The following post is adapted from an article published in the PEMC magazine.
Controlling the Machine: Two days of i2i training.
 |
| We meet Tom the instructor at the airfield cafeteria for early morning craic. |
I completed my Advanced
Motorcycling test with a local IAM group some years ago and became
confident that in the cases of shoulder checks, road positioning and
frequent debriefing stops for coffee I had mastered this motorcycling
thing. However lingering doubts remained that I was actually in full
control of the machine, these doubts being fuelled by almost
obsessional interest in internet self help with such topics as push
steering, U turning a Harley on a dime, counter weighting, trail
braking and necessary knee down techniques. It was therefore with
much relief that I stumbled across the i2i Motorcycle Academy with
promises such as the transformation of my riding and the mastering of
U turns even two up.
 |
| Rufforth airfield is an active microlight and gyrocopter centre. |
I booked on two
consecutive events held over a weekend at Rufforth Airfield near York
last August, Machine Control 1 and 2 (MC1 and MC2). Other venues were
available.
 |
| Admission to the airfield is through the crash gate.... |
On a sunny Saturday in
August a diverse group of riders on machines ranging from Sports
bikes through to Pan Europeans bikes gatherered at the Gyrocopter
Experience control tower cafe at Rufforth Airfield. Tom, our
instructor greeted us, invited us for a free coffee, told us to
preorder lunch and took us through the crash gate (aviation jargon,
sorry) on a ride across the airfield to the training area where his
van was set up.
 |
| Tom explains gyroscopes and stability and how the average rider messes it all up. |
The day was broken up
with a series of progressive sections comprising a briefing by Tom,
followed by a demonstration given on his Street Triple and then our
exercises. Tom, an Irishman whose craic is characteristicly and
variously stimulating and witty, explains the neccessary physics
simply, and majors on debunking common misconceptions and has us all
in stitches. He then hops on his Street Triple and shows us that the
bike is steered neither by looking where you want to go, nor by
weighting a peg or pushing down on the bars.
 |
| Tom travels past at 30mph and demos that you cannot steer by looking. |
Many of the exercises
were carried out one handed, a key point being to engage the „core“,
Pilates fashion. Tom points out that the bike has at least two
gyroscopes built in and without rider intervention performs
brilliantly straight and in banked turns and does not fall over.
 |
| The Man on two gyroscopes not precessing at all at all. |
 |
| It´s not all about Tom...We are given exercises to perform, and here we are waiting our turn. |
The day of MC1 is completed when we U turn at full lock without touching the brakes, throttle or clutch. We do however look where we want to go.
 |
| Pee break. |
I elected to do MC 2 directly after MC1, but on Sunday quite a few new riders appeared having completed MC1 some time previously.
 |
| Demonstration of how useless the rear brake can be. |
The emphasis in MC2 was on braking without drama including in bends, including back braking with power on....good for pillions apparently because the rear jacks up. Bad for the brakes which could catch fire.
 |
| Another cosy chat and a view of the practice area. |
The Sunday contained
more drama: One of the sports bikes ended up in the adjacent corn
field and Tom rides the (rather elderly) Pan European at extreme
angles because the rider complained about the handling. Shot front
wheel bearings and uneven tyre wear were diagnosed. The Pan had never
been ridden like that before...
 |
| The mobile office and the end of the weekend. I´m on my way the ferry port. |
All in all a worthwhile and confidence giving weekend for all levels of experience. The next step is MC3 Knee Down , but as I have difficuty in getting my leg over I´ll pass on that one. The i2i academy is owned managed and run by the husband and wife team of Tom and Emma Killeen. Tom is developing some YouTube material this year and this should give you some idea of his style. Check it out!
Action scene!
Braking and cornering:
