Hamilton Tracer Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Hey guys! Curious to hear about your experiences on this one. Has anyone taken an advanced rider course before? The Police Officer type. I am thinking of registering for this type of training soon. I am experienced but have never done pylon style courses. Are people dropping bikes often at these types of training events? Should I be fitting my bike with some crash bars? If so, what is recommended ? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve H Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Years ago I took the FAST school at Shannonville. A great investment, made me a much better rider on the street. You have the option of taking your own bike or using one of theirs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member DavidS Posted April 7 Premium Member Share Posted April 7 No question, Advanced Rider Courses will make you a better rider, but you should be prepared to drop your bike during the class. You can sometimes rent a bike and use theirs, but your skills will improve more if you are riding your own bike. Certainly add protective gear to protect the bike in the event of a fall. If you really don't like the protection, you can remove the gear after the class. As one instructor told me, if you aren't falling, you aren't learning...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwringer Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 (edited) Available classes are severely limited here in the midwest US, so I slurp up whatever I can. The Total Control Riding courses are fantastic and will make you a better, safer, faster rider -- if you apply and practice what you learn. I haven't seen a drop in these, but they can happen. I've also lucked into a great dual-sporting class that was in Indiana, the Tom Asher Adventure Riding Academy, and it was transformational. Drops are part of the game in dual-sport riding, but there honestly weren't very many for as hard as we were pushing the limits. I'll be doing my first track day on my FJ-09 this summer as well. It's a track day organized first and foremost for safety, so we don't really expect any crashing. So far, I haven't been interested in the "police" style courses, but in any training class, there is a significant risk of a drop, so I would absolutely make sure I had crash bars, etc. so that the bike could continue after a low-speed fall. The main benefit is more that you can put one worry out of your mind and focus on the class. For that matter, I think crash bars and hand control protection of some sort (even bar ends are helpful) are nearly mandatory for any traveling bike; even a stupid hotel parking lot knockover far from home could take out the radiator or an engine case far too easily on the FJ/Tracer. Edited April 8 by bwringer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamilton Tracer Posted April 8 Author Share Posted April 8 That's great! Thanks for the feedback guys. Regarding crash related modifications. What are the "go to" equipment. Engine, bars and sliders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2linby Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 (edited) I am an Instructor with Team-Oregon.org. Been teaching for 17 years. We offer several advanced classes in addition to the beginner and intermediate classes all throughout the state of Oregon. https://team-oregon.org The advanced course can be fond here. https://team-oregon.org/training-courses/additional-training/ They are a real hoot! Edited April 10 by 2linby 1 Everything is simple, Nothing is easy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJB3000 Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 Hi. If you are in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, UK I recomend the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorcycalists) who provide training to Advanced Civilian level. Glasgow North meet weekly in Springburn. Glasgow South in East Kilbride. I never dropped my bike during the course. They have Slow Mo days once a year which is manovering about cones. I have seen the odd bike dropped there. Regards. Stuart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamilton Tracer Posted April 11 Author Share Posted April 11 Thanks Stuart, I am in Canada and I did find a one day course locally this summer. Because my time is limited, I might opt for an epic ride that day instead. We shall see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwringer Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 On 4/9/2024 at 8:26 PM, 2linby said: I am an Instructor with Team-Oregon.org. Been teaching for 17 years. We offer several advanced classes in addition to the beginner and intermediate classes all throughout the state of Oregon. https://team-oregon.org The advanced course can be fond here. https://team-oregon.org/training-courses/additional-training/ They are a real hoot! That looks amazing, but that's part of the problem -- the VAST majority of available training opportunities in North America are in the US West coast states. I think the OP is in Hamilton, ON. That said... badass rider and trainer extraordinaire Clinton Smout offers some excellent dual-sport classes in Ontario, through his SMART Adventure Programs. They're held at the Horsehoe Resort, just outside Barrie, ON, so quite close to the OP. https://www.smartadventures.ca/ You can use their bikes, too, and overall learning off-road riding skills makes an immediate and massive difference in your street riding chops. Even if you're not all that interested in dirt riding, it's well worth consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamilton Tracer Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 Excellent, this looks good and that's a great area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now