Five times 500cc world motorcycle champion Mick Doohan will help launch a new Gold Coast City Council initiative to improve the skills of local riders. The program will be launched at Burleigh Heads.

The council's director of engineering services, Warren Day, says motorcycle safety is an issue of concern.

"What we're doing is something that's already been tried down in Victoria and that is we're getting skilled motorcycle instructors to go out with people who already have a licence, ride with them on the road, watch how they're dealing with traffic in different day-to-day situations and give them operating tips in those areas," he said.