want, on my Bikesafe course someone booked on for filtering, others were asking about cornering. Maybe you can ask at your Bikesafe whether this is an option?

[black-k1]

FunkyNige said:

creampuff said:

SidG said:

Hi all,

Did my DAS a few weeks ago have just started riding an mt07. Anyone one here done Bikesafe? Was thinking of booking one local to me in May. I do feel ok when out but would like to improve my confidence and skills (especially cornering). Guess only comes with clocking up more miles.

Cheers.

Cornering confidence won't necessarily come with more miles. There are plenty of long time riders who go slow around corners.

Getting better can happen by pushing the bike and yourself. But pick the right environment and the right person to help you if needed. The wrong kind of pushing the bike or yourself can lead to faceplant.

Norfolk police do a 1:1 session where they will cover any area you want, on my Bikesafe course someone booked on for filtering, others were asking about cornering. Maybe you can ask at your Bikesafe whether this is an option?

Do they do one covering travelling well in excess of the speed limit?

(It's one many of us would e very interested in attending!!!)

[8IKERDAVE]

I did one a few years ago. I had been away from bikes for 7 years and my close friend was in the same boat, although he had a very nasty accident in 2007 so needed some confidence back. It was one of the conditions of getting a bike again from the wife, I was a bit sceptical at first but I took a lot of value from the day.

The tuition was great, having had a few bad experiences with police in my younger days I was expecting to be patronised all day but it was quite the opposite. I still use probably 80% of what they taught me today and I can think of at least 2 occasions where I have avoided an accident using the techniques they taught. I also turned up on the day with a loud exhaust and small plate - neither of which were even mentioned!