BMW Off-Road part 2

As I arrived late, Pavey gives me some one-on-one tuition to get me quickly up to speed. He starts by dropping my bike on its side and telling me to pick it up. Luckily there is a special knack to making it easier, and after some tuition I almost manage to pick up his R1200GS on my own. It’s then time to learn the correct way to get on and off the bike, and how to walk alongside it. All skills that come in extremely useful to get out of trouble off-roading.

Once on the bike, my riding position gets examined. Two fingers for each lever at all times, and an almost vertical standing position are drummed into me as we gently circle the training area. The difficulty increases with a slalom course through cones, and finally a tight circle inside a square of yet more cones. The technique involves weighting the inside peg to turn the bike, and then transferring weight outside to stop the thing from toppling over. I’m getting the hang of it as it’s time to move onto the next lesson. Braking.

The first trick demonstrated is locking the rear wheel. I’ve practised this many times showing off as I park up on road bikes, so although my attempts aren’t as impressive as my instructor, it feels fairly easy, although I do keep letting off the rear before coming to a complete stop. But the next job is to learn how to lock the front. Although it’s not something to aim for it’s very important to know how it feels and how to avoid it. Squeezing the front brake enough to lock and then gently releasing takes a lot of practise, but I get there in the end.

The final part of the braking training involves a steep hill and not touching the controls to rely on engine braking. It’s a leap of faith, but when you’re next to a Dakar racer you don’t feel you can chicken out. And once you’re rolling it’s actually quite good fun coasting down the hills. The next step is to add front and rear brakes to control the descent, and finally, to come to a complete stop on the hill face.

Rejoining the rest of the group I arrive just in time to find out how to save the situation if you stop halfway up a hill. Basically this involves stopping in gear to stop the bike sliding back down, using the clutch to turn the bike, jumping back on, firing it up and heading down the hill. Except more complicated and at a 45 degree angle. And if you ever intend to ride up a hill on your own, it’s invaluable information.

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