BMW Training Day - Opinions

I am very upset regarding the training day on Sunday.
We pay money for training and then other people come and interfere with the instructors and the general running of the setup.Why were their children entertained for the day on the account of the BMW riders?
I feel that this is for training and not entertaining, if people want to entertain kids for the day so be it, but not on my training day when I pay for a service.
I hope this type of entertaining will not happen again as I am not the only person that feel BMW stole our money for the day. I this is the case that is going to happen every time when we do training I will surly tell other people not to attend.

Hi Loox,

I agree, but I have to mention that we had to share the track with BMW Lifestyle because this was the only day this year that BMW Rider Academy could accommodate us.

I did learn a few things at the training day and don’t see it as a complete failure but it was for me also partly a let down but only due to two factors.
Firstly we never got to do the emergency stop while turning and secondly during one of the exercises I noticed that the Instructor was chatting to other people and not looking at what I was doing. I would have wanted him to give me some advice where I went wrong and how I could improve.

However after mentioning the above, what do we expect to get for R150.00. I you look at the courses that are hosted by the BMW training academy, those courses are 5 times more.

I have learnt to accept the fact that if you buy cheap you get the relevant quality and therefore if you do not want to be disappointed do not look for cheap deals.

With regards to the children at the track, I am very happy that in a very small way I could contribute to making someone's heart happy or making someone's wish come true. I personally believe that everybody deserves a little spot in the sun

Tend to disagree - yes we did not do the highspeed stop in the turn. Very important to know how to handle that. Personally speaking i have attended this training annually from 2004 onwards and feel i have picked up sufficient knowledge and expertise that i would have been without.

Don’t have any quarrels with the day although we were not able to take part in the training session, so we paid our fees for 12 laps around the track………the company and camaraderie on the day alone made it worth while though. Wait maybe two small things…….why on earth would one like to ride with both hands above your head (or was that intended as a joke?) and “requesting” participants not to fall, hampered the enthusiasm somewhat methinks.

The training is very important and one must never “become” too good for training. Personally I would like to a see a full on track day over and above the training/track event.

I enjoyed the day and have to say that what we did just enough to remind us of what can happen and how to avoid a potential situation. Most of us have been riding for a while and it is refreshing to have gone through the basics again. R150.00 for a half a day doing the basics, is good value for money in my eyes.

Dear Members,

From the committee site we would like some feedback from you, to what you expect from a training day, instructors, etc etc. Please share your thoughts with us and we can then make sure that we cover these ideas with our next training day.

Giving the Kids from Boystown a ride around the track was a nice gesture because these kids would probably never get such an opportunity again. The fact that we had to sacrifice some time is not that important.
Our group being the first group could get through all the exercises but the other groups were a bit too big. I believe the numbers should be restrricted to maximise the learning experience.
This was the best group training day that I have been on.

The right thing to do is for us to attend the more intensive courses offered by the Riding Academy. Any volunteers to sign up for the Advanced Riding course?

Hi Renier,

Thank you for your positive feedback!

Hi, I attended the training day as a guest, invited by Lifestyle and i really enjoyed the experience. by doing the various obsticals, even the riding with your hands on your head showed me that it is so important to have control of your bike and know your capabilities. Some of the more experienced riders scoffed at the idea, but i saw that when they left the handlebars there was a wobble or two !!
I have since signed up for the proficiency course at swartkops on the 11th.
I will then definately do the advanced course.
Thanks again for a lovely day, i really enjoyed it and as mentioned above, you can never learn enough and be reminded over and over again.
to all the organisers - Thank you...

Yes - when will we be getting an advanced course - most of us have been recapping on these skills annually - will appreciate new and more advanced exercises built in.
Personally speaking accommodating the Boystown Boys was a good idee but could rather have been done when all groups had their track ride. I had another appointment and could not wait, thus had to forego the track riding.
And even on the LT it is a nice experience - sharpens the high speed skills with the large bike that one do need when touring. LeRoy

Agree! Advanced course will be magic. LeonL