Thrills and skills with Honda’s off-road training

What single investment is guaranteed to make your motorcycling both safer and more fun? A newer bike with all the latest rider assistance gizmos, perhaps? Some expensive new kit bristling with innovative fabrics and lightweight armour? Nope.
Training. Sure, whatever licence you’re going for training for your test equips you with the skills to … pass the test. But the learning never stops and the best way to improve your riding is with extra training from the experts. There are lots of options as well, ranging from advanced riding qualifications with the likes of RoSPA and IAM Roadsmart through to track days where you can explore the limits of your bike in relative safety. But can you really get transferrable skills from learning to ride a bike off-road as well? We accepted Honda’s invitation to its Dave Thorpe Off-Road Centre in Somerset to find out.

“The school runs various courses for riders of different tastes and abilities, ranging from adventure bike days on Honda Africa Twins to full-on motocross training with Dave Thorpe himself”

Our day starts at a private woodland near Taunton, one of a number of sites the Dave Thorpe Honda Off-Road Centre uses. The school runs various courses for riders of different tastes and abilities, ranging from adventure bike days on Honda Africa Twins to full-on motocross training with Dave Thorpe himself. A three-time 500cc Motocross World Champion in the 80s, he’s a legend of off-road motorcycling and has gathered an equally passionate and knowledgeable team of instructors around him. We’re doing the Enduro Day, catering to riders ranging from rookies riding off-road for the first time to more experienced riders enjoying the opportunity to ride a bike they can blast around and hand back at the end of the day for someone else to clean. In terms of kit the school can provide as much as you need, up to and including fearsome looking off-road specific boots, knee pads, chest and back protectors, moto pants and open face helmets and goggles. Because it’s all off-road you don’t even need a motorcycle licence to take part, though you’ll need to be comfortable operating a bike with clutch and gears.

“Off-road you want to lay the bike down while keeping your body more upright to drive the knobbly tyres into the dirt”

For starters chief instructor Nick chats through some basic off-road principles, like the importance of standing rather than sitting to move your weight around the bike when going up and down hill, adopting a flexible, ‘elbows out’ stance, why engine braking can be better for controlling speeds than grabbing a handful of conventional brake and how to safely pick the bike back up if it goes wrong and you end up dropping it. Which, it turns out, you will. While some of the general principles like smoothness on the throttle, balancing braking effort front to back and keeping your head up and eyes raised so you’re ready for what’s coming have obvious direct transfers to road riding some requires a fresh approach, especially in the corners. Rather than hang off the inside of the bike like a road or track racer Nick says off-road you want to lay the bike down while keeping your body more upright to drive the knobbly tyres into the dirt. This means sitting down, moving your bodyweight forward to load up the front tyre and even extending a steadying leg for that all-important moto look.

“These bikes combine all-round usability with proper off-road ability”

As novices we’ve been given Honda CRF300Ls, which to the untrained eye look pretty similar to the CRF250RZs the more experienced riders will be using. They’re not, Nick assures us! The aluminium-framed RZ and its CRF250R motocross equivalent are, he says, much more aggressive in terms of power, suspension settings and handling, and not for the faint of heart. Our CRF300Ls are no less off-road capable, but hail from Honda’s adventure range alongside the Africa Twin and Transalp . Sold as street legal bikes with the lights, indicators, numberplates and ABS you need for riding on the road these bikes combine all-round usability with proper off-road ability. This is especially important if your riding ambitions link legal byways and other tracks with sections of public road for days out in the countryside rather than at dedicated motocross venues or off-road centres. The 27 horsepower 286cc single-cylinder engine is also tuned for beginner-friendly A2 licence accessibility, while everything from the gearing to the riding position is designed with all-day comfort in mind.

“When tackling ruts it’s again important to stand up, commit early to a particular line and stick to it”

After a lap of the woods for a sense of the terrain we’re then separated into groups, based on how much input we want from the instructors. On the basis this is our first time off-road we join the beginner group! Nick then sets out a short lap we can session to practice specific skills, stopping to offer pointers before we’re let loose to circulate at our own pace. At the foot of a steep climb he reinforces the importance of standing up, committing to the throttle and not backing off even if the bike moves around beneath us. When tackling ruts it’s again important to stand up, commit early to a particular line and stick to it, always keeping your gaze at where you want to be at the end of it. On the basis where your eyes lead, the bike will follow. For corners he then hammers home the importance braking in a straight line, sitting down and sliding forward in the seat so there’s no more than a handspan of saddle between crotch and tank to throw your weight onto the front tyre. Without it the bike will wash wide, while late braking will cause the front end to tuck. Neither are desirable! He then circulates the course pulling us over as required for tailored advice, filming us on his phone so he can point out any errors in body position or technique. A common one among road riders, he says, is not realising how far forward you need to sit. “You’ll tell me you are, but then when we look on the video you’ll be surprised to see you’re not!” he laughs, with the voice of experience.

“By the third or fourth run up a steep, slithery hill you’re happy standing up and even grinning rather than grimacing”

Experienced road riders may be more comfortable with the idea of the bike moving round under them but, as a rookie, that sense of the tyres letting go can be absolutely terrifying, especially when riding in grotty weather. And here’s where the off-road training makes sense, on the basis the bike is always moving around under you, and the sensation soon becomes more familiar and less scary. Even the relatively chilled power delivery of the CRF300L is enough to spin the back wheel up on the loose ground, and forcing yourself to keep the throttle open rather than chop the power takes some willpower to overcome. But the ability to repeat the same section several times over helps confidence, and by the third or fourth run up a steep, slithery hill you’re happy standing up and even grinning rather than grimacing as the bike writhes around beneath you. Again, the fact you’re doing the same sections over and over again means if you make a mistake on one run you’re back at the same corner within a minute or two and can try again. Slide forward in the seat, stick that inside leg forward, commit to the turn and then feel the bike spin up its back wheel and slide as you wind on the power – yes, it’s as fun and addictive as it sounds! When it goes right. When it doesn’t you’ll be glad you listened to Nick’s advice on how to pick up a dropped bike without doing your back in!

“It’s damned good fun as well, a day like this rewarding for riders of any skill level or background”

First up that hustling a motorbike off-road is a serious work-out, especially if you’re more used to sitting down on a bike than riding standing up! The bikes may be light – the CRF300L weighs less than a road-going 125cc at 142kg while the enduro ready CRF250RZ is just 108kg – but they take some proper muscle to keep on track, and your arms, legs and core will all be aching by the end of it. Even if you don’t drop it. Second, while some specific off-road techniques may run counter to what you’d instinctively use on the road some of the more general points like keeping your vision up for forward planning, slowing the bike before the corner rather than in it, committing to your line but knowing what to do if something changes, being smooth with the throttle and learning to balance the bike on deceleration through the correct combination of engine and conventional braking are all valuable lessons. And ones you can learn at safer speeds than on the road or track. Most of all it’s damned good fun as well, a day like this rewarding for riders of any skill level or background. Especially those for whom the expense of a specialist bike and kit, let alone the effort of finding somewhere legit to use it properly, may be prohibitive.