Sof

Welcome to the forum Mate. I just spotted your post looking down the list. Sorry I didn't see it earlier. Congrats on your smooth throttle control. Glad Steve could help turn your negative into a positive. I did some ride days with Steve at PI and he is really professional. Too bad I didn't do any classes there, but I will someday. Do you have any idea what sort of times you were doing? Just out of curiosity. I know the GP guys are running near the 1:30 mark but for us mere mortals, anything under 2 minutes is nice Hope to see you there sometime.

Hi Kat, Welcome to the forum. I hope you enjoy it here. I just joined and found the community and helpfulness of the members is really special. I would suggest you read both twist books and try to pick one thing to improve on at a time. I've done all the levels now and if there is one thing I noticed, I can't get great at everything all at once. The levels and drills within give you something that you can effectively measure, analyse and improve on. The format and sequence of drills is sensible and makes it easy to build on existing lessons. Having the skilled staff follow you around and even video you (in level 3) allows you to get feedback about your riding you may never have been aware of. Another school may be useful to get more experience on the track, but CSS is so polished that you'll know and experience the difference right away. If I were you, I'd do the local school and CSS just to compare. Have fun out there

Hi Oki and welcome to the forum, It's great to hear you had such an awesome time at the steets for the 2 day camp. I just did levels 3 and 4 there last weekend. So you live in SoCal now? Hope to see you at the track sometime. Sof

You're welcome Mate. Definitely check out roadrocket if you can for the rearsets. They're on Victoria St in West Melbourne and were pretty good to me when I was there. Actually, I recently asked them a question about a banjo bolt and they emailed me the answer here. Real nice guys. I actually have a problem with my right hand turns at the moment and I feel that my brake side rearset is causing me trouble because I have no heel guard. I have aftermarket Gilles sets, but it only comes with a shift side heel guard. I talked to an instructor about it and the heel guard is very important because you can leverage your foot against it when locking into the correct position for the turn. Something to think about when you make a decision.

Hey Oz. Yes, I can see the pics. Glad you had a good time. Did Steve Duggen take those pics? Looks like Siberia - standard PI shot . I have some of those somewhere too. Actually, my avatar shows me on my old Aprilia RS250 in the same spot! So this was a ride day and not a school day? Level 3 of the school really focuses on body position and helped me the most. From what I can see, your inside elbow is pretty straight. If you bend that elbow some more, it will force your shoulder and head to drop down. Are you gripping on with your outer knee? The school has some great exercises in level 3 that are gonna help you tremendously. I hope you get there. Nice pics btw Wish I was there too.

Hi Jay and nice to see your post. I really hope I can be helpful, but I'm no expert. One thing I thought I might mention is that it may be worth checking if the wheel is perfectly straight. Not sure if you have used that spare wheel before, but it might also be worthwhile swapping the tires and seeing if you still have the same problem with the 4 year old tire on your normal wheel. Just thinking of eliminating the variables. I hope this helps and good luck man.

hahah, thats funny mate. I was thinking I might have misunderstood, but I wanted to err on the younger side if any. That's great that you got into it. My mother tells me it's better late than never! But you're ahead of me in the racing because I've never done any, although I really really really want to. Thats awesome that throttle control was a Eureka moment. For me, it is definitely something I need to address better now that I'm going quicker through the turns as a result of everything else. It's easy for me to mess up the throttle control when I'm thinking about everything else, but it is crucial to get right. Darn difficult if you ask me, but a great challenge and pleasure. Yes, quick turns are really awesome. That is something that gets even better with the pivot steering and body position in level 3. It is really awesome how things come together in this school. You want to know embarrassing, well when I did level 1, I managed to crash my bike doing the steering drill at Laguna Seca in the pit skidpan area! It was funny afterward, and I was lucky to be able to continue on in the first session with a dangling bar end! I remember how furious Trevor was that I went out before getting my bike scrutineered again. (shaking my head now) Hey Cobie and thanks for the kind words. It was really great to meet you at the Streets and ride together on the track. I didn't recognize you right away probably because of your glasses. Who said that clark kent doesn't look like superman hey? Well, I also wanted to say that I'm really sorry about upsetting you, and possibly your student too, in turn 1. It was purely unintentional and I really was trying to stay out of trouble. I swear! I didn't want to ruin anyone's day so my apologies. I have a LOT to learn before I can do the instructors course. I hope I can still get in someday. I promise to behave better next time. Trevor will keep me in line Peace, Sof Hey bud, glad you had a great time over there. Sorry you didn't get a chance to ride Portimao. I don't know much about that track, but will certainly google it now. I wonder if the elevation changes are as much or more than Laguna? I really love the cork screw and the elevation changes at Laguna which make it really fun for me. It is like a roller coaster! Jerez is one of my favorite tracks when I play the motogp video games. I wish I could ride there sometime. I will have to check with the British school to coordinate and do one someday. Maybe they'll give me a discount for flying over there? Hope you're healing up fast and back on the bike soon.

G'day Oz, I bought a set of Valtermoto rearsets from Roadrocket (http://www.roadrocket.com.au/) in the Melbourne a while back. I know they have some good stuff and well stocked. They had the least expensive reverse shift set that worked great! Woodcraft are easy to find here in the US or on ebay but weren't as easy for me to find when I lived in Melbourne. Hope this helps Sof

Hi Muhaha and welcome to the forum I'm no instructor, but from what I've read on the sign up page, the SBK school require that "Students must have some riding experience -- we do not train first time riders." You'll have to clarify what "some" means, but probably doing the rider safety foundation course would be a good start. I believe that's the equivalent of getting your road license. At least then you'd know the basic controls and functions. After you learn the basics would be a perfect time to get into GOOD habits in the school so they can catch any bad habits early and help you to become a great rider. Good luck and hope to see you out there sometime

Anytime man. It's a pleasure. I really need to practice the earlier drills that you mentioned because I think I was still getting used to being at the track again and giving more attention to the new place instead of my drills. In addition, I hadn't ridden properly in a while which doesn't help. I can't wait to do some practice runs with you in the near future. Even if we go to the track and help each other with video and a notebook. I'd like to play with my suspension settings too. It will be cool to ride in the same group when you do level 3 and work together. I sure as hell noticed and it was really awesome. I just have to remember and get used to doing it instead of leaning more. I was using it in turn 3 at the Streets where it's desirable to tighten up the line at the second apex in the turn. Really nice technique, my favorite right now. I recall Pete talking about the rake and trail and mentioning that the steeper angle of the forks on a sportbike compared to that of a cruiser allows for quicker turning at the expense of some stability, so if the fork angle gets steeper as a result of the hook turn, the bike a little less stable, but also have a shorter wheelbase and it will turn quicker and tighter. I'm no instructor and please somebody please correct me if I'm wrong. Cheers

It was a pleasure Jason. The one big thing I noticed was not just knowing I was making errors, but knowing exactly what those errors where (thanks to the great coaching), seeing how the specific errors were negatively affecting my riding, correcting them and then experiencing the difference. It was such an amazing thing. If I hadn't learned I was hanging onto the bars in TERROR, then I probably would have thought to relax! But having someone make me aware that I was doing exactly that gets me to try and break the bad habit. Simply wonderful. Thanks Lyle. An instructor will probably explain it better and I may not get all the details perfect, but here goes: While in a turn, by bending your inner elbow into a v shape, also lowering and moving your head slightly forward (shifting your body weight more to the front of the bike), you effectively shorten the wheelbase of the motorcycle by compressing the front suspension very slightly. A vehicle with a shorter wheelbase will follow a tighter arc than another that is longer, like a mini cooper compared to a limo. The technique effectively tightens up your line without you having to make any steering adjustments at the bars or changing the throttle. Be careful though, because you can only use this trick once in a turn. Once the wheelbase is shortened as much as you can with your weight, you can't make it any shorter hence turn any tighter! Fingers crossed with Laguna for sure

Hey Lyle, Yes, you beat me to it. I was too busy passed out nursing aching muscles I never knew I had! Actually, I feel pretty good after some rest, but it was such a blast, I didn't even notice how much it took out of me on the track, but it certainly was worth every penny and effort doing so. I just wish I could go back again tomorrow so I could keep practicing all the things I learned. I can't think about anything else today except how awesome it was out there on the weekend. Pretty tough do any sort of work now There is certainly so much to take in, and for me personally, some of the skills that were completely obvious in the classroom are exceptionally difficult to master. As you know, I did Levels 3 and 4 on the weekend and I must admit that before doing level 4, I thought level 3 was the best (and that's what I thought of level 2 also)! Lonnie was my level 3 coach and he did a great job. We identified I had a problem with my right hand turns, so I kept that in mind for later. Learning the proper method of locking into the right position on the bike is so important to learn. Pete did a great job helping with the initial hang off position and hook turn although I would have liked to have practiced it on my own bike earlier since I don't have a right heal guard which I identified later as contributing to my right hand turn problem. However, the key to my weekend was our very talented instructor Kristi, who was able to pin point the start of my errors, and worked on a highly personalized plan/path of rider improvement that really worked for me. Each drill built on the previous exercise in a sensible order allowing me to practice the earlier drill(s) with the new one and perfect the corner. I was able to draw from all the other levels and focus on strengthening the areas where I was having difficulty. I really had a great time, more so than I can express. By the final session, I was having so much fun and I felt so confident, but it was a little worrying for my instructor since I still have some bad habits to break and she could see how close I was to the edge. However, considering that my bad habits made it very difficult to get through a corner, but I somehow still made it, doing the right thing in the turn really made it super easy for me. It is crazy how that works, but it is true! I need to undo my survival instinct because those are what are getting me into trouble! Another highlight of the weekend was turning the lean bike into the SLIDE bike! After several failed attempts at sliding the sucker, I managed to finally get the rear loose and skip across the skidpan. It was one of the most satisfying feelings to actually make the bike slide instead of suddenly being surprised when it happened. Lonnie was very patient considering it took me a long time to do it, and he was very complimentary after. Hats off to Lonnie for doing a great job. You were right though about the pick up drill, I almost forgot about the name of it. Coming out of the bowl is a perfect place to do it, where you pick the bike up and accelerate but continue hanging off the bike. The hook turn is one of my favorites which is why I got confused on that one; sorry. Next time I need to remember to put sunscreen on my neck, that little part that is still exposed between your helmet and leathers. It is stinging like crazy today! I did get some video which I'll try to make available somewhere. You can see all the mistakes I make, but its pretty cool to clearly see what they are, rather than guessing. Anyway, I'd better get to some work. Before I go, I wanted to thank all the Superbike School staff and riders/students for making my weekend a very special one. I look forward to seeing you at the next school day. I'm hoping to do level 4 again at Laguna Seca. Take care all.

Hi Nigel and welcome . Congratulations on your first school day. I just joined the forum too and a Brit ex-pat. I remember going to the beach in Devon which was one of the few British beaches that didn't have pebbles! I love that area. Anyway, it's great you did level 1. You mentioned you had 3 big Eureka moments and I was curious what they were exactly if you don't mind sharing? I can remember when I did level 1 and I was shocked by how much input I was giving the bars without realizing it. That was one of my big moments when we did the "rider input" drill or chicken wings as I like to call it, and I noticed I could carry a lot more corner speed right away. I find it amazing what fear and a lack of understanding can do to a person, and in my case it made me grip the bars for dear life! That brings to mind another great article by Keith about the "effort-loop" which makes so much sense. Like you, I started when I was in my twenties, and although I wished I had started sport bike riding sooner, I'm just happy that I started at all. It must have been fun riding Silverstone. You are lucky to ride a great track, one that's going to be on the MotoGP calender next year! I have no idea what it looks like at this stage, but I hope they'll probably include it in the latest MotoGP video game so I can learn some lines before riding it someday. Well mate, I'm getting prepped for my level 3 tomorrow so I'd better get to it. 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.

Third time lucky I hope Dude . I'll give you some more stuff to post after this weekend's school. Where you doing your trackday/CSS at? Also sent you a PM about your username. Hopefully you can be back to cornering master in no time at all.

Wow, I am really happy about the warm welcome received from all you guys. Thank you again for making this an awesome forum! Bullet: It was a real pleasure to share my initial story and I'm glad I posted. There are quite a few more stories and always new ones in the making (one big one coming up this weekend at the Streets!). I look forward to sharing them here. I'm really passionate about riding and it's funny because I remember when I purchased my first sport bike 10 years ago, if you call a 250CC ZZR Kawasaki a sport bike mind you, I had no idea I was going to feel that way about bikes. I did my road test scraping pegs and my instructor knew he was in for trouble . It was a great bike to learn on and push the limits of lean and traction until it sadly got stolen, but we had a good life together. It was time to move onto an Aprilia RS250 (it's the one in my profile pic now)! When I first stated riding, I had only heard about these bikes and how expensive they were considering they were only 250cc, but that was before I understood about 2 strokes and what they had to offer. I remember the dealer describing them as a real rider's bike. After the first test ride, it was like night and day compared to what I knew and least to say, I was smitten. Back in Australia, you can register them on the road legally without any of the hassles you have here in the US. I didn't realize how spoiled I was over there at the time. I kept that bike for a long time even after I moved country. I was reluctant to sell it but eventually felt like someone else should enjoy riding it instead of it wasting away in storage. I might get another one someday just for fun, but sadly they stopped making them new in 2003. Mine was a 2002 model. Anyway, yes, I loved riding so much and rode everyday, everywhere. Most of my friends had never seen me in anything other than my leathers. I read Keith's books and began watching road racing with great interest and excitement. I still wake up almost religiously in the early hours of the morning to watch the MotoGP whenever scheduled, and play the videogame to help improve my lines. My passion hasn't changed, but I hardly ride on the road these days. I hope to eventually spend all my time riding on the track instead. Thank you for your support regarding coaching. I spoke to a few coaches and they say exactly the same thing as you. I hope to say the same thing too someday. I'm determined and motivated to succeed! I don't know what's involved yet at this stage but I'm going to have a chat with the guys this weekend and find out the details. That's awesome you have experienced being a coach. What did you find to be the best thing about becoming a coach? For sure, I'll post about level 3 following this weekend and thank you again for your well wishes. I find I have to repeat a lot of the steps to perfect my understanding of them and I wish I could ride a track everyday to practice! I'll try to make the most of the day, but there is never enough time to address everything. lwarner: Hey man, thanks for the post and I sent you a PM. Great to have another track junkie in the area! Hopefully I'll see you later today. Cobie: Hi Cobie and thanks for the reply too. I've seen a lot of your posts in the forum and they're all really helpful and friendly. I look forward to meeting you on Saturday and I'm sure I'll be talking to you about coaching. I believe I've seen you doing other school days, but we've never been introduced. I look forward to changing that this weekend hubbard_28/Jasonzilla: Howdy Jasonzilla and good to meet you here. I saw your post about your name change and posted there . I totally feel the same way as you do about the track. I was just reading the years old article Keith wrote in his section about how intimate we can become with a track, and in particular: Willow Springs, and it really hit home. You mentioned that you learned a lot from advanced riders and investigation. I spent many track days learning things the hard way on my own, and even though I learned a lot, it took a lot of time because of the trial and error method. When I did the school last year at Laguna Seca, I found the approach to be very rewarding and I could see and feel the results right away. I remember doing level 1 and how surprised I was with the difference in lap times between "no brakes forth gear" and using brakes and two or three gears: mainly, I was going a lot faster than I thought with no brakes. I have been conscious of so many little things that I've learned during the school and also have more attention to devote to improving since becoming stronger with the fundamental skills. It really is something I should have done a long time ago, but glad to be with the program now. You say you're studying medicine and it's your profession too? If so, I hope you stick it through. I'm a computer guy and specialize in embedded systems design so it's pretty demanding of my brain too, but I enjoy applying myself and it gives me great satisfaction. Thanks again guys for all your great posts. I'm gonna start going through my checklist for the track and check back here later. Can't wait for tomorrow. I look forward to seeing some of you there!

Congrats on the name change man. How does the wife like it and what was her reaction when you told her?

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