The best way to become a biker

Due to my very limited experience of motorcycle riding, I was afraid of getting on a two-wheeler.

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I can drive any car like I stole it but with motorcycles it has been a whole different affair – terrifying, in fact.

The BMW Rider Academy changed all of this when they invited me for a Novice Course at the Zwartkops Raceway. You may be thinking “How hard can it be? I have been riding bicycles since the age of six”.

But here is the thing – unlike bicycles, a motorcycle can go from standstill to 100km/h quicker than you can read this sentence. Also, you get no airbags or seatbelts – you are out there in the wind.

With a motorcycle, you wear your protection. Screw up in a car and you might bend sheet metal – screw up on a bike and you might die.

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Riding a motorcycle will always include an element of danger – there is no way around that. But there are ways to put the odds more in your favour. Now, a new rider has a lot of information to take in.

There are many ways of learning to ride a motorcycle. A friend can teach you, you can learn from books, or you can take a motorcycle training course.

You will be much safer and better equipped if you take a Novice Riding Course with BMW Motorrad.

Making use of Yamaha 250cc motorcycles, the course has proved to be useful and suitable for new riders with no or limited on-bike experience.

Conducted in a controlled environment, the course provides theoretical and practical training, which covers all the essential elements of riding and preparing new riders for the road.

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The good thing is that the Novice Course only requires students to be competent bicycle riders.

No learners’ or riders’ licence is required. The Rider Academy turned me from a jumpy wreck into a self-assured rider in a single day.

I still have a lot to learn, but the Novice Course has provided me with the right introduction to the joys of riding.

BMW Motorrad offers a range of training courses from novice, refresher, proficiency, advanced to high performance.

You will learn:

• Road awareness.
• How to change gears.
• How to use the brakes and clutch.
• Road positioning.
• Riding discipline.
• Stopping, cornering and road craft.
• Swerving and cornering.
• The principles of counter-steering.

For bookings or enquiries, visit the BMW Motorrad Rider Academy at the BMW SA website, bmw.co.za