Premium Member wessie Posted May 5, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 5, 2015 Do the Police in the US offer anything like this www.bikesafe-london.co.uk ? I've done it, it was good fun and I found it very helpful. It's nationwide in the UK - I did the Gloucestershire one about 20 years ago. It was quite informative at the time and I still ride following some of the guidance in the Roadcraft book but I have not been tempted to do the allied civilian qualification through RoSPA or IAM, as being that disciplined would go against my rebellious nature. Adopting the Roadcraft advice on road positioning to maximise forward visibility is crucial to making fast but safe progress in my view. I would recommend the book to anyone who lives where it is normal to drive on the left e.g. UK, Japan, Australia and Ireland. The descriptions and diagrams may be a bit if a headfúck for North Americans and Continental Europeans. This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member johan Posted May 5, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 5, 2015 Do the Police in the US offer anything like this www.bikesafe-london.co.uk ? I've done it, it was good fun and I found it very helpful. It's different in every state over here but in Indiana, they outsource all rider training and endorsement qualifications to ABATE, which is associated with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF). All their training is in a parking lot or a classroom. Weave through tight cones, do a tight u-turn at low speeds, see how fast you can stop from 15 mph or do a 90 deg turn in a 3 foot square. Nothing over 15mph and no on road training as it looks like is described in your link.We did an hour or two in the class room. Then about an hour riding in town, stop for lunch and feedback and then an hour or two on twisty A and B roads, stopping every now and then for feedback. During the ride I was one of three with the (Met Police) instructor. The three trainees take turns to lead with the instructor following and observing. They encouraged us to ride normally as most people tend to ride conservatively in the presence of Police. Obviously you can't break the law in their presence but you can ride swiftly. Maybe it is the litigious culture in the US that makes it difficult to offer riding like this. Funny thing is, in another group that went out on the same day one of the riders on training had a classic left hand bend mishap. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic and only pride got hurt. Since he was from a neighbouring police force and declared himself in the classroom to be from that force there was a lot of hurt pride. It was a positive experience and I think it's the sort of thing that also changes perceptions and attitudes. Much more pro-acvtive and positive than enforcement only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member wessie Posted May 5, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 5, 2015 Do the Police in the US offer anything like this www.bikesafe-london.co.uk ? I've done it, it was good fun and I found it very helpful. It's different in every state over here but in Indiana, they outsource all rider training and endorsement qualifications to ABATE, which is associated with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF). All their training is in a parking lot or a classroom. Weave through tight cones, do a tight u-turn at low speeds, see how fast you can stop from 15 mph or do a 90 deg turn in a 3 foot square. Nothing over 15mph and no on road training as it looks like is described in your link.We call that CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) in the UK and everyone has to pass that before they can legally ride a powered 2 wheeler on the road, even a 50cc scooter. That pass allows someone to ride a bike up to 125cc on a road whilst displaying an L plate. This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 It's different in every state over here but in Indiana, they outsource all rider training and endorsement qualifications to ABATE, which is associated with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF). All their training is in a parking lot or a classroom. Weave through tight cones, do a tight u-turn at low speeds, see how fast you can stop from 15 mph or do a 90 deg turn in a 3 foot square. Nothing over 15mph and no on road training as it looks like is described in your link.We call that CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) in the UK and everyone has to pass that before they can legally ride a powered 2 wheeler on the road, even a 50cc scooter. That pass allows someone to ride a bike up to 125cc on a road whilst displaying an L plate. Yeah, Indiana doesn't require any sort of license to ride 50cc and under. If you see someone riding a 50cc scooter in Indiana it is assumed they had their drivers license taken away, usually due to drunk driving. It's a shame. Little scooters are great fun for running across town and get insanely good gas mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 It's different in every state over here but in Indiana, they outsource all rider training and endorsement qualifications to ABATE, which is associated with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF). All their training is in a parking lot or a classroom. Weave through tight cones, do a tight u-turn at low speeds, see how fast you can stop from 15 mph or do a 90 deg turn in a 3 foot square. Nothing over 15mph and no on road training as it looks like is described in your link.We call that CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) in the UK and everyone has to pass that before they can legally ride a powered 2 wheeler on the road, even a 50cc scooter. That pass allows someone to ride a bike up to 125cc on a road whilst displaying an L plate. just curious how things work over there. How do you get licensed to ride over 125cc? Once we get a permit by taking a written test here we can legally ride the biggest bikes on the market. People on a permit have 3 restrictions. They can't ride in the dark or with a pillion and they must wear a helmet. You must pass a skills test in a parking lot to get you endorsement. Once you get your endorsement, all 3 of those restrictions are lifted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member wessie Posted May 5, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 5, 2015 We call that CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) in the UK and everyone has to pass that before they can legally ride a powered 2 wheeler on the road, even a 50cc scooter. That pass allows someone to ride a bike up to 125cc on a road whilst displaying an L plate. just curious how things work over there. How do you get licensed to ride over 125cc? Once we get a permit by taking a written test here we can legally ride the biggest bikes on the market. People on a permit have 3 restrictions. They can't ride in the dark or with a pillion and they must wear a helmet. You must pass a skills test in a parking lot to get you endorsement. Once you get your endorsement, all 3 of those restrictions are lifted.It's complex now, with different routes depending on age in the UK. When I took my test in 1992 I went straight from an observed test on a 125cc bike to an unrestricted licence. You could do this at 17 years. Now, riders have a phased power increase. You have to be over 21 years to take the extended test for full power bikes. There is an intermediate A2 licence category for bikes under 46.6bhp for riders over 19 years. So from 17-19 riders can only ride 125cc bikes below 14.6bhp. Everyone has to do the CBT mentioned, plus a classroom test of multiple choice questions. Pass mark is 85% I think. I won't describe the rest as it is all here https://www.gov.uk/ride-motorcycle-moped but you will need to spend quite some time to get to grips with the process. This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vespadaddy Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Yeah, Indiana doesn't require any sort of license to ride 50cc and under. If you see someone riding a 50cc scooter in Indiana it is assumed they had their drivers license taken away, usually due to drunk driving. It's a shame. Little scooters are great fun for running across town and get insanely good gas mileage.No license at all for 50 cc or less? So no license required for mopeds? (In MN, that's 2 bhp or less, 50 cc or less, 30 mph top speed or less. Moped plates end in MP, and you can legally park anywhere you can legally park a bicycle. Does that mean you can't get a DUI on a moped in Indiana? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Yeah, Indiana doesn't require any sort of license to ride 50cc and under. If you see someone riding a 50cc scooter in Indiana it is assumed they had their drivers license taken away, usually due to drunk driving. It's a shame. Little scooters are great fun for running across town and get insanely good gas mileage.No license at all for 50 cc or less? So no license required for mopeds? (In MN, that's 2 bhp or less, 50 cc or less, 30 mph top speed or less. Moped plates end in MP, and you can legally park anywhere you can legally park a bicycle. Does that mean you can't get a DUI on a moped in Indiana? No license required at all for 50cc and either 30 or 35 mph. Over 50cc you have to have an endorsement. The speed is in the law, I just don't remember off the top of my head. This is to prevent people from boreing out the engine to get more power but claiming it's a 50cc engine. Believe me, people do it anyway. "Officer! It says 50cc right on the side of it!"... You have to be over a certain age though. I don't remember what that is. This is how the drunks get around legally in Indiana. The law makers claim it to prevent people from just driving a car illegally and it's safer for the general public to have them drunk on tiny mopeds than drunk in a 2 ton car. I don't quite buy that argument. People without a license still drive cars illegally. They only started requiring 50cc mopeds to be plated. That is just a tax grab though, doesn't keep an unlicensed person off the road. All the laws of the road still apply. A person that got their license taken away because of a DUI can still get another DUI on a moped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 just curious how things work over there. How do you get licensed to ride over 125cc? Once we get a permit by taking a written test here we can legally ride the biggest bikes on the market. People on a permit have 3 restrictions. They can't ride in the dark or with a pillion and they must wear a helmet. You must pass a skills test in a parking lot to get you endorsement. Once you get your endorsement, all 3 of those restrictions are lifted.It's complex now, with different routes depending on age in the UK. When I took my test in 1992 I went straight from an observed test on a 125cc bike to an unrestricted licence. You could do this at 17 years. Now, riders have a phased power increase. You have to be over 21 years to take the extended test for full power bikes. There is an intermediate A2 licence category for bikes under 46.6bhp for riders over 19 years. So from 17-19 riders can only ride 125cc bikes below 14.6bhp. Everyone has to do the CBT mentioned, plus a classroom test of multiple choice questions. Pass mark is 85% I think. I won't describe the rest as it is all here https://www.gov.uk/ride-motorcycle-moped but you will need to spend quite some time to get to grips with the process. That's quite the process. Seems like a 2 stage process would be good but it seems a little much now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humanistfury Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 That sounds like a really worthwhile program; exactly what I'd like to participate in. Perhaps you know that here in the States we're currently having some "friction" between the police and the rest of the country. That is the kind of interaction that really does build good will. I'm curious now - Colorado Springs (where I live) has a pretty robust motorcycle detachment in the Police Dept.; I wonder how much hassle it'd be to convince them to do an outreach day or something of the sort. They'd get a chance to show off all the sick new bikes they purchased with all that additional tax revenue from our legalized weed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humanistfury Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 We just moved back to the States after 2 1/2 years in Germany, and I wholeheartedly endorse the new EU licensing scheme. It's a well-considered system, and I really do think they set the standards at the right displacement/horsepower levels. It's clearly legislation based heavily on the recommendations of riders and conclusions from real-world data. The power/weight ratio caveat for the A2 license is especially helpful in that it recognizes the enormous difference between riding a 300 lbs. bike with 47 HP versus a 500 lbs. bike with the same. Of course, such policy almost certainly wouldn't fly here, where we're still discussing whether or not motorcyclists should wear helmets. Freedom: The Innate Human Right to Take a BRC Course, Get Your Endorsement, and Buy a Hayabusa... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I took the Basic Rider Course 2 today. The hardest part of the whole thing was figuring out what they wanted to see. I really liked one of the instructions. He was riding a triumph tiger 800. He was the better rider by far. The other teacher was kinda full of himself. He was riding a HD Ulra limited and was very proud he could drag the floorboards. Problem was one of the demos he did he hit nearly every cone and got lost on the course. I still think it was worth taking. It was good practice. I am still looking for better training and Sport Bike Track Time may be my next step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcaanda Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Been a while since there's been a post about this, but if your a veteran, HD is offering FREE classes for those who are active, retired, or vets. https://ridefree.harley-davidson.com/militarylearntoride/ I spoke w/ the dealer here, and there really is no fee. Not even an upfront fee - refunded when you finish the class. If your eligible, I'd highly recommend it. If not, pass it on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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