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A fair bit of effort goes into maintaining the Survival Skills and UK Rider Training sites and I really do like to know what people out there think of them. If you have any comments or want to say something, hit the e-mail button and say it! The postbag continues to bulge, so I must have done something right with the search engine promotion - although precisely why a Chinese scaffolding company contacted me I have no idea... thanks to everyone for the compliments and feedback on the site. New letters
Postlbag: 24 March 2006
I have just come back to bikes after a 2 year break, got myself a nice used R1, found your riding tips very infomative, and will be using as many as I can remember when I'm actually riding as possible. I live 30 R1 minutes from Maidstone, so one of your advanced courses is probably just what the girlfriend ordered...will be in touch. Glad you've found the tips on the site useful Dave, and look foward to meeting you at some point!
Postlbag: 24 February 2006
I have been very impressed with your website and the CD. Happy to recommend you to others. Thanks, Rahil, and the updated CD will be on it's way just as soon as I've finished it.
Postlbag: 10 February 2006
Like your site very much. I think it would be very useful if you added a date to future bike and product tests. I should come on one of your courses, shouldn't I ? Actually, I don't know why I haven't dated the articles - I know some of the older ones are about bikes you don't see around so much now or items that are no longer available. I'll archive some of the older stuff! Good idea and I'll try to remember to do that from now on.
Postlbag: 13 January 2006
Just a note to say CD arrived. Very impressed with layout, methodology, and content. Very well thought out and presented. One complaint I always had about any training I went for here in Ireland was lack of reference material.... The overall presentation and content make your notes a pleasure to read and study. Some other info I have read is on a par with the Roadcraft book - yawn material. The next time I am on some of the bike forums here will put up a posting about your CD and contact details. You might be lucky and get some business from it . Don't buy the GSXR1000 based on the income from the irish sales - yet. Thanks John - much appreciated
From David Ibbotson (July 2005) I just thought I'd let you know of the successful and enjoyable trip to the
Pyrenees we had. We did 3766 miles in two weeks and each day I set off thinking 'o good another day on the bike'. The hairpin technique was appreciated and I used it to great success, my favourite roads were the
smooth surface hairpins where I feel I was quite quick compared to the other members of our party. My confidence improved thanks to your advice [see
Doctor's Surgery] and I now feel much better about the initial turn in on corners. I also had a better confidence on down hill sharp corners. From David Gill (July 2005) Thanks for the run report. No surprises in there, and useful to have for future reference and to check my understanding of what I thought I learned. Good - glad you enjoyed the course From Mandy Durrell (June 2005) I've been practising the skills, but I reckon you'd find fault still! I think it's gonna take a bit of time to get the hang of it totally, and make it second nature, I still have to think about doing a definite counter steer at the moment. It's made me much more confident on the bike generally though, so feeling much happier thanks! I got the CD-rom as well thanks, it was interesting. Not quite as bad as I think I am! That's it - keep working at it!! :o) It will come! Glad you feel better on the
bike because that is the acid test! From Nick Merriam (June 2005) Thank you (in advance) for the CDROM and thank you again for all the hard work up in Grassington. Somehow I feel that I have understood and assimilated the Survival Skills much better this time around. I try to use them all the time whether I am on the motorbike or pushbike, or even in the car (rare ;-). First time I played the signs game on my pushbike I was horrified to realise how much I cycle around like a zombie. Suddenly I am seeing all kinds of things - particularly left turns which are a real hazard on the pushbike where you just have to be tucked in to the kerb a lot more than on a motorbike. The other thing that has struck me (only figuratively so far!) is that the cars that are close to me and travelling towards me - the most threatening in terms of priority - are those behind me. And they're always there. And I don't even have a rear view mirror. I put a mirror on one of my old bikes so I think I'll try to do the same again with this one. I already had a near miss when I looked behind me - when I turned back to the front I was about to rear-end another cyclist who had slowed to walking pace just in front of me. I swerved around him - into the path of an aggressively driven car coming up from behind! That time the only thing injured was my eardrums as the driver let off an angry volley of horn blasts. Anyway, the main thing is that I have realised I can put Survival Skills into practice all the time whether I am on my motorbike or not and I am enjoying it! Interesting that both you and Martin should feel that the lessons stuck better
this time... it's got me thinking that maybe I should try to push the idea of refreshers a little harder... it may also be that the 2:1 format works well with
the concept of going over the same ground - the alternative perspective of a second "victim" may help engage both myself and the trainee in dialogue that neither of us had thought of originally. From Julie Meyer (June 2005) Thanks a lot for your CD-Rom! Theres a lotta brillant stuff on it! You can't even find all this stuff in a book - this is what I wanted - all the handy tips about actual machine control. No-one else does all this. Its great that you have produced this - thank you! Now all I need to do is to put everything into practice - um - is gonna take a lot of time! Thanks for the nice words... From Sharon Andress (June 2005 I have been reading and reading and there is lots of good information here. I write the newsletter for the Williams Lake HOG Chapter and would like to put some of your information in it. I'm happy for you to use any of the articles on the website with the proviso
that you attach the following disclaimer. It's also nice if you can send me a .PDF of the article in the magazine for my portfolio. From Claire Green (June 2005) Thanks for today. It was good and I learnt a lot. I just need to remember what I learnt and put it into practice. Good! It's always good to hear that - you'd be surprised at the number of people who don't offer any feedback whatsoever, just disappear over the horizon never to be heard from again! I know what you mean about remembering stuff, I saw you taking notes, so I suspect you are a similar kind of learner to me - I've always worked by jotting things down on paper. Not easy on a bike is it? ;o) You have the course notes, and as I mentioned, the CDROM is available. Take things stage by stage and don't try to work on everything at the same time, but I would suggest a few evenings in a local carpark to work on slow control, particularly the braking in a straight line, off the front and either stopping on the rear brake/left foot down, or continuing turning on the clutch/rear brake - that was getting better but needs work, as mentioned. I've been thinking about the fence incident! I reckon I know what happened now, and I put it down to the effects of countersteering. It was a downhill slope coming out of that car park and quite narrow to get past the cones and the side of the wooden fenced building. When I took my left hand off the bars to put my visor down, because I was going downhill, some of the weight must have been on the handlebars, therefore with no left hand on the bars, the right was now taking the way and pushing. Right hand therefore pushed the bike to the right and steered me into the side of the fence. Yep, that's the way I read it... you would also probably have had the front brake on (!) rather than the rear!
From John (June 2005) Thanks once again for the training I have been putting it into action and already my confidence is growing. Glad to know you enjoyed the course... From Garry (May 2005) Garry 'the shorty', from Halifax, who you advised this morning on the phone - about U-turns. Took my test and passed today – thank you for the chat this morning it boosted my confidence. Got to go - I have a bike to ride. Many thanks again That's excellent news (except it means I can't sell you one of my "pass your
bike test" CDROMs now, of course ;o) )... Well done and nice of you to let me know, too! From Dawn (May 2005) What more can I say than a HUGE THANK YOU for helping me achieve my test pass yesterday. I am sure your faith in me gave me my confidence! I still can't believe I have done it, and, having read quite a lot of your website, can't wait to get out there and put into practice some safe riding. Michael is now stalling me about a ride on the GasGas this weekend as he is not sure my insurance will cover me - just any old excuse!!!!! Don't worry, I shall check it out before putting my bum on his seat!!! Hope you still have a big grin on your face!! It was really great to know you'd passed, and not only passed, but passed well with a good ride too... it's always a worry training friends cos I really feel bad if they fail. It's a shame when anyone fails obviously, but with friends there's extra pressure. But at the end of the day, you had to do the hard work yourself... so thank you for being an able trainee :o)
From Thierry Youmbi (May 2005) CD-Room/Thanks! Knowing exatly what to expect at the test is the best & efficient way to succeed ! I'm thus please to let you know I have passed my test! Thanks for the CD & advice. I perfomed well and was well-prepared for it. We had 50% failed in my training course but I wasn't among those (lucky me!). I had no fear and was ready to do everything :-). With a national average form 64% success I'm really proud of myself. I'm very pleased you found the CDROM useful, and great news about the test
pass! Well done... it's a straightforward enough test to pass, but it's easy to slip up and fail, particularly if you are not well prepared, and on a high pressure
training course it can be difficult to cover absolutely everything, particularly as the trainee is often very nervous and may not take everything in - the CDROM is an ideal way to prepare in plenty of time.
From Warren Buffett (May 2005) G'day Kevin, Thanks for that... Let me know if there is any feedback - I'm always interested to know what people think about the articles.
From Greg Sullivan (May 2005) My name is Greg Sullivan and I am a Qualified Observer with the Motorcycle section of the "Gwent Group of Advanced Motorists" affiliated to "The Institute of Advanced Motorists." I read with interest your excellent article in issue 139 of Street Biker Mag news and found it very informative and feel it is of particular interest to our group. Would you please consider donating the article or something similar for publication within our own Group? Ahhhh errrr... due to my excellent filing system I can't actually find the original of this article at the moment. You're more than welcome to use it though, I'll hunt through the PC when I get home tomorrow and see if I can track it down. If not, it's around 500 words, so it should be easy enough to scan and OCR, or at worst re-type. The only thing that I ask is that you attach my tag line: We are in the process of accumulating relevant advice from learned sources and posting it on our "points of view" page on our web site www.gwent-advanced-motorists.org, and also in our bi-monthly newsletter. Please take time to view the article donated by Tony Carter on "Filtering, where do we stand", just access the site and enter the bike section and you can then open the "points of view" page. It is articles like this that we wish to expand on and I feel that a contribution from yourself would be very well received. There are over a dozen articles from the Streetbiker series (which I HAVE
remembered to file!) and 60 longer articles on the website about various topics which I'm happy to have re-used, and if there's a particular topic you would
like a view point on, I'll be happy to oblige given a bit of notice. From Neil (April 2005) Just a quick mail to thank you for writing the article. It has brought back so many memories, and I have tears rolling down my face from laughing. Glad you enjoyed it... Golden summers and all that... I know bikes have
improved out of all recognition, but sometimes the old rose tinted specs come out and I hanker after the old 400-4... From Mark Gaylard (April 2005) Just a quick note to say thankyou very much for your time and wisdom on Saturday, I always read stuff and try and implement it, but I guess it goes to show there is no substitute for someone elses observations and experience... .once I've sold my soul for me new leathers I'll be in touch about further training as discussed. You're welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed the day out! I'll be running the
competition for free assessments from time to time, so it's good to know you thought it worth while. From Kellyanne Coates (March 2005) Oh wow, what a web page, so full of information, it's taken me 2 days on and off to read some of the things you have on it, and it's very interesting to read. I've read your profile page, and comments that people have sent to you. I'm still reading your web page and learning more as I go along as to what you do. I've even shown your page to my hubby and he seems interested. maybe at some time we might pop down to see you and see what you do. Thanks for your very kind words.. as you've probably guessed quite a lot of work has gone into the site now for nearly 10 years, but it's still great to hear people give it the thumbs up! You'll find I also moderate a section on www .visordown.com, which is an internet chat forum - I look after the safety section. I might get round to running a ride out in Essex this year - so keep an eye on the site for dates! From John Hall (March 2005) What a cracker of a website! Too far away to be of any use to me riding-wise but I found a link to you on Visordown this morning and have just spent a happy time browsing. Your road tests are really top-hole stuff and I love your tech tips page. For what it's worth, my reaction to the site is that if I were looking for an instructor led course then the attitudes and knowledge hinted at by the site would be a really good selling point. Well done and thank you. Glad you have enjoyed it... the site has been in the building for 7 or 8 years at least, so it's "accumulated"... I know some is a bit out of date now but unfortunately the manufacturers don't send me gear and bikes to test, so I have to make do with what I buy and wear out - and I'm pretty good at spotting stuff that wears well :o) If I do manage to make it to Scotland for a day or three this year (I've been
promising myself a return trip to Glenborrowdale where I have friends) we'll have to see what we can arrange in the way of a meet! From Marc T (March 2005) I would like to thank whoever gave me that great advice [in the Doc's Surgery
back in 2001!], it really helped me as I was a worried 16 year old! Coincidently I've just Good to hear from you and well done on the car test! Hope we see you back on two wheels sometime in the future.
From Keith Wilde (February 2005) I am a senior observer (motorcycles) with the IAM. Our group in the North West issues a monthly magazine (free of charge to members). I have visited your site often, picking up useful information that I have verbally passed on to our associates in the classroom sessions I run. As you are well aware, the standard for the IAM motorcycle test is based on safety, linked observations and a good riding plan. We do not teach riding techniques - but do, wherever possible point the associate to quality organisation and websites that are authorised and qualified to instruct. It is for this reason that I contact you to ask if I may reproduce some of your website technical articles in our local mag. If you agree to this it would be understood that they would be reproduced 'as written' with full credit to the author. I have learnt so much from these articles that I have recommended your site to all the associates who come through my classroom sessions. I now feel that extending this to all members of the group can give them the opportunity to make progress safer by understanding the theory, and applying it. Hope you can agree to the request. I'm glad you've found the site useful. It's very refreshing to hear that you are happy to indicate the value of other trainers to IAM candidates. To my mind, it's a shame that this approach isn't shared by all IAM groups, and that rather than sharing a common goal, commercial training schools are often looked upon as "competition". I'd be more than happy for you to use the articles. The only thing I ask is that
you attach the accompanying copyright notice/disclaimer and attibute it to Survival Skills Rider Training, and if printed to paper, copy of the magazine, or
a PDF or photocopy of the article as for my portfolio would be much appreciated. From Andy, South Africa (February 2005) Just a short note. I'm an ex-pat who lives in South Africa (right near the Cape of Good Hope) and came across your website. It is proving invaluable as I have just acquired my first bike (a Suzuki RF400) and being out "in the sticks" as it were means its tricky for me to actually have any formalised training here. Thus, I've been avidly reading the various sections and find them very informative. Re the "Precision riding - or keep it simple" section I find I must agree with you . I am no novice when it comes to driving, having driven now for a good many years, raced karts and driven high-performance vehicles on the road. Biking is new to me in as much as its a completely different mindset and what I found this weekend on my first "virginal" foray out in the wilds is exactly what you talk about in the article on keeping it simple. The roads near me are twisty and run along the coast and I found it way way easier to just keep it in 5th or 6th, maintain revs and gently do my countersteering into the sweeping left and rights. It was absolutely gorgeous. You talk of workload on the rider and it is something I've been talking to my peers about so many times over here re drivers. South African drivers are abysmal and as a driver it is easy to spot the potential drivers who may cause you problems, they are the ones that are visibly working hard at maintaining their car position, speed and general carmanship (nervous looks to the mirror, hands gripping the wheel, on/off brakes etc.). So I would, by nature of experience agree with you totally, and my (I know limited!) experience on the bike means I am looking at minimising workload on myself so that I can focus on safety. I'm hoping I don't start any bad habits learning to ride but I will keep your tips in mind. Excellent site and I wish I was in England so that I could enrol. Thanks for the mail, and I'm pleased that you have found the website and articles useful to you. I'm told the riding in South Africa is rather good - looking at the 3" of wet snow outside the window and the forecast for a top temperature of 3C for the rest of the week, I'd happily swap locations at the moment! Sounds like a nice ride indeed... when you get a little more used to the bike you may find it works even better if you shift down another gear or so.. generally what I aim to do is keep the revs in the middle third of the rev band - i.e. my Hornet redlines at 13k so I generally use the 5000-9000 zone or thereabouts - that gives me plenty of power, a bit of engine braking, and allows some room to manoeuvre up and down - I can drop the revs lower if I need to for a tighter corner and still pull through it, or on a slightly longer straight I can rev the motor a little harder. Obviously that doesn't preclude changing gear where it makes sense. I wouldn't sit at 9k on a dead straight road! When I sat down and worked out what we actually have to do to ride or drive, not to mention dealing with distractions too, it made sense to prioritise what you need and eliminate the frills... and was interesting when I came to do some research that in other fields, like the helicopter study, that the same kind of conclusions had been drawn. Let me know if you are ever over for a holiday! I had a guy come over from
Canada last year, and make a point of taking a course whilst he was visiting family, and a young lady from Senegal did the same a year or so earlier! From Warren Buffett, Australia (January 2005) G'day from Australia. I'm Warren Buffett, Vice President of BMW Touring Club New South Wales and have been browsing your excellent site. I would like to be able to use some of your skills tips as a series in our monthly newsletter with appropriate credits. Is this OK and if yes can you reply with exactly the credit you would like to accompany each article?? I'd be more than happy for you to use the articles. The only thing I ask is that
you attach the accompanying copyright notice/disclaimer and attribute it to Survival Skills Rider Training, and if printed to paper, a PDF or photocopy of the article as for my portfolio would be much appreciated.
From Lisa Barnes (January 2005) I do like the look of the rides you were doing last year, what plans do you have for 2005 please? I live in Margate so the Wrotham meeting point is a fair way away, do you have collection points anywhere else in the county? As a postscript, have you ever considered rides to Northern Ireland? I can highly recommend it, especially the County Antrim and County Londonderry areas; great roads and bike friendly people. Sorry for not getting back to you a bit more quickly, I errrr upgraded the PC and it stopped working... it's taken me a couple of days to repair the problem. I haven't sorted any dates yet, other than for rides in Wales, Yorks, Devon and the Lakes... I'll let you know about Kent. I appreciate the distance from Margate to Wrotham (I used to do that run regularly at 3am when I was Bloodrunning), but it's convenient for people coming from a wide area of SE London, Kent and Surrey being just off the motorway. Perhaps you could meet part way round a ride - for instance I ran one last year that went as far east as Crundale and down to Hythe. One of these days I'd like to get to the NW200... main problem with Ireland is
the expense and time it takes to get there... I don't get much time off in the summer. From Pete Sissons, Nikwax (January 2005) My name is Pete and I work for Nikwax Waterproofing Ltd, I have carefully read your article which in the end says basically that Nikwax did not work and Scotchguard was brill. I would like to offer you some reasons as to why you had problems with Nikwax. 1. You said that you washed the garment in plain water twice to remove detergent residue. It takes at least 8 washes in warm water to remove the build up of detergent residue. What we recommend is washing with Tech Wash first, this will remove all detergent and grime build up allowing proofings to adhere. 2. You had problems getting an even distribution of Nikwax on your garment and could not see what was proofed. If you apply it to the garment when damp rather than dripping wet you can easily see where has been treated. By spraying roughly all over the garment then rubbing the white puddles that develop into the garment with a damp cloth we are using the water in the fabric to move our waterbased proofing across all the garment. Proofing each item flat on a clean surface ie a cut open bin liner, do one side wait 5 minutes then do the other side, wait another 5 minutes, if you have a tumble dryer put it on a cool setting for 10-15 minutes to get rid of any excess water, then hang it up to air dry. 3. There was no real improvement to water repellency after using Nikwax. All proofings need to be applied to garments which are clean and free from detergent especially ones which are waterbased. The reason for this is that Aerosol proofers contain Flurocarbons which will stick to anything almost but have very little durability, Nikwax use a patented Polymer Elastomer which when applied correctly will give you unequalled water repellency and durability. It's always disappointing to hear that people have been left unsatisfied with a Nikwax product especially when I know from using the stuff for many years that it is by far the best on the market. Well, I'm certainly interested to know why it performed so poorly. I have to say, given its reputation I was rather disappointed. However, I can't fault Nikwax for their concern, as I received a personal visit from a rep too, and was able to have a chat with him about re-proofing garments. One thing that did come out from the discussion was that the results are dependant on thorough rinsings. Two cycles through the washing machine with no detergent is not, as I assumed, enough. I take the point in the e-mail about the Tech Wash but it is only "recommended" on the bottle. As I said, I intended to reproof both halves of my Aerostich and the bottle only managed to do the jacket. I've done the complete suit on one can of Scotchgard which cost a fraction of that price. The jacket was lightly spun before application, so it wasn't dripping. I'm not trying to be unduly negative but the jacket is grey, which didn't make it easy to see where the proofer was. I don't have a tumble drier, but the jacket was proofed on a warm day, and left to dry on the washing line, which took an hour or so. I don't like using propellant-powered cans if I can avoid it but the pump bottle was very awkward - it saturated small patches to the point where there was a puddle of proofer a couple of inches across, whilst leaving the surrounding area with too little proofer on the surrounding area. I just couldn't get an even coat, and ended up using a damp cloth as suggested, but the proofer quickly sank into the fabric before I could work it across. Perhaps a better designed one time purchase bottle with cheaper refills would be a solution. I've tried to be honest in my write up, and probably took at least as much care in applying the proofer as the majority of people. I've been supplied with some more Nikwax and also the Tekwash cleaner, so I'll give it another go, and see if I can get better results - and I'll let you know.
A fair bit of effort goes into maintaining the Survival Skills and UK Rider Training sites and I really do like to know what people out there think of them. If you have any comments or want to say something, hit the e-mail button and say it! The postbag continues to bulge, so I must have done something right with the search engine promotion - although precisely why a Chinese scaffolding company contacted me I have no idea... thanks to everyone for the compliments and feedback on the site. New letters From John Tullett (December 2004) I was very interested to read your article "Ever had a Corner Tighten Up?" that appeared in the September Edition of Slipstream (the Thames Vale Advanced Motorcyclists magazine). I am the editor of the Essex Advanced Motorcyclists' Group's magazine, called TUG, and was wondering whether you would be prepared to allow me to also include your article in our magazine, as I believe it would be of relevance to many of our 400 members? Obviously I would be happy to include relevant comments to clarify that the article appears courtesy of you, is copyrighted by you and to include the address of your survival skills web site. Yes, I'm more than happy for any group to publish the articles from the site in
their newsletters and magazines. The only thing I ask is that you attach a copyright notice/disclaimer, attibute the piece to Survival Skills Rider Training,
and send either a .PDF or copy of the magazine for my portfolio. From Martin Green (December 2004) A very interesting and well presented article, well done [the Riding Skill article on accidents]. However, one very small point that may verify a comment made early on, namely the acceptance of rider attitude as a contributory factor to accidents. In the following sentence near the end of the Riding Skill page:- "However, the fact that 40.2% of the accidents occurred when riders either lost control in, or ran wide in bends is chilling and far worse than I thought. Bend-swinging is so fundamental to our enjoyment of the sport that we take it for granted. Now it seems that we have to think again. As well as a lack of the observation and judgement skills we need to ride safely, it also betrays that most riders lack a fundamental lack of understanding of the way a motorcycle steers and behaves in a corner. "Travelling on public roads is referred to as sport, in which a fundamental enjoyment is the bend swinging. I think this is an example of motorcycle rider attitude to public roads, and can be viewed by non motorcyclists in a bad light. The rest of the paragraph is excellent, and commendably goes on to suggest that bikers need to ride safely. Again, I wish to point out that this is a very small possible blemish in a very good article. Thanks for that... I'm doing my best to chip away at the idea that it's always the blind car driver that gets bikers via the Survival Skills section on Visordown.com, and slowly the message is getting across. A much abbreviated version also appeared in "Streetbiker", the Motorcycle Action Group's journal. You've made an interesting point, and to be fair, a valid one. I suppose there are two issues - firstly, what constitutes fair use, and secondly how you define it. Historically the open countryside and the roads HAVE been used for recreation as well as the more mundane tasks of shifting goods and people from A2B, right from earliest times so I resist any idea that they are just for transport, and that recreational driving or riding is out of place - the sort of argument that has been used to defend proposals to ban bikes from sensitive areas like the Ridgeway and National Parks. But I take your point about use of the word sport. I suppose the implication of that word "sport" is that riding may be getting too close to "racing on the public highway" for comfort. I suppose what we need to encourage is restrained and sensitive use. Controls should be on irresponsible individuals, not blanket bans. It's certainly something I'll be pondering - I'll certainly consider changing the wording and maybe it'll be the basis for another article!! [In fact, part of the editorial of 14 January 2005 resulted from this mail] From Derek Mellon (November 2004) Hi there, just a kwik query i was informed recently that there are some changes to the law regarding crash helmets. Apparently crash helmets are to be registered to a specific rider and not allowed to be used by anyone else. I know how much bull#### gets spread around about various issues and wondered if this was one of those cases. It seems to me like it would be a logistical nightmare keeping track of peoples' lids. Will the DVLA have a helmet department section? Will it also be illegal to purchase a used helmet could you shed any light on this?. I checked the date to make sure it wasn't April 1... I've not heard even a hint of anything like this even being considered in any consultation, let alone as a serious proposal. Some odd things do get proposed but I think this is likely to be something
someone has started as a joke, I can't seriously believe this! From Matthew Allen (October 2004) I just wanted to say thanks for the valuable advice on your site. I am a new
rider who has just passed the CBT and has a Gilera DNA 125 for commuting and general transport. I am still amazed at how much there is to learn about
biking. It's become obvious to me that any advice could help save a novice's life. I shall read all that's here. From Norman (August 2004) I think you have a great website and I used it extensively before my return to biking! (Now there's a red flag). I took the Direct Access route, passed, but decided on a Suzuki Burgman 400 as my 'first machine'. I know this is not very macho and probably scorned by 'real bikers', but I think it is a good first machine. It allows you to develop the roadcraft, keep up with and ahead of traffic and has fairly benign handling characteristics (unless tou try and get your knee down!!). Do you not consider that this option should be given visibility on your website as a contender for first machines, for those over 21 with DA? I've run several training courses with riders of these machines, and contrary to most riders' beliefs, they are quite capable of "real" motorcycling feats. The only real thing against them is the auto transmission and the brake arrangement if you decide to transit to a conventional motorcycle. I have to ride scooters occasionally, and I have terrible trouble with the rear brake - every time I come to a stop, I pull the "clutch" in! The 400 Burgman is ridable on a restricted 33hp licence, so might be an idea for riders who've passed on a 125, but the bigger TMax and Silver Wing have some serious performance available. Interesting thought, anyway! Thanks for the nice words about the website! From Kay Taylor (August 2004) It's been some time since we returned from our holiday, but I've just managed to get some photos on to my PC, and I thought you might like this one! There are two dots on the road in the middle of the picture. I am the dot on the left hand side :-) going down the San Glorio Pass (1600m at the top). Charlie waited to take the photo, and it just so happened I passed another rider coming up. We had a great time, and the training on Kent's hairpin was very valuable and added much to our enjoyment of the holiday. Kay wanted a bit of preholiday help on twisty roads, and we managed to make
use of Kent's only hairpin bend, which is just up the road from here! And it was a cracking photo! From John Rischmiller (July 2004) A great site, As a newbie to motorcycles (at the age of 58 I'm just buying my first motorbike!), and trying to learn as much theory as I can before my CBT in a couple of weeks time, I'm very impressed by the amount of information available, and especially Survival Skills website. Having said that, just a small criticism on website design, could you try and fill the whole window for the benefit of high resolution users, the picture below shows what I mean (you'll need to scroll the message to see the whole of the window that I see). It is easily done by making the table adjust to window size rather than be a fixed number of pixels for each column. A minor criticism, thanks for the great info. It's something I am aware of - I've had the same comments a couple of times, and the CDROM has come in for some criticism for the "letter box format" on a large monitor... I'm still soldiering along on a 800x600 (I know - luddite - but I'm waiting for a nice big LCD screen to drop within my budget!!) I'll see if I can do something about it, but the webpage designer I use has rather a bee in its bonnet about precise positioning in tables. I've tried altering the width to allow elements to reposition to a window width before and the formatting has completely gone haywire. I daresay if I was rich and had Dreamweaver I could do something about it more easily. Anyway, the site is probably due for a major makeover at the end of the year
in my hibernation period... so if you can just hang on till then... From James Riley, NZ (July 2004) [ ] You win the prize for the shortest message complimenting me on the site! Glad you like it! (James sent me a blank email with this as the subject of the mail: "Nice site,
thanks for the info, can't book a course - wrong continent, sorry !!!") From Bernard Woodall (July 2004) From your web-site section entitled Isle Of Man the following extract: "Then it was time to try counter-steering, it took a while for me to understand it just meant that you put weight on the opposite handle bar from the direction you want to go. The fact that we all do this without thinking didn't help my mental process's accepting the theory, to me "it just happens that way"!! " Wrong, you put weight on the same bar as the direction you want to go. Hate to think of someone expecting to turn into a left hand bend and pushing on the right-hand bar, straight into oncoming traffic. Oops! Good point... this was written by someone else, and I never noticed that... I'll edit it! Thanks! From Mike Williams (July 2004) I just wanted to say how much Geoff and I enjoyed the course last week - in particular day 2. I have been paying much more attention to my cornering on narrow roads since then, and have also been practising the two second rule. I hadn't realised how much I'd crept up on vehicles in front over the years. We are both looking forward to the debriefs to see what else we should be doing... From Beth Suttton (June 2004) Thank you for all the written feedback. I certainly learnt a lot and i enjoyed
the day too. I put a posting up on thelondonbikers.com because I did genuinely feel that your course was beneficial and worth recommending. From Alistair Black, Lakes Course (May 2004) First of all, thank you for the course. It was very well constructed and comprehensive in its scope and detail. The delivery was well presented, never brow-beating or patronising. Since the course I have found several occasions where being "in the right place at the right time at the right speed" has saved me soooooooo much hassle! To quote one example: I was out for a lunchtime cobweb-clearing blast on my favourite bit of road (The A770 south of Gourock to the junction with the A78). (Using the P&S technique has given me such an improved view of the road ahead that I wouldn't have believed it prior to the course). I was sitting a few car lengths behind a car as we approached a fairly tight left right left combination, the lefts being blind due to roadside vegetation. We passed a temporary sign indicating roadworks ahead (no distance given). The car in front started fairly well right then took the standard "cut to apex" route, I stayed out right. Sure enough, right in the deepest bit of dead ground, here's a council lorry clearing a blocked drain. Because of my position I had seen and responded to the hazard before the car driver had even seen it. Car driver jumps on the brakes, over compensates the steering and ends up on the wrong side of the road doing 20 mph. Half a mile further on, another left right combination, roadside vegetation as before. Has Mr car driver learned from his near miss of less than one minute before? Not a chance! He takes this bend as per the previous, starting right & cutting the apex. No hazards this time, so presumably his mindset was not affected by a near collision. Ah well, someday he'll have a crash, but it won't be his fault (at least in his mind it won't)! To sum up, I have to say that in 2 days you turned a moderately experienced biker into a biker who is gaining experience at a far higher rate than before. Thanks again, hope to meet you again sometime fairly soon. Thanks for the nice words and glad you enjoyed it. It was a bit challenging on roads I don't know well, but the change of scenery was well worth the extra effort! Nasty driving error you describe there, exactly the sort of situation that the
"see what you can see, work out what you can't see, and try to find a place that allows you to see more" approach is intended to deal with. From Nick Zarras, USA (May 2004) As a 2001 Honda VFR sport-touring motorcycle driver I thoroughly enjoy your site. It is the first site that addresses the mental side of the game verses just mechanical modifications. I used to be a jet fighter, snow ski, scuba, and martial arts instructor. I always stressed training as the key to safely enjoying any task. Your site provides that extra training at the touch of a key stroke. Great work. Nick Zarras, Captain, USAF Ret. Thanks for your words of support. I've put a fair amount of thought and effort into the site, so it's good to know it's struck a chord with someone so highly
qualified. From Kay (May 2004) Hi Kevin, Many thanks for Saturday morning. The training was excellent, and gave us a lot to think about (which is a good thing!). Charlie in particular was well aware of what he had been missing, and wants to do more training (another good thing!) In retrospect, I think I had remembered countersteering but forgotten counterweighting. Thanks again! From Various... feedback from the Lakes Tour (April 2004) Sam-in-Cumbria: I can't begin to say how much I enjoyed it. It was excellent in many ways, but the training was so much better than anything I've had before. Ok, true, I haven't got a lot to compare it with, but if I tell you it was the first time I'd ever heard something positive through an earpiece, that would only give a hint of Spin's training style....calm, re-assuring, positive, measured, purposeful. It's evident from the responses on here, that even the most experienced of the trainees gained things...for the novices amongst us, it was a revelation. I can't wait to get the next training session sorted! How far is it to Kent?? If I can use the phrase which was so welcome in my ear, the whole thing was 'Nicely Done' Bikerlass: What did me and Mr BL come out of it with? Well, lots of positive and constructive points from Spin, and a nice assurance that we arnt doing anything drastically wrong (but always room for improvemnt, and we will be putting the point and squirt into practice henceforth). Also, an interesting one - Mr BL has never been keen on riding with bikers other than myself. Well Saturday afternoon's ride out has changed all that and he loved it! Think he was partly worried previously that the Aprilias wouldn't be able to keep up; also lack of confidence in his own riding abilities etc, but no problems on either score, thanks to the ride out. So big thanks to CS for leading, Sam for planning and Spin for sweeping; and everyone else for being damned fine, sensible riders. Nippy: Mrs Nippy & I were first up for the Lakes training. Kevin had planned a really excellent day's training, including a couple of runs through Whinlatter Pass to round it off. Sam's efforts in booking accommodation, recommending pubs, and best of all, sorting out some brilliant weather were really appreciated. All in all a great day. Spock: What a GREAT weekend, I hadn't realised how much I wasn't seeing, feel like I've got X-ray eyes now! This morning's final run over Whinlatter (3rd in 2 days) was most enjoyable,
evrything just came together and I felt sooooooo in control. CHEERS SPIN! From Ron Cowpe, Canada (April 2004) Hi Kevin, I'm home now, so thanks for both the course and your debrief notes. It really was an excellent day for me. It was a real eye opener to see how you planned and influenced events so far ahead. Until now I was just part of the general flow, and no idea how much I could affect events and future safety. You have really fundamentally changed how I look at riding (and driving). I felt that you judged the course just right for me, and your slow speed work clearly identified my problem and gave me the key to control. I'm working on it all. Thanks again, Ron came along to Kent whilst he was visiting family, and did a one day course on one of our DAS bikes to try to sort out a particular slow control concern he
had on his Beemer back on the other side of the Atlantic. We had a good day out, did some nice bends as well as the slow riding, and I even managed the
weather for him, so that shower of cold rain happened whilst we were getting a bite to eat! From Colin Anderson (April 2004) Thanks for all the friendly advice mate! I successfully passed my test on Thursday, at Reading. All the best for the future. Well done!! Colin has been a "regular" in the Doc's surgery with questions
about basic training, many of which are now answered on the new Survival Skills "Getting Started" CDROM. From Gerard Belleville, Teacher, Vicenza High School, Italy (April 2004) I am an MSF Instructor (American Type) that lives and works in sunny Italy. I have been reading your riding skill pages for a while now. And I must say that they are first class. I have passed on info articles, and web info to my students, and I for one have learned a lot.......... I have been able to teach a multi-national group of riders and your pages are passed on to a number of English speaking riders. HOPE TO LEARN MORE from you Thanks Nice to hear the Survival Skills message is travelling round the world! From Sue (April 2004) My ride today, amazing, thank you very, very much!!! 22 mile round trip to Exmouth, normally means cars sitting on my tail until I can let them past and shaky around the bends. Nothing came close this time. I left them standing following your instruction and nothing even caught me at the bends. I am so pleased. I remembered to be steady off the throttle and practiced braking before bends as warning, trying to get nearer before slowing, even though I didn't need to for traffic flow. Excellent. What a difference. Thanks again! Together with Malc from Cooper Bike Training who did a day with Sue on one of
their bikes, a couple of days confidence boosting has worked wonders for her riding! From Michael (April 2004) Back at the beginning of the year, I provided some suggestions of places to visit/roads to ride for a weekend away in Northern France over in the Doc's surgery. I got a mail back about the trip a few days ago: I thought I'd let you have a bit of feedback on the whistle-stop French trip a friend (Super Blackbird) and I (1983 Ducati Pantah 500SL) completed on Saturday and Sunday. We followed your advice and got the yellow Michelin map; from the Eurotunnel terminal we took the coast road to Boulogne - great fun, and very scenic. From Boulogne we headed inland (D341 to Desvres) in search of twistier roads to suit the Pantah; from Desvres to Montreuil we took the D127 along the Course - the first half was so beautiful you felt like riding slowly to enjoy!. Thence To Berck (where we'd reserved a room), and to Saint Valery for a drink. On the Sunday we left Berck just after 0900 and took the coast road to Le Touquet, then inland again to Montreuil, then the D126 to Maninghem, then the D343 to Desvres (I would recommend those 2 roads - not twisty enough for me, but very quiet, across some very peaceful countryside). From Desvres the D127, then a very short stint on the N42 (only because I could not quite work out the complicated junctions to avoid it) to pick up the D224 to Licques and then Ardres; some nice twisties there where I 'lost' the Blackbird. From Ardres the D231 (a bit boring) etc. to Cap Gris Nez, then the coast road (D940 - probably the best bit) to Cap Blanc Nez, then back to the Tunnel for our 1500 departure. The 'highlight' of the trip was realising that on 1 May EVERYTHING (or near enough) is closed in France, and that automatic petrol pumps don't take British cards; this was neatly circumvented by asking local drivers to let us fill up on their card and pay them cash - which they readily accepted (I wondered if the same would happen over here...). For reference, we stayed at the Hotel de l'Imperatrice in Berck. 2*, with a spacious locked garage for bikes (free), 65 euros for a twin room with shower & WC. Breakfast & dinner extra. Excellent welcome. Many thanks again for your advice Kevin. We had a smashing time! Glad you had a good time! From David Adler (Mar 2004) I really learnt a lot and am now practicing on the road. This morning tried a few bends, and things flowed a lot better. Glad you enjoyed the course, David. It was a good day's riding and we certainly struck lucky with the weather.
From Hamish Champ aka Safe but Sedate (Mar 2004) I've moved up from my CB500S to a Triumph Thunderbird (picking up the beast on Saturday) and once I've run the thing in and got some miles under my belt I'll see how you're fixed for a refresher course, etc. Congratulations on the new ride and look forward to seeing it at some point! From Sandra Wright (Mar 2004) You could have warned me my poor legs would ache the next day! he he. When I got home I was surprised how fast the day went, and how worn out I felt [which is why Survival Skills start at a sensible 10am and finish at a handy 3pm]. I really enjoyed it and felt much better for doing it. On the ride back I found myself in the right hand side lane more, as I know how to deal with the bends better, unlike the ride there when i stayed on the left in case we turned off. Went back over to Eastbourne on the Tuesday, and felt so much better on the roundabouts, but still found i turned too early on some of the exits, which in turn set me up for a bit of a mental block for right handers the next day and found it hard to counterstear to the right doohhh and just couldn't get the counterweighting at all to the right. So I came home as I felt I was making it worse, but if its not too cold tomorrow I'll go for a ride up a road like the ones the other day, then hopefully I'll feel better with it. Hope you think thats the right way to do it. I deffo want to do more training at some point, I don't want to be some speed freak, just feel in control of my bike, and confident when i change to a bigger bike. Thanks again for such a brill day. You made really good progress over the course of the day. However, you've
discovered a couple of the hitches of any intensive course. First, they are tiring, which is why I don't go in for long days in the saddle. That may be OK for
riders who regularly ride a couple of hundred miles a day, but realistically few of us do. Second, though we run through the skills you need to ride to a good
standard, they don't come automatically and need practice. And yes, if things aren't working, knock it on the head for the day, try again when you are
fresher, and don't try to practice everything at once - remember the salami effect - slice it into managable chunks. And finally - another day covering the
same ground can have dramatic benefits as what you already know really sinks in. From Martin Pass (Feb 2004) Possibly the best advice anyone could give to the biker who puts safety over speed. Thanks a lot. Thanks Martin. Nearly all bikers enjoy a bit of speed now and again, but the art
of knowing where you can go quick is to know where you MUST go slow first. Too many of us forget that. From Hamish Champ (Feb 2004) Thanks for the course. Your points have been noted, especially about the 'safe but sedate' bit! I think it's because currently I feel a tad unstable at "high" speeds that I err on the side of the sedentary, but I believe that with experience I will pick it up a bit. It'll just take some getting used to. I discovered on the way back tonight there is way more in the bike than I'd been using; it really can open up if given the opportunity! I will practice the things I learned today in the coming weeks/months and would very much like to do a return course in the not-too-distant future. Thanks again. Glad you enjoyed the day out. Safe but sedate isn't a bad way to ride! From Andrew Luck (Feb 2004) I have just found your website when searching for a road test on the Honda Dominator and then read your Transalp test. You begin with a statement that a Honda VFR750 has no character! Shame on you, the VFR is BURSTING with character! I have 91,000km on mine now and I love it. The character comes mostly from the motor, it has a heart; I liken it to the pounding of hooves beneath you. Indeed an iron horse! Only the almost comatose cannot find the character in a VFR! I never want to sell it. I agree you really need a Staintune Pipe (without the baffle) to truly appreciate the music, but the feel is always there. I also have 75,000 km on a Goldwing during the same time period, and although a truly great bike for two up touring in a 100kph limited state, if I could only have one bike, I would have to choose the VFR. No character indeed, tut tut! Oh dear, wrists slapped again. I thought it was about time for another VFR
owner to write in. It's no good, competent the VFR may be but it just doesn't set me on fire. Glad you're happy with your ride though! From Ron Cowpe, Canada (Feb 2004) Firstly, thanks for providing a great motorcycling resource with your site. Your riding skills section is certainly the best I've seen, the points you make are very well argued, and it makes most other stuff on the net look trivial. Enough flattery for now, and onto the problem. I'm an ex-pat living in Canada, but I'll be back in UK for a holiday during April. I'm 56, been riding mostly since 16, full UK and Canadian licenses, but not really very good at it. My main area of concern is low speed control. I've just come in from a ride where I've tried to improve my skills, but I'm not getting on very well. At least one of many problems is that I'm small (5 6'), the bike is big (K100 RS) and just don't want to risk dropping it and damaging the fairing. This means I"m tense and awkward, and it goes downhill from there on in. U turns are a nightmare! Could you give me a day, mainly focussing on the low speed stuff, I'll need a bike, and I'd like to spend some time at least on one of the bigger bikes? Assuming that you think you could help me to gain some skill and confidence, would you have a day available in Maidstone? Survival Skills goes international again! Ron is booked in for a day using one of
our DAS bikes, and a programme of training majoring on slow control has been planned for him! From Chris Duplessis (Feb 2004) I have a 1997 ER5 and also find the loose mirrors, numb bum and lack of fairing a pain. The one you had must have been a restricted model or a dud if it struggled to get to 90mph. Mine quite happily howls to an indicated 180km/h (112 mph). My speedo is not that far out since the roadside speed warning apparatus of the local police reads my indicated 50km/h as 49. I also have a stick on plastic paint protector to protect the tank from zip scratches. Whilst I am hardly a Troy Bayliss I find the cornering and handling more than adequate on the notorious New Zealand East Coast twisties. I find it a very useful little budget bike which is good for one up cruising as well as commuting. The UK models I have ridden will get to around 110 on the clock, but they
hardly "howl"! It's possible the Euro-emission laws put a bung up the spout of our versions. From Suz P (January 2004) Quick mail to say ... Super Web Site, Thanks. Very useful stuff in there, especially for us "newbies". You mention in your site the prospect of survival skills courses being run elsewhere [not Oxford or Maidstone]. I am in York [North Yorkshire] but desperate for some more training... so I guess the first question is, would you come up this far? If so, at what cost / how many other "victims" (sorry, I mean students!!!) would I have to coerce onto joining us to make it worthwhile? Thanks for the comments on the web site! Well, it you haven't spotted it
already, there is a Adventure Weekend being run in Yorkshire [Suz subsequently has booked some training]. I'll also travel for the cost of
accomodation and diesel! The "Battle Bus" is being kitted for mobile training for use as a classroom to enable me to train anywhere in the country. from Martin Hardman (Jan 2004) just noticed......the link at the end of Cornering 2 in Defensive Riding takes you to Slow Control, instead of Overtaking and the link at the end of Anticipation in Mental Techniques takes you to Safety Bubble, instead of Survival Reactions, Finish Here appears at the end of Mental Techniques. Maybe it should be at the end of Machine Control. No great problem but thought I'd just mention, and you might like to tidy up for "new customers". Right, I've checked... this is all as it supposed to be... If you go back to "how to use the CDROM" you'll see there are two ways to work through it... one is as a teaching guide that more or less mirrors the way the courses actually run... so I discuss observation and anticipation skills and then go on to explain how you use those to maintain that survival space around you - it's a "don't walk before you can run" technique... the second way is as a reference work where the various techniques are arranged logically... So... it's supposed to be that way! However, I've had several other comments from people who've found that
confusing, so on the next version I'll have a think about a better way to navigate. From Chris Turton (Jan 2004) The Honda Transalp you pictured and used in your reviewed is the 600 cc model not the updated 650. Not being critical but of interest to the Transalp Web ring members. Thanks for a good review DOH! I suppose I could have looked to see if it was written on the side panels!
Glad you liked the review, the works I write are not always to everyone's taste. I like the Transalp... even tempted to part with cash!! from Sture Lindberg, CX500 owners club, Sweden (December 2003) Some time ago I e-mailed Kevin Williams, asking if I could use a translated version of "2001 - a bike odyssey, part 8" in our member´s mag, and got a friendly, positive answer. I also promised to send a copy of the mag as soon as it was printed. It is now, and I´ll probably get my copies in the beginning of next week. I just want to know if it would be OK to send the copy by mail to Survival Skills Rider Training and that Kevin would get it that way. Kindest regards Sture Lindberg Nice to know that my affection for the old "plastic maggot" has some sympathisers! Nice professional magazine too... even if I am not as fluent in
Swedish as Sture is in English! from Julian Ward (December 2003) I've read most of your site, most informative. I use Avon tyres mostly and have used their guarantee to my satisfaction, what made you comment that it was "useless"? I had my AV46 for 1400 miles before i got a puncture. It was replaced no questions asked. Good - glad you like it! I was only commenting on the fact that you'll wear out
the permitted 1mm of tread almost as soon as you roll out the dealer... I suppose it depends on how liberally they apply the rule. Good to hear that you got some reasonable mileage. from Patrick Galligan (November 2003) Hi, been reading a bunch of the tips on your website. Much of it I already know
and practise, but it is all useful information!! In particular, countersteering was explained to me many years ago and I had no problems understanding it due
to the amount of cycling I used to do, and my love of Anyway, I have a tip on explaining countersteering. Maybe demonstrating is a better term. For people that don't understand the maths & physics, simply use
a car as an analogy. When you turn the front wheels of a car left, Hope this analogy is useful to you. Maybe it will help some people to understand that countersteering is not black magic used by the GP racers. Actually Patrick, that is a brilliantly useful visualisation for car drivers and excellently simple! Thanks!
from Richard Hallett (November 2003) Great site. Just read your Africa Twin review, which is fair enough at first read. For sure the bike is underpowered, but that's the price of unimpeachable reliability. The saddle is terrible, but Touratech does a superb replacement. Try Michelin Sirac or Anakee rubber. Most of the good things to be said about the Transalp apply to the Twin, but the latter has a more useful tank range and much better suspension off-road. The only way to judge it fairly is as a rally or expedition bike or genuine all -rounder. As such it is better than the Varadero and similar modern iron. Power delivery is flat and linear and thus ideal on loose and slippery surfaces. Balance is superb and the suspension easily up to serious rally-type going. Check out the results of the Cambrian Rally for proof. The wire spoked wheels and tubed tyres are reliable even when the rims take a ding, and although the motor is awkward to work on, it doesn't need much doing. Anyway, I rode one to Italy and back this year with a similarly mounted mate. We passed sports bikes on Alpine and Appennine passes, went off-road in the Dolomites and covered 980 miles from Vicenza to south London on the last day . Not many bikes can do all those things well. It does what Honda designed it for back in '88, and the current 10 year old design is even better than the original. Nice to see the Africa Twin has so many fans. I've recently put in another
evening's riding on the big traillie, and thoroughly enjoyed it... I do like it, honest!! from Jim Arnold (November 2003) Kevin, I thought the course was excellently structured and had just the right balance of theory followed by putting it in practice. As I think you picked up at the beginning, I can get fed up with theory spots, but yours were excellent and despites my best efforts I struggled to find anything to object to. I was particularly impressed by the thought you have given all the techniques and the real world practicalities that you use to apply them. Much (but not all) of the theory I had heard before, but never better put into context and the real world. Point and Squirt was new to me as was positioning so that another road user can see me (I had always tried to position for my view only). You said how keen you were for constructive feedback for improvement, so I have thought hard about it. On the whole spot on. I think the course was the right length etc. I guess the only area that we did a fairly limited amount of was filtering. Given I commute to work through Surrey, this is clearly something that represents a risk to my health! On the whole I think filtering is just applying the 'rules' that we learnt, along with common sense and excellent observation. Having said that theory is one thing, its another having some bloke in your ear saying. Hmm, why are you THERE, try moving to the inside or have you noticed that car about to.... When I get around to it I'll put a thread on the UKGSers web site saying what a good course I had. thanks again. Thanks Jim, it's good to get feedback and a nice writeup of the course. Makes all the effort worthwhile!
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Survival Skills is an approved trainer and assessor
for Buckinghamshire County Council
and "National Motorcycle Escort Group" Qualified
Copyright © 2007 Survival Skills & Kevin Williams
Last Page update Wednesday, November 14, 2007