TL;DR: Getting better at motorcycle riding takes more than simple miles on the tarmac. It’s a combination of training and intentional practice. Focusing on advanced techniques will boost your confidence and skills and may lower your insurance premiums.
Getting better at riding a motorcycle will make you safer on the road. It’ll stop the gear-change jitters and calm your nerves around traffic. But the real win of improving your riding skill is in the feeling of freedom. It’s the mental bandwidth you’ll get to actually enjoy the ride, the feel of your bike beneath you and the passing scenery as you carve your trail down the road. Improving your skill on a motorcycle is less about speed and more about reducing your stress on the road while increasing the fun factor.
Just like any other skill you might develop, it takes focused practice and determination. When you find yourself plateauing, take a step outside your comfort zone with some advanced rider skills training. It’ll stop bad habits from creeping in. That’s because advanced motorcycling courses help you spot poor habits you’ve picked up and replace them with better riding skills.
Ready to level up? Here is how to sharpen your skills and get more from every mile.
Breaking the motorcycle licence experience trap: pushing past the post-test plateau
Once the elation of getting your motorcycle licence wears off, it’s easy to slip into thinking more miles equals better skills. That’s when bad habits creep in. Advanced training will help you avoid:
- Lazy observations: Fixating on the car in front instead of continually scanning layers of traffic and the horizon.
- Sloppy positioning: Taking the easy line in the middle of your lane instead of actively maintaining your road bubble and safety margins.
- Back brake reliance: Forgetting the smooth braking techniques you practiced during training and relying too heavily on your back brake for all speed changes.
Noticing you’re not getting better isn’t anything to be ashamed of. It’s the mark of an improving rider. It’s the difference between ten years of experience and one year repeated ten times. Riders who spot their plateau are the ones who progress to perfection. It’s the riders who are happy cruising easy street that are in danger of never achieving motorcycle mastery.
3 Pro tips: Actionable drills to practice on every ride
Conscious, intentional practice will turn the miles you ride into lessons that develop your skill. The trick is knowing which skills to practice and how. We suggest these three drills to keep your rider skills and confidence growing.
Cornering with confidence
It’s the eyes that have it when it comes to corners. Most riders keep their eyes a few metres ahead of the front tyre. But that makes the bike feel unstable and the road ahead uncertain.
Smooth corners are mastered by looking where you want to go and understanding your vanishing point. That’s the furthest point where the left kerb and centre line appear to meet. How that moves tells you two important things:
- Vanishing point gets further away: The corner is opening out. Maintain speed or begin your exit.
- Vanishing point gets closer: The corner is sharpening. Reduce speed and anchor yourself to prepare for your lean.
Focusing on the movement of this point helps you naturally adopt a better motorcycle turning technique. Just like you learned in your CBT and licence training, your bike will always go where you look. Remembering this is your key to getting better at motorcycle riding.
A steady squeeze to reduce speed
Many riders are wary of their front brake. Grab it too hard and your forks will dive, or worse, the wheel will lock and slide. But your front brake is your primary brake and you shouldn’t be afraid to use it. That leads to over-reliance on your back brake, using that as an on/off mechanism, and longer, unsafe stopping distances.
The truth is, over-reliance on the rear brake means you aren’t using the bike’s full stopping power. That’s dangerous, especially in an emergency. Because 70% of your stopping power is with the front brake.
There’s a simple way to avoid locking either of your bike’s brakes; squeeze them steadily. Don’t grab them. You’ll remember being taught this as progressive braking. Consciously practicing your brake squeezes will lead to more stability and shorter stopping distances.
Try this on your next ride: When slowing down for a stop sign on a clear road, practice a two-stage brake.
- Stage one: Settle the suspension with a light squeeze.
- Stage two: Steadily increase the power of your squeeze to bring the bike to a halt.
Taking control of the slow manoeuvre
A feet-down wobble during a U-turn or while filtering through slow-moving traffic is a confidence killer. Your motorcycle can feel heavy and prone to falling inward at low speeds; that’s just the nature of motorcycle riding physics. Mastering the delicate balance between your clutch, throttle, and rear brake will help you get better at these low-speed manoeuvres.
Your front brake is for stopping at speed. Your rear brake is the secret to low-speed stability. Applying light, constant pressure to the rear brake, keeping your revs up, and slipping the clutch creates tension in the bike’s drivetrain. This tension acts like a stabilising force, pulling the bike upright and making it much harder to tip over.
The Low-Speed Drill: Find a quiet, flat car park and try riding as slowly as possible in a straight line without putting your feet down.
- Set the Revs: Keep your throttle steady (just above idle).
- The Friction Zone: Control your speed entirely with the clutch.
- The Stabiliser: Drag your rear brake slightly to settle the bike.
Mastering slow-speed riding will make you the smoothest rider in the car park and is a great one to practice to maintain your rider’s edge.
Expert tuition: Why professional feedback keeps you learning
You can’t see your own mistakes. Even with the best intentions, it’s impossible to accurately judge your body’s position or braking timing while you’re in the middle of a ride. You need another person’s perspective to keep getting better at motorcycle riding. That’s why an instructor’s impartial feedback supports your skills development.
All of our instructors are DVSA-assessed and some are police advanced class 1 qualified too. That means you get the highest grade and most up-to-date coaching available. Whether you’re looking to shake off post-test nerves or achieve total mastery, we have a tailored path for you:
- “I’ve just passed and I’m terrified of motorways.” The Solution: Our CBT Plus course will give you experience and confidence on faster roads with the support of an instructor. We’ll help you build confidence for handling high-speed merges and lane positioning safely.
- “I want to be the smoothest rider in my group.” The Solution: ERS and Diamond Advanced Rider Courses will teach you the gold standard for road craft. You’ll refine your IPSGA (Information, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration) skills and potentially lower your insurance premiums in the process.
- “I want tailored tuition from the best motorcyclists possible.” The Solution: PROSkills. If you want elite-level coaching with real-time feedback, riding performance videos to spark discussions on your riding techniques, manoeuvres and rider safety practices these modules offer expert, police-standard tuition designed around your specific goals.
Choosing professional training isn’t just about passing a test; it’s about ensuring you have the skills to handle whatever the road brings your way.
Absolutely. Advanced riding is about road craft, observation, and planning, not just speed or the power of your machine. Whether you’re on a 125cc scooter or a 1000cc superbike, the principles of PROSkills and ERS apply to everyone sharing the road.
Vision is widely considered the most important skill. When you master where you look—specifically using the vanishing point in cornering and scanning multiple layers of traffic—you give yourself more time to react. That makes every other physical input (braking, leaning, steering) smoother and safer.
It can do. Many UK insurers offer discounts (often around 10%) for riders who have completed recognized courses like the Enhanced Rider Scheme (ERS) or Diamond Advanced Motorists. It proves to the insurer that you are a lower-risk rider who takes safety seriously.
You can learn the basics in a day. But true mastery takes time and intentional practice. Most riders see a significant jump in confidence after a single day of their CBT course followed by another jump with their full licence training. But the key is to consistently apply those techniques and regularly ask for feedback along the way to mastery. Getting better at motorcycle riding is a life-time pursuit for the best riders.
Ready to trade competent for confident?
Don’t settle on the post-test plateau, choose to start enjoying the road with total mastery. Whether you want to polish your slow-speed control or master the technicalities of high-speed cornering, consciously practice with the drill we’ve shared and then level up again with our expert instructors. They’ll help you reach new heights of getting better and better at motorcycle riding. Start carving your trail with confidence today.
