Ride Forever programme (subsidised by ACC)

From learning how to keep yourself safe on the daily commute to honing the most advanced riding techniques, there's a Ride Forever course to suit your needs. Ride Forever courses also support NZTA's Competency-Based Training and Assessment (CBTA) requirements for licensing. While each course delivers important skills on its own, the full complement is designed to help you progress to a higher level. So, if you start at Bronze, you can advance through Silver to Gold level, taking a maximum of two courses per year along the way, a minimum of three months apart, any course more than once if you wish. Once there, you can continue to take a Gold refresher course each year.

Ride Forever Silver course

The Silver course is a full day aimed at competent riders on a Restricted or Full licence. For Restricted licence holders, a Silver is good preparation for the Full licence assessment; for Full licence holders, a Silver makes a great skills refresher before taking the Gold.

Silver builds on (and refreshes some of) the skills taught in the Bronze and adds additional skills for open road riding. Topics may include: pre-ride bike checks; safety gear; key vision skills like vanishing points and looking through corners; improved ability to identify and avoid hazards; better understanding of the bike’s capabilities including tyre grip; how to corner precisely, and use bodyweight for stability; slow manoeuvring (especially U-turns); emergency braking.

Road environment and distance covered: mix of urban roads and intersections, higher-speed open roads, more challenging country roads; typically up to around 200km.

Prerequisites: riders can ride competently on the road at all posted speed limits.

Notes for all courses

The day begins with a briefing (with some theory discussion and videos) and safety check then moves onto an appropriate mix of roads to put theory into practice. Practicing skills may take place off-highway with several stops for feedback and further discussion, including a lunch break. Courses are run in small groups (we have a maximum of 4 students on our courses), which allows for some individual tuition and feedback to help each rider improve.

Ensure you: bring your motorcycle licence with you; wear protective motorcycle clothing top to toe suitable for the weather conditions on the day (minimum: all skin covered); bring water and snacks plus money to buy lunch; bring any personal items you may need for the day, such as glasses, hat, sunblock etc; make sure you are familiar with the NZ road rules and are applying them; check your machine is registered, warranted, roadworthy and appropriate for your licence (LAMS approved if you do not have a Full licence; bearing an L plate if you have a Learner licence); arrive with a full tank of fuel.

Please remove any communication device on your helmet as one will be supplied. If you have a comfortable pair of in-ear headphones with a 3.5mm jack (standard mobile phone size), please bring them along.

Paying the booking fee secures one of the limited places on the course on this date specifically for you. We run courses in all weathers, but will postpone for weather conditions that the instructor deems unsuitable (for example, a MetService Severe Weather Warning is in place). We get paid by ACC only for riders who attend the course, so please ensure that you are prepared and committed to attend on the day.

If you have any questions, contact us before making a booking and we can discuss the most appropriate way for you to progress your riding.

Ride Forever Silver (Whakatāne)