As you will know, I had the Tri-Greeves and the XBR500 stolen a couple of weeks ago. I have to say that the brokers, RH were very efficient and the underwriters paid up the agreed values (less £50 excess for each) this week. So far so good.

However, when I tried to add the 2 new bikes (BSA/Suzuki and Yamaha SRV250) to the policy I was told that the underwriters (ERS) wouldn't accept them. Not only that but they wouldn't renew the policy for the Norton, which is due for renewal in a couple of weeks!

On enquiring further I discovered that as 2 bikes had been stolen they were treating it as 2 separate claims - I did wonder why I'd had to fill in 2 virtually identical forms - so that meant I had 2 claims in the last year and they wouldn't accept the risk. The people at RH were very helpful and pleaded my case but to no avail.

The whole system is completely illogical. If I'd had one bike worth £50,000 stolen they would have had no problem. Imagine if I had a stable of a dozen low-priced machines which all went? I'd probably never get insured again.

I don't know if this is common practice but in my opinion it stinks. I've emailed ERS's CEO with my comments but I don't expect a positive response.

I have managed to get similar cover from the broker I've used in the past - Peter James - but at an annual premium of £325 rather than the less than £100 I'd been paying.

I think that one of the reasons the IAM and Bikesafe are sometimes criticised is their apparent rigidity in sticking to the "system". My dad was a senior police officer and as his crew all had to have Class 1 police licences as they hurtled about County Durham in souped up Triumph 2.5pis he decided he should also pass the test. He used to come home shaking after various training sessions which had him overtaking round blind bends and all sirts of what the normal person would consider lunacy - all protected only by flashing blue lights and 2-tones! I have his certificate on my wall.

He taught me to ride and drive and I passed the IAM bike test in Brum in the 1990s, out of the Aston police station Martin mentions. The only adverse comment made was "You could have passed that car on the roundabout entry" - ie make progress at all costs. An approach which I don't think is useful for the normal rider.

The system and Motorcycle Roadcraft were still being used as the basis for all training at that time and by the sound of it still is. I think as well one of the problems is that police officers are rarely trained educators so often don't have the skills needed to pass on the necessary.

In my view, what os far more imprtant than either technical bike handling skills or even the various acronyms used by some training organisations (which I can't even remember) is having the right attitude - something which often seems lacking in many drivers and riders.

There are trainers who are much better in my experience. I did an assessment with a chap called Kevin who runs a company called Survival Skills - https://www.survivalskills.co.uk/about_us.html - and found his approach very helpful.

Sorry the above is a bit random - still suffering post viral fatifue I think.....

Hi all.

Anyone out there in Thumperland ever done a Bikesafe course? I was out over the weekend on my bike as usual, but Derbyshire police were doing an education push aimed at motorcyclists and I was asked if I'd like to do a one day Bikesafe course. As my children are convinced that now I'm nearer 70 than 30 I should give up bikes and as I am aware that over the last 50 years of riding I have probably picked up a lot of bad habits I said yes and will be attending on 14th April. Give the kids some reassurance and give me a skill check. I'm not sure I've done the right thing.

Don't get me wrong, I have utmost respect for police riders and know I'm not a speed merchant so the course will no doubt be useful, but the way it's designed is very information overload in my opinion. For a start I bought a copy of Roadcraft which you probably know is the police riding manual, it's half an inch thick and written in tiny writing. Next there are 9 pre-course video modules to be completed, each one with questions to be answered. Whenever something like hazards are discussed on the videos they are accompanied by a write up which attempts to detail absolutely everything about that topic. Having a list of between 15 and 20 things to remember many times over is beyond most people and certainly me.

I've seen this type of learning before when working as a clinical support worker. I had to attend compulsory annual updates for several areas of practice and one year had a new trainer deliver our epilepsy training update, She had clearly just qualified as she used so many terms that had just become common and gave so much detail that I spent 3 days after the course trying to persuade new staff not to leave as they really would be able to learn and cope with the seizure activity of the patients in our care even if they didn't know what postictal meant. We used to just say recovery and that worked well enough!

I'm sure that police riders flying to incidents at speeds I will never reach have to be top notch and I am equally sure I will sharpen up a bit as a result of the course, but at the moment I feel like all the joy has been sucked out of motorcycling because I am supposed to be constantly analysing 700 different things when I am riding down a road.

Ian

About bloody time! Seriously, glad you are in a position to continue with this build and good luck getting things moving again.

Ian

I think I'd be tempted to start from scratch with the wiring using Japanese  switches. I'm sure you have it all in hand though Ian. Good luck and best wishes to your wife for a rapid recovery (only so you can get on with bike related issues 😉😱)
IanR