Adam06

That's just plain cool Bobby. +1 from me!

It's been pretty interesting watching Randy these last few races. He certainly stands out as ragged, especially in the company of Lorenzo and co. I can't help but think that perhaps he's just having a good spell. The way he rides suggests he doesn't have a great awareness of what he's actually doing on the bike, which will make it hard for him to make improvements if he get's to a track and is a little off the pace. I think we'll then see him crashing again as he tries to match the pace of the others by just "pushing harder", or using some other non-specific approach. Still, take nothing away from the guy, he's bloody quick!

Cheers Hotfoot! Glad you can relate mate

That was a pretty wild ride. Love how he just parks it and turns it off, like "Ok, that's enough for now...." Interesting notes: - It started immediately after a gear change, as the front just popped up slightly. - If you freeze frame it during the slapper, you can actually see just how tight this guy is holding onto the bars. He's strangling the thing! - It starts to settle down only once he runs off the track. Perhaps with less traction on the dirt it started to push and slide rather than dig in a shake? Maybe the riders hands were shaken loose? Cobie's story is a good example. You can see any number of video clips of a bike and rider way out of control, totally unstable, then as the rider gets ejected, the bike stops shaking, tracks straight, and usually runs nice and stable until it hits something (tyre barrier etc). I remember I rode a coach bike at VIR that had no steering dampner. It shook it's head a little more than bikes fitted with one, but as long as I was loose on the bars, the shaking stayed up the front and never transferred to the rest of the bike.

Once I realised there was a real technology to riding (interesting twist of fate that saw me at a Superbike School becuase my road license was suspended for being a squid), my motivation for doing it switched to one of progressing my understanding and application of it. I didn't choose to make that switch, but all of a sudden the progression became a source of fascination. That's still the case today. "How deep does the rabbit hole go?" kinda thing. Most enjoyable part - When your mind falls silent, and there's no thoughts or worries taking any attention. Just you and your senses.

Cool topic Cobie. Real interesting reading the responses. Where do I start...... Honorable mentions... Portimao in Portugal. I remember checking the track out with Andy (Ibbott) the day before schools there, and counting the number of blind turns. There's really only 2 or 3 turns that don't have something blind about them, be it entry, a mid corner crest, a blind exit, or a mix of the 3. That last turn onto the front straight is one of my favourite turns in the world. Kyalami in South Africa. Just a burly circuit, with some wicked elevation changes, and some very fast turns. Toes the line between exciting and frightening! Cool surroundings too. Barber MP in the USA. Partly for the circuit layout, but mostly just becasue it's an incredible place to visit. It's a crazy mix of racetrack/botanical gardens/museum/art gallery..... The favourite... Perhaps I'm a bit biased, but like Pete and Kristi, I'd have to say the home track is the favourite. Phillip Island. I've not ridden another circuit that flows like the Island, and certainly nothing comes close to the sheer speed of the place. The surface is getting a little aged, so the grip is not as good as most tracks. I get butterflys thinking of what it might be like once a resurface is done! We have good friends amongst the circuit staff, and I always enjoy seeing them when we're there.

That is pretty darn cool to hear, frickin' warms my heart! you for having the balls to ride, and doing it, the boys for catch and release! A lot more could be said but I just went and told the whole office and they were stoked! Best, CF +1 on what Cobie said. Very very cool!

Hi Reaps, We'd love to come and do schools in S.A. We do however have a fairly substantially sized operation, so for it to be viable, we'd need to have the bookings to support it. We'd be looking for at least 60 riders per day, for 2 days back to back, at nearly $500 per rider. At this stage we haven't seen that level of commitment from the market in that region, which has restricted us from coming over thus far. So, grab your mates and make a trip of it. Anyways, once you've ridden the Island, you probably won't be asking us to come to Mallala anymore Cheers Adam

Crash, Dave is right, what you're feeling is totally normal. The front suspension moves in a couple of different ways to compensate for surface imperfections or small bumps. The forks move up and down through their stroke, and the bars move left and right. When you're relaxed on the bars you can feel this happening. Also, once the bike is set on it's arc, and the throttle is rolled on, it's actually the rear of the bike that determines the lean angle it will hold. This is the "light" feeling you are experiencing. Chapter 13 of Twist of the Wrist II covers this exact point. Keep doing what you're doing Don't worry about taking the bike to a shop.

Something that may contribute is that by staying closer to the bike, they can get closer to an apex. I've seen images, particularly of the Macau GP where riders turn their torso upwards to stop their head grinding against the wall on the inside of the turn. I agree with your comments on keeping a strong hold of the bike. The bumps on a circuit like the TT mean the rider really needs to be stable, and not hanging off so far would help with that.

Hey Duff, Yep, your level 1 completion carries over to NZ, or any other CSS event worldwide for that matter. You could do level 2 in NZ, level 3 in Australia, Level 4 in the USA, for example, and get total continuity with your training. The program's pretty cool like that. Let me know if you have any other questions, or go to http://www.californiasuperbikeschool.co.nz/ for dates. Cheers,

Hey Oz, No doubt, Streets of Willow is a great track to do a school. Probably one of the best circuits for training that I've been to. All sorts of differnt turns. I reckon you should aim for October, but that's only cause I'll be there then Cheers,

That track looks way too dry, and the sky way too blue for a UK track day Lookin good mate!

Hi Jaybird, As you finish your steering input, and release pressure on the bars, they will turn in, as you have observed. That is precisley what is meant to happen, and if you are relaxed on the bars as you should be, you will feel it. Lower speed tighter turns may be more noticeable, but it occurs in every turn. The new Twist DVD demostrates this phenomenon real well, very early on in the film. A protractor type device is mounted on the tank, and a pointer is attached to the bars. As the bike is steered the bars turn one way (the countersteering input), then as the rider releases pressure on the bar they turn back the other way and the bike arcs through the turn. You can see the pointer move back and forth across the face of the protractor! Your geometry and tyres will have minimal if any effect this. Cheers,

Mr, Ok cool. I haven't ridden Mallala, but I recognize the type of turn you've described. That'd be great to get you along for Level 1 at the Island. We have a number of level 1 spots available for the 17th of May. The dates for the second half of the year will be released in the next few weeks, so keep an eye on the website for those. I'd still like to at least get you pointed in the right direction in the meantime. When you want the bike to lean over into T5 at Mallala, how do you make it do it? What do you do to make it steer to the right?

Hi Mr, Thanks for a great post. That is a cool realisiation you've had at the track days. For many, the concept of using less brakes and gears to go faster dosen't compute, so definately pat yourself on the back for that! I'm going to assume that the track you're talking about is the Island, and T4 is the slow right hander you're having issues with. Does T10 (MG) give you similar problems? It's the other tight right hander on the track. The easiest way to solve this would be to do level 1. By the end of that day, without a doubt, you'd be armed with the understanding required to work this out for yourself. Sales pitch aside, I'll see if I can shed some light on it for you. When you want the bike to lean over into T4, how do you make it do that? What makes a bike lean over to the right?

Welcome aboard Maxih!

Elton, Great note! Thanks for posting it. Of course, we all know Toohey's a star. Doesn't hurt to have it reiterated though does it All the best for your schools this year. That track you got there at Thunderbolt is a real good place to ride. Adam

Hi Richard, All the best for your shoulder recovery. Look forward to having you at a school event when it's all mended and ready to go!

I got the spelling wrong then. My bad. That said, Steve's kids were calling him Mickey Mouse today when we caught up

DB, Sounds like quite a day! Glad you enjoyed it Level 3 for sure is physical. You know those sore muscles.....They're the best ones for riding! Get them strong, and the benefit is massive. See you for Level 4 sometime, or maybe at a track day. All the best, Adam

Wow! That's a cracking piece of feedback. Thanks for posting, and glad you enjoyed your day so much! Mickey's a talent no doubt, and a good guy to boot That's a nice shot of yourself you've go there too!

Lookin good from what I can see in those shots.

Hey Cobie, I did go pretty good.....well, kinda. We had 3 races, and my results sheet read 1st place, DNF-Crash, DNF-Mech. Hope to do more of it, and I can see it being of great benefit to my riding and coaching. I don't have any shots of the race weekend, but I've popped one up that was taken at the test I did on the bike I'm hoping to race next year. It's in the "shots of yourself" (or something like that) thread. Cheers

Hi Dylan, Sorry to hear about your fall mate. Never a pleasant thing. For what it's worth, I would tend to think along the lines of Bullets and Jaybirds comments. The best solution to post crash confidence issues is found in gaining an understanding of what you did as a rider to contribute to the fall. Unfortunatley in the scenario you outlined, it's possible that you did everything correctly, and went down due to the gravel rather than any particular error on your part. Such are the risks of riding the road - an uncontrolled environment. Just out of curiosity, which SR's do you find firing up the most now? For example, tense on the bars? off the gas? frantic hunting vision?