Advanced Riding

[someotherguy]

I went on a free taster day with my local IAM group yesterday. It was quite a good day, and it's got me thinking about what to do next.

I know there's the IAM, RoSPA, DIAmond and BikeSafe, but what else is out there?

And why should I do one over another? I'm sure it's subjective in some ways, but which is the "best"? Which is the hardest? Which will I learn the most from?

If anyone has useful info or a decent link to something that compares/contrasts them all, I'd appreciate it.

[bamt]

Bikesafe is effectively just a taster, no real point doing that if you are considering IAM/RoSPA.

IAM and RoSPA are much of a muchness - really you just need to talk to the local groups and see whose meetings/group suits you best; the training is effectively very similar. (I did car with RoSPA, but bike with IAM as my local group is huge and does lots of rideouts and social events, whereas the local RoSPA is much smaller).

No idea about DIAmond.

[techathy]

Does IAM do re-testing? When I was looking at RoSPA v's IAM for driving one of the big things was RoSPA retested every 3 years were as IAM was a one off.

[someotherguy]

[bamt]

It's a one-off with IAM, but you can voluntarily re-test - my local group fully supports that with additional observed rides etc.

It used to be that IAM was pass/fail, RoSPA was Gold/Silver/Bronze/fail - but now IAM also has a FIRST grade.

[someotherguy]

Would you recommend it? Has it made a noticeable difference to the way you ride?

[bamt]

Definitely recommend it. It's more about making you think about what you are doing than being prescriptive. All the time making observations about what is going on around you (which most people really don't do unless they've been shown how to and what to look for) and using that to choose your position on the road based upon safety and visibility.

Go in with an open mind, be prepared to discuss things you don't understand or agree with, and bear in mind that the answer to any question about "what is the best position" or "what speed should you be doing" is "It depends..."

If nothing else, it makes you think more about speeds and lines you take on bends, and where to position yourself relative to traffic.

They do have a tendency to "make progress" - i.e. go fast, and take overtakes whenever they present themselves. Part of that is that they want to make sure you are comfortable and skilled at doing this, and the only way to show that on couple of hours of observed riding a week is take any opportunity that arises. It doesn't mean you are expected to ride like that all the time, which is the impression some seem to come away with.

[ReadySalted]

I'm a rospa member currently waiting to take my test. I've no experience with IAM personally but my father was an observer with my local group some moons ago.

A fairly common opinion is that rospa test to a higher standard than the iam. Not sure if that is indeed the case, but on the basis that they say an iam pass is equivalent to a rospa bronze/ silver, it doesn't necessarily mean that rider for rider, rospa are produce a better quality motorcyclist. Just that a rospa rider with a gold is likely to be better than most iam candidates. It's concerning that an iam rider could call himself an advanced motorcyclist after passing a test 20 or 30 years ago. The fact rospa retest should preclude that type of scenario.

Much can made of the whole rospa v iam thing, and it's 9/10th a dick measuring contest imo. Ultimately it's about keeping you safe and improving your ability while having fun, not about bragging rights.

bamt has hit the nail on the head in terms of what you will gain by doing it. For me, as somebody who has recently (and still is), going through the pre test training; I've found that you may be shocked at the information you used to miss, or hadn't previously considered when riding.
You may find that you bring your road speed down a little, but you will get where you are going quicker. Through towns especially you'll find that you are looking further down the road, and are more aware of your surroundings. You will find you tend to drift seamlessly through roundabouts, junctions and traffic lights where you may previously have been stopping and starting, and reacting to things, instead of planning to avoid or out-accelerate them. All aspects of your riding will likely improve, from slow speed control, to early overtaking and knowledge of the road.

In short, definitely do one of them as imho it will increase your survival odds tenfold. rospa get's my vote but for good reason.

[Rogerborg]

IAM have supposedly dropped the requirement to 'make progress' although that may be lip service.

My local lot didn't hang around, which is fine when appropriate, but they didn't walk (or ride) the talk when it came to blind bends and crests, so I gave it a miss.

You can think about and analyse your own riding, it's a free country.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Matt B]

[Doovy]

[Val]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[bamt]

[Rogerborg]

[Copycat73]

[techathy]

[someotherguy]

Well, I did a bit more reading today. The RoSPA website reads like hi-viz clipboard-waving slips-and-trips hotwaterburnbaby propaganda. Might give it a miss based on that alone... not sure I'm totally convinced by their ethos!

Still, I'll pop down and see what they have to say.

[Rogerborg]

IAM and RoSPA both preach from the same Motorcycle Roadcraft bible, which you'll be expected to read. I'd choose one based on how well you get on with the people in the local group.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Matt B]

[Rogerborg]

[Matt B]

[C1REX]

[Silver_Fox]

[techathy]