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Keith Code

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Posts posted by Keith Code

  1. I can appreciate the idea of watching top riders ride and figuring out what to do for your own riding.

    The only problem with that, I've found, is I still cannot ride like Marc Marquez or my all time hero, Valentino Rossi.

    But, when it comes to foot position there are some basics with the human body and physics that to apply.

    This may be contrary to or agree with some, either way, they are basic.

    When we move from side to side or forward and backwards, the ball of the foot is always our first point of contact unless you are doing it

    VERY SLOWLY. Flat footed moves require anyone to put their whole foot down and then transfer most of their weight onto it and the

    entire body is swaying side to side. Try it and see what I mean.

    Moving off the ball of the foot, we stay in balance and distribute our weight more evenly and we do NOT have to swing our body mass

    over and we do NOT have to change our balance point for the entire body.

    Does that mean the arch and heel methods are wrong, NO, it does not but it does point out which is the most efficient, strongest, most

    in balance way of moving our entire body. OK, what does that have to do with riding, pretty much the same forces apply to it because

    we are also lightening up our torsos, off the seat or lighter in it, in order to move relatively quickly as we must do in any series corners,

    like esses.

    Using the ball of the foot also gives anyone the most powerful lift position using the calf muscle. So what?

    Well, if you are using the method of locking your outside leg into the tank by wedging your inner thigh into it

    with an up press at a slight angle to engage it, which anyone can do, you have the most powerful engagement

    possible with a body. That's an advantage. Rather than trying to squeeze the tank, scissors style, where you do

    not have nearly as much power, your legs will get very tired, very quickly. Not to say we don't use that, we do, just

    enough to get engagement on the tank and YES grip material, as there is on many Moto GP bikes these days, helps.

    They often use some clear or slightly milky grippy plastic stuff.

    But what's the point in locking onto the bike to begin with?

    Using whatever method, locking onto the tank as your stable point on the bike has other advantages which become more

    difficult using the arch or any other part of the foot which lessens the "calf power" from the ball, being your base.

    Additionally, locking onto the tank is in line with the center of mass of the bike and the rider. That's an advantage because

    it is the part of the bike that moves the least, no matter what the bike is doing, as opposed to, for example, using the bars as a

    stable support point for your body mass. That alone is a huge benefit, you aren't being thrown around by the bike's movements.

    In addition to that, having your leg locked onto/into the tank in that fashion is the most stable position for your body's mass

    because the leg is connected to the pelvis and your body's center of mass is located in the cradle of your pelvis.

    So, your balance is maximized, your are the most agile, most powerful and the most relaxed you can possibly be while

    still maintaining your position and stability on the bike. Any sport or fighting discipline has that as the most basic goal

    for mobility, strength, balance, control, movement capability. And, aside from all of that, you can be the most relaxed

    when your core center of mass is stable.

    Resting your legs when you aren't using them, like the straightaways, is fine.

    That you have to move your feet is part of the game of cornering, no doubt about that. No doubt about it keeping the

    feet off the ground dragging holes in your pricey boots. No doubt that you aren't having to stabilize yourself by some

    other less efficient method.

    Having said all of that, which is inarguable, you might point out that Mick Dohan, musti time world champion, didn't have

    the body position that nearly every other rider has, these days.

    Also, you might also consider that GP bikes are, usually, more adjustable than your average street based bike and

    can be adjusted for different riders.

    Back a few years, one of my students had the opportunity to  ride Danny Pedrosa's Honda Moto GP bike which is set up for a rider who is I believe 5'1"

    and my rider is 6'. He said it was nearly unrideable for him.

    All things considered, the base line for body position that is my definition is:

    Harmony with the motorcycle, freedom of movement on it and precision control over it, with the minimum necessary effort.

    Comments welcome.

    Keith

     

     

     

     

    • Like 2
  2. 21 minutes ago, El Colibri said:

    Keith, Merlin here.  
     

    You were my off track coach for all 3 single days at Barber this past May. I believe it was on day 2 - I was able to shave 5-7 seconds (can’t remember exactly to be honest but it was a huge gain) off my lap times with a single drill you assigned to me. 
     

    if that helps with “credibility” 😉

    The freed attention and consistency in my lines with outside peg/foot “felt like” a similar leap forward for me. I think you’re on to something valuable here.

    On to something valuable is good, that's the way its been going since I started coaching way the hell back in 1976 🙂

    • Like 1
  3. El Colibri;

    First off, thanks for trying it out and comparing it with the other technique you'd done before at the school. That gives your observations more credibility for me.

    Yes please, do come back after your COTA tarck day and let me know but I'm willing to wager that if you can get it to work on the street, it'll that much easier there and the COTA apex 'curbing' is already pretty friendly.

    Keith

  4. This thread started me thinking. Dangerous, I know.

    Some riders, very good ones, claim they just know where the tires are and can hit a tight apex. I can't but I'm happy for them.

    Knee to curb is workable, or, more descriptively, Knee Over Curb. 9 out of 10 students reap substantial improvements with that drill.

    AS Hofoot said, she can't see the tank on her small bike and if body position is good, with head low and turned in to the corner, it may be similar on a big bike. The more "GP" the body position the less tank you'll see.

    One other thing just struck me as a possible device for estimating the location of the tires in a corner. It's the position of your outside foot.

    Look at Yakaru's shot at Streets, or any shot in the thread, the outside foot is very close to being perfectly over the rear contact patch, not quite directly over it but that would give you a safety margin if it was a help. I say "if it was a help" because I have no idea if this would work for anyone.

    You could call it a research project at this point and I hope to try it out for myself as well.

    Keith

    • Like 4
  5. Lebedo;

    I wasn't worried about you stealing my stuff, everything in the books and videos is for riders to improve themselves, if you see better ways to instruct from the books and videos and you see it helping your students, I'm happy about that.

    The bike should not stand up once pressure is released after the counter-steering pressure is applied. If the rider is crossed up as you illustrate in the photo then it WILL have the tendency to stand up. This is possible.

    Also, riders often restrain the bars with the opposite hand e.g., press the right bar to turn right but their left arm is stiff holding on to the left bar. They could be pushing or pulling on the left bar. If they are pushing on it the bike will stand up.

    When you instruct counter-steering you always look at both arms. The negative effects on handling from being too tight on the bars is well covered in" A Twist of the Wrist II"

    Keith

    • Like 2
  6. Lots of good data from some of you and especially Hotfoot’s info. Here’s just a bit more on the subject of Pivot Steering. May be repetitive of some data already written but look it over an do the experiment at the end for fun.

    My statement in Twist II about getting your weight closer to the center of mass or center of gravity by weighting the pegs rather than the seat and any implication that it alters the center of mass (COM) or center of gravity (COG) was, or helps in any way is, for lack of a better words, junk, incorrect, wrong.

    Weight in the seat or on the pegs does not change the COG of you or the bike, at all. If you could move your body's mass lower than the seat or tank, it would but it has to be the mass changing position, not where the mass is connected to the bike.

    Putting more weight on one or another peg is only changing its connection point. If you weight one peg you will go lighter in the seat and un-weight the other peg some. A very slight weight imbalance may occur but it has little, or no, effect on the bike’s direction.

    When a bad passenger leans the “wrong” way, the rider must compensate by leaning the bike over more to stay on line. The COG of the passenger becomes offset from the bike’s COG and it must be leaned more to balance out the offset-from-center COG. The same goes for riders who hang their bum way off but leave their torsos crossed up, on the other side of the bikes center line. The benefit of the bum off the one side is neutralized by the torso mass being crossed to the other side or staying in the middle.  

    In a straight line, moving your body’s mass over to the side, as in preparing the hung off riding position, creates a weight and COG imbalance. The bike veers toward the hung off side’s direction, slightly, not enough to turn into any corner on a race track at speed but does work on the road in some sweeping corners–at road speeds.

    Pivot steering, as many have pointed out, has nothing to do with the weight on the outside peg. The peg is used as a push–off/pivot point. The weight on it has no measurable effect on the bikes balance. The thigh/knee are driven up and into the tank from the peg by doing a ‘calf raise’, pivoting off the peg.

     For pressing, or for pull-plus-press steering, there is no more stable or stronger body position than the Pivot Steering technique. This is easily demonstrated.

    Have a friend hold a small bathroom scale flat up against the wall. Stand in front of it and line up your right arm with the scale. Plant both feet solidly about footpeg width, about 2 feet from the wall. Press on the scale with your right palm as hard as you can. Get the reading.

    With feet in the same position, shift all your weight onto the right foot and then press as hard as you can on the scale with the right hand again. Get the reading.

    Finally, pivot all your weight from your left foot and press on the scale. The last will be the highest reading by a substantial margin. That is one of the benefits of Pivot Steering, maximum strength which also tells you it is the most stable body position possible for counter steering.

    The weighting of pegs in off road conditions was mentioned for traversing across slanted ground. In that scenario, the rider’s body mass also changes position in order to weight the peg and that shifts the combined COG to their benefit.

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  7. 11 hours ago, yakaru said:

    I didn't know it was Will, but I remember that frame -- huge distortion, if my memory serves it was shifted around half it's width over to the side.

    I was so proud of that shot, no one had ever showed how much distortion there was on setting down a wheelie of angle. There's so much going on that we still don't fully understand.

    • Like 1
  8. Look again. He rolls it off to get it pointed up the hill to #4 right before and just after the second apex. The uphill magnifies the slight roll off to bring the bike around and minimize lean on the exit and his getting max gas towards #4. If you look closely, the speed at the second apex goes down, only 1 mph, but that's enough to get it pointed. At least for him 🙂 In addition, that slight roll off transfers weight to the front allowing the bike to turn a tighter arc at that point. KC

  9. On 3/25/2020 at 5:49 AM, faffi said:

    If you do all, or the absolute majority of, your braking upright, would that not in most instances require some coasting off the throttle? Or can you go still go directly to maintenance throttle as you initiate, or at least finish, turning in?

    First off, how do you define "maintenance throttle"?

    Brake release is, as Hotfoot pointed out, corner specific. What the 2 second brake release is, is an average, some longer, some shorter time.

    There are a few, but not many, corners where it would take a whole 2 seconds to go from upright to full lean. If you are thinking about then to get back to the gas, that's simple, as soon as the bike is pointed to the apex you intend to hit. If you can get the bike turned, and aimed there, very quickly you now have the opportunity to get back to gas. That could be very early on, well before where you kiss your apex--for some corners.

    What that tells us is the quicker the steering is initiated (from full upright to your max lean) the earlier you are releasing the brake. Why? The bike is pointed where you want it to go, no reason to spend more time waiting for it to slow (coasting) you are welcome to get back to gas and stabilize the bike with your great throttle control. Rule of thumb would be: The quicker you steer, the earlier the release.

    The other rule of thumb you might consider is: You always trail out the brake whether you are finishing it fully upright or as you lean into the corner. Why? Because your opportunity to get your entry speed right where you want it is easier when you take the time to taper off the brakes rather than just dumping the brake lever quickly.

    As an aside, there are definitely corners where you wouldn't call how you brake "trail braking". Rainey corner at Laguna Seca is a good example. You fly int the entry area and need to scrub off say 5 to 10 mph. The brake action is a simple in and out squeeze and release, not abrupt on either end but not long either.

    We have video with data showing a very good rider who I'd call a Quick Turn Artist, getting the bike point very early and only losing 1 mph between brake off and gas on and that 1 mph loss was well before the apex.

    Keith

     

  10. No Vic;

    The drills are along the lines of getting the best positioning on the bike with what you have to work with, in our case, the S1000RRs. We do also have foot pegs that we designed which are far more comfortable and stable than standard ones on any sport bike.

    KC

  11. No patent, patents are a PITA. All they really give you is the right to hire a lawyer to defend your patent. Kind of cynical 🙂

    It's just an idea I've had for many years. A good coach can help adjust a rider to their bike which mostly means doing the best with what you have and what you can adjust. I spent two days with Joe Roberts last Fall playing around with foot peg positions, one day in the garage and one day at the track. In the end, pretty much everyone has to deal with some degree of compromise. There are some basic drills we've developed to find optimum seating position and peg placement. It's very interesting how some very subtle changes can make a huge difference in rider comfort and stability.

    • Like 1
  12. Thank you. This is an area we are still researching and figuring out. We've developed quite a few body position drills for both on and off track (skid pad) exercises. It still mazes me that something that looks so simple--getting into good body position habits--can have so many points of resistance. I'd love to have a body position bike where every dimension of it could be adjusted: where the seat, tank, pegs, bars could be configured any way you would want them. For example, if the tank could be lengthened, shortened, widened or narrowed, raised and lowered, along with the other components, eventually you would come up with a bike that fit you perfectly and allowed real freedom of movement and optimum control with the least possible effort. I can dream, can't I 🙂

  13. Speed and Direction

    When riders say they would like to increase their confidence and control, what do they mean? Aside from pleasing the eye and entertaining discussions about them, all motorcycles have the same six controls–throttle, front brake, rear brake, clutch, gear lever and handle bars. Those six controls are how we change or maintain the speed and the direction of the bike. And, that is all they do and it is all you do while riding.

    Good control amounts to correctly choosing where and how much you change the speed and direction of the bike. Likewise, any and all decisions you make are based on changing or maintaining speed and direction.

    The bike is more than likely capable of performing well but in those moments of confidence shattering doubt, the rider isn’t. All dramatic situations on any motorcycle have been and always will be based on the rider's inability to correctly change or maintain its speed or direction. Aside from mechanical failures there are no other "situations".

    Someone could argue that point: “What about hitting an on or off ramp diesel spill; that doesn’t fit the maxim above?” I’d have to agree. However, the majority of motorcycle accidents these days are single vehicle, loss of control in a corner, crashes–not ones which no one can control.

    Speed and direction changes can be limited by the individual machine's controllability factors. Its handling of the road's surface and potential for stability are based on its suspension and frame configuration; its throttle response; gearing and braking characteristics and the tires' compatibility with all of the above plus electronic intervention that can alter your direct control over them such as ABS and traction control.

    Problems in controllability aren't bad. They are the road signs which have lead designers and engineers towards machine improvement from the beginning. For example, it hardly matters whether suspension was first conceived to achieve better traction on bumpy roads or to provide a smoother ride to eliminate the need for kidney belts. Both were situations that caused problems. Suspension did result in a whole new range of potentials for controlling speed and direction and a significantly more hospitable machine for rider comfort.

    Any rider's true skill level can only be measured by his ability to determine exactly WHERE to change or maintain speed and direction and execute the right AMOUNT of each.  There are no other components to skill. 

    While riding, the combinations of speed and direction inputs result in arriving somewhere: for example staying in your lane or using a late apex to handle a decreasing radius corner. Confidence is achieved when the rider is certain that the machine is going in the right direction and will arrive at a predictable location, at the right speed. You might need to be stopped or to swerve before hitting a car which pulled out, or it could be exiting the banking at Daytona wide open at the top of 6th gear doing 175 mph pointed down the straight––not at the wall. It makes no difference, both are determined by where and how much the rider changed or maintained their speed and direction.

    The ability of a rider to determine speed and direction changes relies solely on the amount of space they have to work with. This is the determining factor for where to change and how much to change them. Judgment could be defined as: fitting the right degree of speed and/or direction change into the amount of available space in order to arrive or not arrive (like missing a pot hole) somewhere.

    This leads us into the area of the rider’s visual aptitude. On a practical level, always having a destination plotted out in front is wise. The five faults that stand in your way are target fixating on something, compulsive over-scanning, tunneled vision, looking too close or too far ahead.

    Your visual skill is based on how many of those five are absent– anytime and anywhere you ride. Becoming aware of the five and gaining control over them WILL lead to improvement.

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  14. Rider Improvement

    What There Is to Learn

    I’d like to point out some things about riders and rider training. Below is a list of six categories of riders and how they regard the idea of training and rider improvement. The next section covers the results; the kinds of things we look for and you should expect from rider training.

    The Six Categories of Riders

    1.   Ones that have tried to improve, failed at it and lost interest. They're basically locked-up on the whole subject of rider improvement–they don't want to know about it.

    2.   Riders that say there is nothing to learn. This category of rider often says that seat time will handle it. They'll change the subject or politely dismiss what you have to say about training.

    3.   Those that actively speak against training. ‘Hey, you just get on the bike and do it. I don't crash, what is there to learn...don't waste your money on a school buy a nice pipe instead. Schools suck.’ These guys are foolishly antagonistic.    

    4.   Those that have a vague desire to improve but lack information about how to. They have a want but it goes unfulfilled. For one reason or another, this rider just doesn't take the next step. They HOPE it will get better.

    5.   Those that become interested in learning more. They will talk about improvement. They will listen to advice but still remain passive. This might be the most dangerous of all the categories because this rider will listen to just about anything.  They might hear, ‘you don't know how fast you can go until you crash’, and actually try it! 

    6.   Riders who do something to improve. Here you find the rider who reads articles, goes to track days in search of answers or comes to a school. They make a commitment to improve and take definite steps to do it. 

    Most riders are in one of the above categories on the subject of rider improvement.

    What There is to Learn

    It's no secret that I am in the business of training riders. I do it because I know it works and over the past 39 years of doing it I've noticed a few things about riders who take the plunge to improve. The following is what we have observed in our students.

    Once a rider is trained, they begin to handle cornering problems and situations on their own. They understand and make sensible corrections that actually correct. Riders who are trained can read the feedback the bike is giving them easier than those who are not trained. They can identify and communicate to someone what the bike is doing.

    Trained riders can spot what is wrong in their riding and tend to not make the same mistakes over and over. Also, training brings about control over the "knee jerk" reactions that cause riders to make dangerous errors. 

    Riders who are trained have a solid foundation of skills and the knowledge and certainty that their riding won't get worse. They can still make mistakes but it doesn't defeat them. Additionally, trained riders can actually offer constructive help to others who want to improve. If a rider is turning in too early or too late, has poor throttle control or is rushing the corners and making it worse, the trained rider can spot it.

    Riders who look uncomfortable are uncomfortable. Trained riders look as though they are more a part of the bike. And as a bonus, racing fans gain an appreciation and an even greater respect for what professional riders can do because they can see what the pro is doing and why.

     My riding instructors are trained to observe these points and the really amazing thing is we see changes like these in every student.

     What we Know

    Confidence comes from knowing that the bike will do what you want it to do when you want it to do it. Once a rider improves, and knows why and what they have improved, it opens the door to virtually unlimited improvement.

     Knee-jerk reactions only happen to riders when they don't have the right skill or technique for the situation at hand. Training strips away confusions and complexities. When riding feels simple, control is simple. When control is simple any rider has confidence.

    Effort or Training        

    Truly enthusiastic riders do have the urge to improve.  Unfortunately, a great many of them waste their riding time and their money hoping that seat time will handle it. That doesn't mean they aren't going to improve, it means that it will take longer, cost more and the results will be sketchy. Most likely there will be a lot of misguided effort involved.

    Which is likely to be most effective, rider training or simply trying harder? Will experience alone sweep away those uncertainties? Will more emotional effort get you the level of control you want? Training and expert coaching are what we offer and it works.

    Keith Code

    PS: Our 2019 schedule is at <www.superbikeschool.com>, log on, sign up and I'll see you at the track.

    © CSS, Inc., 2018, all rights reserved

    • Thanks 3
  15. Traction Science

     

    Traction limits are hard to reckon for most riders but there are some things to know about it. Traction results from a brew of chemicals the rubber is compounded with, how cleverly the carcass is constructed and shaped, proper inflation, enough tread depth, and maintaining the tire within its optimum temperature range, which varies with different rubber compounds.

     

    Heat up a mounted tire to its operating temperature, tilt it over to 45 degrees and apply ever increasing pressure on it. At some point the tire will slip; that amount of load is 101% of the tire's static grip limit.

     

    In motion, achieving maximum traction is quite different. As the tire grips it wears. What 'wears out' are the various chemicals, oils, waxes and pigments which bind together the rubber. Abrasion and heat 'cook' them off. You've noticed the bluish-purplish color of a tire from hard cornering, it's called 'blooming'. That is the residue from the chemicals which have been leached out of the tire from heat. It takes very little abrasion to wear it off, maybe a lap.

     

    The oily parts—in sufficient quantity to maintain the rubber's flexible and compliant character—support its ability to mate with the road's surface. When they 'cook off', the tire becomes dry and slippery, like dead skin peeling off a sunburn. That sun-cooked layer must be cleaned off to expose fresh skin, or, in this case, fresh rubber.

     

    Cleaning it off requires abrasion. The amount of abrasion needed is provided by tire slippage. Tire engineers agree that roughly 15% longitudinal slippage maintains friction value peaks which includes maintaining peak operating temperature.

     

    You'd be mistaken to think this 'slippage' is a 'slide': in a corner, the bike is holding its line. It is what is needed to achieve peak traction; considerably less slippage is needed for cleaning it.

     

    Depleted rubber must be scrubbed from both tires. There being no power to the front it relies on three forces: 1) slip angle, 2) side grip friction, and 3) abrasion from braking, to uncover fresh rubber. In the steady state part of a corner (after braking and before acceleration) both tires clean up from slip angle and side grip abrasion.

     

    Slip angle is interesting. If you were able to freeze the lean and the turned-in front wheel angle you have while going through a corner, then got off and pushed it, the line would be much tighter than when you were riding.

     

    The bike's tendency is to always go straight—until some outside force influences it to turn. The turned-in front wheel is that influence—it creates abrasion resistance which forces the bike to go into and hold its arc through the corner. The tires are actually slipping sideways toward the outside, hence, slip angle. The side-slip in skiing is similar. But that's not the whole picture.

     

    Camber Force is another factor. Although it has substantially less effect on tire wear, it plays a part in traction. It works like this: On both tires, the outside of the patch (the chicken stripe side) is on a tighter radius than the side that's closest to the tire's center line. Think of a playground merry-go-round. The outside is traveling further in the same amount of time as the inside and therefore going faster than the inside.

     

    Conversely, the side of the contact-patch closest to the middle of the corner, is turning slower and is dragging. This creates rubber-cleansing abrasion and also helps the bike stay on its line. (To find more data look up the technical definition of camber thrust or camber force.)

     

    In any corner and at any speed sufficient to keep the bike moving and balanced, the tires are always slipping, at least slightly. You wouldn't get through corners or have to replace tires if they didn't.

     

    © 2014, Keith Code, all rights...

    • Like 2
  16. It's my understanding that CSS Level 3 focuses on BP work - I'm really looking forward to a couple of days at Barber working on this.

     

    Being an old coot, I'm wondering if anyone has a flexibility and conditioning program that will help me get the most out of this coaching?

     

    Wes

    Wes,

     

    See if you can find a real Pilates coach who has experience and all the Pilates equipment. I've found it very helpful not only for us old farts but for young, up and coming riders as well.

     

    Keith

  17. Body Position

     

    The most obvious thing about any rider is their form on the bike. How do they sit and move on it? What’s their posture? Do they look comfortable or awkward, stiff or loose, Moto GP, or nervous-novice?

     

    Good body positioning isn’t just about being stylish——you can play dress-up in your older brother's or sister's cool boots but walking will be clumsy——it has a desirable result and we can define 'good body positioning'.

     

    Harmony with the bike, freedom of movement on it, precision control over it―with the minimum necessary effort.

     

    Survival Reactions Play a Role

     

    The bike itself can force poor riding posture. A shift lever positioned a ¼ inch too high or too low manipulates the rider into awkward and uncomfortable poses, limiting his control over it.

     

    Even with perfect control positioning, good form on the bike has its difficulties. Achieving it may look and even feel like it’s reserved for the young and flexible. This may be true to a degree but many of its problems are actually brought on by our own Survival Reactions, our SRs. For example, a rider who instinctively levels the horizon by tilting his head in corners, creates unnecessary tension in his body.

     

    Basics Apply

     

    Good form is difficult for riders who struggle with basics: uncertainty with basics has a physical manifestation. Just as joy or anger are obvious in someone, these uncertainties manifest themselves in awkward and unsuitable body positions.

     

    For example: poor throttle control prompts riders to rely on slash and burn hard drives out of the turns. Their 'ready-for-action', rigid body language telegraphs their intention. That tense anticipation of the drive off the turns loses them the handling benefits of being relaxed mid-corner.

     

    The Stages of Body Positioning

     

    There are three stages to body positioning:

    1. Poor form + poor riding = ripple-effect, snowballing errors.

    2. Good riding + poor form = good but limited range of control.

    3. Good form + good technical riding skills = riding that is both fluid and efficient.

    Number 3 is the goal of any rider training.

     

    The Ingredients

     

    Body Positioning has five distinct ingredients.

     

    1. The bike and how it is configured——its controls, seat, pegs and bar positioning.

    2. The rider's understanding of body positioning——how to properly position himself on the bike and why.

    3. Our Survival Reactions——how they create unwanted and often unconscious tension and positioning problems.

    4. Lack of riding basics——has or hasn't mastered the core technical skills needed to ride well.

    5. The rider's own physical limitations——height, weight, flexibility, conditioning.

     

    With those five points under control, specific techniques can be employed to achieve positive benefits in bike control.

     

    Form, Function and Technique

     

    GP body position does not address or improve 90% of the most basic and vital components of riding: Our sense of traction, speed, lean angle, braking, and line, to name a few, are not directly dependent upon or necessarily improved by stylish form.

     

    Clearly, body positioning isn't the universal panacea some think it is, but it has its place. For example, holding the body upright, counter to the bike’s lean while cornering has several negative effects.

     

    Among these, is the fact that it positions the rider so he can’t fully relax. This can be quickly corrected and solves the functional problem of tension from cramped and restrictive joint alignment: a key element in allowing any rider to relax.

     

    A bike related example would be too high or too low brake or clutch lever. It puts the rider's wrist into misalignment and restricts fluid movement.

     

    The Rules of Technique

     

    Here are my guidelines for technique. Any riding technique is only as good as:

     

    1. The validity of the principles it rests on. Example: The benefits of hanging off follow physics and engineering principles.

    2. The access it provides to the technology with which the bike is designed and constructed. Are the potentials of chassis, suspension and power able to be utilized as intended? Does the technique embrace them?

    3. The consistency with which it can be applied. Does it work in all similar situations?

    4. The degree of control it provides for the rider. Can the rider either solve problems or make improvements, or both, by using it?

    5. The ease with which it can be understood and coached. Does it take extraordinary experience or skill to apply it, or, can it be broken down into bite sized pieces for any rider to master?

     

    Which brings us to my first law of body positioning.

     

    Stability Comes in Pairs. Bike and rider stability are always paired―rider instability transfers directly to the bike.

     

    Body Positioning has but one overriding guideline: Rider stability. How a rider connects to the bike can bring about harmony and control and fluid movement or turn into an uncoordinated wrestling match.

     

    Ideal Stability

     

    Having stability AND fluidity of movement sounds conflicting; when something is stable it’s expected to stay put, unmoving, like the foundation of your house or the roots of a tree. But the opposite is true for riding.

     

    Comfort And Stability

     

    What works well on a paddock-stand doesn't always transfer to real riding.

     

    Aftermarket rearsets, which can be adjusted (or which are manufactured) too far up, back, forward or down is an example. In the paddock they feel racy; on the road or track they can fatigue the rider. The fatigue comes from the rider's core not being correctly supported. This causes him to be off balance.

     

    Off-balance generates extra effort from muscle tension and poor joint alignment which in turn hampers accurate control manipulations. Awkward looking body position is what you see.

     

    Riders often accept or try and work around this, without realizing its negative impact on their riding.

     

    Simply Complicated

     

    Through research and coaching of tens of thousands of riders of all skill levels, 58 separate elements which influence our body positioning have surfaced. Seemingly simple things such as too tight a pair of gloves or leathers can affect all the other elements.

     

    Once the 58 are corrected and integrated, the rider has many more options; opening doors to a wide range of fun, efficient and, you might say, elegant techniques.

     

    All of our coaches have been thoroughly drilled on what each of the 58 are and how to correct them.

     

     

     

    © 2014 Keith Code, all rights reserved. This article may not be reproduced in any form without the author's consent.

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  18. Here is the process to apply to be a coach:

     

    1. Read the description below the dotted line for an overview of what we are looking for.

    2. A very good riding skill level is required from our coaches. Some have met the other requirements, but had to work on their riding skill, and eventually became coaches. While riding skill is important, as or more important is ability to learn, ability to communicate and get along well with a wide variety of people, can endure hard conditions (school days are long!), and can attend enough school days in a year.

    3. Please review the description and application carefully. The schedule needs to be filled out with your best estimate, try and answer for every date.

    4. If you fit the description, or think you could meet the requirements soon, fill out the application that is attached and send it to me. In truth, I'd rather have you try out and let us decide if you meet the requirements, than not have you try out at all!

     

    Cobie@superbikeschool.com

     

     

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

     

    1. Racing experience is preferred. Really we have to see the riding to

    answer if the riding skill level will be adequate. Most of our students are

    street riders, but we do need someone that can set an excellent example for a

    broad range of skills.

     

    2. Friendly, personable, upbeat, high ethical standards, fit in with the

    rest of our team is a must.

     

    3. Excellent communication and observation skills. Also willing to be

    trained and do homework. The coach training is vigorous, not for the

    wimpy. Every aspect of what you do is examined, honed, tested, and improved

    on a regular basis.

     

    4. The positions are part time for independent contractors but we need a

    minimum of 10-15 school days per year.

     

    5. Tryout is not paid. That is usually 1 day at a racetrack.

     

    6. After the tryout, there is a short probation period, but we pay all

    travel and other expenses, you use our bike, gear, etc. Probation period

    depends on you and how much work you are putting into your training.

     

    7. After probation, coaches are paid according to their coach training

    level, how many of our training programs they have completed. Starts about

    $150 per day, goes up from there.

     

    Getting all these together in the same package is the hard part. Truthfully

    we are a very dedicated, serious-about-being-the-best bunch.

    About 1 in 25 that apply even get accepted for the training, much less make

    it past the probation stage. If you have it in mind that this is just a

    prestigious job for you to show others how well you ride, that it will be a cool

    way to improve your own riding and get lots of track time, then this is not

    the right thing for you, and your reasons for coming are not the same as ours.

     

    We are a school, we train riders and racers and we do that totally. We don't

    give jobs to our friends because we like them.

     

    If you think you have the right stuff, download the application and e-mail it to me!

     

    Best,

     

    Cobie Fair

    Chief Riding Coach

    cobie@superbikeschool.com

  19. The Paved Planet

     

    Whether by instinct, schooling or coaching, once a rider can isolate, understand and focus on specific aspects of riding, achieving confidence is just a matter of drilling those points to gain familiarity and control over them. It's common knowledge that track riding is a less distracting and more accommodating environment to improve riding skill but let's put that in perspective.

    Imagine yourself riding on a paved planet. A perfectly smooth, limitless expanse of flat asphalt and there is no one else there. Many of our ordinary riding concerns would simply evaporate.

     

    Full-on, straight line speed; leaned over speed; running wide; braking distances; correct lines; decreasing radius turns; camber changes; surface; traffic and obstacles, all would become less intimidating or vanish entirely from your concerns.

    On the paved planet, with the majority of our worries eliminated, a rider's ability to focus would be enormously enhanced. For example, if the amount of attention consumed by monitoring the road's surface for danger was reallocated to feeling tire grip, throttle control, steering pressure and cornering forces, it would shortcut those processes enormously—any uncertainties with them could quickly and easily be addressed and improved.

     

    On Earth, our visual skill set monitors where we are and where we are going and is the single most important part of riding. Location dominates everything we do on or with a motorcycle. On the paved planet and with your attention free of that concern, the isolating and focusing process would be simplified in the extreme. You could literally be leaned over at a speed and corner radius of your choosing all day long.

     

    Just as too much of a good thing can become boring and ordinary, so it would go with riding on the paved planet. To make it interesting the only thing left, even though a chilling prospect on Earth, would be to ride blindfolded. Imagine how sensitive and accurate a rider could become without the ever-present visual demands we suffer now.

     

    Knowing enough about the bike and being able to isolate its needs is a large component of improvement that is often impeded by what we see. Getting a feel for the bike's suspension while blindfolded would become vastly easier—riding would be 100% by feel, exactly what is needed for sensitivity in making handling adjustments. Just as the blind develop extraordinary hearing and touch, riders could determine those adjustments precisely without the distraction of visual influences. Experience with different types of turns adds depth to any rider's confidence profile. On the paved planet, all types of turns would be possible—think limitless, obstacle free, twisties on demand.

     

    Even that would eventually bottom out a rider's interest. Time to add some features and create a more interesting space. Placing one traffic cone anywhere on the surface would instantly become a fascinating new toy to accelerate towards, away from, brake to and ride around. That would hold you till lunch time. Two cones, placed in a variety of positions, would seem like Christmas, exponentially increasing the number of games that could be dreamed up. Precision in your speed and direction changes would enter into it. The beauty of it would be that all limits, aside from the bike's, would be self imposed depending on how you placed them.

     

    Back on Earth, the next best thing to a paved planet is track riding. Track schools and track days provide the opportunity to learn and advance skills in a less hostile, more focused, environment than any road riding can possibly provide.

     

    © 2013, Keith Code.

  20. There are distinct phases riders must punch through on their route to improvement. All of them are based on personal battles waged against fear. For a newer rider even the simple sensations of leaning the bike over are strange.

     

    Humans rely on the force of gravity as a constant. More than any other factor, things move and feel the way they do because of gravity. Every action of your body and your bike is measured and adjusted because of it. We ourselves gain intimate knowledge of gravity to maintain balance in our upright, stand, walk and run positions. This relies on a sensitive and detailed data acquisition system that we involuntarily obey to avoid the consequences--falling down.

     

    Our most familiar orientation is perpendicular to the planet and all of our internal balance and visual machinery likes to keep it that way. Cornering motorcycles is diametrically opposed to those sensibilities.

     

    The world begins to distort as we lean over. Once our visual orientation gets out of sync with the internal balance machinery it causes both the most rewarding and most terrifying sensations in riding. This is directly observable in new riders when they resist leaning by holding their bodies erect and press the bike down and away from themselves as they turn.

     

    As riders become more accustomed to some lean angle they can go one of two ways (1) Continue as above to resist it or (2) Get sucked into the tantalizing sensations of cornering, often beyond their skill level. This too is easy to identify and generally is accompanied by scary turn-entry speed.

     

    The barrier then is both physical sensation and visual orientation and I believe there is a make/break point in it. That point is 45 degrees of lean. At 45, the forces are a bit out of the ordinary. Along with the normal 1g down we now have a 1g lateral load as well. As a result the bike and our bodies experience an increase in weight. That’s not native to us and acts as a distraction and as a barrier.

     

    Once we finally become comfortable with 45 and attempt to go beyond, the process begins to reverse. Immediately we have more lateral load than vertical load and things begin to heat up. Riders apparently have difficulty organizing this. Suddenly we are thrust into a sideways world where the forces escalate rapidly. While it takes 45 degrees to achieve 1g lateral, it takes only 15 degrees more to experience nearly double that, depending on rider position and tire size.

     

    Paying your dues and joining the 1g club is the good stuff of riding. It opens up worlds of control, worlds of problems and worlds of rewards: putting your knee down at 45 is now very doable.

    Up to 45 degrees riders can be pretty rough with the bike. Current suspension and tires will forgive. But once past that point it’s a brand new game. Just as we have to rewire our senses to deal with the new 45+ forces we must also adjust to using less force and more finesse.

     

    Problems arise when we instinctually resist leaning with the bike. Speeds seem higher and, as the rider is out of alignment with the bike and the lateral g load, he must struggle to stay on the bike. Now the arms and body come into play, stiffening up. This tires us out from the physical tension which ultimately upsets the bike’s handling. Much like a counter-leaning passenger, it tends to stand the bike up and run it wide.

     

    Awkward and uncomfortable body, neck and head positions result from this. Shoulders and hips twist away from, instead of into, the turn putting peculiar S curves in the rider’s back. This alone can upset the body’s orientation machinery.

     

    About 15 years ago I developed an exercise called The Steering Drill. It looks very simple and can be done in a parking lot. The student simply rides away from the coach at about 25 mph and weaves the bike back and forth. That simple drill has 25 correction points. In other words, with low speeds and no panic, riders can make 25 different errors while weaving their bike back and forth. Each of those errors, while not deadly in a parking lot, can snowball into real problems out on the road.

    All I want to do here is point out that there is something to every rider action, no matter how simple it may seem. Getting training is the only practical means riders have of breaking through their barriers.

     

    © Keith Code 2013, all rights reserved.

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  21. Sport motorcycle design and the technology upon which they are built has improved with impressive consistency. Starting back in the early 1980s factories embarked on the path of creating bikes ever closer to track-compliant specifications.

    Compare 2012 600cc Supersport laptimes to a factory 750cc Superbike of 1998 at Phillip Island; one of the great combination horsepower and technical skills tracks. The 600s this year were a full second faster than the quickest Superbike then and equal to the first year of the 1000's in 2003—less than 10 years ago.

     

    It seems logical that riding techniques would change as much as the bike technology has. It's an interesting concept until you begin to break it down. Look at what hasn't changed in rider skills whether riding the '98 or the '12 bike around any track:

     

    The evolutions in tire technology have been huge. Is traction so good now that riders can ignore its limits? Has the increased limits of traction for braking, corner speed or acceleration eliminated the limits, such as lean angle, that govern them? Are lines substantially different over the past 15 or even thirty years? Does having higher corner entry, middle and exit speed make it easier to find the right lines? Were riders able to run precision lines on the old bike/tire combinations?

     

    Can today's rider ignore the bike's lean-angle limits? Do rear wheels stay on the ground longer during hard braking than they did then? Is the rider's knee on the ground giving different information now? Are track surface conditions alone making lap times quicker? Have today's bikes excused riders from finding their own quick-flick steering limits? Have electronics eliminated the need for good riding techniques? Machine tech has not substantially changed or eliminated any of them.

     

    You can change the speed and the direction of a motorcycle. The modern motorcycle will do both better than ever before. However, good riding is what gets them done at the right place and the right amount. The simple conclusion is that rider awareness and control hasn't changed one iota. The technology of riding them remains solidly in place.

     

    What modern machine technology has accomplished is more integrated transitions between those changes. The beginning, adjustment and completion of each control input can now be done with improved sensitivity. Things don't happen so abruptly now due to substantial increases in usable control range for chassis, suspension, brakes and engine components.

     

    Actions flow better now: Quicker, cleaner gear changes; more progressive power with both the engine and the brakes; suspensions now provide precision control of wheel movement through more of the stroke; frame and swing arm rigidity are more complimentary to one another. In addition, being better able to integrate our control inputs, now there is a more connected feel while riding the bikes. We do have better traction and line holding potential but that potential doesn't eliminate the skills necessary to use it.

     

    In the not so old days, aggressive riding was difficult to do smoothly. It took real finesse; our control timing and transitions had to be better planned and very careful. The rider was more responsible for integrating all control transitions. Consequently, new bike tech allows more latitude when pushing it. The point is, the essentials of what we are pushing; lines, traction, lean and speed, remain the same.

     

    In less experienced riders, the forgiving nature of new equipment covers up quite a few errors. For the already good rider, it broadens what used to be a much finer line between control and out-of-shape.

     

    Going quick and in-control is still a precarious balancing act. But the one thing that stands above all other benefits we derive from new technology is the huge savings in attention all those advancements have provided us. Before, it required extraordinary focus and timing to ride the bikes. Today's bike allows us to re-focus our attention; applying more of it to take advantage of the new tech bike's potentials.

     

    © 2012, Keith Code, all rights reserved.

  22. The actions of riding one lap of a circuit, like our local training track, The Streets of Willow Springs in Southern California breaks down something like this:

     

    Throttle position changes 50

    Steering inputs 22

    Gear changes 20

    Clutch actions (downshifts only) 10

    Front brake pulls and releases 14

    ------------

    Total 116

     

    A lap at Laguna Seca is pretty close to the same number.

     

    It's not physically demanding to roll the throttle on and off 50 times every minute and a half to two minutes; shift the gear lever 20 times; push on the bars 22 times? It's not a lot for one lap but over the course of 25 laps it adds up to about 2,900 actions.

     

    It's the rider's timing of Where and How Much of each of the 900 to 2,900 actions that add up to a good event or a good day at the track. The only reason it can become difficult is the stress created by not fully understanding what the bike needs and when it needs it. Stress comes from worry, worry comes from lack of commitment. You quit worrying and get busy once you've committed to anything!

     

    Despite the fact that a rider may be going twenty seconds a lap slower than a pro, the number of actions needed to be performed is the same. Quite often, however, it increases due to errors and corrections that a less skilled rider creates for himself.

     

    This has a direct impact on the amount of time the novice rider has to identify and initiate correct and accurate control responses: he's often still busy fixing or dwelling on the last one. For any riding situation, the important inputs into the bike often take a back seat to the ones generated by the rider's own errors, corrections and hesitations to commit to the next one.

     

    At just 60 mph that one beat of an elevated heart rate has you 44 ft down the road; all of a sudden it seems you are in a big, big hurry to perform. That's the cost of uncertainty.

     

    Lack of commitment in the rider takes time and that time is chock full of things to do. It's too full to be accurate; too full to have the time to observe; too full to make good decisions; too full to make a solid commitment. There are some rules:

     

    Getting to and completing actions is what buys you the time to observe and predict the results and commitment begins that process.

     

    Being half hearted and non-committal on control actions only holds you back.

     

    You can't easily predict the outcome of any control action on the bike until it is at least begun.

     

    When you are hesitant, you are giving yourself less time to respond. It seems, on the Survival Response level, you are making more time but it's the opposite.

     

    Being decisive with control inputs, with the smallest possible lag time, is safer in the end.

     

    If you haven't got the inborn skills to ride as you wish to ride, take this simple advice: Get out with a trained professional riding coach who knows what to look for and how to bring you around to understanding and improvement. In the end, confidence and commitment are identical. Once you know why, when and how to commit riding becomes what you've always envisioned it to be.

     

    © 2011, Keith Code, all rights reserved.

  23. I’ve been asked this question a hundred times: “What could you possibly be coaching on a rider like ________ , who is already a podium guy at world championship level?” I’m pretty sure my face betrays me because I’ve never had what I’d call an intelligent answer. But people always expect something really wise, some new or miraculous aspect of riding they’d never thought of before. Of course it never is. It’s always something that is, in my mind at least, very simple, very basic, very mundane to the ear but very important to the rider who is struggling with it. See if these look familiar to you.

     

    How can I: Be more confident, Go faster, Find good lines, Brake harder, Lean over farther, Trust the grip of my tires, Not panic so often, Quit running wide in turns, Handle ‘S’ curves better, Not stiffen up on the bike, Feel more relaxed in corners, Have better entry speed, Stop target fixating, Keep balance and be confident at very low speeds, Be able to downshift smoothly, Get my knee down, Stop the bike wiggling in quick transitions, Make fewer steering corrections in corners, Handle a slide, Get better drives off the turns, Make smooth starts, Make the bike feel planted in all corners, Have good body position, Handle emergencies better, Brake in turns, Avoid obstacles and Improve my lap times? 25 items that are now, or have been in the past, on every rider’s punch list for improvement. Which ones are still on yours?

    There are answers for each of them; not just tricks you can do in a parking lot that will make a rider feel good―that I also know how to do―but the thing that actually allows them to tick it off of that list.

     

    I’ll give you an example. Over a 5 year period I’ve run one thousand street riders through a very controlled program that, amongst other riding skills, has improved their average stopping distance at 60 mph by 60 ft. That’s the width of the six lanes of Sunset Blvd at Sunset and Vine and a bike length more than the longest eighteen-wheel trailer. How long does that training take? About an hour. It consists of assessing and measuring the rider’s base line braking; then coaching him through the feel and fear of using the brakes; and finally, applying what they learned at full speed and re-measuring the stopping distances.

     

    Who was tested and trained in my research and development of this program? Riders on everything from choppers to dual sport to sport bikes to touring bikes participated. What was their experience? It ranged from as little as “I rode my friends bike twice,” well under a hundred miles, to several hundred thousand miles; mostly males, about 3% females. For the sticklers for details out there, the range of error for the distance testing was plus or minus 6 feet. Range of error for measured speed was plus or minus 2 mph.

    Would training that actually reduced your stopping distance by 25% to 50% be valuable to you? How would it make you feel if you could stop your motorcycle in roughly the same distance as the professional rider who tested your bike model for that magazine? How many lives would be saved if everyone had truly effective rider training? What’s the point of me telling you this?

     

    The technology exists to coach an average rider through well designed programs that don’t just bring them up to the skill level of passing a cone weave course in the DMV test area at 12 mph to get their bike license but could, in the very real world of riding, save their life. OK, this is cool. That is an example of a solution for one of the twenty-five punch list items, harder braking, and yes, there are solutions for the other twenty-four.

     

    For my part, I can’t decide if I derive more satisfaction from seeing a rider get onto the podium in world competition, or, coach someone who is completely inept and really should never ride a motorcycle, through to this level of breakthrough in their stopping distance or in some other area of their riding. I’ve asked myself that question a hundred times.

     

    © 2011, Keith Code, reserving my rights as usual.

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