Guest Blog: Sheffield & District Advanced Motorcyclists

The Sheffield and District Advanced Motorcyclists (SAM) is a registered charity,  affiliated to the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). The club is committed to improving motorcycle road safety by offering guidance in advanced motorcycling. 

The club gave We Buy Any Bike an insight into their ethos and how they promote a safer life on two wheels!...

Formed in the early-1980s, the Sheffield and District Advanced Motorcyclists (SAM) was started by a dedicated group of bikers. They set up an independent charity, recruited other bikers, affiliated the club to the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM RoadSmart) and trained to national standards. When motorcycle riding standards are revised, SAM bikers also update their riding skills. Since the start of our club, we have helped many bikers to improve their riding skills. In 2014, according to Department of Transport figures, motorcycles travelled 2.8 billion miles in the UK. Did you know that if 25% of road users moved to ride on two wheels there would be little or no problems with congestion? Motorcycles are generally cleaner and greener than most common forms of transport. Motorcycles are cheaper to build, take less scarce resources to maintain and will, generally, travel further with less fuel. Also, did you know that advanced motorcycle riders are 95% less likely to be involved in a traffic accident and can get cheaper motorcycle insurance.

Riding a bike takes time to learn.

Whilst the basic national three-part motorcycle test gets you safe enough to ride on the road, but you remain a vulnerable road user. Road safety experts like to quote alarming statistics like you are 27, 28, 35, 38 times as likely to be involved in an accident resulting in serious injury or death whilst riding a motorcycle. Yes, they can always make their figures sound R-E-A-L-L-Y alarming and every biker knows that riding is not without any risks. This can put people off riding a motorcycle. However, those same experts often don't say that 99% of motorcyclists do not have advanced riding skills. In the 5 years between 2011 and 2015 motorcyclists deaths have fallen by 7%. This may in part be due to the efforts of road safety groups advertising campaigns to make other road users look twice for bikes. In addition, biker clubs, like SAM, have increased their efforts to help bikers become more skilled riders. Our training alerts them to see problems earlier, cope with unexpected events and how to get out of trouble, or at least minimise the damage.

We do many things in our vibrant, active club and have bikers with all kinds of interests.

Including day rides, weekends away, longer tours, spannering and racing. Being bikers, of course, we are most passionate about how to help others. Our main task is helping bikers to become better riders to join the top 1% of skilled motorcycle riders in the country, but we are also compassionate and actively help our communities. Our region covers parts of South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire, but we have members from further afield too. We are all volunteers, giving our time and money freely to help other bikers, a variety of charities, the Whiteknights NHS volunteer courier service and working with other local groups to improve safety on our roads and further afield. The SAM bikers come from every walk of life and every social group. We are truly diverse in our motorcycling and other life interests. We talk about an amazingly varied number of subjects.

Yes, we all have opinions

We express them strongly and laugh regularly at our own misunderstandings in life. We're polite, respectful to everyone and caring of those less fortunate than ourselves. We are very supportive of those in difficulty and encourage all bikers to Sheffield & District Advanced Motorcyclists bikers helping bikers become better riders improve and maintain their riding skills. We're not lifestyle-chasing, identity confused or part of a sub-culture. We like motorcycles, biking, bikers and helping others.

We are SAM bikers.

SAM members meet 9 am every Saturday for both observed and social rides. All bikers are very welcome to ride down to Meadowhall Retail Park (Sheffield S9 1EP) to meet the club. To ride out you must have a bike that is able to maintain the national speed limit. Many members also ride out in groups on other days of the week have brunch/lunch somewhere, then ride home. SAM's highly trained volunteer observers are not there to criticise or put down the way a biker rides, but simply to help them become a more knowledgeable and skilled rider. This improves a biker’s ability to ride better, ride safer, ride longer, ride further and have a lot more fun. The infographic below shows the biker courses that SAM offers: All members start as an Associate. Observed riding covers the following skill sets: ● assessing current riding habits ● developing focused observation, positioning, manoeuvring ● developing advanced skills in motorcycle control, precision riding and braking ● ensuring safer riding in city, urban and rural settings ● and much more… SAM is a registered independent charity with bikers ready and willing to help YOU become a better rider. Visit our website and JOIN SAM TODAY!