How to Pass an Advanced Bike Test - Smoothness & Vehicle Sympathy

On your advanced bike test, you'll be marked on your ability to ride in a smooth & mechanically sympathetic manner. In this vide, I look at what that means, how you can adopt a smooth riding style & what the examiners are looking for on test.
The full playlist for this series of videos is here:
• How to Pass an Advance...
For more info about advanced & performance driving & riding, visit my website www.reglocal.com & give me a follow on Twitter @RegLocal

[@mikeroberts]

Nice one reg. A couple of analogies I use. For the 3 stage braking: how we squeeze a tube of toothpaste. Gentle start, firm pressure and gentle end. For smoothness/flow: how a swan moves through the water. It is graceful and there are no sudden movements or turns.

[@highdownmartin]

Another analogy, driving a van with a loose gas cylinder on its side in the back. Brake gently to get the cylinder rolled up against the seats then you can brake really hard.

[@andiway1208]

Thank you Reg, really enjoying the series and finding it a great aid to my training.

[@andyhewitt7588]

A phrase I used when teaching good braking practice was “settle, squeeze, ease”. People seemed to like and remember this 😀

[@benjaminrowe7201]

Hi Reg, Thanks for another interesting and useful video. These series have gotten me through my standard IAM car test and I'm looking forward to moving onto observer training next year. I would be interested in seeing your take on driving commercial vehicles at advanced level. For example, I drive a 3.5t van for work and there are occasions I have noticed with road positioning and acceleration which could be viewed differently to driving a normal car. Thank you again for getting people interested in improving their standard of driving.

[@richarddepledge960]

HI REG, Im pretty sure your bike has multiplate clutch like most bikes. Not the car type fitted to earlier bms. It does not need to be split in half to change. Mine is car type K25 2012 year. It has to be split in two. Yours is much newer model part water cooled and big re design. Correct me if im wrong. Good video.

[@mum-0217]

Hi Reg, Intresting video on bike contro, smooth riding, and the importance of observation and foward planing. I was wandering if you have done a video on bike protective clothing? With so many different manufactures out there and so many individual preferences between riders it's difficult to know what is best when is comes to safety?

[@RegLocal]

Hi Mike, not really my thing to be honest - I buy the best kit I can afford, but I don’t really compare it with other stuff. There are other channels which are much better at that stuff - I just stick to the riding & driving!

[@jamiecarter8459]

Nice road 🤙🏼

[@deanroberts187]

You said that you can spot someone that’s gripping the bars for dear life. What allowance would you give to someone that isn’t keen on test conditions and therefore tenses up a little? Just signed up to IAM yesterday with the Black Friday deal. Did my taster ride a couple of weeks ago. Looking forward to the training rides - though test conditions aren’t something I get excited about.

[@RegLocal]

Subscribe for updates Dean & in a few weeks I’ll be uploading a genuine IAM test so you can hear my thoughts on a candidate’s performance, including how we take nerves into account.

[@steve00alt70]

Is being smooth like doing everything slow? Would doing an emergency brake and menuvre all have to be quick or smooth then quick? Iv noticed there is a click sound on my front brake, iv a new 125cc bike. I have a habit of not matching revs, tho iv a slipper clutch to make that smoother.

[@ItsBeenDanBefore]

It's not necessarily doing everything slow. Using braking as an example, think of building the pressure rather than yanking the lever/stamping the pedal. Same with throttle, it's a gradual roll on. Slow can be smooth, but quick can also be smooth, it's all about introducing the inputs gradually instead of suddenly. If you're using the system, then matching revs may not be as necessary but you need to make sure you're avoiding needing that slipper clutch. Especially on a single cylinder, the negative torque from downshifting is enough to lock the wheel, I know from experience

[@Crowuk01]

That click sound might be your ABS kicking in if you are braking abruptly! (If you have a ABS) For me smooth is not slow, smooth simply means not doing things abruptly! It’s like your are coaxing your bike to go slower (braking) or faster (accelerating) by giving your bike gentle inputs. if you are too abrupt with turning, leaning, braking or accelerating you will upset the balance of your bike and risk loosing control. The stability of your bike and your safety depends on your ability to give your bike gentil inputs (hints if you like) to what is coming, so that your actions do not provoke an abrupt response from your bike destabilising it and you !

[@MrWhothefoxthat]

when you mention booking a test, what test do you mean, i was on the understanding you cant book your own test with IAM or ROSPA.

[@Unfunny_Username_389]

Usual way is to do a course of advanced riding, get up to standard, and put in for your test. It's you that has to put in for your test.

[@MrWhothefoxthat]

@@Unfunny_Username_389 IAM wont allow you to put in for your own test, that's up to your mentor to say when, ROPSA, i think allow this, but that's not a good move on your own without your mentors approval.

[@rcraven1013]

One should be careful going over the mid line on a right hand bend. Sometimes if its been re lined, painted, recently then that new line could be about 6 ml. above the surface of the tarmac and that can create a slight unexpected jump which if being on a lean and not careful it could de stabilize the front or rear of the bike. Its also that due to that height it may contain water around it and on it following some rain and that may make the line more slippy under ones wheels.

[@rcraven1013]

Love the videos and would not disagree with anything said. All too often riders get it wrong and perhaps that because they try too hard and to much and that does not allow the relaxed flow and following bike smoothness that they could achieve. At 6'50 you were on the Grain Road and its a 50 mph speed limit and you were following light traffic and a red car and your speed was around 40 mph. However your distance behind that red car was only in the region of 40 to 60 ft and that is far too close as a following on or full stopping distances. The recommendations of such would be, if following only then at higher speeds at least a 2 second gap behind. That said at 11.50 heading back south to Edgeworth you were well behind the car in front and that was a safe distance, particularly on a road that could be dry and wet in some places.

[@rcraven1013]

At12.16 you overtook a car ;It was doing 50 mph when you were following it and you overtook it at 60 mph. All well and good but then only 2/3 seconds later you were back into your lane so you actually only gave that drivers a distance of no more than 45 ft. If you had come off your bike then at 50 mph he would have not been able to avoid running into you. Then as you returned to your side of the road at 12.19 a van coming the other way missed you by just one second. Not such a safe overtake or margin of error.

[@rcraven1013]

Is the middle finger of your right glove perished ?. I can see your finger sticking out? Its nearly Christmas so get someone to buy you a good pair of gloves this year.

[@rcraven1013]

Nice day out in Ramsbottom but still taking hands off grips when talking. Its a habit that sneaks up on one and one that one real should not engage or encourage others in. Agreed that braking should be slow and progressive and sooner rather than later. I have see bikers come to an almost complete stop by using down changing, gars ans engine revs. but this is never recommended by any motorcycle manufacturer in any books or manuals at all and the danger is that others behind one do not see any brake lights and as a result could rear end you.