Rick448

Honda SS50 Yamaha FS1E Yamaha RD250LC Suzuki A100 Honda CB750F2 Suzuki Katana 1100 (wish i'd kept! Not for the bike but the value) Suzuki RGV250L Yamaha FZ750 Suzuki GSXR750WN Honda CBR600 Track only bike Kawasaki ZX9R E1 Honda CB500 (still own) Honda CBR1100XXV (still own) I think that is most of them, and mostly in the right order...

Brilliant write up! I'll be using that info to help set my pressures on my Blackbird at Cadwell Park. It's fitted with Diablo Corsas and standard is 42 front and rear.

Might be worth asking this 17 year old! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpEjSZ2KGww

Great pics and info there, I will be trying to keep mine in one piece on May 23rd Evening session if anyone fancies a laugh. Honda Blackbird in Titanium as per pic, but with caron fron Fender by then.

Nice pics Steve. Lovely bike too.

Rockingham a while ago. Hope to have some on my Blackbird soon from Cadwell Park.

I'd agree there Cobie.. it seems that it is hard to think you are pushing on unless you are actually braking at the last minute and then off hte brakes and on the gas, however when in company (on the road) i am much faster than my mates, but on the track i feel i need to brake to the apex... maybe this is due to the extra amounf of leeway in track riding.

How deep do you brake into a turn? That was one of the things in my L1 i was a little confused about as braking wasn't covered much, is it covered in the later levels? I was going to put my normal procedure here but would like to hear from you guys and gals first if that's ok

Andy mentioned this when i did my level 1 and said that the preferred line would equate to the fastest line or qualifying line as he put it, but he stated quite rightly that if you stuck to that in racing all the time someone would stick it inside and block you on the preferred line. So as racing shows there are many lines and another rider can easily stop you taking the fastest one if they are on the piece of track you want to use but are going slower. If any of that makes sense!

At my level 1 i was recommended to use the following pressures in the dry 30 rear 32 front, and when it rained put 32 in the rear. That was on Pirelli diablo corsa's.

Well we watched it in our local pub (bar to you) and even people who have never seen Moto gp before were rivetted to it, shame Stoner dropped it before the end. Also Lorenzo was looking good in the short time he stayed upright.. maybe he could do with attending the school to hone his undoubted talent! I did however take exception to Stoners comments about Vale's riding, i didn't see anything dangerous or out of order, actually just proper racing as it used to be.

Cheers bobby.. would be interesting to know the full stats, and especially here in the UK, oddly how come the USA uses Kwaks and here you use Yams?

Do you have any figures of how many people attend the various schools. ie. How many attend level 1 and then go on to do the others? Up to how many actually do all 4. When I was at my level 1 there was a guy who was redoing level 4 and he had done all 4 the year before, and also another redoing 3 and 4 as he had been off the road a while. I wonder what percentage only do level 1?

I dont own a hair dryer either (my ex had some uses) but mine has stuck ok, takes a while for the glue to go off completely. I bet you will notice a great improvement in feel and control, i did

Following my level 1 course I have now changed my riding position quite a lot, I was told that the ideal position is to sit far enough back in the seat to allow a fist between yourslelf and the rear of the tank, this was much easier to allow me to relax on the controls and drop my arms to parrallel for smoother inputs... however under braking and when locking onto the tank with my outside knee I felt a little "loose". My coach suggested I get some Stompgrips.. which I duly did. All I can say is that I dont know how I managed before, I think they are great, I now feel really secure on the bike and in much better control. If you get a chance to try these please do, if not just buy some anyway

I'd suggest you buy the Twist of the wrist books or DVD or both, or better still invest in Level 1 of the school and work on the drills there and afterwards. It may look expensive but it is definitley money well spent. I have been riding 25 years plus and done track days and it helped me lots.

I'll try it this morning. As you rightly say in a few years time the bikes will probably have it programmed into the ecu.

Cobie, I see you mention clutchless shifts. Now i normally do clutchless upshifts (after first to second as crossing neutral tends to be a bit of a jerky shift on both my bikes) however I have never tried or even contemplated clutchless downshifts. Is this something you are looking at teaching accross the board or just with slipper clutches and/or with quick shifters? Rich

When you say you have a problem with your timing what do you mean? Is it you have a problem with the downshifts or the clutch realease or blipping? If you can explain the problem in a bit more detail i'm sure someone will help. What bike are you riding, and i take it that it doesn't have a slipper clutch.

I've learnt a lot from other posters and always check in here when i go online. Some of the posts are a little technical for me, not that i cannot understand the theory but the fact they are discussed at the highest level and in all honesty do not apply to the average rider.. albeit it is worth thinking about. I think the most useful thing is hearing from the coaches (mostly Cobie but others also) and other students experiences. I cant understand why the forum isn't busier.. maybe it could be pushed a little more at the school? I think that it is a massive opportunity to share knowledge and experiences.

I did my level 1 on the 8th and was a little luckier with the weather session 2 was very wet, but the other 4 were bone dry. I have to agree that the classroom sessions were very helpful and delivered in a very easy to understand format, and in a style which was both interesting and humorous. I enjoyed the drills and learnt a lot. I will be practising those each time i go out in future. If anyone is considering doing the school but isn't sure if it is worthwhile, all i can say is that it is! My only slight reservation is that in the first couple of drills without the use of brakes it was difficult to not use them when you caught up a much slower rider on corner entrance. I suppose this is bound to happen when everyone starts at level one and there is a vast difference in initial corner speed, and even differing bikes (eg big twins with much superior engine braking) I found this a little frustrating but in the later sessions it was not such a problem as the quicker riders were able to pass the slower ones much easier. At the end of the day the main thing is that it is run in a safe and friendly manner and i spoke to a few slower riders who had been scared to death on track days who felt much more comfortable with the schools' approach. In conclusion i would like to say, if you are thinking of doing it, DO IT!

Yeah i got the same! Hope you enjoy your day, and the weather holds!

Welcome Richard, have you done the school yet?

I have had great results with mine on the road, not been on track yet, but am at CSS on 8th July so am hpig this will help me get the best out of the bike and myself.

Welcome back, this site has certainly improved lots recently and i am sure will continue to do so.