The Japanese company gained its popularity in the ‘70s as it produced a line of smaller bikes that were geared towards new riders to introduce them to the world of riding. They have continued with this sense of safety and education as they have developed the SMART (Safe Motorcyclist Awareness Recognition Trainer), or the SMARTrainer.

This SMARTrainer consists of a cockpit much like that of an actual motorcycle, handlebars and seat, active throttle, clutch, front brake, shift lever that mimics a bike's, and foot pegs with rear brake (Honda SMARTrainer-Wise up your riding skills with Honda's SMARTrainer, Jeff Buchanan, Motorcycle.com,

http://www.motorcycle.com/how-to/honda-smartrainer86756.html). The system uses Honda's proprietary software which creates seventeen different road environments on a computer screen in front of the rider and then the system responds to the rider's reactions. The rider has the choice between day, night, or even a fog setting along a city, mountain or suburban roadway.

The specific purpose of the SMARTrainer is to provide a safe place for beginners to practice before jumping into a beginners' riding course and then real-world riding. The program is set up to confront riders with real world dangers on the road like erratic traffic, bad drivers, merging vehicles, congestion, blind spots, etc., (Honda SMARTrainer-Wise up your riding skills with Honda's SMARTrainer, Jeff Buchanan, Motorcycle.com). Although the SMART does provide all of these aspects, it is not a riding simulator and so does not produce any actual movement. Nonetheless, it is still a great education tool for riders.

At the end of a riding session, the program provides a performance review, not just from the rider's perspective, but other vehicle's as well. This is helpful in that it allows riders to physically see the results of their reactions to hazards and their interaction with other vehicles on the road. The rider will receive a detailed print-out of their results for themselves and the trainer to note progress and potential areas of weakness, (Honda SMARTrainer-Wise up your riding skills with Honda's SMARTrainer, Jeff Buchanan, Motorcycle.com).

If you are interested in hopping on one of these SMARTrainers, call your local Honda dealer as there are 38 dealerships have one available for use. These are not only beneficial for beginners but also riders who are returning to the road and are looking for a little practice before heading out on the open road.