As I've said before Russ moving into position 1 for hgvs saved my life. Everyone take note please. Thanks again for the great videos. Plus saving my bacon. 😁

as a hgv driver and a IAM rider,this advice is great.HGV's trailer will cross centre lines on sharp rural corners,we cannot prevent it,keep away from that centre line if you see us coming pls,seen so many riders stick to their position like glue because they dont recognise the dangers👍

Have ridden 40 years all the year round. Out today on way to work in dark and wet. Still learning by my mistakes and others. Your videos are helping all riders keep safe. Thanks.

Accident investigator in Devon said that texting drivers drift over the centre line. Explains a number of “inexplicable” accidents. Even more reason to move away from oncoming traffic.

The one channel on KZfaq where I can watch first-person riding footage and not twitch at the rider's choice of road positioning :) Excellent instructional video, as always.

Good to see you uploading again!

As a process man myself I always find your systematic advice helpful Russ. Good to see such smooth progress too on that slimy looking surface we see on UK winter roads. Keep them coming!

This was seriously good. Great road craft. Clear, focused and safe.

I LOVE how SIMPLE your videos are AND HOW INFORMATIVE 👍🏽👌🏽

Really enjoyed that, safety over positioning. I understand why each position was made and it was interesting to hear the different gears to be in for speeds and cornering. Learned alot there, thank you.

Nice video Russ. 👍 I often have to discuss riders taking quite harsh position changes just to miss a manhole cover when they are upright. The move they made was more dangerous than going over the thing. Having said that, if I can blend my line so I miss a raised/sunken one I will. In the wet and on a bend, if you must hit them then it is best to clip them towards the outside of the bend. That way any slip will be minimised. Good to hear mention of positioning for safety and not just view. You also straightened the curves a little if you had a good view. All good stuff and the same sort of riding I do in my videos/commentary demos. 🏍

Passed my tests with Roadcraft, just moving onto IAM , great videos and advice, many thanks to Russ & the team at Roadcraft,

Said this many times but your videos helped me through CBT and DAS a few years ago. I learned so much from your videos and continue to do so to this day! Thank you

Great vid. I have been riding all year round for years and (mostly) been doing what you have been saying. Just about to start prep for my Advanced so these videos are awesome. Great delivery and explanation. Just what I need.

Cheers for another great tutorial. I've been recommending your vids to other riders for years. Surprising how many experienced riders don't know some of the basics.

@RoadcraftNottingham This is a fantastic video! I am a new rider on a Piaggio MP3 on a full car licence and this has been invaluable in getting better at riding and positioning. Thank you.

Very informative and thoroughly enjoyable thanks

As a Noob rider, I find your vid's hugely informative and invaluable to ongoing learning. You're way better at teaching than the "gold star" rated instructor I had last year.

Awesome you still doing business Russ. You won’t recall, but I did some advanced training with you over 15 years ago and served me well. I also did my learners with you guys over 20 years ago.

Excellent video. Nice clear instructions will definitely be trying it out on my next ride.

Excellent video on road positioning. I have shared it with my son and daughter-in-law.

Ross several years after passing my test I still come back to your videos. For the road riding tips you are the best. Highly underrated channel.

Just wanted to say thanks for making these videos. I have been riding for years but have always sat in position 3 (when not cornering) but today I followed your advice and it felt a damn sight more safer to be aware from the oncoming cars. Today I encountered a couple of oncoming cars straddle the white lines with their drivers on phones, and being in position 1 already meant that they passed without any stress. I arrived home more relaxed than ever. Thanks Russ

Thanks Russ, one small tip or reminder can be the difference, everyday is a school day, even after all these years, glad to se you still have the old pan.

Fantastic demo mate.

An excellent tutorial, cheers.

Great video Russ. I am an IAM advanced rider but love to watch these vids as a refresher. Would love to see more like this from you.

I love your lessons, always watch with interest your videos, keep up with the good job! thanks and cheers from Italy

Some great tips, particularly the manhole covers/furniture issue which I totally agree with.

Great! I found you again... have not been getting regular updates for ages!! Ex Essex boy now living in New Zealand and I got into motorcycles in my mid-50's. Really enjoy your videos they are life-savers! If only some of the people who have died on bikes over here had watched some of your videos they might still be with us! Keep up the awesome work.

Even though I'm not from your area, this is very helpful. I had to really focus on watching your position changes and listen to why; makes a lot of sense why you did the moves. I'm also not used to riding wet roads as much as you are. Because it hardly ever rains, when it does, it's so bad. Thank you for sharing this; it's enlightening.

Wow, been past that cafe at the start during my tour earlier this year. What a great area. Cheers, for all the tips and knowledge

Nice road positioning . Smooth and slick.👍👊

I like watching your videos as a way of validating my own roadskills on a bike, I learned the hard way for positioning with an oncoming HGV, nothing serious but I was riding in heavy rain and the oncoming HGV gave me and my bike a thorough wash down with the spray which caused me to panic a little and it was a good job I was on a familiar road and it was a straight part of it which I've learned to now always be in POS 1 when I have any size of HGV oncoming. I'm a HGV driver so its also given me something to think about whenever I have a biker coming towards me in wet weather conditions, I'm sure many other HGV drivers do this as well and thats whenever I notice a biker behind me I will indicate left to signal its safe for the rider to have a peek and decide whetherto pass or not. I understand that the view of the road in a HGV compared to a bike is chalk and cheese because of the differences in height. So if riding behind a HGV and the driver indicates left always exercise caution and don't take it as a green light to drop a gear and go

Just passed my advanced rider with I.A.M. It’s thanks to these video’s that I got my head in right place for safer smoother riding. Many thanks

Absolutely with you about man-hole covers, the only thing I would add is that on cold days they can have ice on them when the rest of the road doesn't. Not a problem when you're going straight but may affect your decision when in a lean.

Excellent vid. Thank you

many thanks - passed my Mod 2 today (1st time) and your vids really helped, thank you

Three years later I'm still sharing this with my Associates, great tool for working on Positioning.

Great video mate. I did my advanced test last year and the training was amazing. Its so worth doing. I feel a lot safer on the road and more prepared and able to cope with difficult situations. I am more smooth when riding and therefore safer.

Very good video! I did my IAM advanced bike course and had a good standard pass. Great emphasis on positioning which mirrors what’s you’ve said and explained here. Also positioning so other road users can see us easier. And not riding in other vehicles blind spots. But end of they day, it comes down to safety as you rightly say.

Excellent demonstration thank you.

Thank you for all your very informative videos! I am a new rider and I have found that your videos are a great help to me. Riding conditions here in Malaysia are waaaaaay more challenging as we lack law enforcement. We follow, in fact, adopt UK's traffic laws into our system (being a Commonwealth nation), but alas, drivers and riders here are like cowboys! One needs to be extra careful especially when riding motorcycles.

I work for the Council and we have to call them inspection covers, as they are suitable for women too! Good to have a video that reminds those of us that stay away from road salt of the importance of being flexible on corner positioning. I have tried to do the talk but find its like trying to lick my elbow. Keep up the good work Strikers

Did enjoy that video, very informative. Thankyou.

Hi Russ. All good material ... it is clear to see (and hear) your well-versed skill at delivering content. To reinforce some of the contributors comments if I may ? Yes ! too many "advanced" riders cling to the crown (middle guys) of the road on left hand bends as if it is a galvanised process? Crazy ! If there is a clear view ahead, i agree with you, "Why sit out there ?" especially near solid lines and "Heavies". Safety, Stability then View, every time. Absolutely! the whole riding process is born of excellent vision to obtain the info required to formulate our riding plan and ride in the safest and most appropriate part of the road. The cycle of information, position, information, position just feeds itself into a loop. And so the journey continues. Great stuff ! Si

You remind me of my mate Fred. I've came on leaps and bounds over the years and a lot of it is thanks to him. He has the same technique and watching you was very much like following him. I like to slag him off though because he tells me how to ride... Secretly, I appreciate the guidance. Cool video.

Thanks dude really useful!

Proving smooth is fast. Great advice.

Good clear informative video. Worth mentioning for rural roads you can split advice between single and standard carriageways. On single track lanes I tend to drop back further than the standard 2 second gap to perhaps 3 or 4 seconds, esp if damp. This allows an extra safety margin for shielding where your view ahead may be more obscured. On standard carriageways I always move to position 1 for farm vehicles and slow down because sometimes its difficult to see what attachments they are carrying until quite close and many of these overhang the centre so are a particular danger. Ditto hgvs especially on bends where the rear wheels will often cut the centreline. Position 1 every time for hgvs, buses and farm traffic as well as for cars towing caravans or horse boxes. Position 2 is generally fine for cars but if the view ahead is good there’s still benefit in taking position 1 for all oncoming.

For some reason I thought your Pan was out of your life. Glad to see you still have it. It looks like it may outlive you ;)

Good road strategy here. This is well done 👍

Get series of videos, just done my IAM course though I learnt a lot, I find your style of riding and tips for safe riding makes more sense. With the advance courses they focus a lot more on progress, I got marked down for not overtaking two other motorcycles as I was being respectful and keeping a safe distance so not to pressure them.

Excellent intuitive riding

Very sensible. It spells out how I mostly ride with oncoming traffic.

Thanks for uploading this, great video. I have just started the IAM Roadsmart course and I find this advice very relevant. One of my many failings is speed (not fast enough) and I seem to have a problem with left hand bends. I've really no idea why, I wish I did! I know the bike is far more capable than I'll ever be (Tracer 900) but the problem persists. I know it's me, I need practice, and more practice to build my confidence back up. I had a 16 year break from bikes and returned in 2016.

Nice to see the old ST still out there doing its thing. I miss my candy red '93 model!

Well presented video which keeps it simple. There are too many videos out there where 'instructors' position themselves for effect with no advantage gains. Safety first then increased view and/or balance/control. Planning for what you can see and what can reasonably be expected to happen. Keep up the good work.

Absolute awesome video, given me a better unstanding on position, on my cbt they just told me about the position not how to use them properly 👍

thanks for your videos helps me learn :)

Great video. More videos like this would be great

I did the AIM course a long time ago. Now, as an older rider I would highly recommend anyone with two or more years riding experience take it.

About the manhole cover you mention in the beginning, the famous video "Twist of the Wrist 2" shows exactly what you mention at ~1:30 about regaining traction. They demonstrate this principle with a bike almost fully leaned over, hitting a patch of sand (arguably even worse than a manhole cover in terms of grip). Keeping a steady throttle and not upsetting the bike shows it being slightly unsettled after which it immediately gets grip again continuing on its trajectory. However they also demonstrate what happens if you 'panic' and swiftly close the throttle. You guessed it: front just slides away with no ability to recover.

great info thanks

Great video, I only wish I could go on my bike now but there's ice everywhere! In fact, I've gotta go out now in this cold to clean it down and get it away for the winter.

Excellent

Thank you Russ for the upload , grate riding and advice as always ... TBH i normally ride in P2 (centre of lane or "sump line," as you call it) and very rarely change positions as i feel its best of both worlds , visibility and safety from on coming cars and considering its not 1980's don't have to worry too much about cars leaking oil and in winter time its normally most dry part of road

Very informative - never had any training before but I use the same principles as you when I'm out riding - I live in rural Oxfordshire and have to consider things like large 4WD vehicles and agricultural ones too, such as tractors ( these also take up all the road when they pull out on to it ) - they leave all sorts of crap on the roads - wildlife too - pheasants and deer. There are some lovely little single track roads around here, but I now choose not to ride them because the local drivers drive too fast on them and in many places there just isn't the room to avoid a collision without throwing the bike into a hedge or stone wall. Also, if I've not ridden the bike for several months, the first time i get back on it, I always choose an easy route to ride so I can ease myself back into it and blow away the cobwebs. Thanks Steve

I still get a little paranoid about my positioning and this has helped a lot, just need to put it to practice! Thanks!

Brilliant! Thanks for the video...

Very good video.

Good video, i always advise my trainees to sacrifice position for safety.

Thanks a lot for this!

Very helpful.

Thanks for the lesson...

Brill & inspirational, going for the ROSPA Gold next year. Have done a video on motorway positioning?

Great vid on the Via Gellia ^.^

I did the IAM green badge and rode big bikes for years in Europe but all of that only slightly prepared me for riding a 125cc scooter in a developing country. It's beyond insane.

Riding my bike to the garage for the first time with my dad in tow in his car to take me back home. On the drive home he was asking "Why are you all over the road!?!". "POSITION! POSITION! POSITION!" I screamed. Seriously though, the amount of riders that stick to position 2 is insane. In 3 and a half years of riding I have only followed 1 motorcyclist that knows about position. NO wonder there are so many motorcycle deaths on the roads when 90% of them have the "How hard can it be? Just jump on and go!!" attitude. Sure, technically speaking, to get a bike moving, to operate it, is no harder than operating a car, but there is a heck of a lot more to it than just riding forward. I was studying motorcycling for 6 months solid learning as much as I could. Literally 6 months, every single day (no exaggeration) before I even did the CBT (preparation is key). When I learnt something new I asked a couple of motorcyclists (who worked with me) with 10+ years experience questions, questions like road position, counter steering, road scanning, looking through the bend with not just your eyes, but with your chin. Their response to all of my questions?? "I don't know". Jesus H Christ!!! And, My advice for people that have never driven on the roads before, not even in a car - Don't f*ckin' dare race through CBT and do a DAS course ASAP just to get that shiny new sports bike you've always wanted. You will die. Study as much as you can for as long as you can endure, go and get a CBT, ride for at LEAST a year at minimum, learn the roads, learn the traffic, hone your survival skills, study the theory on and off for that entire time you are on the 125, be it for a year, two....or however long you are on the 125 for. You start with an empty bag of experience and a bag full of luck, fill the bag of experience before the luck runs out. For 3 years I was riding on CBT, no matter how much I wanted to get my test done, no matter how jealous I was when a biker passed me when I was going flat out, I took my time, I was ready when I was ready, not when my ego told me I was ready. Now I have a GSX-S750 as my first big bike. Bikes are fucking powerful, insanely powerful for the power to weight ratio. Even the lower CC bikes are powerful for what they are and can land you in all sorts of trouble if you don't know what you are doing. IF you are the kind of guy, or gal that needs to satisfy your ego by motoring through CBT then DAS straight after it, you better tell your family to start going through the funeral arrangements. The world is full of ego riders, don't be one of them. Don't be stupid, use your head, do the right thing, difficult to enjoy motorcycling when you are dead. Best hobby ever!!! Did 10K a year on my 125, riding as much as I can when I can (regardless of weather or time of day/night), and it is still going strong and is still used regularly as my backup bike to the 750 at this time of year, don't want to get my shiny 750 all messed up with road salt. And in 5 months with the 750 I have already done almost 7K haha. Forget resale value. Bikes are there to be ridden!!!!

I've been riding long enough to remember when the myth of the sump lane was real. These days it's often the best line on worn out roads - and the state of position one here rurally with all the intenet manhole covers which follow the roads from the cable landing stations makes a trip to position one on a bend quite a rarity for me, specially in the wet.

I initially did what other people told me years ago about the lane position so you can get a better view. After thinking about it for a long time I decided it was generally a flawed system . I havnt used it for over 30 years and never been suprised by a vehicle and my cornering is much better with minimal lean. I may stay away from the far left if bushes etc are blocking my view or if i am being tailgated but generally I think its flawed to go right when you intend to corner left. If my view is obstucted then i slow down. Anyway each to their own cheers.

Every day is a day at school , good positioning

Thank god - it's just riding video....no "feeling it". Phew! :D Great vid btw

Nice video... we are all one community and all advice and opinion is so very valuable.. I use the 5 position system but never use position 1 (does that make it a 4 position system? Hmm).. I agree with all commentary on drains.. straight they are good, on a bend they are bad, in the wet and on a bend they are apocoliptic.

If anything. I'll start using the 1 to 3 scale for corners to make it easier to remind myself when I'm riding.

I've been told to try these for my cbt and das course this video tells me different

Hi. had a incedent while turning off a round about in the wet and leaning into the sharp corner and going over a pothole that was a couple inches under the level of road, ie it ha sunk down, my back wheel lost grip and I almost lost it. it sort of did a bunny hop, once was back onto tarmac found grip straight away, it just gave me a bit of a fright. Mind you my suspension is a bit hard... Quite agree with your analasys of trail braking, only keep the brakes on when its really tight and once at the appex and can see my exit its back on the throttle. instructor kept telling me off on the carpark cone weave for not using back brake, on my fazer don't feel the need, have learnt and practice all the time that I can do it just using the clutch, my idle speed is just enough. not sure if you can understand what I am saying but great video, thanks

great!!! thank you

I drive for longcliffe and I also ride a z1000 im up and down that road 4 to 6 times a day so many things to catch you out trucks Stone n dirt all over water running across the road list is endless great ride down mate especially positioning pretty identical to you but I know the road inside out

I always turn in early from 3 on a blind left corner, had to many cars come round the corner on or over the middle line

The only time ive come off a bike is going over a manhole cover, it was damp, i was a very inexperienced rider, pulling out of a junction going right, straight over a manhole cover and the bike did a 180 and we both ended up on the ground, it was a learning experience and i always try to avoid them now, specially when cornering

Again perhaps the most sensible approach to position on the net. Miss the view of the yam gts front wheel though.

Nice ride, nice and easy just like it should be . Seeing and taking into account various possible dangers to make it a safer ride. Nice one. Its nice to see a rider riding like a police officer should whilst on normal road patrol duties and not wanting to tear arse around the country roads to make as much fast progress as if he were going somewhere where he is needed. We want and need more common sense in our riding style and yes maybe, just maybe try to emulate that safe riding technique that is taught to a police rider. After all that what Roadcraft and Advanced riding is all about.

The original....and still the best

Awesome

Hi Ross, have you heard of Shires Motorcycle training in Leicester? Are they any good, I turn 24 soon looking to do my A license.

I was in Southampton coming up to a red light, no one was behind me so I was braking softly. It had rained earlier so the road was damp, and there was a manhole cover in the left side of the lane so I positioned myself in advance to pass to the right side of it. Then I got up off the road. Best I could tell, the road surface that had been manually laid around the manhole was too smooth so I lost grip. Combined with the cheap CSN stock tyres that Yamaha used on their 125s, which had a very bad reputation, the bike went over before I knew what happened Luckily no one was behind me, unluckily my little finger ended up under the bar end. I also had an accident where I broke my elbow a few years earlier, when I caught some mud I was avoiding on a right-angled corner. At least on that occasion I was able to pick the bike up and ride home, before going to hospital and needing surgery. In Southampton I had to abandon the bike and get the train back to London with my hand in a cast. Unfortunately the bike I had then, a YBR125 Custom, had a weird wheel size so there was only one other brand of tubeless tyres available. But they were by Michelin and I never had any accidents after changing to them. The point to all is some combination of not thinking a manhole cover is the only hazard as avoiding one could make things worse, that breaking a little finger is more annoying and inconvenient that shattering a bone in the elbow joint, ensuring you have good tyres is more important than avoiding manhole covers, and to never go to Southampton. Honestly, if you go to Portsmouth the parking is free for bikes, and you can watch the hovercraft spin 180° on the beach. Though I admit I do still tend to position to go around manhole covers despite knowing better.

If you have someone behind you who appears to be encroaching, do you refrain from going into position 1? I worry about going into position 1 with someone behind me, especially if they're a tailgater as I worry I'm encouraging them to do a dangerous overtake

Interesting commentary Russ. I'm still mulling over the fact that you move to P1 for heavy vehicles though. The most obvious issue I can think of is the vehicle swerving or the load falling off. Pitch that against the liklihood of debris in P1 and the middle of the lane seems safer. Would love to hear more on your thought processes behind it.

Hi Russ Watched all yr Vloggs Keep up the great work Only just worked out how to contact u 🥴