Abbey Motorcycle Instructors

Jim Smith, head of Abbey Motorcycle Instructors, based at Milton Park, has been running courses for the past 12 years.

He and his fellow instructors provide training for newcomers to two-wheeled motoring to enable them to qualify for a Compulsory Basic Training certificate.

From this they can progress to the Standard Courses, Accelerated Access Courses, Direct Access Courses and Advanced and Post-Test Training.

A free one-hour initial assessment is offered to enable riders to choose the right course for them.

AMI has a large off-road training area where new riders can learn to master the controls and perfect the basic manoeuvres. As soon as they are sufficiently competent, they are taken out on the road.

“Emphasis is placed on training on the road rather than in the classroom,” said Mr Smith.

“This enables riders to gain experience on different roads and in different traffic situations, so helping build up their confidence.”

The training can be taken either as an intensive course or as a series of lessons.

Mr Smith has two full-time and six part-time instructors. They accompany learners on their own machines, keeping in radio contact.

This may be one-to-one, or one-to-two, with a learner in front and another behind the instructor.

“That generally works better,” said Mr Smith.

“The rear rider can learn from those in front and is also under less intense scrutiny and can feel a little more relaxed.”

Training for the instructors themselves involves a two-day exam, success at which is necessary before anyone can set up a Driving Standards Association approved school.

A further half-day course enables them to provide instruction for the Direct Access licence.

“That is what most instructors aim for,” Mr Smith added. “For me it is important to have guys here who can teach every course.”

Mr Smith had been a part-time instructor in the West and East Midlands before moving to Oxfordshire.

“When I set it up in 1999 I was looking at it as a part-time interest,” he said. “I started up in Abingdon, primarily as there was nobody else in that area. Although I tried not to make it my main job, the business soon picked up interest and became full-time.”

Despite the recession, the school continues to be busy. In some respects business can be seasonal.

This year’s warm spring brought out all the bikers, some of whom retreated in the colder and wetter mid-summer months before renewing their enthusiasm with the return of good weather.

A particular effect of the recession is the type of machines that are most in demand with many newcomers to motorcycling choosing it for practicality and economy, rather than as a leisure pursuit.

Mr Smith said: “There are now more people looking for commuter transport and coming to us for the Compulsory Basic Training course, rather than wanting to go for the full licence.

“This trend is reflected nationally in retail sales, with dealerships saying they are selling the smaller machines quickly but the bigger bikes are not moving so much.”

And the smaller bikes, those up to 125cc, the maximum size for which Compulsory Basic Training applies, are economical, being capable of more than 100 miles per gallon.

And even in these days of rising insurance premiums, this cost is much lower than for other means of transport.

Among the newcomers to the road are young people of both sexes who need a means of transport to college or to a first job.

“The market is now responding more to this by making protective clothing tailored especially for women riders, rather than producing merely modified general biking wear,” Mr Smith said.

A recent issue in the motorcycling world has been the matter of the availability of test centres.

During the temporary closure of the centre in Oxford, learners had to make a journey to Newbury or further afield.

“This is a situation that has been experienced nationally,” said Mr Smith.

“We are fortunate in the south-east but in rural areas such as north Wales and Scotland it has been difficult to get tests at centres that do not involve excessive journey time for the pupils.

“This, and the recession, as well as changes in the testing system, led to driving school closures.”

The Oxford centre is now open again and demand is strong.

Mr Smith himself practises what he preaches, riding his own 125cc machine to work.

Although he says he has come to regard biking as a bit of a busman’s holiday, he still goes home to his own restoration projects, several of which are in his workshop, in various stages of progress.

He said: “It was not intended that way but if you are having a long wait for a part and not getting on as quickly as you might, that project can lose momentum. So if something else comes along that you would like, you take that opportunity there and then.”