[What Do I Need]

Currently running in the top ten of the YPMRC, but more by sheer aggression than total skill.

I can ride alright, and know that I'm making mistakes - but I need to improve this next season dramatically. Currently not riding competitively due to a highside at Cadwell thats left me with an A/C joint dislocation.

 

What would you suggest as a starter at the school for me?

 

Thanks

 

Spencer

 

Hi Spencer,

 

Welcome to our forum mate. Hope that injury is coming ok? Highside eh? ouch, well, thats a throttle control problem, which we work on, on level 1, drill 1.

 

Your story is very common at the school, we get lots of club racers coming to the school after reaching a ceiling in performance, or when they realise they start crashing and really don't understand the reasons why. Can we help you? Without question. Unfortunately, all the UK Schools for 2009 are now done an so you'll have to wait for 2010 now.

 

Where do you start, well, like everyone, you'll start on level 1, doesn't matter who you are, where you've been before., how long you've ridden or raced, its essential that you fully understand the fundamental concepts and technology of what works and why, and you can apply it succesfully.

 

What else can you do over the winter? Well, if you don't have it, Twist of the wrist 2 is the bible of what we teach, its quite tough going at times, but really is very detailed ib its techinical descriptions of what/why, etc, etc. Also, the new Twist of the wrist DVD is being launched, look on here and you can find the homepage. This looks like its going to be very good indeed, great camera work to emphasize the points.

 

Hope that helps cover it for you mate, if you have more questions, please just ask.

 

Bullet

[Puck Wear]

I've attached a photo of my knee pucks. My right side has all the wear on the outer edge (30-45 deg angle), whereas the left side is more even across the face. Is it an indication of something really wrong with my body positioning, and/or just a simple matter of repositioning them with the Velcro?

 

 

Hi Mate,

 

It is, as you suggested, because your rotating your knee downwards, rather than outwards. You can see you doing so in your avatar. Does it really matter? Hell no, though it could be corrected or improved for sure.

 

Bullet

[Hi Newbie Alert]

Hi I'm new and thought I would start by saying hi to you all

 

Hi Mickey,

 

Cheers for stopping by. Why not tell us all a bit you, where your from, what you ride, your experience level, trackdays, road, schools, etc. What you hoping to find from our very cool friends and the forum?

 

Bullet

[A New Convert]

Hey Bullet, sorry to hear about your crash too, but I'm glad you're not too hurt and it's the end of the season for you. Were you planning to ride in Spain/Portugal. It makes me think of the GP coming up at Estoril. Are you going to see the race? I was lucky enough to go to Valencia last year for the final race. I wish I could have ridden the track, but it was great just being there and experiencing the atmosphere. I'll never forget it.

 

Hey mate,

 

Just back from Spain/Portugal , and its been a great week, the weather has ben sensational, warm, but not too hot. Everryone has had an exceptional week for sure. Jerez, well, we've been there before and its certainly sensational, so I didn't feel like I missed out too much by not riding there, Portimao however, wow, what a place that it. I don't think I've ever seen a track go up and down so much in my life, I think the words may of the riders, "students and coaches" used on the first morning was "terrorfying". I have to be honest and say I was pretty gutted to miss out on that, but another time i guess, another time.

 

Thanks again for thoughts, /i greatly appreciate them. I'll be back on a bike ASAP, hopefully early in the new year, after healing fully, and regaining my strength and fitness.

 

Bullet

[Windy Conditions]

Morning Oz,

 

I just wanted to let you know that I probably won't be around on the forum until next weeked now, as we're off to Spain & Portugal today for some 2 day camps. Additionally, I know Cobie and the US crew are out for a lot of the week too, so your unlikely to get a response from any of the coaches this week.

 

If someone of our normal contributors and friends wishes to assist Oz, that would really helpful. With some luck, you've an idea where I'm trying to get him too on this thread.

 

Thanks guys,

 

Seeya in a week.

 

Bullet

[Windy Conditions]

Hey guys,

 

I feel a bit stupid asking this question, I've just finished reading TOTW & TOTW2, one straight after the other. It has cleared up my original post on countersteering and a few others to boot so I'm putting this to practice @ phillip island on monday.

 

I read the part on pivot steering and that was an eye opener. I had thought that you would pressure the inside peg when turningputting more pressure on the rear, makes sense now that I read it . However I was coming back from the great ocean road and it was extremely windy pushing me all over the place and I found that countersteering and pressuring the inside peg in the direction of the wind would keep me straight, when I used the outside peg the bike stood upright and the wind would push me across 3 lanes? Now I'm not sure if this is the same thing as none of the book covers windy conditons as a 'product or sub product'. How do we approach windy conditions with gust etc go faster?

 

Cheers

 

Dylan (ozfireblade)

 

Hi Dylan,

 

Well it sounds good that we've been able tO clean up countersteering for you, but sounds like we've moved onto another misunderstanding there if I may so bold. May I ask how long you took over reading the books? Sittings? Hours? As TOTW 1 and 2 take some chewing, and probably more importantly, a lot of time to digest, and I fear you may have tried to consume way too much, too quickly. I've read TOTW in addition of a dozen or more times, and I have to keep referring to it, in coaching studies for finer details, and I still can't quote you verbatim on it. I thought I'd also point out, Pivot steering is a level 3 drill, and wonder whether you've got this a little mixed up with the pick up drill here?

 

So, we'll have a set of questions, see if you're clear now, on what we do, and why? So, how do we steer a bike now, say if we want to go left, hows that work? When you want to pivot steering, how do we do execute that?, and why do we do that over normal countersteering? Do you know what Pick Up drill is?

 

Let us know your thoughts mate, and we'll see what we can do to clear this up for you.

 

Bullet

[New Member In Socal]

Double post... doh!

 

Bullet

[New Member In Socal]

What did you find to be the best thing about becoming a coach?

 

Thats an interesting question there mate. I think it changes as you become a more seasoned campaigner I guess. I think I initally was so proud to be just part of the team, be a coach, working with any studemts just made my day really. I didn't care what the weather, how good they were, etc, etc, anyday, was a great day! In time, that passed a little, and now I get a great day when you get great students, I don't neccesarily mean fast students, I mean students that just lap it up, are so keen for more, you give them info and the benefits, they go and do it. It's just a joy to behold that is mate, no better day than that. Some of the racers you get maje it good fun, chasing them on trick race bikes can be laugh, for example, i recently had the lithunia superbie champ, on a superstock K9 GSXR1000 on slicks, myself a standard 09 R6 on GP racers. That was a great day, chasing him down.

 

Other highlights, well, In the UK we have a very tight team, we all get on supremely well, and we have a really good laugh. We take the mick quite a lot, and practical jokes and banter are a very special part of our crew life over here too! Pribably final good thing, is your around some of the very best motorbike coaches in the world bar none. They all communicate well, and offer a real opportunity for your own improvement too. There is always something to be working on, and we're very much encouraged to work on our skills all the time, work on riding issues, things like that, and thats quite special too.

 

All in All, it's great, and a real privilieged to be part of the worldwide team. I hope it goes well for you, with luck, you'll get some similiar experiences yourself my friend.

 

Enjoy your weekend.

 

Bullet

[I'm Not New.]

Thats a stunning way to get brownie points with the wife man, I salute ya! My wife just can't be arsed to chnage her name, well, she has, though she's change none of her documentation to reflect it. I realise there is little need to rush such things, but 3 years love, come on, a man could get a complex about it!

 

Bullet

[Level 1 - Silverstone Stowe, My First Css School Day Part Ii]

Ok here are a few pics from my school day... Yes Yes, I have alot to work on, but I am getting there!!!

 

I am sure that I did not see the cameraman at the end of the day which is when I was going alot faster and getting my chest on the tank more... But for Level 1, I am stoked!!!

 

Looking good man.. you can see body position needs much work, but thats icing rather than core fundametal. Visuals looking ok though to be fair!

 

Bullet

[A New Convert]

Welcome Nigel, Bullet, heard about your off, what a drag mate.

 

CF

 

Ai, but we're still smiling mate. It's all good. Luckily, end of season, and I'm still going on Spain/Portugal trip, although clearly I cannot ride. Was just an accident, I bare no grudges or resetment, and sure it won't bother me when I get back on next year!

 

 

Bullet

[Increasing Corner Speed]

I'm done....As Jaybird said very intuitively " Now, get out and ride you silly boy".

 

I don't think silly, but I think its a good example of trying to overcomplicate something, its possible to tie yourself in knots sometimes in the search of answers. As Jay put it, sometimes a few laps at it will make much clearer!

 

keep smiling bud

 

Bullet

[New Member In Socal]

Hi Guys,

 

Firstly, I want to thank you all for making this a truly valuable forum. I've been lurking for a long time and read some great stuff here. I finally decided to become a member so hopefully I can give something back to the community too.

 

I used to live in Melbourne, Australia (originally from the UK) and did some track days with the SBK school at Phillip Island, but never got around to doing a school day. Before the Oz SBK school had an exclusive arrangement with the track owners, there used to be a few different ride day organizers. I tried a few different groups, but in the end, I decided to only ride with the Australian SBK school because I found them to be safer and the most professional of the bunch. Back then, I didn't realize the value of school days and in the back of my mind, I couldn't justify "wasting" track time at Phillip Island on a school day. I couldn't have been more wrong! After doing my first school day last year at Laguna Seca with Keith, I had a revelation in what the curriculum really offers, and also a major all-round improvement in my riding and confidence. Least to say, I wished I would have utilized the school days a long time ago back in Australia.

 

It is never too late to improve and I hope to continue to do so. One of my goals is to do become a coach if I can get good enough, but I know I'm a long way away. I'm booked in for this weekend at the Streets of Willow Springs for Level III and really looking forward to it. I'm riding an '06 R1 now, and bringing it to the Streets. I find that the road-course is really tight and technical, and especially challenging on the R1 because of the slower corners. It's precisely for this reason that I want to continue the school days at the Streets because I know I have a lot to learn there. Well guys, hope to see you at the school and thanks for reading my intro post.

 

Peace,

 

Sof

 

Hi Sof,

 

Welcome to the forum, nice of you to stop by and share your (inital) story with us, no doubt we'll be getting much in the future.

 

I think your story probably reflects on many people's journey really, rode bikes. got pretty good, didn't think there was much to be learned anymore, wondered why others kept getting better. You got here in the end brother, and you've seen wgat can be done with time and application.

 

I hope your quest with getting to become one of the coaching staff becomes a reality for you. It's hard work to get in, even harder to stay in, but the rewards on helping others is way more in terms of compensation than anything I've ever done before or probably ever will, so I hope you get to share in that experience too. If you want it enough, and can put in the work we believe anyone, and i mean anyone can make it.

 

Good luck with level 3 man, let us know how it goes, what you learn, n you now realise where you're not sure, you just ask, and we'll try and help you on your way!

 

Bullet

[New To Forum]

Could you adopt me?

 

Only if you can carry a set of clubs for 36 holes......I need a good caddie too.

 

I think carry might be a bit strong, he's getting on a bit ya know. Surely you American's have machines for that kind of thing surely? The wife's a good starter surely? (luckily mine doesn't read this forum).

 

Bullet

[Increasing Corner Speed]

OK mate, sorry if we're making you work way too hard here...

 

So, to make it easier, ( for me and probably others new to the thread), what questions do we have unanswered here, as I feel it's moved on a little past your inital question. You must remember, the codiene tablets are affecting my abiility to concentrate, so if you refresh where we are, I'll see if we can help ya..

 

Bullet

[Increasing Corner Speed]

I think how fast you can quick turn the bike is a limiiting factor.

I also think that a lack of confidence will contribute to turning in earlier.

 

What I am seeing is this, I am approaching an 80 mph apex. I never look at my speedometer so I am depending on knowing my gearing, my rpm's, my turn in point and how fast I can quick turn the bike. It seems to me that if I slow down to 80 to soon I am losing valuable time. So the later I wait and the faster I quick turn, the faster I go through the corner.

 

X marks the spot...the turn point. What is the margin of error? The amount of force used to turn the bike quickly and the distance one covers is a variable. The faster one goes the harder it is to quick turn so the faster I go into a corner the longer it takes to turn the bike. My margin of error gets smaller and smaller as speed increases. The need to hit X becomes more and more critical.

 

I have heard over and over from CSS that given the conditions are good and tires are warm, they have never seen someone turn to quickly...This is the point I want to work up to...the edge. Everything becomes more critical at this point, the braking, the turn, on the throttle.

 

So I was just trying to get a since of what type of feedback I would encounter?

 

Thanks for your response...Hub, Jay, Ace, Hotfoot

 

You seem to be a little fixated on that their turn point my friend, do you think its more or less more importat than that Apex?

 

Bullet

[Losing The Front.."lowsiding" Question]

As has been discussed, its definitely possible to stop a lowside, though its reliant on a couple of factors to get you through, some of which have discussed, some have not.

 

Firstly, there is the difference in speed/force that the tyre could handle, and what you've asked for. if the difference is too large, your on yer arse I'm afraid. If its small enough, you'll ge warning signs, the tyre will move around a little and you can recover them, wheter its front or rear, you can feel that squirm and movement and get it back,

 

Secondly, and most importantly is being really well locked onto the bike, having that really good connection with the outside peg, and being able to get that weight out of the bars. If you can really do this, and its quite tough, you can feel the bars lighten in your fingers as it moves around underneath you, and compensate it accordingly. This is the biggest advance warning you'll get of either of these conditions, and is what seperate's the great riders like rossi/lorenzo, etc, and say someone like toni elias, who swings of the bars and cannot possibly have that level of feel.

 

Bullet

[New To Forum]

Could you adopt me?

 

Yeah, you seem to be struggling to get your hands on any decent bikes to ride. Not sure how you live with quandry myself brother, 999R or Fireblade. oh, the agony of choice!

 

Bullet

[Level 1 - Silverstone Stowe, My First Css School Day Part Ii]

hello bullet

i was here too doing another level 4 , i,ll give you a few q,s about how my day went later .

but firstly glad to see your already typing mate .

i saw that you were walking wounded , but a collarbone , thats bad news ,i hope your on the mend , didn,t get a chance to chat to you this time .

was gonna drop you a message then saw this thread .

all the best for a speedy recovery mate ( any idea how long ? ) .

 

Been to see the consultant today. Its not good to be honest, the collarbone is in 3 pieces such was the impact, they don't want to initally pin it, they want to see if it will knit itself first. They say it has a good chance. They'll review it again after 4 weeks, xray again, and it's either a Yay, or a Nay. If it's not, it'll be pinned. If it heals itself, they say full recovery in around 12 weeks. Thankfully its the end of the season.

 

Thanks for everyones kind words, really appreciate it, but it's just one of them things, no big deal really. I'll be reet. I'm still going to Spain and Portugal on Sunday too, though clearly I cannot ride, but I'll be about, sort of make myself a little useful.

 

Bullet

[A New Convert]

Found the photo of my instructor on the homepage,,and it was John Trotter (Jet)..called him Jed all day,,!!!

 

Oi ai, forgot about him, yeah, Jet. I'll pass on yer regards man.

 

Bullet

[A New Convert]

Hello all

 

I've just completed Level one at Silverstone on saturday 12th and spent the last 3 days reading through the forum....how much more info can my brain take ?!!!

 

I've been riding for 10 years, but was a late starter (38 ),,had numerous trackdays , attended similar type school (well almost similar !!!) , started racing as novice '07 , (crashing '08 !!) and never have I been able to take in so much new information in just one day. ( 3 big eureka moments in one day )

 

Regained loads of confidence and even some understanding of why the bike does what it does and why certain actions give certain results.

 

A big thank you to all the staff who made the day so enjoyabe ..

 

and to my instructor (Jed ? I think ) who was a top top bloke ......

 

regards to all

 

Nigel

 

Hope the instructor who came off is ok.....not in my session but saw an incident from pit wall ...

 

 

Hi Nigel,

 

Really glad you had a great day, and you learned loads. Hopefully it provided you with a good start and we can continue to devlop your skills going forwards.

 

As for who your coach, we don't have a Jed, but the crew who were on were, hollywood, Butch, Bullet, Griffin, Nemo, Matthew, and Flash.

 

As for the coach that fell, that would be me, I'm fine thanks, nothing too serious, a broken collarbone and some ribs, but I'm still smiling and raring to get back at it. Just one of those odd things can happen, a mistake by a student, misread by myself which resulted in me on the floor, the bosses 09 R1 smashed up, and a trip to the hospital. The student was totally fine, unharmed and carried on his day, in fact he had a fantastic day by all accounts, mine slightly less fun, but we all walked away and we're all smiling and laughing about it.

 

Thanks for your concern man, we hope to see you again in 2010.

 

Bullet

[Level 1 - Silverstone Stowe, My First Css School Day Part Ii]

Thanks Bullet!!! Sorry about the long posts... I tried to keep it short...

 

... 2-Step definitely made the difference there...

 

 

No problem, its not like I'm going anywhere is it. LOL

 

2 Step is the most important drill i think we teach at CSS to be honest.

 

Bullet

[Level 1 - Silverstone Stowe, My First Css School Day Part Ii]

With respect to the last corner at Stowe, well, what is that defines our lines? Whats the trottle rule? Finally, how many times should we turn the bike in a turn?

 

Have a pop at those questions, and lets see if we can get that a little clearer for you my friend.

 

Bullet

 

What defines our lines??? I would have to say current lean angle while applying the throttle rule defines our lines... As well as where my eyes are looking...

 

Throttle rule is once the bike is turned in, roll-on the throttle evenly, smoothly and continuously for the remainder of the corner.

 

And finally, we should turn the bike only once in a turn.

 

I certainly think that I understand the theory, and I would say that my question before about Stowe's last corner was in the instance of correcting a poorly taken corner, as I mentioned missing the apex. Therefore, I perhaps did not turn at the right time and/or did not turn the bike enough, thus making me feel like I would run wide.

 

So in a perfectly taken corner I would be able to satisfy the throttle rule, and would have by then only turned the bike once. And I achieved that many times throughout the day...

 

But what is the most appropriate and quickest way (lap time-wise) of correcting my poorly taken corner as above?? This could help me on the roads as well...

 

After reading that over, I have a follow up question on the throttle rule... Is it ok by the school's teaching that when I turn in the bike, and I want to get on the gas as soon as possible in order to stabilise the machine, that I can stay at "cracked" throttle for say half a second to a second before rolling on, if I was unsure as to when I can start drive out of the corner due to limited visibility or poor visual skills??? Or is it that once I crack that throttle 2 microseconds after achieving my desired lean angle I should continuously roll-on?? I know that if I am sure about where I am going I would be able to roll-on continuously, but in cases where I doubt or have a brain freeze, or unsure of roads ahead on public roads that I would want to crack the throttle to stabilise but rolling on continuously may mean that I would have to pick the bike up and roll off/brake in the worst case... Obviously this would be a poorly taken corner but what is recommended in this instance?? Is it ok to crack the throttle keep it there, then roll-on once visibility opens up or confidence blooms in that specific corner?? I understand that this will not be the quickest way around the corner but humour me, please...

 

I am sure that you will say to stick with the throttle control rule, as this will maintain my line - it is just hard to do sometimes with the unknown around the corner. Then you will probably say that if that was the case then my corner entry speed should have been lower to cater for the unknown...

 

Am I on the right track???

 

I feel like I am but I now think that I know my mistake from re-reading all this. It was not my turn point, it was not my lean angle per say... It was my visual skills which was the problem, because I was not looking far enough ahead in order to see in advance how much lean I would need in order to make the corner. This makes me want to stall on the roll-on because I am unsure of my destination. If I looked through the corner further, I would have gotten the correct lean and been confident enough to apply the throttle rule.

 

Better??

 

Gosh I can't wait for Level 2 and 3!!!

 

CBRKid,

 

I'm typing here with one hand, and you write the worlds longest posts.. LOL..

 

Your absolutely right, lines are totally dictacted by throttle control, so if you have to stop the roll on, what does that tell you?

 

Yeap, you've got the throttle rule nailed there for sure, thats text book pretty much mate. And yes, you should only turn the bike once. So, they both relate to a possible number or errors, you turned in too early? You rolled on too much throttle too early. If you missed the Apex by a way, that would definitelt suggest that your 2 step wasn't quite right, and in that instance did you have something to look at? When did you look into the turn?

 

Inital throttle crack on.....! well, in theory, the throttle rule is universal, once you crack it, you keep rolling it on. The reality can sometimes vary a little, in that if the corner is a very long bend, you may find that its very difficult to achieve the very fine throttle control neccesary, and in this instance, checked is better than none, though it won't get you to a 60%/40% weight distribution. the only way to get that is with the throttle rule. You may need to work on your fine level of throttle control to get that nailed.

 

You'll learn some additional skills in level 2 that will help about dealing with corners you don't know where they go, so we'll leave that until then

 

Bullet

[Level 1 - Silverstone Stowe, My First Css School Day Part Ii]

Hey Man,

 

Was really good to meet you ma, even if it did turn out to be a little brief. Am glad you still had an amazing day,and that we were really able to help improve your skills and confidence. It was our pleasure,. we really love helping out students, and you being so pleased makes for happy coaches.

 

As for me, broken collarbone isn't too good, could well have done without, but I'll live. I'll be back and fighting fit again 2010, and I'll hope to see you again then my friend.

 

Bullet

 

HI Bullet,

How you doing mate? What happened?

Broken collarbone is not so good, hope you get well soon mate!

 

Bobby

 

Hi mate,

 

I'm ok, very sore. What happened, a student veered across the track from one side to the other (he ran very wide and got fixated on the grass), once he composed himself, he veered back from the outside, straight back onto the racing line. Unfortunately, I was there, and despite efforts to give him more room, rolling out of the throttle, and a last minute dab of the brakes, his tail unit clipped my front brake and I was down. He fortunately didn't fall, which was great really, but I've got the resulting injuries that will curtail my season now. It wasn't done on purpose, it was just an accident.

 

OK, now to answer your questions CBRKid. Can you turn a bike too quickly, I'm not aware that you can, though you can turn too much, i.e. you push the bars too far. Whilst we want to turn the bike as quickly as we can, we don't want to be so agressive as we create instability.

 

With respect to the last corner at Stowe, well, what is that defines our lines? Whats the trottle rule? Finally, how many times should we turn the bike in a turn?

 

Have a pop at those questions, and lets see if we can get that a little clearer for you my friend.

 

Bobby, cheers for your concern man, most appreciated. I'll be reet!

 

Bullet

[Level 1 - Silverstone Stowe, My First Css School Day Part Ii]

Hey Man,

 

Was really good to meet you ma, even if it did turn out to be a little brief. Am glad you still had an amazing day,and that we were really able to help improve your skills and confidence. It was our pleasure,. we really love helping out students, and you being so pleased makes for happy coaches.

 

As for me, broken collarbone isn't too good, could well have done without, but I'll live. I'll be back and fighting fit again 2010, and I'll hope to see you again then my friend.

 

Bullet