Established: 13 years

Location: Christchurch

Contact Name: Hollie Ornsby

Website: www.motorcycletraining.co.nz

Business mission and vision:
We help save lives by teaching valuable skills that help riders of all types and skill levels to make the right decisions and enjoy a lifetime of riding.

“We provide motorcycle training from beginner to advanced levels, including licensing assessments. Based at Ruapuna Raceway / Euromarque Motorsport Park, we also offer track-based instruction, combining safe road training and race techniques from experienced instructors”

Our uncompromising approach to quality, and ensuring that we provide expert advice and training from a riders first lesson up to advanced techniques for experienced riders with many years of riding experience.

We are the largest Motorcycle Training School in the South Island and as far as we’re aware, we are the only Motorcycle School in New Zealand with its own purpose-built facility.

We have a passionate cohesive team who collaborate to provide a top class service. We personalise our services to suit the individual and with the booking process gain a clear understanding of a customer’s goals, keeping a comprehensive record of learning which is shared within the team and with the student to help us work together to help make it happen.

We pride ourselves in our authentic and personalised customer care from the first phone call. We are approachable and enjoy what we do, and this shines through with our level of service.

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After working for a commercial driving school which offered the NZTA Basic Handling Skills Test for the learner license with minimal motorcycle training as a sideline, Dan saw the potential for a business dedicated to providing the motorcycling community with more comprehensive training. Motorcycling can become a passion for many riders, and Dan saw a clear need for professional training from experienced motorcycle instructors passionate about passing on knowledge. Ornsby Motorcycle Training is well on the path to fulfilling Dan’s vision of a complete Motorcycle Training School providing licensing instruction, but also offering courses to enhance skills for riders of all levels, to improve enjoyment and safety through changing attitudes towards training.

Dan took a big risk initially starting his business from scratch in what was at that point in time, a very small industry.

At the beginning Dan could only offer 1 of the 3 stages of licensing, the Basic Handling Skills Test (for the learner license), learn to ride lessons and one on one road based training. This was when motorcycle training and upskilling was far from the norm.

Having just launched the business in May 2010, Christchurch was then struck by a major earthquake in September. Due to this the site was required by the owner for a different purpose and a new location was we needed. Things slowed up a little at this time but after a month or so the momentum that had been building with bookings was back to where it was. Then February 2011 everything changed again. A major earthquake in Christchurch caused life to stand still. Luckily, due to the conditions of the roads, people saw that motorcycles were a good option for commuting, so bookings didn’t take long to pick up again.

2020 – 2022 Covid hit. This was a tough time for the business. Being in lockdown was a difficult time, like everyone, we weren’t sure what was going to happen and when we would be back up and running. Working around the limitations with the traffic light system was a new hurdle but we were lucky to have a well structured Health and Safety Policy in place. With a few tweaks, we were back up and running. Financially we had suffered but we managed to bounce back once out of lockdown. Much like the earthquakes, Covid had drawn more people to the idea of riding motorcycles. Whether it be for the sense of freedom it offered or purely an affordable option for commuting.

By working hard to maintain a focus on providing quality instruction that makes a significant difference to the enjoyment and safety of motorcycle riders through all of the tough times, Dan and Hollie have been able to maintain their now joint passion for building a business that genuinely saves lives.

When ACC put out a National tender for Ride Forever back in 2012, Dan and Hollie applied and the contract for sole provider for Canterbury, Westland, Otago and Southland and on won the contract. Dan was then asked to be a part of the development team for Ride Forever and we have been involved ever since. Ride Forever is an ACC funded training programme that has been running since 2012 and has been the most effective programme run to date by ACC, as measured by lower claims.

Following the introduction of Ride Forever, Dan was invited to work with ACC and the NZTA to develop the current CBTA Licensing system. This was rolled out in 2014 in alignment with Ride Forever which is the preferred option for training through this licensing system.

After persevering in running the business out of a junk yard in Hillsborough for 3 years we signed a lease with Canterbury Car Club to start operating out of Ruapuna Raceway (Now – Euromarque Motorsport Park).

With Dan’s extensive racing background and running tracked based training at Ruapuna, this was the dream business location.

We now have a strong team of 11, working throughout the South Island from Christchurch to Wanaka and Invercargill. We provide services in Canterbury, Westland, Otago and Southland.

We have recently opened a new purpose-built site for Ornsby Motorcycle Training. We are still at Ruapuna but have funded our own sealed area for the beginner sessions and Basic Handling Skills Test, and have a new office and classroom. We believe we are the first Motorcycle School in New Zealand to do this. It has been only a few short months since opening on the new site, but the response from our team and our customers has been fantastic.

The team we have built and the community we are a part of. We believe that our input into rider training is helping change the mindset of riders for the better.

We have a team of 11. Most of who are contractors.

Most of our instructors are independent contractors, working with Ornsby Motorcycle Training on a seasonal or part-time basis. We are very proud of the fact that the Ornsby Motorcycle Training instructors are a great team and part of the OMT family.

There are no other contractors in regular use, apart from Anna who provides admin support on a services contract, and an ongoing arrangement with a business adviser.

Obtaining motorcycle training and licensing certification. From there, continued ongoing in-house training to ensure the consistency of the delivery of what we teach.

Training in syllabus and curriculum changes as we develop new courses and refresh existing course content.

We have many positive reviews on our Facebook and difference location Google pages as well as frequently receiving emails and phone calls of gratitude for the services we have provided and for instilling the passion for ongoing improvement.

The most overwhelming feedback is when customers come to us, letting us know that their training has saved their life. That’s why we do what we do.

Giving our passionate team a job they enjoy. Whether they are an instructor or working behind the scenes, everyone loves what they do and enjoy making a difference to people’s lives.

Although we do still struggle with work/life balance, being owners of the business we do have flexibility to work around the busy schedules of our children.

We love having a positive input in people’s lives. No matter what walk of life someone comes from, motorcycling is something that brings people together.

We have extensive community involvement having a presence at many road safety events throughout the South Island.

OMT are privileged to be in a position to donate to a regular list of charities each year, such as the City Mission Toy Run, Special Children’s Christmas Party and many more.

We also arrange a Westpac Helicopter Winter Charity Ride and have done this for the past 3 years. We get riders together to raise funds in appreciation for what they do. It’s a positive day which not only raises funds for the charity but also raises awareness for their need to raise funds to keep running successfully. Everyone who attends and donates enjoy the opportunity to give back. Most people know someone who has needed them.

We provide discounted courses to anyone in the motorcycle industry and are involved in ACC and NZTA and Road Safety events to raise awareness of motorcycle safety – e.g., Shiny Side Up and Kickstart and more.

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