Sport-Touring.Net - BMW Off Road Academy

Upon (a brief) review of the BMW Offroad Academy's website, it looks like a cookie-cutter of Rawhyde's website, and there are references to Rawhyde on it.

The "Intro to Adventure" course sounds identical to the topics I studied in the two day Enduro Skills course in Spartanburg, SC.

ie:
Body position for effective off-road riding
Throttle, brake and clutch techniques
Weight-shift techniques for steering
Balance techniques
Turning technique using counterbalancing
Obstacle avoidance
How to control front and rear wheel skids
Hard Acceleration technique on dirt and gravel
Hill Climbing
Descending steep hills in a controlled manner
How to ride in Sand and Gravel
How to recover from a stall on a steep hill.
How to turn around, fully loaded on a steep hill

I would like to think that the "Next Steps" class has some redundancy with that class as well but the instructors may disagree. Things I would like to add to my skillset and education are: hopping over logs (to include the use of controlled wheelies), skid steering/high speed turns, water crossings. This is sort of the "Next Steps" curriculum but dang if their price is high, and they (Academy and Rawhyde) push you to use your own bike. Based on how many times EVERYONE's bike took a dirt nap, at times from high and precarious situations, I'd recommend you use the rental.

If I could have (if classes were available) and the price not quite so high, I'd have preferred to take both the Enduro Skills/Intro to Adventure and then the Next Steps immediately afterward. I'm now seeking a "Next Steps" style class in either the UK or EU to continue my education. Read between the lines and that reads that the Enduro/Intro isn't enough. I'm sure the instructors would say "you need to practice what we taught you for a few months before the next segment" but I hopped on my bike the next week and was able to put almost all of the skills into good use, though I admit I am not great at the very low speed tight turn move where you hang WAY off the bike. That said, I demoed/explained that exercise to a very well seasoned dirt/DS rider that I rode with, and he said "you'll never actually use that" so I don't feel so bad.

I'm very glad I took the course, I learned a lot, but I need to take another class. If your only interest is the Intro, then do it in Spartanburg and save yourself about $1k...or better yet, take the Jimmy Lewis school, I think it's a little more intense. (that was my first choice, but they only run in winter)

To answer your last question, yes I think they expect you to get through "Next Steps" or equiv. before going on a tour.

Damn, one afterthought: Maybe it was a good thing, but one exhausting thing at the BMW school (and I bet it's exactly the same at the Academy, I think they follow the same regimen) was that they rode (until later on the second day) at a VERY slow pace. On one hand that is a good thing to get you to focus on skills and balance, but it is quite exhausting after a while, and some exercises require a little momentum, but since you're moving so slowly, if the guy in front of you loses it at all, you're also in trouble yourself. Just a thought.

Topic: BMW Off Road Academy (Read 1246 times)