16 Riders Paid £225 Each for a Wheelie School — Then This Happened

When a day out on two wheels turns into a very different kind of ride.

There are few things more exciting for a biker than the prospect of learning something new. For some riders, mastering a wheelie is right at the top of the bucket list.

That was exactly what a group of 16 riders were expecting when they paid around £225 each for a Max Up Wheelie School experience.

What followed, however, was not quite the experience they had signed up for.

The story has now been highlighted in a video that raises serious questions about bookings, cancellations, communication and what happens when an experience doesn't go according to plan.

£225 for the experience

Max Up marketed its Wheelie School as an opportunity for riders to learn and improve their wheelie technique with instruction and supervision.

The experience was promoted as a chance for riders to develop their clutch-up and balance-point skills, with Max Up also advertising its Wheelie Machine experience.

On paper, it sounded like exactly the sort of unusual motorcycle experience that would appeal to bikers.

But booking an experience is one thing.

Actually turning up and getting the experience you paid for is another.

When the plans start falling apart

The video follows the experiences of riders who had paid significant amounts of money expecting a day on the bikes.

Instead, the situation developed into a frustrating saga involving cancelled arrangements and attempts to establish what was actually happening with the event.

And this wasn't simply one unhappy customer.

Recent reviews published online contain multiple accounts from customers who say their bookings were cancelled, that communication subsequently became difficult or non-existent, and that they experienced problems obtaining refunds.

One customer said they had originally booked in December 2025 for May 2026, only for the booking to be cancelled two days before the event. They accepted an alternative date, travelled to the venue in July and said they found the track closed. The reviewer said they were then £225 out of pocket.

Those are serious allegations, particularly when customers have potentially spent hundreds of pounds and travelled considerable distances.

What makes this particularly concerning?

The issue isn't simply whether one particular event went ahead.

For anyone buying a motorcycle experience, several things matter:

• Was the experience actually taking place?

• Was the advertised venue available?

• Were customers properly informed about cancellations?

• Were refunds processed when bookings couldn't be fulfilled?

• Could customers contact the company when something went wrong?

• And should people continue making new bookings while previous customers were reporting unresolved problems?

These are questions that potential customers understandably want answered before putting their money on the line.

The customers started speaking up

As more riders began sharing their experiences publicly, the picture became increasingly difficult to ignore.

The Trustpilot profile for Max Up currently shows 33 reviews, with a significant number of recent one-star reviews describing cancelled appointments, difficulties contacting the company and alleged problems with refunds.

It is important to stress that these reviews represent the individual experiences and allegations of customers. They are not, by themselves, independent findings of wrongdoing.

There are also older positive reviews from customers who said they enjoyed their experiences with Max Up.

However, the concentration of recent complaints is clearly something prospective customers would want to know about.

Then came the video

The video brought these experiences to a much wider audience.

Rather than individual customers simply dealing with their own problems behind closed doors, riders were now speaking publicly about what had happened to them.

And that's important.

Because when people spend hundreds of pounds on a motorcycle experience, they deserve to know what other customers have experienced before they make the same decision.

The video gave those customers a platform.

And people listened.

The booking system is now gone

Following the video and customers speaking up about their experiences, Max Up have now taken their website and booking system offline.

That means potential customers are no longer able to go onto the Max Up website and simply book one of the advertised experiences in the way they previously could.

For us at Mid Bike Crisis, this is a significant development.

The whole reason for bringing stories like this to light isn't to attack businesses for the sake of it.

It's about giving bikers information.

If someone is about to spend £225 or more on a motorcycle experience, they should have the opportunity to know about previous customers' experiences before they hand over their money.

And if a booking system is no longer available, at least nobody can unknowingly go onto that system today and make the same booking without knowing what has happened.

The bigger lesson for bikers

This story also highlights something that goes beyond Max Up.

The motorcycle world is full of fantastic experience days, training schools, track days and events.

But before paying for any experience, especially one costing hundreds of pounds, it is worth taking a few minutes to check:

Recent reviews.

The venue.

The company's current contact details.

Cancellation and refund policies.

And most importantly, what other customers are saying right now — not what they were saying a year ago.

A slick website and exciting photographs can make any experience look fantastic.

But it's the experience of the customers who have actually paid that money that can tell you much more.

So where does that leave the 16 riders?

For the riders featured in this story, what should have been an exciting day learning to wheelie became something very different.

Money was paid.

Plans were made.

Travel was arranged.

And, according to the customer accounts featured in the video and subsequently published online, the promised experience did not happen for everyone who booked.

The consequences didn't stop there.

Customers then had to spend their own time trying to make contact, establish what was happening and, in some cases, pursue refunds.

That's a very different experience from the one they thought they were buying.

And now the booking system has been taken down

As a result of the video being published and customers speaking up about what happened to them, Max Up have now taken their website down and the booking system is no longer available.

That means nobody can now simply stumble across the Max Up booking system and make a new booking without seeing the issues that have been raised by previous customers.

For those riders who spoke out, their voices have been heard.

For the people featured in the video, their experiences have been put into the public domain.

And for anyone who might previously have been about to press the "Book Now" button, that option is no longer there.

This is why speaking up matters.

At Mid Bike Crisis, we believe bikers should look out for other bikers.

If you've had a good experience, tell people.

If you've had a bad experience, tell people too.

Not to cause unnecessary trouble — but so that the next person can make an informed decision before handing over their hard-earned money.

One rider speaking up can help another rider avoid making the same mistake.

And in this case, a group of riders speaking up has helped bring a much bigger story to light.