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benhamf15

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benhamf15 last won the day on March 17 2017

benhamf15 had the most liked content!

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  • Have you attended a California Superbike School school?
    One or two...

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    Male
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    Atlanta, GA
  • Interests
    Family, track riding, flying, teaching

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  1. Having watched the Qatar testing in person... (bragging, yes). Vinales definitely looked fast at the Qatar test and he has yet to crash on the Yamaha, definitely the early favorite. Ducati will be competitive at many tracks and it was visibly faster on the straight than the rest, but will Lorenzo figure out how to ride it? Rossi will figure it out & be in the hunt. The weight balance on the front of the Honda appears to favor Pedrosa so keep an eye on him early in the season. Marquez could figure out how to win on a moped. My dark horse is Iannone... fast as hell & still a little erratic but getting better, but when he adapts to the different braking on the Suzuki, he'll be a contender Bottom line, expect another fantastic season. Best racing of any kind right now. Cheers, Benny
  2. Klavdy, The CSS levels are the same world- wide so yes, your U.S. Level 4 is valid at CSS in Australia or anywhere else. Although, you always have the option of repeating a level if you desire. Many students find it beneficial to really hammer home the drills and put a fine point on the skills taught in a particular level. Have an awesome time, whatever you decide. Cheers, Benny
  3. Stroker, I've used both. Tech Spec got too slippery over time so I went to Stomp grip. Stomp is way grippier and better for high performance riding in leathers, but if you ride mostly in jeans as you say then Stomp can be too harsh, so for you I'd recommend the Tech Spec. For installation follow the directions and have the tank warm. Using the sun for heat should suffice. Also give it a day or two to set before using it if you can, but light riding should be fine if necessary. I hope you & your bike are healing well. Cheers, Benny
  4. Robert, Sounds like you have a good plan to discuss with your level 4 consultant. ? I have no doubt we'll be able to simplify matters for you in short order. One other thing to think about... If you are able to spot your turn point before you apply the brakes, will you have the info you need to know 1) how much speed you need to scrub, 2) how much distance you have to scrub it? With that info, is it easier to judge how much brake pressure you need to hit your turn point at the proper speed? Is this a bit simpler than what's been going through your mind? In some cases you can't see your turn point early enough (like approaching Charlottes Web at Barber) so a beginning braking marker becomes absolutely necessary but most often for me I can brake very effectively using only the turn point as a reference. I find most of my students are able to as well so hopefully it can help you too. Good luck my friend. Benny
  5. Robert, I know what you mean about the sound but in my experience, the sound live is not the same as what you hear on TV. I was at the race last year in Qatar and was surprised at the difference. Don't let the sound hold you back from going my friend. It's a great experience. Make sure you catch the other races over the weekend too. Even the Air Asia Talent Cup race was good. Benny
  6. My old trackbike has a superbike tail with just some 1/8" foam on it. I never realized how much information it transmits about what the back of the bike is doing until I rode a friend's R6 with a supersport tail (that uses the stock seat). I wasn't pushing it to where the back end was breaking loose, but I never had a good "Feel" for what the rear of the machine was doing. Now that I own a R6 as well, I'm trying to find a superbike tail for it (it came with Sharkskinz bodywork, but a supersport tail), but may end up taking apart the stock seat, stripping the foam out, and putting a thin bit of foam on it, to get that feel back. I had never used StompGrip until after taking CSS and experiencing the advantage, and wow.. I can't even ride my streetbike spiritedly without the stuff now! Because of it, I don't feel the seat should be grippy - just enough grip to let your butt stay planted with the one cheek on, but not so much that it grabs your leathers during transitions. Armor Bodies makes a nice superbike tail for the R6. It fits right up nicely. Benny
  7. Eskimo, As long as you don't try to force the shift lever when it doesn't want to go, you won't be harming your gearbox. It will slip into gear easily with little pressure when your timing/technique is right. If your timing/technique isn't right, it just won't go. You can only hurt things if you force the lever. If anything, clutchless shifting results in LESS wear and tear on the machine because you're not wearing the clutch so don't be afraid to experiment with it in the right environment (like an empty parking lot). Once you figure it out you'll spend almost zero attention on shifting/downshifting so learning it can pay huge dividends. Cheers, Benny
  8. I'm a bit biased, but I don't think you can find a better do-it-all well tire than the Q3, especially for the price. Tons of grip in all conditions and good wear to boot. And like rchase said, they warm up quickly. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Cheers, Benny
  9. Maybe we need to add a new "Jump Bike" to the lineup of specialty training bikes/devices. Benny
  10. All, Although we certainly appreciate everyone's loyalty to the teachings of CSS, let's be careful about being too hard on Troy Corser. After all, he IS a World Champion. He has proven to be an amazing rider that very few will ever be able to match. Although he talks about a lot of things all together that made his teachings a bit difficult to follow, he actually seems to be mostly in line with what CSS currently teaches in most areas (except maybe body steering). Keep in mind that TOTW 2 was written back in 1993 and encompassed the best technology that Keith had discovered at the time. But make no mistake that he hasn't quit discovering new riding technologies and you get the most up-to-date technology when you attend the school. For example, although TOTW 2 only talks about locking on to the tank with your knee, CSS doesn't teach there's only one way to lock on to the tank (not sure we ever did but I'm a new guy). We work with students to find a lock on position that works for THEM. It may be the knee on the tank or it could be the thigh on the tank method that Troy talks about which has evolved since TOTW 2 was written. We normally start with the knee method but if it doesn't work for a student, we'll try another way that does. What he said about that and about pulling his inside toes up on the peg, as well as what he does with his outside foot are all valid for him, and potentially valid for you too. The bottom line on these particular issues is this: does the way you lock on to the tank effectively allow you to keep you from having to hang on to the bars in any way? That's what really matters, and however you can achieve that for yourself is the right answer... for YOU. Leading students to the discovery of their OWN effective riding techniques is where CSS is strongest, in my opinion. I wouldn't want to take on Troy in a race, but I'd confidently put my students up against his in one. Benny
  11. I've listened to about the first 10 minutes of the Corser video. Thanks for posting it Eirik. It's tough to hear well but here is my interpretation of what I heard: I believe Troy is talking about moving your body early, before having to steer the bike, so you don't move and steer at the same time which introduces instability. I agree with this and we teach that as well. However, I then think he's saying that while you are moved over to the side approaching the corner the bike will lean in the direction you are hanging off (basically what CSS calls body steering), and THAT is what he is saying you have to counteract with the bars. In my own personal experience, when I set up my body early (before getting off the gas & on the brakes) I don't feel a tendency for the bike to begin to lean in. Perhaps it does a little bit and I just automatically compensate without noticing. Maybe I'm not as far off the side as he is. It would be interesting to get him on the No BS bike to see if he would still think the same way after riding it. Myself too, for that matter. If anybody understood what he said differently or if the issue you're concerned about arises later in the video, please speak up. Cheers, Benny
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