If that’s the Police Bikesafe, excellent. Did it with Surrey force. Realistic approach to bikers and biking.
excellent yes thats the one. saw a youtube vid and was struggling to come up with reasons why i shouldnt. their lines are very different though to 'race' lines. i guess they're not always looking to go uber fast?
We were devided up each Police rider/observer took out only 2....errr ‘clients’. Excellent. Our guy encouraged us to use the full width of the road, he must have spent 75% of the time on what we’d call the wrong side of the road. I quote; ‘There’s no law against it, you’ve paid your road tax, it’s your duty to use up as much tarmac as you can’. Personally I’d highly recommend the course. There’s not a single ride I go on where I don’t think about some info that they passed on. They’re not looking to cramp your style, they want you to stay alive.
I did the Suffolk police 'safe rider' years ago. presume same sort of thing. good basic stuff and as mentioned above, didn't hang around so good solid couple of hours.
It’s bad enough being followed by the Police as it is without paying them before they issue the tickets FFS.
Highly recommend the course. I learnt a lot. as Sam said, There's not a single ride I go on where I'm not putting into practice something I picked up on the course. The Police, and In my case a Paramedic who was my trainer whilst out on the roads, really know how to ride a motorcycle skillfully. Very well run, great attitude made it a pleasure to be there. Picked up a few tips on 'passing the attitude test' when stopped by the police, which has definitely saved me hundreds of pounds and several points when being caught red handed up to mischeif!
Did Bikesafe at the Ace Cafe quite a few years ago. A morning in the classroom which can be a bit disturbing as they show you the consequences of poor riding as well as some techniqus. Afternoon spent riding with a 2:1 pupil/instructor ratio. Odd whistling down the Westway at 90mph with a police bike on your tail, the traffic parting ahead of you. They don't give a stuff about the legalities of your bike so long as it's fully roadworthy. All keen bikers doing this in their own time. Highly recommended. A useful day, I've done other training days since and recently went on to do my IAM and got a First. Their examiners are, in the vast majority, ex police riders as is one of the members of my IAM group. He does some great theory lectures at our monthly meetings (sadly currently suspended).
I also did Bikesafe with Surrey police at Leatherhead many years ago. I was encouraged to go faster, use ALL of the road and observe everything. Was such a strange feeling to be chased by a police bike and I mean chased, not followed, it got pretty rapid.
Does doing it (then simply the IAM course) in 1980 count? Same principles, rapid progress and all the road. I loved it. My police rider examiner was laughing as he got off his bike at the end. He said some like “Have you ever been on a track as you brake so hard?” Recommended.
Must have done my IAM around the same time, agree with your comments. One thing that sticks in my memory - how bloody fast the instructors were - just didn't look it, all calm and collected! I've done some other training nits and pieces run by (ex) police rideers, again, smooth and very fast.
All signed up So its not just me that thinks they make going fast look so cool, calm and composed? They have a certain presence which is unmistakable. Its like an aura. Am i making sense?
Another vote for Suffolk Safe Rider. I was with a mixed group, and we kept pretty much to legal speeds, but still very much worthwhile. It opened my eyes to the advanced skill of riding safely on the road vs. track. Very different, but just as fascinating in its own way. Only upsides of giving it a go.
Did the Lincolnshire one a few years ago, got a 1 to 1 road session with a Police Officer. I certainly found it useful and he was on a plain bike so it was more relaxing than having my mirrors full of dayglow.
Hopefully you will really enjoy it, and if you do I would encourage you to find a decent local IAM/Rospa/independent group to get the most benefit, I’m still learning all the time, every ride. Been tutoring for quite a few years now and it’s wierd because back in the day I was a bloody lunatic, only happy to overtake when the oncoming car was bracing for impact etc. But now I get more pleasure than ever riding so much more safely, quicker and it looks slow and calm.
Where's the fun in that  I did a one day course with an IAM instructor years ago, it's surprising what you can learn in that short time, I will have to repeat it sometime
