Porter
Junior Member
I am sure the official stance is that ANY safety course is not trying to put you intentionally in a dangerous situation. And it also varies by state. For example, in the advanced rider safety course offered by Rider's Edge, it talks about "surmounting obstacles" (like a 2 x 4 or a 3x3 in the road). But the instructors are forbidden from actively teaching that in the great nanny state of Maryland for liability reasons.
It depends on the class size and your instructors as well as what you are willing to assume. I want to personally have the best skill set I can have and it if means I take the chance of damaging my ride or me (a little) so be it. The instructors we had, understood that as well.
We had a small class (5 of us) and two excellent instructors that had also taken the "Total Control" course. And while some of the riding styles/techniques offered in the Total Contol course really can't be done on a touring model (although you would be impressed with what can be done), the instructors really provided some techniques on what to do and how to potentially recover in what I would call "real life" scenarios.
Dragging a floor board is one thing, catching a frame member is really bad. Especially if you are in a sharp turn and then hit the brakes when you panic/pucker.
I would have never known that reving the engine while dragging the rear brake can help "upright" a slow moving bike that starts to lean.
Will I survive hitting a 2x4 in the road at 75 mph? No one knows because each time is different, but I know how to drop my speed as fast as I can when down shifting 1 or 2 gears, get out of the saddle, and hit the gas just as I get to the obstacle. I will obiously change my shorts later, but at least I was active and didn't "freeze up".
Lots of things can happen on your own time if you have the right people around. Then it is up to you to practice.