IAM "Skill for Life" course...recommended?

[Grahamm]

Graham I am not going to waste my time responding to your question, i know what i am talking about i dont think i know what i am talking about, please continue with your posts as they are highly amusing

"i know what i am talking about i dont think i know what i am talking about"???

Now *that's* amusing!

Unfortunately, as to your comments, I call bullshit.

Let me give you a scenario:

You're being assessed by a Class 1 Police Rider and you're riding along an A Road in a National Speed limit zone. There's a car in front of you, going in the same direction as you are, doing 45mph. The road is perfectly straight, there are wide-spaced short dashed lines in the centre of the road. You can see a quarter of a mile into the distance and at that point there's a car coming the other way.

You have plenty of time to a) perform an overtake without needing to exceeding the speed limit and b) to move back in to your side of the road without cutting in sharply on the car which you're passing or causing the car coming in the opposite direction to have to change their speed or their direction.

Now, according to your claim "If you attempted to overtake into moving oncoming traffic When being assessed by a class 1 police examiner you would  fail immediately".

So, do you *still* think that you would "fail immediately", or would you be marked down for failing to make progress when the opportunity presents itself?

[richfzs]

Wasn't the scenario we were talking about, filtering? Moving goalposts...

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[Grahamm]

Wasn't the scenario we were talking about, filtering?

Sorry, where did I miss the word "filtering" in any of redken's posts?

His word was "overtaking" and he knows what he's talking about!!

[redman]

Wasn't the scenario we were talking about, filtering? Moving goalposts...

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thats what i mean rich im not going to waste my breath

[redman]

That seems to blend filtering and overtaking into the same thing.

I'd say they were different subsets of the same skill, it's just a matter of speed and positioning. Another piece of advice is to treat filtering as an on-going series of overtakes.

So are we saying that overtaking into oncoming traffic is ok if slow enough. All city rush hour overtakes involve oncoming traffic.

As mentioned, it's only a no-no if you make someone else feel the need to take avoiding action. Coming back from my holiday yesterday there was a long line of traffic approaching a pedestrian crossing so I took several opportunities (not to mention great delight ) in moving into the opposite lane and pass several cars in one go, then making a pre-planned drop back into a gap between the rear of one car and the front of another when there was traffic coming the other way .



Nope, because as you get more practice and experience you find your limits increase and your comfort zone gets bigger

[Grahamm]

thats what i mean rich im not going to waste my breath

Says redman as he then adds a quote which repeats what I have said, but he *STILL* doesn't justify his claim that "If you attempted to overtake into moving oncoming traffic When being assessed by a class 1 police examiner you would  fail immediately."

But, for the sake of fairness, let's change the scenario to one that might make him happier...

Take the example which he so kindly quoted: "Coming back from my holiday yesterday there was a long line of traffic approaching a pedestrian crossing so I took several opportunities (not to mention great delight ) in moving into the opposite lane and pass several cars in one go, then making a pre-planned drop back into a gap between the rear of one car and the front of another when there was traffic coming the other way."

Are you, redman, saying that had I done that on my Advanced Test, when being assessed by a Class 1 Police Rider, that I would have "failed immediately" because I was "overtaking" (read: filtering) into "moving oncoming traffic"?

(I'm not going to hold my breath for an answer, but it's so much fun watching redman continually trying to avoid answering a direct question...  )

[ghostbiker]

I think the IAM's has a lot to offer, but honestly grahamm your not doing them any favours on the pr front here.

[steeeve66]

First day out with IAM and... pretty good i thought. Predictably 'fussy' about speed but with lots to offer in other areas.

The Fazer did let me down somewhat - about 3/4 of the way through having stopped in for a quick de-brief, went to pull away and the bike kept moving forward with the clutch in... pulled the brake, still with the clutch in, and *stall*. Clutch lever worryingly loose. And it's not the cable, which is new, but something more fundamental and, i expect, more expensive.
My instructor pointed me in the direction of a bike garage close by who have taken the bike in. He then gave me a lift home. A bright guy from whom i'm sure i can learn plenty - and in those areas where i might disagree i'm sure i'll be left free to make up my own mind. I just don't see the problem, and so to the original question "..recommended?" my answer thus far is yes.

[Grahamm]

I think the IAM's has a lot to offer, but honestly grahamm your not doing them any favours on the pr front here.

I'm not speaking for the IAM, I'm speaking for myself and given the sort of attitudes that some others have about the IAM (see earlier in this thread and others) anyone who is going to listen to that sort of nonsense (or listen to someone mocking from what increasingly appears to be ignorance) won't care anyway.

[Grahamm]

First day out with IAM and... pretty good i thought. Predictably 'fussy' about speed but with lots to offer in other areas.

I'm glad to hear you had a good time and felt you benefitted from it

As for the Fazer problem, because you say the clutch was loose and the cable is new it might simply that the fixing where the cable attaches to the lever on the side of the engine has come loose or wasn't tightened up properly and it could (hopefully!) be a matter of just tightening it back up again.

[pitternator]

cant believe this thread is still going on ...and on...and on.....zzzzzzzzzz
 
if you have lost ghostbikers confidence, you do have  a problem....

[Grahamm]

cant believe this thread is still going on ...and on...and on.....zzzzzzzzzz

And so you had to post something just to keep it going?

Or was it just to get the last word in...?

(PS Feel free to get the last word now if it makes you happy)

[Raymy]

W\O|R/D

[pitternator]

as opposed to you wanting the last word  !   
 
its better than life aint it ...

[Phil TK]

Or was it just to get the last word in...?

Ahem, well the IAM certainly isn't the last word in advanced training so it's entirely justified.
 'Training is good though, but PR is a disaster which if you hadn't already noticed puts people off doing advanced trainiong in the first place.

[Lazarus]

Or was it just to get the last word in...?

Ahem, well the IAM certainly isn't the last word in advanced training so it's entirely justified.
 'Training is good though, but PR is a disaster which if you hadn't already noticed puts people off doing advanced trainiong in the first place.

lets not tar them all with the same brush.


the local IAM which i am a member of is pretty good.


They are flexible, friendly and willing to share their knowledge (thats all they are doing)


They are by no means saints (ive been on rideouts with them - when I use "with", i use that loosely - im usually way at the back)


However - they give up their time to pass on the skills AS PRESCRIBED BY THE IAM and the riding styles that you would require to pass the test.


and the group I am in do this for the cost of a cup of coffee at the after ride debrief.

[pitternator]

so its not just graham who is a fan then !   

[harry69koi]

Do you have to do all the eye sight test etc palava again to pass the IAM ?

lee

[budgiemurray]

Only eye test i got was can you read that number plate over there..

Budgiemurray..

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[pitternator]

surely you would want yer eyesight to be Ok riding a bike !....specs are totally acceptable for the test in any case...

[steeeve66]

Well I've tried it and... found it on the whole pretty good. A tad frustrating, some of the methods are tricky and some (going straight over roundabouts for instance) don't feel right at all at first, but having gone through it I think it's been pretty worthwhile.
I've reached the 'standard', apparently, and take the test shortly.
Not sure how 'safer' I am as a rider - the only real change to my riding has been the level of observation and (another odd one I thought at first) indicating less. And going straight over roundabouts of course.
As for the criticism here (and elsewhere) I think it's horses for courses - doubtless there are many who have learned everything there is to know about riding already or simply dislike the slightly worthy (and IAM is a bit worthy) attitude and for them it's probably not worth the 139 quid. But for everyone else I'd say its worth a look.

Just be prepared to stick rigidly to the speed limits - harder than you'd think...

S

[Ian-man]

The observers at my local group have had a visit from the IAM head office peeps. The ruling now is that they are not allowed to exceed the speed limit, even on open country B roads and overtakes.
This will make making progress even more of  an exercise inl observation. Timing overtakes etc as getting past people doing 55 to 60 will need more patience.

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[JZS 600]

I recently did an IDCAM with the local IAM (I won a prize see, didn't cost me a bean as opposed to £25 normally)


I did alright, got mostly B's with a couple of A's but a C+ for country lanes.


Picture the scenario: the leaves are falling off the trees, the (single track) road is sopping wet, there are a lot of drives and junctions coming on to the road, not many clear views ahead as the road was twisty and the surface was, frankly, shite.


I thought: choose life and rode very steadily with plenty of room/space/braking distance should I have to slam the anchors on (on the shity road surface)


I was criticized for going slow as it was a national speed limit road (60 MPH)


Technically the guy was correct but I couldn't agree with him


I'm going to try the local ROSPA next. (cheaper too.)

[karlo]

Did my test early November with an ex copper as examiner, enjoyed doing the course met some great people at the Lichfield group, good bunch, well relaxed, made me welcome and train you at your own pace.

£139 well spent imo.

[Grahamm]

Not sure how 'safer' I am as a rider - the only real change to my riding has been the level of observation

Glad to hear it went well and good luck with the test.

Regarding observation, as you get used to it slowly, you don't tend to notice the change, but I've thought back to how I used to ride and realised that because I'm seeing stuff earlier it's making riding smoother and safer because there's fewer of those "Oh shit! Phew, that was close!" moments