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Steve, there was a lengthy thread about is maybe 6 months ago. I'll see if I can dig it out for you. Ah, yes - here it is: Clutchless Down Shifting?. But if you're used to doing clutchless upshifts, doing downshifts are not much more difficult. Basically what you do is: first shut the throttle so you're engine braking and you have a fairly low rpm. Second, preload your shift lever in the proper direction. Third, blip the throttle, so you unload the gearbox for a split second. As the gearbox is unloaded with forces, the next lower gear is kicked in - bingo. It is easier to do between the taller gears, since their ratios are closer, but it can be done all the way down to 2nd and 1st gears. Kai Edit: added link

From what I have learned from talks given by tyre dealers/manufacturers, race tyres have a more narrow band of good traction than street tyres. Street tyres are designed to handle thousands of heat cycles, and provide good grip in a fairly wide range of tyre and tarmac temperatures. Race tyres, on the other hand, are designed to handle maybe 10 heat cycles, have fantastic grip, but only in a quite limited temperature range. Operating them outside this temperature range can or will result in a very rapid deconstruction of the tyre (cold/hot shear). I think Dave Moss explained this very well in one of his On The Throttle shows. Tyre wear show: Enterprise Video Hosting Tyres show: Employee Communication

Hey, careful with that statement! John Paxson wasn't particularly tall for a pro basket player (6'2"), and he still sunk that 3-pointer that decided the championship for the Chicago Bulls in 92-93 over Phoenix Suns (the third title in a row). I've played and seen plenty of "short" point guards make well use of their speed and agility to out-manoeuvre 6'6" centers like myself. At the club I played in 20 years ago, the women's teams had a point guard who was maybe 5"4', and she was consistently the highest scoring player on the team. But you have a point of course At the end, my point was more to highlight the learnings condensed in the 6 bullets formed by Schwartz: If you love something, and really put your heart and mind to it, you can push your expertise and proficiency to a very very high level. But as you become more and more skilled, having a coach to help you with perfecting the technical skill to get to the last X percent is very helpful. You need that outside eye that tells you "nope, that's not what you did. This is what you did".

Very simple Cobie: I grew up with cats in the family. And while we only had female cats, the male did spray on/around the house when the female was in heat. Oh well, too much knowledge for today .....

Hi Grip, Once every two years should be plenty fine with that amount of riding. The fork oil will deteriorate from pumping through valve orifices (essentially, the polymer chains gets broken) and the deterioration will reduce the effective damping provided by the oil. For "normal" street high, I'd say that most riders would be just fine with changing the oil every two years; my experience from talking to other riders and a couple of workshops is that most riders are not aware that the fork oils should be replaced, and experiencing 5 or 10 year old "fish oil" is not uncommon. If it gets really old, the oil will stink like a tomcat's urine (quite unpleasant to say the least). Hope this helps, Kai

If you think that the main difference between the motoGP demigods and the rest of us is the natural gift or talent of, say, Rossi or Lorenzo, you could very well be wrong. Deliberate practice, it seems, matter much more, according to studies: to truly excel at something, requires 10 years of daily practice, totalling 10,000 hours. In the posting Six Keys to Being Excellent at Anything on the Harvard Business Review website (yes, probably the most unlikely place to look for motorcycle corner advice), blogger Tony Schwartz explains some of the recent studies on what generates excellent performance done in the business world. He sums up the findings in the following six bullets: Pursue what you love. Do the hardest work first. Practice intensely. Seek expert feedback, in intermittent doses. (hey, that's where CSS comes in, right) Take regular renewal breaks. Ritualize practice. So while innate talent ("genetic advantages") does matter, practising does indeed make perfect. (note to the admins: the Cornering forum seemed the best suited area of this on/off topic posting. Move it to another forum as appropriate). Kai

Hi Kevin, Indeed - it was only meant as my $0.02 worth as well I'm sorry if I've come across anyway other than that; I see it as a "pick 'yer poison" situation, and you need to decide for yourself on an enlightened basis. Kai

I'm solidly in the "Bring Your Own Bike" camp. Reasons include: You don't need to 'adapt' to a bike you've never ridden before (or, have an entirely different suspension setup, even if the rental bike is the same bike as your own) You don't have to share it with another student You know how it works and rides in the corners - you can focus on the drills Your coach will experience you riding on the 'correct' bike, and as such the coach can better attack all those little bad habits you've picked up over the years You don't need to transplant the learning/body position/whatever from the rental bike to your own bike And finally: ...... you won't be tempted to buy that ultra-slick and expensive rental bike, just because you've found that your own bike suddenly feels like a bunch of junk Of course, there are opposite arguments like transporting the bike there and keeping it safe, but personally I'd bring my own bike if I could at all. That is; if I ever take a CSS course overseas (Laguna Seca comes to mind...), it'll be on a rental bike 'cause the cost of transporting the bike across the pond and return will simply be too high. Kai

Maybe more dates will be added... dunno?? Yeah, I was surprised by that too. Maybe cost and noise limitations issues? Schedule says: Spring and fall Laguna Seca dates to be announced. Yup, the web page says that now. It didn't when I posted the link 4 hours ago

Maybe more dates will be added... dunno?? Yeah, I was surprised by that too. Maybe cost and noise limitations issues?

OK guys (and gals), You can stop being impatient. Instead, head over to: http://www.superbikeschool.com/schedule/ and see for yourselves. Kai

He was making all his time on the entry to the corners. We focus on not charging the turns. What's the definition of "charging a turn" - and how does that compare to what Lorenzo was doing? Kai

You were there as well? We might have met then (at 6'6" & all-white Dainese leathers, I'm hard to miss/overlook ). Which levels did you do and what group were you in? I did Level 3 & 4 those two days (white-3). Kai

Hi Vaibhav, Interesting question. The right answer is, I think, a big "it depends". It definitely depends on your previous experience and exposure to the curriculum (e.g. if you've read and are applying the technology in the Twist books for several years), and whether you are generally a quick learner or not. It also depends on whether you are used to riding on a track, and whether you are used to riding a couple of hours per day or not (physical as well as mental fatigue can be a problem). If you're not familiar with the curriculum, then I would say that the best way of learning the material would be to take 1-2 levels, then head out to practice what you have learned, and then return for the next level(s). Personally, I would not immediately re-take any of Levels 1-3 with a couple of days in between; I would prefer to head out and practice the material for some time, before returning to retake the level. Level 4 is personal coaching, so that's an entirely different matter. As for taking all four levels in a row: if you are quite familiar with the curriculum in advance and won't be fatigued by riding several days on a track in a row, then you should be able to take and absorb Level 1-3 in three days. If you're not so familiar with the curriculum, or you're not used to ride a lot or new to riding on a track, then you are likely to be "filled up" with the new input over the first 1-2 days and your learning is likely to deteriorate on the third day (Level 3). So my "default" recommendation would be to take Level 1-2 the first year and return the next year for Level 3-4. So, in true spirit of the CSS, you don't get an answer to your question, but rather a question for yourself to answer in order for you to be able to answer your own question. Kai (just another student)

Hector, absolutely cute with the kids helping with the unboxing - I don't understand Spanish, but I had a good laugh over them BTW: That's a very decent-sized garage you have there. I'm suitably envious. Congrats, enjoy your new ride. Kai

I pointed the camera down a little so you could see my hands and what I was doing with the controls. Ah, that explains the angle - hadn't thought of that.

Very nice indeed, although it points a little too much down, in my opinion. I'm still trying to figure out whether you were towing a student around, chasing up some student we never saw, or just having a blast out there

Looks like Andy and the boys have released their 2011 UK schedule without fanfare here on the board: http://www.superbikeschool.co.uk/schedule.php 11 Nov 10 UK Dates announced at Silverstone... The home of F1 & Moto GP is now set to become the home of California Superbike School in the UK. Andy Ibbott School Director; "Silverstone have invested heavily in the circuit with major upgrades to the track configurations and facilities - they are very passionate about motorcyclists and CSS are excited to be a part of it" CSS will be running at the all new Stowe Complex, Southern and National circuit configurations for 2011 UK dates. For a full UK dates listing CLICK HERE European dates to follow in the next few weeks! Kai Kai

Me too!! Especially on the slow, tight stuff; even on surface streets. Been trying to concentrate on moving my eyes, but it's tough. I, one trick, might be to "sense" where to turn; meaning, using peripheral vision, timing and/or a mental picture. This is precisely why I can hardly wait to get to level 2 - I've been told it's all about vision. Level 2 is indeed "all about vision". Andy put it this way in the morning "smooth flow of information in through the eyes, resulting in smooth flow of control", if I remember correctly. There were two things that made a major difference to my riding: First, that I started to actually turn my head so I looked squarely at the apex or next R.P., instead of just moving my eyes so I looked at the R.P. from the corner of my eye. Secondly, that I turned my head (and thereby also my eye-target) as soon as I was sure I would hit & turn on the turn-point. That way, my focus was "unstuck" from the turn-point and I was able to roll the throttle on. I cannot say for sure if this would help you, but you might give it a try and see if it changes anything for you. Kai

Where is your vision, when this happens? I had a similar problem this summer, and my Level 4 coach + liaisons traced it back to the fact that I wasn't turning my head in time to look in for the apex before hitting the turn point. Once I started turning my head and looking better into the turn, I was able to crack the throttle open right after the steering input. Regards, Kai

Cobie, that's impossible because I'm cacking myself from laughing whenever I see something from the Twist-1 video (especially because it's dubbed in German). Kai

I was browsing through the Zupin Moto-Sport catalogue ("Ihr zuverlässiger Partner im Motosport") and noticed that they quote BM888 as the part number for the S1000RR rear shock. They also quote FGRT811 for the FG43 Road & Track front fork and FGK212 for the Cartridge Kit. Kai

Move along, move along. Nothing to see here.

Hi David, Welcome to the forum and congrats on the bikes. As for the Beemer, Will (the chief CSS mechanic) is probably a good source of info on the bike. What kind of equipment are you looking for, and how much "rigging" are you looking to do? Regards, Kai

The Wikipedia article seems not to agree with this: (my bold)