Tuesday 10th July 2012

PH Blog: Harris learns biking, part one

It's CBT time for Monkey, who's on a mission to find out more about biking

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As a practical demonstration of the popular mantra 'know thine enemy', my A-level English teacher's approach to his agnostic beliefs was extreme, but robust: he could quote freely from the King James Bible. "You cannot possibly claim to understand the opposing viewpoint unless you have an excellent working knowledge of the subject."

He had a point, and an enormous brain. His voice has echoed in my brain for many years now - mostly when I see people on motorcycles. As a car driver, it is not possible to express opinions on motorcycling without being on the receiving end of significant abuse. I have my thoughts on how the majority of bikes are ridden, and how a tiny minority of bikes are ridden - you can probably guess what those are - but I figured I can't really express them until I have followed the example of my English teacher.

So on Saturday and Sunday I did my CBT with BMW (one of the advantages of being an established car brand is that newbie Billies like me will instinctively trust you), as a part of a direct-access course over the coming weeks. It was extremely thought-provoking and mostly enjoyable.

I held a CBT about seven years ago - it took a day of wobbling about on a scabby 125 and some road riding. At the end of it I couldn't believe that I was legally allowed to use the public highway. The whole thing was slapdash and insufficient. That CBT lapsed after two years. The BMW CBT, as a part of the Direct Access Course, takes two days and involves more of everything. Lacking any talent on two wheels, I found this reassuring. The weather forecast wasn't.

You can research what a CBT is and what you need to do to pass it yourselves - it's not especially difficult, but like anything done in the presence of someone official looking, it's fraught with nerves. For me it was a chance to get out on the road, on a bike and begin this process of trying to understand what it's like being a biker.

I passed my driving test in 1992, so cannot comment on the current test or teaching procedures, but it's quite clear that learning to ride a bike with BMW contains a level of contextual, non-practical teaching that far outweighs anything I've experienced in the car world. You're immediately made to feel you are embarking on a fun process, but one which can have serious consequences if not approached seriously. You are entering a club.

The two days is as much about the culture of motorcycling, the bending of the human brain to operating on two wheels in a predominantly four-wheeled world, as it is to physically riding a bike.

After an hour riding around cones and proving you have the basic skills to operate the machine, it's out onto the road on a 125. These first few miles are really potent, and I think many people will have their perception of riding permanently shaped by them: the feeling of liberty is compelling, the noises, the smells: the exposure to the wind. But it's also terrifying - a Jaguar XF no longer looks like a friendly blob of exec-saloon. It looks like a Sherman Tank aiming to drive over you. You view the world in the conditional tense: what if......

It's this relationship between cars and bikes that I want to investigate during the Direct Access process. From the very beginning you are taught that, as a motorcyclist, the motor car is something to be wary of.

For me, this is the most divisive aspect of the CBT course: the message that by default a motorcyclist has to assume that every other vehicle is a potential threat. Of course, it's the only sensible way to approach a situation where a human body is protected by nothing more than clothing when surrounded by tonnes of metal, but as human beings we naturally amplify emotions and what begins as a perceived threat quickly becomes The Enemy.

After a decent stint on the 125, it's onto a BMW F650 GS. This is completely nerve-wracking to begin with, because the thing feels so powerful. But the extra weight and stability soon give you confidence, and despite having to ride through some biblical rain I thoroughly enjoyed my time on it.

Summary thoughts on this first, most basic part of the training? You can't fail to be impressed at how rounded the process is: instructor Ian Biederman spends hours talking with you, helping you learn the passive, but positive mindset required to ride safely in the UK. I really enjoyed the amount of thinking required to read the road and the peripheral surroundings.

The CBT confirms what we already know: that nothing fosters sympathy for fellow road users like cross-pollination. Hire a van for a weekend's house-moving and the next time you encounter some poor sod limping past an HGV in a Mercedes Sprinter, you will be less hasty to take issue with his middle-lane occupancy.

If every car driver had to take a CBT, they would be far more sympathetic to the vulnerabilities of the biker, and they would be much more observant of the general road environment. But there has to be reciprocity, and the notion of the car driver as 'The Enemy' does worry me. Equally, there's the thorny subject of the quality of the bike riding on display - but after a lowly CBT, I'm still not qualified to say anything about that.

I'm looking forward to the next stages, and maybe doing something I didn't manage in a motor car: passing my test first time. With a 60 per cent pass rate, I'm not holding my breath.

Chris

 

[MarJay]

Well Done Chris!

However, it does read a *little* like an ad for BMW's own training school.

Bikers aren't the enemy of car drivers, anyone who expresses enthusiasm for motoring is an ally. In the same vein, I've never ever seen car drivers as the enemy. I've seen them as naive, uninformed, undisciplined perhaps, but never the enemy.

And I also see much worse driving by car drivers than I do riding by bikers on a regular basis, its just that the standard of riding must be much greater than of driving because of the risks involved.

Would you really say that Mr or Ms average biker is worse than Mr or Ms average car driver?

[MarJay]

The Dirty Bubble said:

When you fall off and break your legs can I look after your GT3 until you are able to driver again?

[MarJay]

Actually Chris I'm rather surprised and disappointed that you seem to have previously held a poor opinion of motorcyclists and motorcycling. As I said above, I'd have thought that you'd appreciate an enthusiast when you find one, whether that be 4 wheels, 2 wheels, 3 wheels, etc etc? I do see the occasional blip of poor riding by the odd motorcyclist on the road, but by and large the standard of riding is much greater than the standard of driving that you see from the average 'non enthusiast' road user. And, at the end of the day probably 80% of motorcyclists own a car too (and those that don't are usually youngsters on 125s and scooters).

So if you're seeing poor driving, would you expect to see that person act the same way in a car? Maybe there is a legitimate motorcycling reason for acting that way? Maybe it is just perception?

Or maybe it is poor driving. I have seen it on the part of motorcyclists and I'll say as a group we certainly aren't blameless. However to assume a majority (or even a significant minority) ride/drive poorly is a mistake IMO.

Edited by MarJay on Tuesday 10th July 11:46

[MarJay]

I think once Mr Harris realises that you can actually have fun on the roads in the UK without being (too) encumbered by traffic, he'll be looking at bikes faster than you can say "My Porsche is stuck in a jam".

[MarJay]

I saw a guy in a Mercedes Vano thingy taxi go around the outside of a queue of traffic and then push in at the last minute. Twice. I wondered if he forgot he was driving a four wheeled vehicle instead of a bike...?

[MarJay]

M666 EVO said:

But the more these clowns abuse their right on the road, the less likely i am to show compassion and will adopt the "I am bigger than you, if you come off, it will hurt you more" as opposed to the swerving and trying to avoid accidents waiting to happen...

So by that logic, if ever I see a Ford Puma driven badly I should therefore attempt to cause an accident with every Ford Puma I see?

Each motorcyclist you see is a person, a different individual with a different family and motivations and skills... Just like every car driver.

(Maybe I should edit this to say Lancia Delta or Jaguar XJ instead of Ford Puma! )

Edited by MarJay on Tuesday 10th July 14:00

[MarJay]

priley said:

I can relate having just done all of this recently. I'd never sat on a bike until my CBT on the 19th May, four lessons later I passed everything first time and had my 1200GS delivered the afternoon I passed 29/6.
I've a hell of a lot to learn and currently each journey lies somewhere between exhilarating and terrifying.
My car driving has changed markedly for the better.

Hmm... I've been riding for years and wouldn't want a 1200GS, I can't imagine having one as a first bike.

I couldn't live down all of the 'Charley Boorman' jibes from my mates!

[MarJay]

My suggestion Chris, is not to do any advanced training immediately after doing your test. Get a few gentle road miles under your belt. Don't rush out and buy a sportsbike, or an off-roader or anything like that. Don't learn to wheelie, don't learn to stoppie etc.

Gentle road miles, then when you're starting to feel comfortable do some advanced training. First off, I'd reccomend the California Superbike School. It sounds like a race school but level 1 is really about machine control, survival reactions and how to turn a bike when you're above about 30mph. From there, I'd reccomend doing advanced road training such as Bikesafe, or if you're really serious IAM.

From there you can think about off roading, sports bikes etc etc etc. Until then, I'd buy a Suzuki SV650 or Kawasaki ER6 and take it quite easy. You'll find it to be an eye opener, and you'll find the bike will be far better than you until you're in the fast group of a trackday.

[MarJay]

BBS-LM said:

I would never drive a bike on the road, just to dodgy but good luck with the test.

Thats because you don't drive a bike, you ride one!

[MarJay]

cpl_payne said:

If I ever go through with bike licence, wheelies and stoppies will be very high on the must-learn list. Not to show off, but to learn finer details of bike control. I'm not for a moment suggesting it is a requirement for safe bike control, but if cycling analogy works here I think learning to do a stoppie has really helped me to stop better on a bicycle.

You wouldn't say to a learner driver that oversteer is mandatory to learn, but it certainly doesn't hurt, does it?

Nonsense. There is skill involved in wheelieing, but you won't use it on the road or track during normal (non stunt) riding. Stoppieing is arguable, but you get better braking efficiency with both wheels on the deck than you do with the rear in the air.

What you need to learn is countersteering, throttle control in corners, turn in points etc.

[MarJay]

Schnellmann said:

Still disagree about a 600 sports bike not being good first bike. People recommend bandits or SVs but they are also very quick bikes and more than powerful and fast enough to get you into trouble. A good friend started with an SV but changed after a couple of years to a ZX6R. He was really annoyed to find that his lap times at track days were worse with the ZX6R. After lots of practice and doing the full Jedi training with the California Superbike School he eventually got a bit quicker on track.

So a sports 600 is not really any quicker. The difference is how the bike feels and behaves and how much feedback you get. A sports bike offers a lot more.

Sports bikes have their disadvantages and for a daily commute they might not be perfect but I assume Mr Harris will be getting a bike as a weekend toy and for that the sports bike is ideal. All IMO of course.

Of course a sport 600 is quicker, its just your mate was more intimidated by it. That is why an SV650 or an ER6 are perfect for the first road miles you do. They are friendly and you don't have to worry about what the bike is doing so much as what other road users are doing. There are diminishing returns on faster bikes in terms of laptimes, but that is (as I said) irrelevant to his first few months of riding.

Don't forget that the FIRST thing that Chris should do is change his perception of road awareness etc. The major hazard to him (at least initially) will be other road users, hazards, road conditons etc. Getting another 2 tenths on track is irrelevant. That is why my advice is buy a friendly bike and get a few road miles under his belt. Then when his confidence builds, he can worry about the machine control aspects of riding at higher speeds. The trick is to just avoid going too mental and getting out of your comfort zone until then.

Its pretty easy really: Take it easy for a few months on a friendly bike with some road miles, and THEN do the california superbike school. They won't teach you to wheelie or stoppie, they won't teach you how to change legs to take the bike out of gear at junctions, but they will teach countersteering, turn in points, lines, braking, use of gears etc etc. I learned a heck of a lot just on level 1. Sure it is expensive, but Mr Harris is a journo, so no doubt if he does a write up on it for PH he'll get it for free! Similarly with the bikes. If he reviews the bikes, he won't ever have to shell out his own money. Current sportsbikes are immensely sharp and unforgiving, even Sports 600s, so he isn't going to be getting himself a 2000 ZX6R which is a bit more friendly. He's going to be given something brand new by a manufacturer (at least on a short loan). Hence ER6 or SV650.