Instructor

Nenad Djurdjevic

The Owner/Instructor of Advantage Motorcycle Rider Training is Nenad Djurdjevic. Nenad has been riding bikes since 1981 and has been a professional riding instructor since 1995. He is passionate about motorcycle safety and has defended motorcyclists' rights in the media on a number of occasions.

Nenad is a keen and enthusiastic recreational rider who has enjoyed a variety of experiences on motorcycles including touring Europe and New Zealand by motorbike, visiting the Isle of Man during the TT Races, cross-country touring by dirt bike in Africa, and trackdays at racetracks.

Apart from the bikes he teaches people to ride on, Nenad currently owns and rides a 1988 Honda VFR750R RC30 as well as a 1995 Ducati 900 Superlight and a 2010 BMW S1000RR which he shares with his wife Tania who not only rides but has raced motorcycles!

Nenad's thoughts on Rider Training

I believe there is nothing about motorcycling that a rider couldn't work out on his/her own given enough time and experience. However, motorcycling, like rock climbing, hang gliding and other high risk pastimes, is not something that one should learn by trial and error. In order to have a long and enjoyable riding career it is therefore important to become a "thinking rider". By this I mean a rider that takes every opportunity to learn from the experience and mistakes of others rather than trying to "re-invent the wheel" or worse, simply trusting luck. Modern motorcycles are expensive to fix if damaged and your health is priceless, so why trust luck?

Quite honestly, I was lucky to have survived my early years of riding. After obtaining a learner's permit, a friend showed me the basics and then, courtesy of the slack licensing system of the time, I was away, riding wherever and whenever I pleased!

Years later with 25 years of riding experience, a few "battle-scars", and over a decade of instructing behind me, I look back with amazement at how little I knew, how many bad habits I developed (and maintained for many years) and how many "near misses" and accidents I could have avoided. Put simply, I learned by trial and error and I paid the price in the form of a number of unnecessary injuries and a lot of damaged motorcycles. But as I said, I was lucky. It could have been a lot worse.

My attitude now is that whatever role luck may play in motorcycling and life in general there is no reason not to prepare oneself to deal with, and hopefully avoid, the worst that fate can throw at you. In the same way that good rope-work and well placed climbing protection can save a rock climber from a fall, the road craft and riding skills that can be taught by a good instructor could give you the edge you need to survive in both the cut and thrust of city traffic and on spirited rides on winding (and often unpredictable) country roads.

There is no substitute for natural riding ability, practical experience, quick wits and a cool head but I believe that "knowledge is power" and that riders of all levels of experience and ability can benefit by becoming "thinking riders".

Apart from his motorcycle qualifications, Nenad has degrees in mechanical engineering and sports science and is a martial artist of over 25 years experience (he is the Founder and Chief Instructor of the Academy of Traditional Fighting Arts).

Nenad and his wife Tania also run Balance Yoga at the Bayswater Martial Arts and Yoga Centre, and Lake Nenia - Perth's hills' premier boutique event venue.