hi folks,

a mate of mine has recently passed his cbt and got himself a bike. hes asked me to accompany him on a few runs while he gets used to the bike, hes also asked if i can let him know if i think hes doing anything wrong...

now im not totaly comfy with advising others on there riding, in fact im not comfy doing it at all. im not a trained instructor and havent been riding to long... im happy to ride arround with him just not advising him...

thoughts?

As an instructor I would say ride with him just to give him confidence. Just stick with the basics and you shoyuld be ok, remember you will probably have developed bad habits which could confuse him so just stick with obeyance of road signs, speed limits etc and overall confidence, if he really wants more get him to have a day with an instructor, otherwise, good luck and above all enjoy the ride, you never know you may remember some of your own basic training which is often a good thing.

If he keeps making an obvious dangerous mistake in his riding and he's unaware of it I'm sure it would be best for all road users if you told him.

I think thas could be a good thing for both of you mate, its good when you ride with someone at the same or near the same level as yourself, as ancient said...just keep it simple and enjoy the ride

As said above really.

If it helps build his confidence then there's nothing wrong with it. You'll be surprised if you follow him, how much you can pick up on (think about other bikes you've been behind ), good and bad, that you could chat to him about after.

Just try not to follow too close and let him go at his own pace I would suggest

I'd agree with all of the above. Keep it basic and watch out for any bike jargon thats obvious to you but would be lost on him (i.e. its only bikers that call drivers cagers afaik)

You'll likely find that what he really wants is some company on his first rides and some reassurance that he's ok to ride. Obviously you'll spot anything that's really off, otherwise a pat on the back will be just as constructive for him. It's a nervous time for most people when they first start out riding.

or let him follow you - it will keep you in the limits and give him time to practise

i would say

if you dont want to tell him

'i'm happy to ride with you but fekk off if i will tell you how to ride a bike you daft wassok i aint been rinding that long

join this really cool site i belong to i'm sure dave wont mind if you can behave yourself.

but if you gonna be a compleete twonk then fekk off cos they dont want that kind of peeps in the place.'

and that is what i fink you should tell him

thanks for all ya advice folks, went out with him today, the only thing i noticed that was bad was him riding in the gutter, so when we stopped i said he may want to think about his road position more

my belated advice would be to follow him, dont let him follow you, you're idea of a sensible speed into a bend might be his worst nightmare.

Weird. At least once a week I see someone doing this. Always on L-plates, but it makes me wonder what the local CBT trainers are telling them...

It doesn't matter what the CBT's teach- kiddies on L-Plates are always going to be intimidated by cars and trucks and will give them room to overtake.

I know I used to- but I just don't give a damn now.
I pay Road Tax like everyone else, so I'm going to use the road!





I'll just neglect to mention the fact that my tax is only £15 a year

Actually, the scoot kids round here are fearless; they zip around all over the road and try racing anything that moves. Nuts. No, the ones I see pootling along in the gutter are invariably much older.

I remember when my road tax was only £15. It cost less than the tax disc holder I bought for the bike