BMW Skills Day
Added on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
BMW Skills Day
If you are brand new to biking, having just passed your test, or returning after a spell away from two wheels, there’s no substitute for good training. BMW know this, which is why they organise Rider Skills Days on track, where you practice all sorts of techniques, without worrying that some berk in a Daewoo is going to sideswipe you. Virtual Vic went along to Cadwell Park in Spring 2002, to check out how the training works in detail.
First off, you don’t have to ride a BMW to do this course, which takes place on Cadwell Park’s Club circuit. However, it is cheaper for World of BMW members - £149 as opposed to £179 for non members, so it was no surprise to see about 90% BMW owners on track.Riders were split into about four groups, with about 5/6 in each group. After a briefing listing the various flags used on track and an introduction to Cadwell’s many hills and turns, the trainees headed out playing `follow my leader’ with their instructors. Unlike a normal trackday, the pace was very steady and there wasn’t a `free for all’ after a few laps, with various knee-scraping antics. Instead, riders concentrated on staying smooth on both the brakes and the throttle, whilst taking time to learn the ideal line around Cadwell.
Instructors spent a great deal of time asking riders to think about spotting potential hazards, positioning their bike on the road and relaxing whilst they learned - it’s definitely easier to make mistakes if you’re stressed, or tense - so relax and enjoy was the message! After a couple of 15 minute sessions, speeds picked up and riders were soon getting more confident in their overall handling of their machines. It was surprising to see how well many `touring’ type motorcycles could be hustled through Cadwell’s tricky hairpin for example. Much of this is down to rider confidence in handling a big road machine, and judging from the grins after the sessions, many people were feeling better about riding their bikes that bit harder.
IF IN DOUBT - ASK
Listening in on some of the groups, it was good to hear riders asking plenty of questions, trying to figure out ways to improve.”The whole day gave me confidence to push the tyres adhesion,” commented Peter Scatcherd, aged 54, who was riding a BMW K1100RS, ” I also came here wanting to sharpen up my braking skills, although I have to say that I think every motorcycle should have ABS brakes in any case - theory is fine, but in an emergency most of us grab the brakes and hope we stop. Any safety device that minimises the chances of locking a wheel has to be good news.”Peter had been riding bikes for many years, but Jesse Stokes, a VFR800 owner from Warwick, had just a few years biking experience behind him.”I came here with an open mind,” said Jesse, “but I mainly wanted to get confident about leaning the bike over, and the track is the safest place to practice that skill.
The instruction was very good and the only thing I didn’t get a great deal from was the slow riding stuff - I’d be happy if they dropped that.”The groups weren’t just on track, the course also included a chance to try slow riding at walking pace to improve control and balance at ultra low speeds - harder than it looks y’know. Watching the riders do that, and the braking exercises showed that many big bike owners are already reasonably confident about low speed machine control, although quite a few found that locking up their front wheel deliberately wasn’t as scary as they thought. Jesse and other riders thought that the next logical step would be a BMW owners track day - with some non-BMW riders invited too - but the theme should be `fast-touring’ groups and skills training, rather than a chance to merely race your mates.”This is my first time at Cadwell,” said 51 year old Robert Raymont, from Frimley Green in Surrey, “but I feel like I have at least learned which way the track goes this morning - so yes, a track day would be a good step forward for me. Everyone should try a course like this about once a year I think, regardless of what bike they ride, because you can always learn and always improve”The final minutes of the morning’s course saw all riders given the chance to simply go out and enjoy Cadwell’s twists and turns at their own pace, no matter what bike they ride.
Yamaha R6 owner Kevin James from the Midlands had a bigger grin than many, after getting his sportbike up to the sort of speeds which would normally get you a nicking on the open road. His broad grin in Cadwell’s café pretty much said it all afterwards, but I still asked him how the day was for him; “Uplifting.” Said Kevin, who appeared to be studying a map, so he could figure out which would be the most interesting roads back home.
