Bikesafe Course And Arrow Cans

They fit really easily Dawsy, if a little tight. I only ever had one held in with the small screw, the other hole wasn’t threaded so just friction held it in. Simply insert them and tap home with a piece of wood to protect it.

 

When I did the course they never even looked at the bike but then it was a standard R1 with no naughty bits other than a slightly trimmed down legal number plate. "Excessively loud" is subjective so, if it was me, I'd play safe and fit the db killers wether it means removing the mufflers to so so or not.

 

I did it in 2009 and thought it well worth the £50, some of which went to charity back then apparently.
It was one of the wettest days of the year, absolutely pissing it down in the morning yet they had a full attendance which impressed the instructors as they normally get a few dropouts even in good weather.
The format back then was a couple of hours in the classroom with discussion/instruction, slideshows and videos etc followed by a ride out with one instructor to two pupils. No idea if it's any different these days. We headed out to an agreed venue (a cafe in the Peak District) with each pupil leading in turn and the instructor observing. Then some discussion over a brew at the cafe followed by the ride back and a classroom finish. It wasn't a pass or fail course, just an appraisal of all aspects of your riding with suggestions and advice where appropriate and also praise where due. The overriding theme of the course was observation which they took to a new level for me. Very enjoyable.

 

Cans have to come off so you can knock them out with a stout piece of wood.

 

When I did my first bikesafe they mentioned that my numberplate wasn't legal and should be changed before the observed ride.

To be fair, it was small, black with white lettering and bought from a dealer in Nice, so looked more like a French reg than a British one, so they did have a point.

 

I did a free rider training course here in Perth WA .
Free well $20 donation which went to roadside trauma or air ambulance !
It was run and staffed by volunteer Police Traffic Branch Officers.
They weren't interested in your bike modifications , only concern roadworthy/rideable !
There were some very loud bike's there.
It wasn't a pass / fail course either.
But one rider, newly passed his licence was questioned , I think his examiner might have had some issues with his licence to test ! As they seemed very interested in pursuing it !
Our course was all bike handling/riding skills , done in a spacious bitumised carpark.
We had to do slalom , slow balance exercises , assessment of emergency stops , this is where they got interested in the rider who's skills were substantially below basic requirements !! We had to do slow figure 8's and small circles .
We had timed assessment riding through all the skills that were taught ( obviously not the slow plank) I came in second place 1:38 seconds ! On a 94 trident beaten by a guy on a Yamaha 600 Sports !!
Next fastest was almost two minutes !

 

Being a rusty rider I booked the bikesafe course to get my skills back in December 2019 and then COVID happened. Really glad I did the course. Bikesafe gave access to whole load of digital learning while I waited for the “lessons”, which are day 1 four hours in a seminar and day 2 (a week or so later) observed ride. They also recommended to buy and read a copy of Roadcraft before the course.

If you have the attitude that you can always learn then the course is excellent and really makes you think and consider your riding. I was on the Cheshire police course last summer, I found the police officers involved were keen bikers themselves with bucket loads of experience, friendly and just want to share their knowledge so that they aren’t picking us out of ditches. Therefore the course is about riding safely; good observation, good assessment of risks and therefore riding appropriately.

The escorted ride was great, a lovely summer’s afternoon and I was fortunate enough to get a one to one ride; my own personal police escort for a few hours. Jim asked me what I wanted to work on and then he sent me on a route that would test those skills. He told me to ride as I would normally do and use my mirrors because he’d be using indicators and lights to let me know where to go. He also told me to ignore his road positioning and how close he’d get because he would be watching how I rode. After a few hours we stopped at a cafe and debriefed and he gave me a written assessment of what was good and what I should work on.

Prior to the ride he did check insurance, licence and mot were in order and did a quick visual once over of my bike. So I would fit the db killers, this is genuinely about making us safer riders and there’s no point in winding them up. If the weather’s decent you’ll be glad you did the course.

Enjoy the ride.

 

Lol. Reminds me of a mate who did the same down in the SOF. A small, Kawasaki green plate with black lettering for his zx6r. He enjoyed it for the rest of the holiday … and was promptly stopped by the cops within a few days back up here. Luckily being a sensible type (yes really) he had his previous one under the seat.
(Sorry for the de-rail OP)

 

So how did the course go?

 

My experience as well, its always nice when a Policeman tells you you're doing ok .

Enjoy the ride.