Adam06

Glad to have you around Steve

What Pete said. Definatley the word "Ninja" brings back memories of posters in my mates Dad's garage when I was young.

Hi Guys, Mike3000 - What is he doing that is "exactly the opposite" of what we think?

Yep. Rainey was student. Doohan's name gets brought up pretty often in this type of discussion, and for good reason. At first glance you say "His style was way different to what Code teaches", and if you were looking only at the way he used his body, you'd be totally justified in saying so. In fact, with regards to body positioning, there are tonnes of examples of champions who looked quite different on the bike, although there a less and less these days. Elias is perhaps one of the only current world level riders who looks REALLY different. The riders body position is the most easily observable element of a riders ideas on riding (their style). Ever seen "perfect" body positioning going slow? I have. There's a guy who looks like Lorenzo in the slow group at every ride day I go to. And one that looks like Rossi too. What was Doohan's throttle control like?

Great topic, and one I can totally relate to. My riding wouldn't be half as good, nor my understanding of the CSS tech half as complete, if it weren't for the thousands of hours spent on a dirt bike. Period. Probably more key than anything, it was the dirt bike that really trained me to turn the gas on whenever things got ugly, and that has saved my bacon so many times on the track I can't even count.

Welcome! Sure you'll find all sorts of cool stuff and people round here.

That's a unique view Stuman. Thanks for putting it up.

I'm pretty sure one of the US coaches (correct me if I'm wrong any of you), Josh Galster who now races in the AMA, learnt his craft on an SV650. For sure a good, reliable, cost effective way of getting your riding fundamentals sorted. Enjoy! And keep us up to date with how you get one with it.

Hi Luke, Sore legs after Level 3 is pretty common, and is an indicator that you were using the right muscles to stabilize yourself. If you had sore arms we'd be worried I'm certainly no fitness expert, but perhaps if we look at the ideal scenario in terms of stabilising the rider on the bike, and the muscles required to do that, we can figure out some direction in terms of training... Something that seems consistent when you look at top level guys and their training routines is that there's a lot of cycling incorporated into it. It makes sense right? Riding a push bike puts you in a similar position as a motorbike, and the muscles used are also similar. Core strength also seems to be a common denominator, and again this checks out. If the legs are strong and can hold onto the bike, and the abs and core are strong and can control the movement of the upper body mass, there is less chance of the rider using the handlebars to stabilize himself. Something I read in a Health and Fitness book written by a couple of scientists was really interesting. They said that if you have enough strength to perform 1 repetition of any movement, then the training should be geared towards endurance, as opposed to more strength. Typically, I thought about that in riding terms, and figure if you have enough strength to perform all the necessary actions on a bike at least once, then there is no need for additional strength, only more endurance. They're quite specific in how to go about this, but to simplify it means lots of repititions with low load, as opposed to lifting heavy weights just a few times. Anyway, maybe that gives some direction for you.

Great stuff Mike! Thanks for jumping on here and posting your experience.

Hi Rebobd, We have a high percentage of students bring their own bike to our schools in Australia, probably 80% or more, and there are ALWAYS a handful of your style of bike, and often a couple of that exact model. If twisties are your thing, you'll love it.

Yeah, there was very little damge, so we got the thing back together, and managed to outrun a few of the litre bikes later in the day. Fun weekend. Hopefully see you out there again soon Red.

I must thank Red for the kind words. It would have been very easy (and potentially much funnier, in a "look, it's the CRC, and he's rolling round in the dirt" kind way) to simply post the photos without the backstory. I was indeed having a pretty big go that race. Too much of a go as it happens, but ah well.

Hey Patrick, Great post mate. Love to read that kinda thing. Fingers crossed we can get you along for the real deal sooner rather than later!

Ummm.... he looks pretty familiar to me... *looks at the floor then awkwardly kinda turns away*

Hey Patrick, I think we've been in contact about this via email, or was that another Patrick asking about coaching? In any case, I look ofrwrad to seeing you out at the schools one day. Hopefully you get a call up off the wait list - you gotta get in early these days Be sure to come up and introduce yourself on the day. Would be good to have a face for the name. Adam

My memories of Peter are, in equal measure, his kind playful nature, and remarkable ability on a bike. I shared the track with him a number of times, and the boy could create and use space that just didn't even exist in my eyes. For his passing to occur the way it did makes me think maybe he had something up his sleeve we weren't ready to see yet. Rest in peace Peter. May your family and friends find the strength they need to live on as fully you did.

Hey Dylan, How's it going mate? We spoke about this briefly late last year, am I right? You mentioned about joining up with Preston or Hartwell for some racing. How did that work out? Feel free to PM or email me if you'd prefer... Adam

This has been a real fun and interesting topic to follow...

Very welcome

Hi Canidae, You've got the sequence correct. The only thing I'd add is for the 3rd step, you may also look for the next turn point, in the case of a quick switchback for example. If there's anything else that doesn't add up, just sing out.

That's brillant Kai! The handlebars will communicate all sorts of things to, but you need to let them "speak", just as you did

Of course it SHOULD be a Suzuki, but..... At the last round of the ASBK here, Craig Coxhall put a Superstock BMW in the top 10 in Superbike! Power commander, exhaust, suspension, boof! Top 10. I'm sure if you just kept cutting wires you'd eventually disable the electronics

Oz racer, Jason is bang on the money here, as usual Getting your chin near the inside mirror is a nice bit of advice, however there are exact reasons WHY it works, as Jason eluded to. Once you understand what those reasons are, you'll be able to use that technique exactly how and when you need it. Did you know you can use your body weight to manipulate the line the bike holds, without having to add any additional steering inputs? Page 59 of Twist of the Wrist II touches on the idea behind this technique briefly, but for the full story get along to Level 3 sometime. We cover this point in detail in the very first Level 3 drill. All the best, Adam

Nate - Reading your post was like reading a brief history of myself.....Guy rides dirt, gets on road, not real fast, crash, slide, crash, scrape, crash, still not real fast, finds CSS, BOOM! Very cool. 7 seconds is massive!