Bret Tkacs
Adventure motorcycle instructor and curriculum author, teaching motorcycle safety since 1996.
177K subscribers · 241 videos · 23M views on YouTube
Spain
Teacher First, Rider Second
Bret Tkacs
Lead Instructor
- Teaching riders since 1996, when he founded Puget Sound Safety, a Washington school that grew to train up to 4,000 riders a year.
- Teaching adventure riders since 2006.
- Degree in adult education: his courses are built on how adults learn and keep new skills.
- Author of Washington State DOL-authorized rider curricula, including Learn to Ride and Street Strategies.
- Designed the US Army Special Forces Motorcycle Mentor Training program.
- Has ridden in 49 countries, including Seattle to Ushuaia and Spain to South Africa.
Bret's work focuses on riding skills that hold up in the real world: where traction is limited, fatigue builds and small mistakes have real consequences. Most riders who train with him come from long road-riding backgrounds. They're comfortable on a motorcycle but know the dirt asks for different balance, vision and energy.
His instruction keeps coming back to the same ideas: use the forces on the bike instead of fighting them, rely on timing rather than strength, decide early so problems don't compound, and understand why a technique works so you can adapt it on your own.
The travel shapes the teaching. Bret has ridden five months from Seattle to Ushuaia and five months from Spain to South Africa's Cape of Good Hope, led groups through Nepal, Morocco and Tibet, and taught riders in India, Colombia and New Zealand. Long days, loaded bikes and decisions far from help are what he teaches for.
He has served as an expert witness in motorcycle cases since 2006, and his work has been relied on by US Special Operations forces, military units, federal and state agencies, and New Zealand's Accident Compensation Corporation. Expert witness and legal consulting
Rides: 2018 BMW R1200GS
How Bret Teaches
Bret's style is direct, analytical and low-ego. The point is never how well he rides. It's what you need to understand to reach your own goals, and what you see on his YouTube channel is what you get in person.
- Why Before HowEvery technique comes with the physics behind it, so you can reason through ground no instructor ever described.
- Moving, Not WaitingYou learn on varied terrain with purposeful repetition, not in a line waiting for your turn at the cones.
- Challenge Without the BeatingTerrain matches your ability and gets harder as you do. No forced failure, no peer pressure.
- Built for LongevityMost riders aren't in their twenties. Training aims for real progress without needless crashes, injuries or damaged bikes.
What Riders Notice
I never heard Bret say to me or the other riders that a technique was ‘wrong’. My take away from our conversations were that different riding environments require different techniques.
Dennis · Idaho Challenge Training, 2025 I came in feeling anxious and uncertain, but the support and encouragement from the trainers made all the difference.
Henry · Virginia ADV Training, 2025 There are countless adventure motorcycle trainers out there… what makes them exceptional is their ability to teach.
Edwin · ADV Training
Red Flags in ADV Training
The best instructors teach principles, not formulas. "Lean back in sand" and "lean forward uphill" are two rules, and neither helps on a steep, sandy hill. Watch for these when you compare schools.
Bret recommends other schools too, because the right fit matters more than where you train: Bill Dragoo's D.A.R.T., Moto iKandi with Kandi Spangler, and the MSF AdventureBike RiderCourse as a low-cost first step.
- Dirt-Bike Skills in DisguiseTechniques built for a 250 lb dirt bike can break a leg on a 600 lb ADV bike. Avoid schools that teach legs out in corners, feet as outriggers or wheelies on loaded bikes.
- “Just Send It” CoachingPeer pressure pushes riders past what they understand. Confidence comes from knowing what the bike will do before you commit.
- Great Riders Who Can't TeachRiding at an elite level and teaching adults are different skills. Ask how an instructor teaches, not only how they ride.
Featured In
- RideApart (external site)Advice for first-time off-road riders
- Motorcycle Cruiser (external site)Embedded on a Special Forces rider training mission
- Autocar India (external site)ADV riding basics with Bret Tkacs
- ZA Bikers (external site)Bret teaching in South Africa
- Ride Adventures (external site)The best ADV training courses in the USA
- MotoAdventurer (external site)How to measure adventure riding skills
Train With Bret
Classes run April–July 2027.
- Bret Leads Every Class
- Small Groups Across the US
- Rated 5.0 From 120 WeTravel Reviews