IAM Skills Day?
Discussion
Hi all - just booked myself into one of these (September at Thruxton)
https://www.iamroadsmart.com/events/skills-days
Anyone done one? They are selling out quickly which I think is positive but interested in any real-world experiences/tips.
I've done the whole IAM thing with cars so the theory side should be fine but it's the bike handling, body position etc (and riding for the first time on track, in a much more "controlled" environment than a regular trackday) that appealed to me.
https://www.iamroadsmart.com/events/skills-days
Anyone done one? They are selling out quickly which I think is positive but interested in any real-world experiences/tips.
I've done the whole IAM thing with cars so the theory side should be fine but it's the bike handling, body position etc (and riding for the first time on track, in a much more "controlled" environment than a regular trackday) that appealed to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx9SXnUBKxw
I'd sooner have another week lying in my bed with covie and the cat.
I'd sooner have another week lying in my bed with covie and the cat.
moanthebairns said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx9SXnUBKxw
I'd sooner have another week lying in my bed with covie and the cat.
It is possible to learn things at slower speeds though, isn't it? I'd sooner have another week lying in my bed with covie and the cat.
And cheers Salted Peanut - I'll be sure to feed back.
moanthebairns said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx9SXnUBKxw
I'd sooner have another week lying in my bed with covie and the cat.
Summed up by the comments I'd sooner have another week lying in my bed with covie and the cat.
"IAM Skills evening - NOT a track day - just a chance to practise cornering skills on a closed, one way road. On these two laps I'm following the instructor for our group - Martin - as he shows me the smooth lines around the track"
I've just done the IAM course and I thought it excellent VFM to get refreshed bike skills after coming back to riding but I wouldn't want to do a track session with them either
I did one at Thruxton in 2018 (I think) and it was awesome. I'm not a riding god now and certainly didn't claim to be a riding god then and joined the novice group with a very decent German instructor. It was a track day basically but one in which we all grew tremendously in confidence and ability and all rode home safely afterwards too.
In my book, if you're not an experienced track rider it was an excellent day out. I think I enjoyed it more because I was riding an MT07 at that time where I could really wring its neck! Not sure I'd be comfortable doing that on my current MT10... Fantastic fun and a safer, non-judgemental way to push the bike and yourself.
In my book, if you're not an experienced track rider it was an excellent day out. I think I enjoyed it more because I was riding an MT07 at that time where I could really wring its neck! Not sure I'd be comfortable doing that on my current MT10... Fantastic fun and a safer, non-judgemental way to push the bike and yourself.
_Neal_ said:
It is possible to learn things at slower speeds though, isn't it?
Indeed. I have done the odd race school and several superbike school days, and they all began at slower speeds to let everyone focus on skills. It's harder to learn skills at higher speeds. I've done my share of trackdays. But I found hardly any track skills translated to road riding – trackdays and road riding are different disciplines. While I haven’t done the IAM skills day, it’s explicitly designed with road riding in mind. You pays your money and takes your choice between a track day versus a skills day.
Salted_Peanut said:
_Neal_ said:
It is possible to learn things at slower speeds though, isn't it?
Indeed. I have done the odd race school and several superbike school days, and they all began at slower speeds to let everyone focus on skills. It's harder to learn skills at higher speeds. moanthebairns said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx9SXnUBKxw
I'd sooner have another week lying in my bed with covie and the cat.
Ten days in bed with a box of tissues and a pussy...I'd sooner have another week lying in my bed with covie and the cat.
moanthebairns said:
You go on about body position. I'm not knocking the IAM one bit I think it's great for new riders, but the body position you use on the track is frowned upon by the IAM should you use it on the road.
I'd go for a chance to ride Thruxton that'd be it.
Interesting, thanks - let's see how it goes!I'd go for a chance to ride Thruxton that'd be it.
Not sure the IAM is for new riders (or drivers) though.
I’m an instructor on some of the IAM skills days on bikes and also in cars.
Firstly, as has already been said, these are NOT track days! They are an opportunity for you to improve your road riding skills in an environment without speed limits, oncoming traffic, junctions etc. As such, we concentrate on teaching the principles of fast road riding rather than fast track riding.
This might sound a bit odd for a track-based training day, but the days are aimed at road riders who want to feel safer at higher speeds, rather than at track/race riders.
Riders are split in to three groups based on experience and within those groups, three or four riders will be allocated an instructor. All laps are under instruction, the days are slick & well organised and all instructors are experienced IAM observers or examiners.
You do not need to be an IAM member or to have passed an advanced bike test to take part - the days are open to anyone with a bike & licence. New riders are welcome & well catered for in the novice groups. Experienced riders are also well catered for (there is always something new to learn!).
I’ll be instructing on a couple of Thruxton days next year as well as at Croft, so come and say hello if you’re there on one of my days!
Edited to add - OP, I’ve just seen you’re booked on in September. I’m doing both of the September dates, so I’ll see you there!
Firstly, as has already been said, these are NOT track days! They are an opportunity for you to improve your road riding skills in an environment without speed limits, oncoming traffic, junctions etc. As such, we concentrate on teaching the principles of fast road riding rather than fast track riding.
This might sound a bit odd for a track-based training day, but the days are aimed at road riders who want to feel safer at higher speeds, rather than at track/race riders.
Riders are split in to three groups based on experience and within those groups, three or four riders will be allocated an instructor. All laps are under instruction, the days are slick & well organised and all instructors are experienced IAM observers or examiners.
You do not need to be an IAM member or to have passed an advanced bike test to take part - the days are open to anyone with a bike & licence. New riders are welcome & well catered for in the novice groups. Experienced riders are also well catered for (there is always something new to learn!).
I’ll be instructing on a couple of Thruxton days next year as well as at Croft, so come and say hello if you’re there on one of my days!
Edited to add - OP, I’ve just seen you’re booked on in September. I’m doing both of the September dates, so I’ll see you there!
Reg Local said:
I’m an instructor on some of the IAM skills days on bikes and also in cars.
Firstly, as has already been said, these are NOT track days! They are an opportunity for you to improve your road riding skills in an environment without speed limits, oncoming traffic, junctions etc. As such, we concentrate on teaching the principles of fast road riding rather than fast track riding.
This might sound a bit odd for a track-based training day, but the days are aimed at road riders who want to feel safer at higher speeds, rather than at track/race riders.
Riders are split in to three groups based on experience and within those groups, three or four riders will be allocated an instructor. All laps are under instruction, the days are slick & well organised and all instructors are experienced IAM observers or examiners.
You do not need to be an IAM member or to have passed an advanced bike test to take part - the days are open to anyone with a bike & licence. New riders are welcome & well catered for in the novice groups. Experienced riders are also well catered for (there is always something new to learn!).
I’ll be instructing on a couple of Thruxton days next year as well as at Croft, so come and say hello if you’re there on one of my days!
Edited to add - OP, I’ve just seen you’re booked on in September. I’m doing both of the September dates, so I’ll see you there!
Thanks Reg appreciate the background - sounds good, and see you there! Firstly, as has already been said, these are NOT track days! They are an opportunity for you to improve your road riding skills in an environment without speed limits, oncoming traffic, junctions etc. As such, we concentrate on teaching the principles of fast road riding rather than fast track riding.
This might sound a bit odd for a track-based training day, but the days are aimed at road riders who want to feel safer at higher speeds, rather than at track/race riders.
Riders are split in to three groups based on experience and within those groups, three or four riders will be allocated an instructor. All laps are under instruction, the days are slick & well organised and all instructors are experienced IAM observers or examiners.
You do not need to be an IAM member or to have passed an advanced bike test to take part - the days are open to anyone with a bike & licence. New riders are welcome & well catered for in the novice groups. Experienced riders are also well catered for (there is always something new to learn!).
I’ll be instructing on a couple of Thruxton days next year as well as at Croft, so come and say hello if you’re there on one of my days!
Edited to add - OP, I’ve just seen you’re booked on in September. I’m doing both of the September dates, so I’ll see you there!
_Neal_ said:
Not sure the IAM is for new riders (or drivers) though.
No reason why not..... I went on a skills day about 4 months after buying my first bike, and passed the IAM a year after my bike test.... just depends on the person really. I took the view that I wanted to start with the right skills, rather than get into bad habits and then try to fix them... (well more bad habits than I'd already picked up anyway!). For the skills days you can go into the novice group, and for the road bit it all goes at your pace with your own observer.
dreamer75 said:
_Neal_ said:
Not sure the IAM is for new riders (or drivers) though.
No reason why not..... I went on a skills day about 4 months after buying my first bike, and passed the IAM a year after my bike test.... just depends on the person really. I took the view that I wanted to start with the right skills, rather than get into bad habits and then try to fix them... (well more bad habits than I'd already picked up anyway!). For the skills days you can go into the novice group, and for the road bit it all goes at your pace with your own observer.
How do they have you doing corners? I think this would be difficult to sit through for anyone who's half decent on track. Obviously road and track are properly different riding styles and the body and road positioning in each are mostly inappropriate for the other.
I'd be up for doing something like this at some point but only if it's gonna be decent. My only experience was a morning course thing I did with my dad, the main points of which I felt were stating the obvious, ie: "if you can see a hill, you need to apply more power to get up it, possibly changing down a gear", and various things to do with the vanishing point in the corner. They really went on about that last one. To be fair, my dad found the points useful and did improve his riding.
I'd be up for doing something like this at some point but only if it's gonna be decent. My only experience was a morning course thing I did with my dad, the main points of which I felt were stating the obvious, ie: "if you can see a hill, you need to apply more power to get up it, possibly changing down a gear", and various things to do with the vanishing point in the corner. They really went on about that last one. To be fair, my dad found the points useful and did improve his riding.
Edited by Pebbles167 on Thursday 23 December 14:53
_Neal_ said:
dreamer75 said:
_Neal_ said:
Not sure the IAM is for new riders (or drivers) though.
No reason why not..... I went on a skills day about 4 months after buying my first bike, and passed the IAM a year after my bike test.... just depends on the person really. I took the view that I wanted to start with the right skills, rather than get into bad habits and then try to fix them... (well more bad habits than I'd already picked up anyway!). For the skills days you can go into the novice group, and for the road bit it all goes at your pace with your own observer.
moanthebairns said:
It's not though. This has been done to death, if your a competent, experienced rider you'll pick little up from the IAM. Again that's not an attempt to knock the IAM.
I think it depends and to pass the IAM requires a certain mindsetI recently failed - my Trainer's main task was to get me to slow down, I've always considered speed limits to be, at best "advisory"
His parting words were "slow down, just pass, it's not a race"
So I took the test and rode close to but not above the limit for an hour and on one exceptionally awkward lane - very twisty, lots of blind bends, broken tarmac, gravel etc I rode at circa 40mph
I failed for riding too slowly !
He thought I should have accelerated between the bends on the lane, maybe 100m -200m I said if I was looking to go faster I'd have ridden the NSL at 80+ which would have been faster and safer than going faster down the tiny lane
However the reason I did the IAM was for the training as I'd been off bikes for years and it served it's purpose - just the road positioning, maximising the view of the road and minimising your exposure to cars making mistakes
moanthebairns said:
It's not though. This has been done to death, if your a competent, experienced rider you'll pick little up from the IAM. Again that's not an attempt to knock the IAM.
"Done to death"? First time I've read anything like that on here. No one is saying you're knocking the IAM but equally writing it off as something that is for beginner riders who haven't picked up all the right habits through experience only just doesn't sit right with me. Is Bikesafe (which is teaching the same stuff) just for beginners as well, and competent, experienced riders won't pick up much? Maybe you'd say "yes" to that too but I'm not sure it's a widely-held view.
I get that the IAM isn't for everyone, and has an image problem, but equally anything that makes you self-reflective about your riding must be a good thing, surely, and everyone (regardless of experience) can learn by someone taking a look at their riding? As referenced above, we all pick up bad habits.
PS - I've never done IAM for bikes but have got a lot out of it in terms of driving (where I am far more "competent and experienced" (probably) than on a bike
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