24/09/2026
WHY RMT MOTORCYCLE TRAINING HAS LASTED 30 YEARS?
In 1996, RMT Motorcycle Training opened its doors. Thirty years later, we're still here and I've thought long and hard about why.
It certainly hasn't been because we've got everything right, because we haven't. We've made mistakes, faced some very difficult periods and had to change enormously along the way.
But there is one thing that hasn't changed in all the years. We put our customers and staff first.
That goes right back to why I started RMT in the first place. I wasn't a naturally gifted motorcyclist. In fact, I hated riding at first, I was dangerous and wasn't very good, I wasn't in control and I came frighteningly close to losing my life because of it. I knew I wasn't very good and avoided riding because of how scared it made me feel.
That experience shaped everything that followed. I learned that confidence without proper foundations means very little. Riders need to understand what they're doing, why they're doing it and, most importantly, how to be properly in control of their motorcycle at all times.
That's exactly what I built RMT around. As a business I never wanted us to be the biggest I wanted us to do things properly. I was never going to copy the standard business model, I wholeheartedly disagreed with it and still do.
In the early days, that wasn't always the easiest route. We were very disciplined, probably too rigid at times, and we refused to cut corners. We didn't rush people through training because there was another customer waiting. We didn't believe everyone should learn at exactly the same speed. We weren't prepared to lower our standards simply because doing so might have been easier or more profitable.
We never wanted to be the biggest training school but we wanted to be the best we could possibly be.
It meant attention to detail.
It meant getting the foundations right.
It meant allowing someone to develop at their own pace.
It meant recognising that our responsibility wasn't simply to help somebody get a certificate or pass a test.
Our responsibility was to help turn a learner rider into an accomplished motorcyclist, something I never was.
I'VE MADE MISTAKES
Thirty years in business teaches you a few things, usually the hard way and I've made plenty of mistakes.
RMT's early training was heavily influenced by my military background. The standards were exceptionally high, but looking back, we weren't always flexible enough in how we helped different people reach those standards.
We changed, we had to. We stopped simply producing instructors and started developing professional trainers. I wanted them to truly understand our clients needs and fears, but more importantly how to help them learn, be confident and always in full control.
We became better educators, better communicators and better at understanding the person sitting on the motorcycle in front of us.
I've made mistakes in business too, including going into business with somebody who ultimately didn't share the same values around honesty and integrity.
It was difficult to break away after investing so much energy and time, but in doing so reinforced something I've come to believe very strongly:
Never compromise the principles on which your business was built.
For us, that's trust, honesty, integrity and doing what is right for the rider, the person you teach, train, nurture and develop.
Interestingly, being one of the most difficult periods ultimately pushed me in a completely new direction. It made me an even stronger advocate for road safety and rider development and helped lead to the digital rider development ecosystem we're building today, which is Motorcycle Riders Hub.
Sometimes the things that knock you backwards end up changing your direction for the better.
THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU MATTER
There have also been several times over these 30 years when serious illness could quite easily have brought my own involvement to an early end. That really does bring things into perspective.
But it also taught me something important about building a business. If everything falls apart when the owner isn't there, you haven't built much of a business.
I've been incredibly fortunate to have good people around me. It started life as a small family business, me, my Mom and a few bikes. Since then, it's grown considerably and the business is my family.
Over the years I've learned to surround myself with people who are better than me at what they do, give them room to grow and enjoy their success with them.
Today, I genuinely believe we have the strongest team RMT has ever had. They carry the same standards and values that the business was built on, while continually helping us improve what we do.
I've always tried to look after our staff too, to me people matter more than businesses. Look after good people and they'll look after the people who put their trust in you.
THE MEASURE
The greatest measure for me isn't a motorcycle test pass certificate.
We've trained thousands of riders over the past three decades. Of course I'm proud of the test passes, qualifications and achievements.
But they aren't what I'm proudest of. I'm proudest of the difference we've made to people's lives.
We've had people arrive terrified of motorcycles who went on to become confident, accomplished riders.
We've watched people discover confidence they didn't know they had and take that confidence away from motorcycle training and into the rest of their lives.
And over the years I've heard one sentence more times than I could count:
“You changed my life.”
That means more to me than any business award ever could.
Perhaps one of the greatest compliments is when somebody we trained 10, 15 or even 20 years ago walks back through the door.
Sometimes they want more training, Sometimes they come touring with us in Europe
Sometimes they simply come in for a brew and a chat.
That's when you realise you didn't just process another customer. You became part of their motorcycling story.
RMT LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT TODAY
If you'd shown me todays version of RMT back in 1996 and what it would become, I don't think I'd have believed you.
Today we don't simply deliver practical motorcycle training.
We've developed advanced training, rider development programmes, European Training tours and digital training products. We've built technology that allows rider development to be recorded and continued long after somebody has passed their test.
Our reach and our ambitions for improving rider safety now go far beyond what we can physically deliver from our training centre. But underneath all that technology and change is exactly the same principle we started with in 1996.
We help people become safer, more confident and more skilled riders.
Thirty years have also changed me. I've mellowed. I'm more flexible. I'm a better educator and communicator, and I hope I'm a better leader.
I've learned that leadership isn't about having all the answers. Sometimes it's about surrounding yourself with brilliant people, giving them the opportunity to succeed and then getting out of their way.
The latest edition is our sister business which thriving under the leadership of Laura Smith. Women Only Motorcycle Training is bespoke because it has the same principles as RMT. Help learner riders overcome fear, trepidation, anxiety and nerves through proper education at the customers pace. It's that simple and easy if its done by the right educators.
WHY HAVE WE LASTED 30 YEARS?
The truth is because we never stopped caring about our customers and about getting it right.
We've changed.
We've made mistakes.
We've learned.
We've survived some very difficult periods.
But we've never compromised on looking after the people who trust us with their training.
I've often said that I've never worked a day in my life because I genuinely love what we do. After 35 years of being a motorcycle instructor and 30 years in business, I still do.
There's an old Churchill phrase I've used for years:
“Keep Buggering On.”
And that's exactly what we've done, but we're not chipping away aimlessly. We're building something with more meaning.
What started as a motorcycle training school in Redditch in 1996 has become something far bigger than I could have ever imagined back then.
I genuinely believe we're better today than we've ever been. Thirty years in business isn't the finish line. In many ways, it feels like we're at the beginning and only just getting started.
Simon Hayes
Founder, RMT Motorcycle Training
1996–2026
Keep it on the Black Stuff®
