FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Riding Basics: Weekend Course Overview

The First Day

Everyone begins at the same level, learning to walk the motorcycle and getting used to the feel of maneuvering a motorcycle around. Balance, brakes and looking ahead are learned on an unpowered moving motorcycle. There’s a bit of pushing involved here. Students learn how to start up and shut down the motorcycle engines. Now it’s time get into first gear. This means learning about the clutch and its friction zone. A lot of attention is paid to this step. Students must grasp the understanding of smoothly transferring power to the rear wheel with the clutch. Students practice riding slowly and smoothly by keeping the clutch in the friction zone. This exercise is crucial to being able to handle a motorcycle at slow speeds such as in a parking lot or rush hour traffic. The lessons progress step by step with students moving off from a stop, accelerating in first gear, executing circles and right and left-hand turns. The emphasis is always on good clutch control, looking where you want to go, smooth progressive braking and shoulder checks. Each lesson is discussed and demonstrated throughout the course. Questions from the students are always encouraged.

As the first day progresses so do the students as they learn how to upshift and downshift, push steer, and very importantly, to look ahead and through the corners. By the end of the first day, they’ve come a long way from where they started.

The Second Day

The morning of the second day is devoted to traffic awareness and defensive riding techniques. A great deal of attention is paid to potential emergency situations. Straight line braking, swerving around an object, swerve and stop and stopping in a curve are practiced for the first part of the day. In the afternoon, the M2 licensing test is discussed and demonstrated. The students are given practice time and coaching before the test is conducted.

A passing grade gives you your paperwork to take to the ministry to upgrade your licence to an M2. Please refer to Licensing for further information on remaining riding restrictions for the M2 licence.

No, we do the testing. Upon passing, RTI will submit your test results to the MTO on your behalf. This will allow you to upgrade your licence to an M2. There are no further tests or costs involved with MTO.

No, for the Riding Basics course you do not need to bring your equipment to the theory class. However, if you are unsure if any item of your gear is suitable (your helmet, gloves, jacket, boots etc. must meet our standards for minimum safety gear) you may want to check with the instructors in class. For all courses, you are required to bring your riding safety equipment to the practical part of the course.

There are a few places in the GTA that rent helmets, so please feel free to ask for more information when registering.

No, a G licence is not necessary. However, an M2 or M class motorcycle licence will give G1 status if you do not already have a G1 learners permit.

A friend who has offered to teach you may not have the best riding habits. Take a course and learn good habits from the beginning. A course will offer you: 15 hours of step by step instruction using the courses motorcycles in an enclosed space. The participants are also trained in defensive riding techniques and how they relate to traffic situations. In addition, there is three hours of classroom discussion that cover a variety of topics including risk factors, licensing, traffic hazards, insurance and riding gear. You will also gain a possible insurance discount when you earn your M2 licence after taking a Ministry-approved course.

The types of bikes vary at the different locations. They range from 125cc to 250cc sports bikes, off-road bikes and cruisers. Your instructors will encourage you to try all the different styles of bikes at the training site.

The Riding Basics course takes place on an enclosed lot set up with cones for different teaching situations. The Riding Strategies M2Exit Course takes place on the street in real traffic scenarios using your own motorcycle. The Roadworthy course takes place in a parking lot and on the street. Technical Skills, Intro and Refresher courses all take place in a parking lot.

No, you will not require your motorcycle for the theory class.

RTI offers free retesting. However, if you book a retest and do not attend without contacting the office there will be a $25.00 charge to reschedule. Retests for the M2 licensing course are held on Sunday afternoons. Retests for the M licensing course are held on a Saturday or Sunday

RTI offers private lessons, please call our office for details.

Upon completing the course, you will need to visit a DriveTest Centre to pick up your new licence. If you are upgrading from an M1 to an M2/M2L/M2M licence, you will need to wait until you’ve had your M1 for 60 days before being eligible to go to the DriveTest Centre

If you’re upgrading from an M2 to an M/ML/MM licence, we ask that you wait 72 hours after successfully completing your course before going into a DriveTest Centre to pick up your new licence

The test results from RTI are only valid for 6 months after your test date. If you fail to do this within 6 months, the paperwork will expire, and you will have to re-do your course.

We are now accepting applications for the 2025 season.

In order to be considered for a position as an RTI instructor you must have:

• at least 4 seasons of street riding experience
• a driving record with less than 6 demerit points
• a street legal motorcycle that you actively ride
• a current First Aid/CPR certificate
• a mature attitude and comfort in dealing with a variety of people
• a desire to teach and practice safe riding techniques
• successful completion of our in-house instructor training program

Our in-house training involves approximately 100 hours of your time, divided between classroom sessions held at our office, homework assignments, and 2 apprentice weekends held at our sites (booked between April and June). Classroom training sessions are held from Jan to March and first aid training will be available at an additional cost, if necessary. During your training, we will cover such topics as our curriculum and riding exercises, the history of RTI, human rights and our students, teaching techniques, MTO road rules, etc. Basically, we will try to prepare you to begin effectively training our students on your first apprentice weekend. If you are a successful candidate, then you must instruct a minimum of 4 courses throughout the remainder of the year to maintain good standing with us. Most of our instructors teach well over that number.

If you’re interested, please visit our New Instructor Info Page for more information and to submit an application.

If you have questions about what riding safety gear is required for your course, please visit our Gear page to read about jacket, gloves, boots, helmet and other safety gear requirements.

If you have questions about our registration, payment or cancellation policies, or want to know more about the waiver for minors, please visit our Policies Page for more information.

If you have questions about motorcycle licensing in Ontario our Licensing page may have the information you are looking for, or you can visit the MTO website at www.ontario.ca/page/ministry-transportation.

Want to know what our students are saying about our courses? Visit our Testimonials page to read what students have said about their experience with RTI courses.