Cobie Fair

Ian, Fantastic and well done on winning the championship!!!!! Best, Cobie

James, Let's take one aspect of what you wrote at a time. Do you know where Keith says/writes all the braking should be done straight up and down? For sure being stuck with heavy braking at the turn in point (especially if you are trying to turn quickly) can be a problem. Let me know what he has said/written on it, and we can look it over closely. The other 2 issues are related: if the front brake is used in a turn, will the bike stand up and run wide, or make it easier to turn in? What is your reality on what happens when you use some brake in a turn? For sure for me, the bike stands up. There are for sure turns where one will trail brake. But if it stalls getting back on the throttle, and really stabilizing the bike, then does trailing help in those instances? Let me know what you think. Cobie

Hugh (et al), I just spoke with the Dunlop race tire rep, Terry. He said for the stock wheel on the 250 Ninja, they don't have a race tire. But, what most of the fast guys have done at AFM, are modify the wheels (at Kosman) to 17's, and run the Dunlop 209's, 120 front and rear too (some run a 150 rear). He's pretty sure they have the track record at a few tracks with that set up. Best, CF

Nick, The full schedule is up now, including the CODERACE dates. Let me know if you have any questions on the format or what do at those schools, as they are very different from the regular Superbike School. Best, Cobie

Hi Ted, If you didn't already get this answered, there is some newer data than what Kevin posted (we've changed the policy on coolant Kevin). Here is some info for your questions: 1. 2 day camp is only on our bikes. 2 extra riding sessions available, but you can always take a break if tired. 2. You don't need to be at any skill level, just not brand new---must be comfortable with the control actions of the bike. 3. Nothing is needed if you bring your own bike, but as Kevin said, tires and the rest of the bike need to be in very good condition. Taping can be done at the track or if you want to do in advance. 4. Call the office any time, or e-mail me if you need a speedy reply! 5. At any school, any level can be done, and each level does take a day. Best, Cobie cobie@superbikeschool.com

Wendy has it right. If you let us know, we do have one bike that we lowered (it was for her in fact!), and we can help at the school. Let the office know in advance. CF

We typically see a better result in 2 days back to back, and yes, do one level on the first day, and the next level on the 2nd day. By the time you get to level 4 we'll be able to do a tailored program for you. Best, Cobie

James, Everything has to work together on our schedule: track availability, fiitting in with the rest of our schedule, attendance, time of year and weather, the whole thing. It's quite a job every year just juggling the scheduling, and the schedule is different every year. CF

Sounds like this was pretty well covered. Keith is approaching mid-60's. I know of one racer in his mid seventies---raced a GSX-R 750 I think. His wife is in her 60's and she raced too. CF

Not sure if you got the answer before the school or not regarding the suits. Let us know if you need any further data on this. Best, Cobie

Hi Barret, You've got more questions than I could anwwer in a short e-mail. I'm in the office today, until about 3pm if you want to try me there--not much time I know, then I'll be back next week, but only for a day. If you call, you could leave a number, and I'll call you back. Those 125's are a hoot, I love 'em! Best, Cobie

There are a few pieces to this hanging off puzzle, that's for sure. Some might not know, but that was one of the reason's Keith came up with the Lean Bike---riders would often mess with the bike when they go for more aggressive cornering. We have a bunch of schools over the next 3 weeks, but I'll try and get back to this thread! Best, Cobie

Sounds pretty good. We spend a lot of time on this (part of level 1 and 2, and pretty much all of level 3). There are a lot of pieces to this, but sounds like you are going in the right direction. One thing that I do talk with students about fairly often is having too many positions on the bike. One of my top coaches, it's pretty amazing to see his knee pucks. They look like he put then on a large grinder. They only have one angle. This shows that he has the EXACT same body position, and the same one on both sides. Adds real consistency having this sorted out. Best, CF

You sold me. I've got an R1200GS, too, with just about an 1/8 inch of chicken strips left on either side. If I could get rid of that last little bit as easily as you did, it would be money well spent! There is a lot to be said for good training, but part of it is simply having a good training environment---a few times we have run our days with others (long ago), and it never worked as well. For quite a while, we have only run our own program and we work pretty hard to keep it a good training environment. Best, Cobie

An update on the riding coach search: We've added some new coaches, all doing well in their training right now: Mike Moore, Brian Day, Doug Halpin and James Brown. 3 older coaches are back on board: Jeff Rozycki, Greg Gorman, and Jaime Taynor, and they're also pretty much back up to speed and doing well. We still need more coaches though! If you haven't responded, didn't have all the requierments, didn't think you were fast enough (or for whatever reason didn't think you'd fit) and didn't send in the application, there is nothing to loose, so send it in! See you at the track. Best, Cobie

That is a tough turn, good one! CF

Hi Appanna, Yeah, those are 2 of the key skills, aren't they? Much of what we do in Level 2 is just to make it easier for the rider to do that, and things I work on pretty regularly myself. Best, CF

Have to agree with you on the current 600's compared to the liter bikes---it's only later in the straights that they really pull away. Most of my coaches at the school, can ride the 600's better, and prefer too (for sure I do!) Best, CF

Might be that more deifinition of "thinking" is needed here. Take for example braking and downshifting. If one had to say to himself, "I must roll off the throttle, put on the brake(s), pull in the clutch, blip the throttle, make the downshift, let out the clutch, while keeping the brake pressure steady, or even lessening it, (re-insert the whole process 2 or 3 more times if going down 2-3 gears), all while keeping my position on the track, or in Rossi's case he sometimes adjusts it under braking, dealing with other riders, noticing flag marshals if need be, etc., etc." That would be way too slow, take way longer than the actions themselves. If you guys haven't looked at Keith's book THE SOFT SCIENCE OF ROADRACING, it's pretty much dedicated to this aspect of riding. I'll be interested to see what you think on this. CF

Appanna, I'm curious, was there one skill that made the biggest difference? Or more than one? And if so, which ones? A number of students have said this over the years, but I haven't really surveyed people consistenly on this, so you're the first! Best, CF

Andy, As it turns out, Keith went to that round, he was over there with Leon Camier. Pretty sure it was Leon's first race with a new team, and I think also new tires. CF

Hi BH, Thanks for putting that up there. We had used the '94's and the '96's in our school's with MOTO-LIBERTY, but they did all the maintenance, so this was stuff I didn't know. Best, CF

I thought I'd update how the search is coming. Quite a few tried out at Sears, this last Feb 22-23. There were a total of 11 tryouts, plus one more that was brought to me that day. There were 3 that passed the riding portion of the tryout, and of those 1 we have decided to proceed to the probation step with. I'm still for sure looking! Quite a number of people have read the original post (and downloaded the application), so even if you think you might not be what we need, it's OK to send me the application, and let us decide! Quite a number of the current coaching staff did not make the first tryout--they came back a 2nd or 3rd time. Best, Cobie

How about adding downhill the above turn! CF

OK, I want to hear what you have to say after you ride that 125 GP bike. It's a whole other world, and takes a little getting used to CF