Are you a Hendon shuffler?

Giles prefers a sideways slide to stop when confronted by gravel

:D You must be referring to our Spanish farm overnight impromptu camp!! That was one of my all time great trips!







"No but it doesn't look good"." Is the priority to be safe or to look good? (See! Its not just on the forum that I'm a bolshie bugger!). "Ummmm " was the answer ...


This is a real key point in my book, and often comes up in the Rapid training days. And .... yeah ..... whilst it's not a grey area (clearly safety trumps anything else), there is a place in your bike riding for for a bit of style and panache.
We talk about the four S's, safety, system, smoothness, speed, and no where in that is 'Style'. But maybe there should be?! Maybe we should coin it the five S's ?! If everything is in place, and your riding is safe, systematic, smooth .... you get on with it .... then having a bit of style and flair is in my book a good thing.
I see riders who make such a cluster of coming to a stop. Bloody hell! it's just coming to a stop - its CBT stuff! But I still see people paddling, walking, hop skipping and jumping and ..... it looks shit! Even stopping with both feet down in my humble opinion, looks shit !!

Maybe its years of 'corporate riding' where from my part, you are a little bit on show, the public watch and they expect to see a good standard. And part of that is looking impeccable in traffic (filtering, town stuff etc) and the old swan on the water analogy.

I like to see riders glide to a stop at the junction, red light, whatever .... and when that foot goes down it should be like Rudolph Nureyev. Clean, crisp, heel rolling on to toe .... stop. Not even a hint of a skip. You control that bike beautifully, and you look, professional. If you're then jigging about swapping feet .... then the lights change and you're fannying about swapping feet again ...... nah ...... it looks pants and amateurish!

Both brakes to stop, off the rear in those last few feet as your foot comes down, left foot sorting out neutral and relaxing. Lights change ..... tap ..... go ......

:thumb2
 
:D You must be referring to our Spanish farm overnight impromptu camp!! That was one of my all time great trips!










This is a real key point in my book, and often comes up in the Rapid training days. And .... yeah ..... whilst it's not a grey area (clearly safety trumps anything else), there is a place in your bike riding for for a bit of style and panache.
We talk about the four S's, safety, system, smoothness, speed, and no where in that is 'Style'. But maybe there should be?! Maybe we should coin it the five S's ?! If everything is in place, and your riding is safe, systematic, smooth .... you get on with it .... then having a bit of style and flair is in my book a good thing.
I see riders who make such a cluster of coming to a stop. Bloody hell! it's just coming to a stop - its CBT stuff! But I still see people paddling, walking, hop skipping and jumping and ..... it looks shit! Even stopping with both feet down in my humble opinion, looks shit !!

Maybe its years of 'corporate riding' where from my part, you are a little bit on show, the public watch and they expect to see a good standard. And part of that is looking impeccable in traffic (filtering, town stuff etc) and the old swan on the water analogy.

I like to see riders glide to a stop at the junction, red light, whatever .... and when that foot goes down it should be like Rudolph Nureyev. Clean, crisp, heel rolling on to toe .... stop. Not even a hint of a skip. You control that bike beautifully, and you look, professional. If you're then jigging about swapping feet .... then the lights change and you're fannying about swapping feet again ...... nah ...... it looks pants and amateurish!

Both brakes to stop, off the rear in those last few feet as your foot comes down, left foot sorting out neutral and relaxing. Lights change ..... tap ..... go ......

:thumb2

I thought it would be Micky who made this point and I agree. Now. You can combine safety with a degree of polish and i usually send my associates a link to Micky's article for discussion. I would always tend to control the bike via the rear brake at low speeds and when stationary but there are plenty of occasions when early observation would make selecting a gear quickly and making off smoothly the priority.
 
Proper police advanced riders.....right foot-it can take a bit more effort to make the halt look good but it’s worth it and you are ALWAYS in a position to take a gear and go
 
Mmmmm well 'we've' certainly moved away from the days where ALL examiners were retired Class I Police riders to where it's now IAM's hierarchy's ambition to build an empire on the backs of you guys'n galls doing a bloody good job voluntarily :thumb

Hendon Shuffle?


I rest mi case m'Lord :D

:beerjug:

That puts into words much better than I could, a numbers of things that I regularly see.

Spot on Micky, thanks for the link

:thumb2
 
Mmmmm well 'we've' certainly moved away from the days where ALL examiners were retired Class I Police riders to where it's now IAM's hierarchy's ambition to build an empire on the backs of you guys'n galls doing a bloody good job voluntarily :thumb

Hendon Shuffle?

I rest mi case m'Lord :D

:beerjug:

Bit worried regarding some of the feedback I heard last year from a bloke who had just passed his advanced test , he is relatively inexperienced having passed his test the year before in his mid 50's. He decided to keep on training and do further advanced stuff.

Part of the continuation training was riding without hands at 20 to 30 mph over a lump of 2"x4" whilst negotiating a slight bend, now this exercise was carried out on a runway but how the feck can it be anything other than dangerous, irresponsible and potentially damaging to your bike.

Apparently it was meant to prove that you are a more proficient rider.................. in 40 year I don't think it is a particular skill I've needed
 
only my 2 cents

I'm with Micky, Lord Snooty and Giles on this.
They've said all that needs be. :D

and then, just for distraction ....
I'm as surprised as you are. Read the article in Motorcycle Monthly and see what you think. It is about the IAM Masters which IAM claim is the highest UK civilian riding standard.

What apart from the RoSPA gold :)

:augie
~~~
:popcorn
 
Bit worried regarding some of the feedback I heard last year from a bloke who had just passed his advanced test , he is relatively inexperienced having passed his test the year before in his mid 50's. He decided to keep on training and do further advanced stuff.

Part of the continuation training was riding without hands at 20 to 30 mph over a lump of 2"x4" whilst negotiating a slight bend, now this exercise was carried out on a runway but how the feck can it be anything other than dangerous, irresponsible and potentially damaging to your bike.

Apparently it was meant to prove that you are a more proficient rider.................. in 40 year I don't think it is a particular skill I've needed

If that is true then that is reckless and pointless and is putting the trainee at risk. If the rider comes off there is a high risk of serious injury or worse, riders have died coming off at less speed. If the person delivering the "training" is not a professional instructor then they will not have insurance cover, in the event of an accident they could find themselves on the wrong end of a serious civil suit.
 
Bit worried regarding some of the feedback I heard last year from a bloke who had just passed his advanced test , he is relatively inexperienced having passed his test the year before in his mid 50's. He decided to keep on training and do further advanced stuff.

Part of the continuation training was riding without hands at 20 to 30 mph over a lump of 2"x4" whilst negotiating a slight bend, now this exercise was carried out on a runway but how the feck can it be anything other than dangerous, irresponsible and potentially damaging to your bike.

Apparently it was meant to prove that you are a more proficient rider.................. in 40 year I don't think it is a particular skill I've needed

If you believe that then you want your fekkin head testing.
 
Bit worried regarding some of the feedback I heard last year from a bloke who had just passed his advanced test , he is relatively inexperienced having passed his test the year before in his mid 50's. He decided to keep on training and do further advanced stuff.

Part of the continuation training was riding without hands at 20 to 30 mph over a lump of 2"x4" whilst negotiating a slight bend, now this exercise was carried out on a runway but how the feck can it be anything other than dangerous, irresponsible and potentially damaging to your bike.

Apparently it was meant to prove that you are a more proficient rider.................. in 40 year I don't think it is a particular skill I've needed

No idea where all that crap came from but it was certainly nothing to do with me!
 
That’s not IAM or RoSPA training.
It’s an independent guy and I recall reading that the trick with the bit of wood is intended to demonstrate how stable the bike is when the wheels are tyurning, even at low speed.
 
Both brakes to stop, off the rear in those last few feet as your foot comes down, left foot sorting out neutral and relaxing. Lights change ..... tap ..... go ...... :thumb2

Why go into neutral though? In most situations at junctions and roundabouts you will only be there for seconds so selecting neutral after stopping just adds an extra gear selection to the process. At CBT and DAS level we teach the students to double-tap into first gear in the last few yards of the approach and come to a gentle stop on the rear brake and heel and toe the left foot as the bike comes to a stop. The student is now in first gear ready to go and keeps the bike under control on the rear brake and is ready to use the throttle as soon as a gap is spotted. As you said Giles it is about a bit of style and we are also trying to impress the examiner with a bit of panache. We are getting the student to be prepared to go by being in first gear just before the stop, no shuffling around of feet and as the approach speed is at walking speed the back brake is more than sufficient at that speed, no need for the more aggressive and powerful front brake. If the student is stopped at traffic lights and expects to be there for a couple of minutes then I tell them to select neutral to relax their clutch hand and select first when the light goes to amber.
 
:D

This is a real key point in my book, and often comes up in.....
:thumb2

Blimey a photographer and a writer! Where can I get it??

Seriously, "quiet efficiency" springs to mind as a Roadcraft description of style.

Whichever way you do it, make it look crisp and clean. Let the audience know you mean business.
:)
 
If you believe that then you want your fekkin head testing.

Actually I do believe it because I was told by the trainee involved and confirmed by a second trainee who also attended the same session, so have no reason to disbelieve what they are saying .
 
Why go into neutral though? In most situations at junctions and roundabouts you will only be there for seconds so selecting neutral after stopping just adds an extra gear selection to the process. At CBT and DAS level we teach the students to double-tap into first gear in the last few yards of the approach and come to a gentle stop on the rear brake and heel and toe the left foot as the bike comes to a stop. The student is now in first gear ready to go and keeps the bike under control on the rear brake and is ready to use the throttle as soon as a gap is spotted. As you said Giles it is about a bit of style and we are also trying to impress the examiner with a bit of panache. We are getting the student to be prepared to go by being in first gear just before the stop, no shuffling around of feet and as the approach speed is at walking speed the back brake is more than sufficient at that speed, no need for the more aggressive and powerful front brake. If the student is stopped at traffic lights and expects to be there for a couple of minutes then I tell them to select neutral to relax their clutch hand and select first when the light goes to amber.

To be honest with you (cue sucked teeth, tutting and shaking heads .... ) whilst yes, if I know I'm going to pause at a junction for only a few seconds I'll hold it in gear, those red lights and ped-X's where you know you're going to wait for more than a few seconds .... I roll in and hit neutral on the move, more often than not from second. Clutch is probably already out a second or two before I've even come to a stop :thumb2

(obviously theres DSA pass your test stuff and then there's the real world ... !)
 
Following an article "The dark art of advanced riding" in Motorcycle Monthly it seems that IAM Masters are expected to stop using the Hendon shuffle. Not stopping using the Hendon shuffle was one of the reasons he failed when the author took his Master's test.

I was told by Giles that all Kent police riders usually come to a stop using their front brake, and that the Hendon shuffle is old hat.

Since my rideout with Giles I have reverted to stopping using my front brake which I find much tidier.

not any more, not sure I ever did it "as per the book" the minute after I passed my final assessed ride at Hendon ;-)
 


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