AdamZisa

As Cobie stated, there won't be one single answer as every road/ track will have variations of turns, angle of the road, surface differences, etc. I was at Thunderhill West in June and learned that I was accelerating through a turn that I could have just used my momentum to get through and I was faster in doing so. Some people might call it "coasting" or engine braking. I just know that down the straight I would see Turn 1, enter Turn 1, and would not get back on the throttle until exiting Turn 2. My momentum carried me through. When I used the throttle at the exit of T1 and into T2, I would have too much speed and have to move around a lot to try to catch my already missed apex and try to set up for the next turn. It was too much! A lot going on and more reacting rather than having a plan. The track/ road itself does not move around or change much. It is the rider that is the unknown variable! Have a plan for each turn you take. Hope your first track day went well!

Track day TRACK YAYYYYYYYYYY I will be at Chuckwalla September 22-23, riding on the 23rd. If anyone is out there and wants to meet up, LETS GOOOOOOOOOOO! Arizona Motorsports Park October 21st! Riding in A-Group, must ride with faster people and realize I can keep pace. Let me know if you will be there, we usually have a large crew of my family members eating and hanging out....but none of them ride on track!!!! It would be great to ride with people I know! Chuckwalla November 10-11, riding on the 11th! Come play!

As soon as I saw the photo, I was shouting (in my head), "GET IT GET IT!!!!" Glad you had a great time! It is definitely an amazing learning experience. Go forth and conquer!

Interesting! Thank you. I have not played around with the suspension on my 2017. I have been trusting the DDC to do it's thing and so far no complaints. And heck yeah I love attending the schools! I do about 1 or 2 per year. Thank you again and good luck on your first day back!

Hey! My apologies because I am not really helping with this....but what modifications did you make to allow the bike to hold a tighter line? I have not had any issues with tight lines on the 2017 S1000RR....but if there is a way to make it even better I would like to know! Would you mind elaborating on the changes you made? As far as my experience with modifications: I have only upgraded tires once I wear them out and I update me as a rider with school attendance or reading/ practicing. So I am interested in how you made the S1000RR better!

Lorenzo's outside pass right on the edge around Marquez in Austria I believe....WOOOF. That was one heck of a hook turn trying to keep it on track and out of Marquez's trajectory upon exit!!!

Worddddd. I just see the highlights on instagram. I do not have BeIn Sports anymore. I just like to watch the passing and how to get better at it.

How did your predictions go?!

NOW THATS A FEELING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At Thunderhill west in T1 and T2 I was getting on the gas early. Same premise of "get on the gas as soon as your lean angle is set." But again, it's as soon as possible. I learned about scrubbing speed and setting lean angle and waiting until the bike is pointed to where I want it to go. Made such a difference. It felt slower, but then the adage of slow in, fast out came to mind. Can't go flying in there out of control. With the scrubbing speed and slower approach, I felt I was able to be more precise with where my front tire would go. On the road, I look wayyyyyy ahead and recognize that my perfect apex point or where I want my front tire to go may not be feasible due to traffic or other conditions. By looking in front of me, I can prepare with that hard focus you all referenced, and use the soft focus to see cars or other obstacles. I still make it through swiftly but I may miss the perfect apex point which to me on the street is OK. I would rather get through quickly and safely and know how to react/ fix my line in an emergency, rather than focus on a small point on the road. When racing, and please feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but if someone is blocking your apex, you cannot exactly hit that same spot 1-inch from the curbing every time. My opinion is that it is almost better to know how to handle that situation, how to adapt and realign yourself to pass them next time or to do what is safest. If you are going for best lap and no one is in front of you, then heck yeah I wanna hit that apex spot and be precise as heck!!! When someone is in the way though (intentionally or not) I would rather be accurate and confident to handle the situation.

Hope it went well for you, Raven! And hope it clears up for your time there, Catfish. First time on a track and the track is VIR. That is sick. I have not ridden my bike there, but I assisted with flags during some car racing events. Awesome stuff. Let everyone know how you both liked the school!!!

I went to Thunderhill West this past weekend with my dad. I was doing level 4 for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday felt great, I learned the track, I felt fast, and left feeling like I could get through the track comfortably. Sunday came and for some reason it was a different story. I went off track three times and would let my SR's take over in Turn 1. I could not figure it out. I felt like I was only adding 10-15 mph down the straight just to up my pace. Why was this such a big deal?! First of all, after consulting with Johnny, adding that much speed is too much. I needed to add it gradually, 1 mph at a time even. Gerry was my coach for Sunday. We found that my vision was hindering me. By adding that much speed, I had to PLAN for my turn point earlier. I just kept focusing on the turn point itself and by the time I hit it, I was already beyond it and therefore turning in late with a new sense of speed....I would panic and become stiff on the bars. Gerry coached me to look WAYYY ahead. Go at my normal pace, and look wayyyyy ahead at Turn 1. I did and suddenly the track felt slower. I felt like I was scooting along on a pedal bicycle down the straight and going into Turn 1. I got my lap times recorded for Sunday. My fastest lap time of a 1:40 was during my second session, when I was still affected by my vision. Surrounding that time was a bunch of 1:50's or even 2:00 +. Crazy variance..... After listening to Gerry and using my vision to slow things down for the last session, my lap times were consistently 1:43 1:44 and staying in that range. I know it is slower, but the consistency is important. This shows me that if I can stay consistent, I can begin to work on my speed. I was doing the same thing every single lap and talking to myself in my helmet, "2 step, no greys." This meant use the two step and look way ahead. No greys meant to not hit the gray curbing at all and to look 4-inches to the side of the curbing so I could place my front wheel there. I wanted to thank Gerry and Big Andy for their coaching on both days as well as Johnny for his consulting between sessions both days. We came up with a plan every time and after execution, the results were showing in timed laps as well as overall confidence on the track. Gerry also taught me how to use my peripheral vision to sense movement. This would help with passing others and my goodness it made such a difference to my whole experience!!! I was passing other riders safely and with enough space and speed. It really changed things. I cannot wait to implement this at my next track day/ race. I will take time today to write down my plan for my home tracks and how to approach different corners. I really like that once you leave a track with CSS and go to your home track, you can apply what you learned to your home track. You did not have to sit there and say, "okay I learned the track with them...why don't them come here so I can learn my track with them?" It is more like, "OH! This turn is JUST LIKE turn 2 at Thunderhill! I know how to do this!" Thank you all for the great weekend and learning. We will be back and my dad wants to do Level II! The photo below is of my dad and I. I caught up with him for the photo op to look like a doofus (I am on 21 and he's on 22).

Loved this read and thread!!! I admire how the OP was willing to experiment and how Dylan provided resources. As stated, there exists so much information and it is difficult to decipher what is right, what COULD be right, and what is total opinion. Awesome read and I love that no one was mean. Side note: I have been reading Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (not a text to do with cornering or riding) and it was cool to see the logic and philosophy stuff mentioned. You gotta think before you ride, during your ride, and after you ride to really get this stuff...and actually ride the bike!

Thank you! I am a counselor as my profession so I try to bring up the feelings associated with the experience...and Cobie may know/ remember this: but I want to be a coach for CSS!!! So I try to use a lot of empathy in what a student may be feeling or experiencing to work with them effectively and on a personal level.

Realize that it is a SCHOOL, not a sales-pitch! The instructors are incredibly knowledgeable and when they are discussing technique, form, or common mistakes, it is not to sell you on their ideas or ways of riding. They are teaching you a new technique. You try it out, and if you do not like it, let the instructors know when you have your post ride meeting with them. Let them know what was uncomfortable. Chances are, they will spot it before you do and tell you exactly what to change or address. For me personally, my first school I went to, I loved it. I was so excited and ready and scared. I went in with an open mind and took it all in. There may be some people in your class that "argue" with the ideas or challenge the instructors based on their personal experiences. It can be frustrating because the instructors are there to teach, not to sell. They are offering a new perspective, new techniques, they are not trying to change you. They are not telling you this is the ONLY way to ride a bike. However, they have done their research, they show you the research, and they have proven techniques. It is up to you whether you leave the school and take the lessons with you! Go in with an absolutely open mind. If you go in with this approach, I guarantee you will enjoy it so much more and your riding will drastically improve!!!! Also, if and when a coach pulls you over on the track, do not take it personally. They are not mad at you, they are there to keep you and other riders safe. If they notice something dangerous, they will bring it up. Lastly, do not worry if you are slower than others in your class. You learn best when you ride at 75% of your ability. And sometimes with even less speed you can focus on your riding and the technique at hand. In summation... 1) Go in with an open mind. 2) Don't take it personally if you are "having a talkin' to" by one of the coaches. 3) Ride at a pace you are comfortable with, do not worry about the ability of others. Focus on you!

I look forward to this day!!! Hahaha

The first day at CSS for me and one of my favorite drills is riding the course for a sighting lap. Ride the outer perimeter for one lap, and then the inner perimeter for another. Ride over all of the surfaces, realize that they are not as slippery. Or look for dust and debris. This helps so much to make you less "edge shy" and become acquainted with the surface. I do this on my canyon rides now and the first lap of my track days. Looking forward to checking out Thunderhill in June!

CW! I am excited to try the crested hill again. When I go through it CCW, it looks like you can almost go straight through it.... I must be psyching myself out. I will see what I can learn at Level 4 in June!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thunderhill raceway.

Very cool and insightful read!!!! Got dang I need to get me one of them data loggers. This is really helpful for high analysis. Thank you for this post.

Went back to Chuck again and lowered by 3 seconds to get a consistent 2:14! Higher entry speeds, less brakes, and following faster riders. I need to relax though! Hands went a little numb towards the end of the day. Photos indicate that I am not hanging off enough and still have at least 4-Inches of clearance of lean angle. Going to ride with Dale Kieffer next time and see if I can hit that 2:05 or less mark. It is nice to know that I am at least at pace for the back of the pack during racing now! Having issues with three turns there. "Patience," turn 5-6, and the super slow section where you have to crest the hill on the edge of the track... And I could definitely up my speed and attack angle in the bowl. More to learn!!!! Need more tires first....

Hey all! Arizona Motorsports Park on Sunday April 15th! If you want to join just let me know andddd we can set goals of the day together! Trying to beat 2:07... COME PLAY!

The weekend of April 7th and 8th, I will be at Chuckwalla! My dad and I will be camping there over night. We welcome people to come and hang out by our setup. We do not bring crazy amounts of food to this event, unfortunately, BUT! I do enjoy showing new riders around the track and going over skills to practice during each session. My goal is to get 2:10 or lower around Chuck. I can already think of three turns that I can easily shave seconds off of, now its time to do it smoothly! Come play!

Hey all! I will be at Arizona Motorsports Park Sunday March 24th. I plan on bringing my CBR and my newly acquired S1000RR! Please come by, say hi, review Twist of the Wrist II with me, plan different attack lines, and mostly have fun with me and my friends! We bring lots of food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So come eat.

Thats pretty tight! I like that look and the story.

I had been sick for almost two weeks and then signed up for a track day at Arizona Motorsports park. The circuit was being run CCW that day and I had not ridden in that way. With getting over an illness and essentially relearning the track, I was less than 1-second off my personal best!!! I went to Chuckwalla the next weekend feeling healthier and ready. The trackday was running Chuck CW. Thankfully it was the Superbowl weekend, so there was probably 40 riders at the track that day. Open session format so you just go and go and go. What I thought was interesting was that I filmed two sessions and even though it was untimed, I rode for 20 minutes and then stopped. I just think that is crazy that my body just knew, "okay 20-minutes is up, raise that hand and leave the track!" Anyway, I started racing in the chuckwalla series back in September. Crashed out of my first race. I competed the next month, dead last place and lapped. I was contacted by someone from the CVMA organization who said, "practice getting your lap times down....your pace is kind of a big risk." He suggested I aim for 2:15 being that my lap time was an incredibly slowwwwww 2:30. I agreed. I purchased a lap timer. I met with a therapist about relaxing techniques. I started to get more comfortable on my bike. So....Superbowl weekend...I did not feel like I was trying as hard and got my laps down to 2:17 consistently. I KNOW. I KNOW. That is still very slow especially for a liter bike (2013 CBR 1000RR) And Benny Solis is at like a 1:30 lap time on a 600..... But man what an improvement. I know I should be riding the track to beat the track, not the riders around me....But passing people that are riding on my dream bike (s1000RR) FELT SO GOOD. I told myself I would not race again until I get my laps to at least 2-minutes. So I can stay with the pack. It has been helping to review my studies, and simply THINK about the track and how to take a turn before heading out there like I know what I am doing. Thinking man! It helps. After reviewing my footage there are a bunchhh of things I can improve on, but there were so many things I did differently to improve as well. Strengths: throttle input EARLIER and rolled on for greater speeds through the turn. Telling myself that I can enter at higher speeds (slow in fast out, but my entry speed can definitely go up). Knowing where to go slow and having patience in the turn dubbed "Patience." Areas of Improvement: use of the quick turn, later turn entry and attempting different attack lines, being comfortable with using only the parts of the track I need upon exiting a corner, squeeze the bike with my legs when braking earlier. I noticed that when I take my legs off to prepare for the turn, after a straight away, I am not squeezing with my legs and thus applying the brakes sends all that weight and my own forward and maxes out the load on the front tire. I start to actually lift up the rear! So to settle this I have a few options: when applying the brakes, I should grip with legs, and then as I am slowing down adjust BP for the upcoming turn...use the rear brake to settle the rear a bit (but I do not think I am at that pace yet)....or learn the max speed I can enter the turn using the 3+4 drill no brakes. I am very excited to continue to learn.