Q& A WITH ALPHA TRAINING...

Do you need to bring your own kit?

We would recommend bringing your own kit for our training courses. As a minimum, that includes a motorcycle jacket, gloves, and a medium-priced helmet to keep you protected. It may be a good idea to bring along some waterproofs, but we are able to supply some if needed.

Are you better taking the test locally?

If you take the test local to your training centre, then the instructor will be more familiar with the area. For that reason, your instructor can pick out the trickier parts of any test route and spend some time on that area, other than just disappearing off. The common argument is that if you teach anyone to ride or drive, they should be able to do it anywhere, so a lot of other schools use other test centres, but still, they tend to know the routes.

How much training should someone do before their test?

If they have got some experience, we tend to assess them; prior to even starting a course we can meet you and assess on either the 125, 500, or the 650, depending on ability. From there we can then decide the bike which they will use for their training, and how much training they will need. For example, with a rusty rider who hasn’t ridden for 20 years and wants to do some training to get on the bike again, we’d start them on the 500 before gradually stepping up onto the 650. Though, even if you have ridden before, we would still recommend a minimum of four-five days’ training, including tests.

Is getting your A2 licence worth it?

The earlier you start riding, the better. The problem that you have is that many riders – like myself, when I was a kid – were not going to ride a 125 or a 250; I wanted a 550 straight away. The A2 step makes perfect sense, giving you that time to acclimatise.

There are people out there who will miss out that step and would rather wait a couple years for a bigger bike and get their full licence in one go. But die-hard enthusiastic motorcyclists from an early age will jump on the idea of getting their A2, and they don’t mind sitting on a smaller capacity bike for two years.

Either way, it’s still very much worth doing, but it can depend on how the person feels about riding, and how quickly they want to throw their leg over the saddle.

Why should someone get training?

Back in the day, you could purchase a small capacity motorcycle and build up your experience – hence why a long time ago we would start off small and gradually build up to bigger bikes. You need to develop the reflexes and muscle memory before you can make the step up to more powerful bikes.

The nice thing that we can do now is throw you straight onto a 650 and give you the instruction that you require to handle that bike safely, and use it to its potential.

It is a lot safer to train on the bike that you possibly might buy later; you need to prepare yourself for the bike that you will eventually have out on the roads.

Any top tips when booking your training?

When you look around for courses, other schools outside of the Honda School of Motoring may offer a four-day course, but how many hours are you actually getting? They might say four days, but it could be three hours a day; make sure you will be getting the most out of each day. Next, will you have the same instructor the whole way through the course? If one instructor knows you have a weak area, such as pulling out of junctions, once you get another instructor midway through a course, they won't know that. Similarly, will you be using the same bike? While you are learning to ride, continuity can be very important. Obviously, I think it goes without saying that the cheapest option isn’t always the best option. When we do our courses, we have a set structure, and each level moves on to another level. It has to be tailored to each rider's experience, hence why we will always do a free riding assessment, so each person can be placed on the course they need – and not a cheap, unsuitable course that they think they need.