David williams: rider safety school where the accent is firmly on having fun

Ride down the runway at about 40mph and, staying in a straight line, take your hands off the handlebars,” says Tom. “If you’re nervous, hold the petrol tank or hover your hands over the grips. And relax. Your bike wants to stay upright, it doesn’t want to fall over. Don’t mess with it!”

So we head down the long, empty runway at RAF Coltishall and do as we’re told. And of course Tom’s right. My bike — a dashing, worryingly immaculate BMW R1200RS Sport SE — does indeed stay upright when I remove my hands. To my surprise it still feels rock-solid. Safe as houses.

“Now steer a bit,” encourages the perky Irishman. “Try two different methods. First, with hands off the handlebars, steer with your body weight. Then try gently nudging the handlebars on one side then the other to see what happens. Tell me which system works best.”

Tom Killeen, 36, is a great believer in experimenting on bikes — and having fun. So we do as he says. Using bodyweight alone, shuffling hips, shoulders and feet, there’s little effect on steering as we eat up miles on the deserted runway. By contrast, even a gentle prod on either of the handlebars has a profound effect, neatly demonstrating the results of what all bikers know (if only subliminally) but seldom correctly practise — “counter steering”. At speed, a forward nudge on the right handlebar makes your bike veer not left, as you’d expect, but right. And vice-versa.

It’s one of the most important tools for accurately negotiating a bend. Overcook a corner — or get caught out by a bend closing up faster than expected — and counter-steering offers your best chance of getting around smoothly, whereas merely shifting body weight will take too long. “Now you’re ready for the big one,” he says. “Try not just taking your hands off the handlebars but standing up on the footpegs too. See how it feels.” It feels good.

The day started with a graphic demonstration of the inherent stability of a motorcycle as Tom balanced his Triumph with one finger, got technical as he explained cornering forces at work on a wheel — then demonstrated how much grip a tyre has by placing one on the ground at 45 degrees and leaning on it. Impressive stuff.

Whizzing along, he shows how much effort it takes to unsettle a motorcycle. First he takes his own hands off the bars and swerves. Then he puts his arms behind his head and sways from side to side. “See!” he yells as he whizzes past. “It still won’t fall over!” You can tell that Tom, who runs the i2i Motorcycle Academy with his wife Emma, started life as an Institute of Advanced Motorists and RoSPA trainer. He’s hot on road safety, speed limits — and giving yourself plenty of space in traffic.

He’s even hotter on stunts, riding in tight circles, hands still off the bars and performing stoppies (braking hard to balance the bike on its front wheel) to demonstrate the effect of fork suspension compression, on braking.

It’s all part of his academy, offering 170 sessions a year, aimed at making riding safer, smoother and more confident.

We practise two-stage braking (briefly compressing the front forks with an initial squeeze applies greater pressure to the front tyre’s braking patch when you make a second squeeze), before telling us to ride at him at 40mph.

At the last second he points left or right, forcing us to harness counter-steering to avoid knocking him flat. There’s a lot to take in. After four and a half hours I’m at saturation point. There’s also the prospect of a long, exhilarating ride along some of Norwich’s finest back roads as I head to London, and I want to try out my new, hard-won, life-saving techniques....

“Just don’t try taking your hands off on public roads,” Tom shouts after us, as we rumble off the airstrip.

More at i2imca.com. Prices from £120, at venues countrywide.

Calm the nerves with an overnight stay

You could ride to RAF Coltishall and back in a day but Tom starts at 8am and it’s a three-hour ride from London.

To arrive fresh, stay overnight. The best choice is gracious Norfolk Mead, right, a small but imposing country house hotel 10 minutes from the airfield. Banked by sweeping lawns, the River Bure and imposing formal gardens, it offers comely, individually styled bedrooms, friendly service and plenty of parking for your bike. Calm pre-course nerves in the cosy restaurant delivering locally sourced treats, while surveying the beautiful Norfolk landscape.

Double B+B from £165. More at norfolkmead.co.uk, or call 01603 737531.