Bikesafe

Anyone done a bike safe course? I've got one booked as I thought it would be a good idea. Any feed back from someone who has done one.

Thanks

Brilliant.
The biker cops are usually good fun to go out with. They are the best road riders. So much to learn.

I agree wil Alex. Definitely worth doing! You can learn a lot at all levels by riding with the Police bikers - their machine control and use of all of the road is remarkeable.

Thanks for the feedback, Im looking forward to it, I need a bit of a review of my road riding, I feel its not quite where it should be. Cant wait its with the Met Police as Essex aren't running any courses.

Fwiw, There's an Essex group for advanced riders that @Oli and @phil are or have been part of. Lots of ex police riders afaik.

Yep, they're proper bikers ie they love riding as much as us, unlike the police car guys that get put on bikes under rotation. The car guys proper three penny-bit corners. :culpability:

Enjoyed every second on the one I did, even to the point I followed him on a blue light chase (I got a bollocking)

Whilst I?ve not done BikeSafe, I?ve only ever heard good things about it (as evidenced in this thread). Any additional training be it on road or track is wholly worthwhile.
If you enjoy BikeSafe and want to continue further training on road, I can whole heartedly recommend the Essex Advanced Motorcyclists Group (EAMG) and ultimately joining RoSPA.
Myself, @phil and @preynol1 are members of EAMG

Oli said:

Whilst I?ve not done BikeSafe, I?ve only ever heard good things about it (as evidenced in this thread). Any additional training be it on road or track is wholly worthwhile.
If you enjoy BikeSafe and want to continue further training on road, I can whole heartedly recommend the Essex Advanced Motorcyclists Group (EAMG) and ultimately joining RoSPA.
Myself, @phil and @preynol1 are members of EAMG

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Fully agree with what Oli has written here. You'll really enjoy your day if you use it as an opportunity to realise where you might improve your road riding and road survival skills. The practical work on the urban/country/highway rides that you'll do you get to lead and ride behind the cop in all three scenarios. When you follow the cop try and observe as much as you can about their riding, especially how smooth they are, their road positioning and when they show brake lights etc, there's a lot to take in. They'll talk about a 'system' they use to build an instant 'plan' in their heads for every corner/hazard you approach.

At the end of the BikeSafe day, the cops will encourage you to seek out an advanced riding program with RoSPA or IAM. Like @Oli, @Phil and @preynol1 I went on to join an advanced riding group and after about a 6-12 months of weekly rides out with my observer and mentor I became an IAM full member. It really helped me with my passion for riding motorcycles and I hope you have a great day out attending BikeSafe.

I loved the Bikesafe but hated the IAM. Personal opinion, but it sucked.

The IAM is the parent body, its really down to the individual local group. My local group, London Adv Motorcyclists, is really good, enjoy going for the odd ride with them, always something to brush up on. Never seen two RRs on a ride of course (even if other members of this forum are/were in LAM).
Bikesafe is also hood fun, police know all the good roads!

Bike safe is a good start but need to follow it up with more training.


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I really enjoyed the banter and chatting to the cops on the day, but I found it mostly a waste of time. 90% of the other riders there thought filtering was dangerous and the guy I got paired with didn't like overtaking.

The only thing I found interesting was the extreme road positioning of the cops (ie, riding in the gutter on right handers).. and ironically I picked up a puncture from following them on that very day, so I don't do that anymore. I'm sure it helps a lot of people, and I'd recommend it to most (funnily enough), but it's not for everyone (if you're an advanced driver for example, you are probably not going to be told much that's new to you by BikeSafe)

Thanks for all the answers and opinions. When I started riding I did a 6 week course for my part 1 with a group in Barking Essex and the instructors were bike cops and we were taught the the system and all got a copy of road craft. It something I have done since I started riding but I feel I have become a bit lax in applying it all the time. I started racing in 91 so it went out the window till 2009. I haven't done a huge amount of road riding but its something I really enjoy and I know I need to brush up my road riding as the general current standard of driving is poor and don't want to be someone else's "sorry I didn't see you". Most of the guys I used to ride with round here have stopped riding so it I don't get out as often, which is probably why I need a refresher. Not sure about more after I'll see how I feel after bike safe.
Thanks again all.

Otp68, I hope you get to enjoy your bikesafe day and as others have said there is a lot to take in and in my opinion best to learn more over a longer period.

I'm still learning how to smooth my riding out.

I have done a couple of Bikesafe courses and found them to be excellent. THe police riders are fantastic to ride behind and observe how they make progress. Really recommend anyone attending them.