ThomasDark

This is a lot like saying "I can run without bending my knees so therefore bending your knees while you run is useless". Yes, yes it is if you want to be slow, look funny, and have little agility. Just because someone 'could' do it doesn't mean it's the best tactic. I bet y'all didn't know I can take almost any screw out of anything using nothing but my kitchen knife... but is it the best way to do it without risking slicing off a finger?

Precisely correct. Perhaps it's easier to understand if you call it "Center of Mass" instead of Center of Gravity. Technically it's you moving mass to a different position and the subsequent change in the earths reaction that we're dissecting here. As far as your bike is concerned the tires feel the same normal force regardless of where you are applying it on the bike. The only thing adding pressure to a peg *might* do is create an ever-so-slight moment on the tire since the pressure would be out of line with the axis of the bike, but you're talking a VERY small amount. That moment, if made massive enough may cause your bike to stick BETTER... but I need to go draw some free-body diagrams and check my work on that one. Either way you're not talking anything amounts worth talking about I don't think. I'm going to have to ask about this when I see the CSS in June. Get your FBD's ready coaches as I'm comin' with the question.

EricG, Get boots. Your ankles are far more useful than you're giving them credit for. Look on Ebay. I got a spiffy set of SIDI's for $120 including shipping. Boots are easily worth 10X more than you'll pay for them, even new. In the more common types of crashes (Low-sides) your inside leg is going to spend some time between the bike and the ground at whatever pace you're at. Nike's will last about 10 feet in my opinion. If you're really not interested in Moto-specific boots then I'd suggest Military-style SH*T kickers. They're made of some good material and will take a serious beating before submitting. Just my $0.02 td

That's rough. GL with your expected improvement. I do timing and scoring out here at the Masters of the Mountains in Salt Lake City and just want you to know I've seen people take 10s+ off in an afternoon so your dream of 1:17's isn't outside the realm of possibility... at least it wouldn't be at Miller Motorsports Park. I'd have to say the best and most consistent racers in our series are the ones that follow the "6-P" mantra "Proper planning prevents piss poor performance". As I've never raced motorcycles but have logged many a Alpine ski race as a youth I can say that when race time comes and adrenaline is running high you can almost count on your IQ dropping about 50% so just plan it out. You'll be fine if you've covered your bases before the brain-drain hits. Forgetting your numbers, grabbing the wrong equipment, missing your start are all things that just happen to 'novice' people so don't feel bad about finding some speed bumps in your first race. I always have found if I spend some time right when I get to a race just lining out what the 15 minutes right before my race are going to run like a lot of unnecessary worry can be avoided. I used to actually sit in the lodge before I put on my ski gear and write down a schedule of the 15 or so minutes before my race and exactly what I was going to do all the way down to "T-15 minutes: Consider if I have to pee. (2 minutes of pee time). T-13 minutes: Streching (2 minutes bottom half, 1 minute arms and trunk). T-11 Minutes: Take off warm ups and jacket and begin light warm up to keep body flexible..." You get the picture. By planning out what I was going to do well before hand (and through a lot of experiences giving myself too much or too little time) I ironed out a good pre-race ritual that allowed me to push out all the ancillary worries about general preparation and focus my brain on what I needed to in order to have a successful race in terms of my actual performance. Just an idea that worked well for this ol' ski racer. It takes time to figure it out just right but even if you don't get your timing right you'll feel better going into the race just knowing you've got some sort of plan to get yourself to the grid in a mindset that will allow you to consider performing at your top level. Good luck and I expect another long-winded post after next round telling us of your successes. Keep the rubber down and the plastic up and don't forget you're out there because it's SUPPOSED to be fun.

Just a bit of encouragement to go see the CSS... I'm 6'5" and ride a honda literbike (954RR). Prior to visiting the CSS I would leave the first session of a trackday with BURNING legs and a wonder of how I was going to make it through the next 7 sessions. After visiting the school for Lvl 1 & 2 (as I understand it Lvl 3 is focused on body position) just the few hints as to my body position made a night and day difference in my endurance and comfort at my next trackday. I have found that myself and a few of my friends focus on 'getting off' the bike too much and not enough on the orientation of your body with relation to the bike. For example, prior to my CSS experience I was getting 3/4 of my butt off to the inside and found I had to support myself almost completely with my inside leg, which in turn burned my leg up in about 8 laps. After addressing how I get off the bike at CSS I am able to slide 1/2 or less of my butt off the seat and find myself in a far better, less tiresome, and more comfortable position in the corners. As a result I can rip up 8 sessions of 8-10 laps and still ride 40 miles home and go for a walk with the dog. Previous to CSS that would be some sort of super-human miracle. The key for me was to "point my d!ck" into the corner. By turning my hips into the corner I can get my knee and upper body out as far or further than before and keep that VITAL lock on the bike with my outside leg. It also helps me look further into the corner for my mid-corner point and exit points as I don't have to crank my head/neck as much to see those points. It was a game changer for me. Try it and see how it goes. td

Chief, I have a '02 954rr that I need to find a stiffer rear spring for. I'm 225 w/o gear and have been dragging the 'hard parts' of my bike in long corners. I have new springs for the front end that i'm putting in but I am running into a problem finding a suitable upgrade spring for the rear shock (that doesn't run $1000+). Any ideas for me? td

YellowDuc, What I mean by I wouldn't be better off with a Race Tech rear spring is that the stock spring rate is very close to the stiffest spring that they make so the benefit will be negligible at best.

I checked the front forks for straightness and they're withing allowable run-out. I would go with an Ohlins or Penkse but I don't have the extra $ to fork out for my bike right now. As I sit and think about it I was thinking I could resolve the issue with my body position by getting off the bike more and *hopefully* be able to keep the bike more upright in the corner. I'll Ask the Chief and see what he says about my front fork.

The pictures are proving harder to get as the old farings are in storage and such. They're coming though... I may be able to find some action photos of my farings actually dragging (or at least it looks like it to me) mid corner. What's really important out of all of this is how I find a way to not drag the bike anymore. I've invested in some Race-tech springs for my weight on the front end and am trying to figure out an economical way to upgrade the stiffness of the rear... Race tech rear springs would make me no better off than the stock rear spring for my body weight (225lbs dry with only socks on) Any ideas?

Speaking only from my experience they are 95% the same as any other corner in a strictly physics-oriented way. The bike is going to react in the same ways as any other corner. The only 'useful' piece of advice I can offer is that your front tire will be loaded more than if you were on a flat so make sure you finish your braking completely before you go for any lean. I figure that the sooner you're able to open the throttle and balance the weight closer to the ratio of contact patch the better. For me it's all about knowing the corner so that I can find the confidence to do the same things I do in other corners. The only significant difference is your brains perception of the situation. The techniques should be largely the same, it's finding the b@lls that's the problem and that only comes from knowing what's coming and using good visual technique so you are able to overcome your SR's that are going to make you crash. In summary, it's largely a head game in downhill turns. *I THINK*

Duck(S), This has been on my mind since the crash actually. I will elaborate more when I get home and have time to explain myself but the sum-total of the story is it may very well have been a hard part unweighting the tire. On my farings after the crash I noticed there are matching sections on either side where they plastics were dragging on the track during cornering, separate from the crash damage. Also my crank case cover shows signs of two distincly different slide directions. To quickly answer your ?'s about the track: It is a banked corner. At or near where I was the track returns to flat. I'm glad to hear you all entertaining this idea as well because I've felt like it could have been a hard part and not my throttle for a long time. I was not sure if it was crazy to think I leaned the bike so far that the plastics and hard parts were dragging but the tire was still gripping. The quick rev increase could be because my rear tire has no resistance anymore since I lifted it off the track using my crank case cover as the fulcrum of the lever. Pictures of my evidence to follow. td

YellowDuck, If you listen really hard over the wind noise you can hear my open the throttle and it sounds abrupt. I low-sided. The contributing factors were (I think): 1. I was at what I consider to be my own personal "full lean" (Peg drug in the middle of the corner so I'd assume that's about the limit) 2. I 'twisted the wrist' (haha) a bit too fast. 3. I'm 220 lbs and the bike is sprung about 70% stiff enough for my body mass. What I remember from the crash (not that I got KO'ed, it just happened so fast it's hard to section out parts of it.) is that I was already cranking my head around to look down the straight and had located where I was hoping to exit. I wasn't paying attention to the SMOOTH part of smooth, consistant roll-on. I was knee-down so there was a small hip check to the track but it was only about 1' or less. I knew something went wrong when my elbow was down too and I (sort of) pushed with my right (inside) leg and there was nothing there. Once I knew I was off I thought "Tom, do your best starfish and get away from the bike" and immediately spread my legs and arms out in an attempt not to roll while on the asphalt. Bikes slide much faster than leather so it just took off away from me. Then as I was sliding I remember thinking "Damn, I'm sliding pretty fast and don't seem to be slowing." At that point was was on my back and has both palms down on the track and looking at the fast approching gravel. As I hit the striping I remember thinking about how gravel was going to be terrible to slide on and went for more of an "all fours" body position using my elbows and knees. At that point I rolled a bit and came happily to a stop. Upon stepping through the POV footage on my home computer frame by frame I was able to see that my bike spun about 180 degrees to an orientation where the rear wheel and tail were leading the way. That tells me that the rear indeed slid out and the front was still achieving traction so the back end passed the front on the outside. All in all I like to say it was the best crash I could have taken because the worst part was the emotions of injuring my partner, the bike, and there were no physical effects. I destroyed my right boot and discovered why you never buy Cyclegear brand gear (I was looking at my sock on the outside of my left foot when I stood up. Thank the man upstairs it was my sock and not my foot. Also an interesting not about Cyclegear... they make "track boots" and sell them as such and love to brag about their 100% satisfaction guarantee and that you can return anything in any condition and they'll be glad to give you new gear... except if you're on a track. If you are on a track basically everything is void. Nice little loop hole they've got there. Needless to say I did not get any other gear there since and have invested in some SIDI boots that I trust would do much better. and yes, that track is awesome. After my trip to other tracks I call it 'the country club' because it's so wide an there's not one crack or blemish anywhere. I and everyone else that rides Miller Motorsports Park are some of the most spoiled track riders in this country... except maybe the COTA crew, now.

Try this out... 1. The rider is able to actually perform a smooth, consistant roll on. Bad RP may make you have a inconsistent roll on. 2. BAD RP = Your exit runs wide. Since you turned to early you couldn't execute a corner that fit in the track (i.e. to not cut inside the apex you are forced into a larger radius turn.) given you didn't modulate your throttle. If you turned late you'll have to wait to roll on and execute more turn before you can stabilize the bike through the throttle. 3. BAD RP = You have to adjust your lean after you started your roll on which can become a sticky situation at full lean or near the traction limit when rolling on the gas. 4. BAD RP = You are in the dirt because you thought too much and didn't turn... just kidding on that one. How'd I do Cobie? All from memory from my trip to CSS last April.

If you find out from CSS if they're on the west track or not I'd be glad to break that one down for ya too, but I don't like that side as much so I tend to skip those trackdays. I will be out there for a Advanced Rider Training and the first round of our local road racing series on April 20, 21 on the west track so let me know and I'll pay attention.

Also, since I work in Engineering and Mapping I'm in the process of reverse-engineering a set of enginerring-grade technical drawings of the track as many people around here have expressed interest. You'd be surprised what you learn when you put everything in an engineering perspective. i.e. camber, cross sectional slope, radii changes, etc. Since it's in my free time and it's VERY hard to get accurate data it's still a work in progress. I really want to bring some equipment to Willow Springs when I come in June and do a work up there too because that track only has about 3 truely level corners which would be fun to understand from and engineering perspective. We'll see if I can mobilize on getting equipment as well as if the track would even allow me to do that. Sometimes it's a big secret as to the design of million dollar objects. Without using equipment it would be hard/impossible to understand the cross-sectional slope but I could get good data from aerial photos as to the radii and such. Just me nerding out here, don't mind me.

Well I've only rode Miller once since taking the CSS Level 1 and 2. That day I rode 2 sessions before I low-sided in the last turn before the straight on the last lap of the second session. I've ridden a total of about 16 laps on the East track since understanding RP's. Before that I've done one other day on the east track in 2011 where I made it the whole day, which is 8 sessions of about 7-8 laps a session. I did sit in the attitudes in 2012 when the WSBK came through and I can verify they turn in at almost exactly the same point as I described. That was good verification that my RP was right. And my previous Alpine Ski Racing experience gave me the knowledge that sometimes you have to do a fine/very fine inspection of the course and then just trust your brain over your gut. Checa ate it in the second attitude last year trying a different line in those turns. Sometimes there are only one or two ways to skin a cat, ya know.

Kevin, I ride Miller a lot and can tell you that since the track is in such great condition and very wide I find myself getting creative with my RP's but I usually try to bank on the 300, 200, 100 signs and striping. They may be feet, they may be yards, they may be meters, I don't care... All I care about is that they don't move. For the East track here's what I remember from last year as far as how I figure it out. Turn 1: GO DEEP, that thing is a strange because it's got two apexes and you really only want to focus on the second which is too far around to even see your mid-turn point until you actually arrive at the turn point. If you look at an aerial photo (google supplied) you'll see the red and white triangle on the outside of the turn between it and the extension of the straight away that goes to the west track... I like to come down the straight about 3'-5' off the outside of the track and then kind of creep a little bit of direction as I'm braking in and point directly at the tip of that red and white triangle. As I find myself going from the black asphalt to the lighter grey and back to the black I turn in. I try to use the seam where the grey goes to black as my "ideal" turn in point. I then (since it's a multi-camber turn) try to look for the striping on the inside around where the camber changes, then the striping on the outside for my exit. Turn 2: Since it's a kink-style turn with ~45* of total direction change I usually only drift back to about the middle of the track and turn in when I feel like am about half way down the striping on the left before the turn. (I don't consider the <20* turn immediately after turn 1 to be a turn as I don't actually turn there, I just drift toward the left side of the track by virtue of the track turning a little right and me not turning at all. I try to exit so that I'm about 5-10' from the right side of the track. Turn 3: Here I do my best to not turn in until I'm perpendicular to the start of the inside striping (left) which happens to be about two stripes before the end of the striping on the right side of the track. I then like to dive right for the apex and usually look right at the seam of the striping and the asphalt at what I feel is the midpoint of the curve. I try to exit on the left 1/3 of the track because I know Turn 4 has a lot of direction change so I want to 'set up' for it ASAP. Turn 4 & 5: This is a long corner so I try to turn in right at the end of the striping on the left and then look right at the striping on the right at what looks to be the apex from that spot. Since I know Turn 5 is also a right hander I usually don't change my body position at all between the two and just try to stand the bike up a bit like in the 5th drill of Level 2 and then tip 'er in there again at the end (or just before) of the striping on the left ends coming into Turn 5. I always exit on the far left of the track out of Turn 5 and meander toward the right side of the track during the straight. Turn 6: By far my most frustrating turn on the East track because of it's double apex and different radii between them. For this lately I've been taking a somewhat uncharted approach. As I'm passing the striping on the right coming into the corner I turn about 5* and point as best I can at the striping on the right side of the track that is after the first curve. It feels like I'm riding toward the desert because my angle of approach to that striping is more perpendicular then my gut is interested in but I do my best to over-ride my gut with my brain and tell myself it'll all be ok. All the while I've put the bike at slight lean and am doing a very very slow turn to the left. WHen I feel like I hit about the midpoint of the track cross section I start my real turn. I turn in and immediately try to find the seam between the left striping and the asphalt on the inside of the track. If I'm lucky all goes to plan and I exit out on the right side of the track near the striping where the Perimeter track comes back to the East track. I know I could go wider as I've been passed by people actually riding on the candy striping but hey, I'm doing trackdays not racing for prize money so I'm find staying off the striping all together and just having a good time with my bike without my stomach in my throat. Turn 7, 8 & 9 (Attitudes): This one is the one you were talking about in your post. It's funny the call it the attitudes because whether I negotiate them correctly is 100% based on my attitude. For me it's all about trust. Turn 7 is a crowning corner so when you approach your turn-in point you actually cant see the middle of the corner or the exit but you just have to believe. I have found with a health dose of faith and trust if I wait to turn in until I am even with the last white sign and then quick turn the SH!t out of the corner and look at the horizon where the striping meets the asphalt I've never gone wrong. In the seasons before I went to the CSS I would always turn too early on this corner and end up squaring off a bit and then struggling in the last two attitude corners cause my line was "late". Once I took Level 1 & 2 last year and realized I was always prone to turning in to early I pushed it back to that sign and I was able to make once smooth turn through the first attitude and be set up for an easy turn in the second attitude and cruised through Bad Attitude. Turn 10 (Tooele turn) is a fun one cause I almost slow down from the straight before it through the corner I just pause with my throttle while I turn in and then go ahead with my roll on. Turn 11: (What I call a kink) I have found myself forgetting this corner all together and then wondering why my angle of attack in 12 is so messed up and then right after that I sometimes find myself on the apron. When I do it right I ride parallel to the curb and just stay 10 or so feet from the right side of the track. It's such a soft kink that diving to the apex would be semi-redic since I don't carry the kind of speed needed to 'need' to apex that corner. I am usualy only going about 85-95 back there so if you're faster you should do what you need to. There's no striping and I find if I just draw out my Turn 10 turn a lot I can negotiate Turn 11 like it's not even there. Turn 12: (Clubhouse, I think) Here I try to come in on the right and wait until almost the end of the right striping before I turn in. I typically have braked down to about what I feel is 60 or so and I don't throw my bike all the way in because this corner seems to be over quickly. I just try to come out within about 10 feet of the left of the track and set up for Wind up and Release. Turn 13, 14: Since these are the honey-bucket turns of the track and everyone has a different stragegy here it seems I will have little input. In 13 I like to turn in at the end of the striping on the left and then practice looking as far ahead as possible because it's a nice sweeper. In 14 I have found myself over by the white line that delineates pit road and I start a slow turn there and then put my 'turn-in' as late as I can. This corner is banked so it's better for me to turn in later since the track is helping me turn. The entire turn I spend thinking about my throttle control as I've low-sided there before being over zellous with my desire to RIIIIP down the front straight. That's my one lap breakdown. Now I'll say this... I don't race and when I go to trackdays I like to ride with the mentality that I'm there to carve the cr@p out of the corners so I only really push for speed down the front straight cause it's fun and back after Tooele Turn. Maybe my outlook would change if I was pushing the whole time but my wallet, wife, and new baby son don't encourage that attitude. Maybe if I was in a race I'd try it but I'm just there for fun... and there's nothing more fun that not crashing and ripping up 8 sessions then riding back to Salt Lake a happy man. The real win is an intact bike and great memories. I've got a bunch of videos of my trackdays from 2011 and 2012 and the videos from '12 (after i went to CSS) show me much faster lap times (calculated using the GPS from my camera and some Excel analysis of the data once I got home safe and sound.) Maybe that helps, maybe not. I just felt since CSS only comes to Miller once a year they may not have the in-depth understanding of what the corners are like as much as someone who does a few trackdays a year (And some UtahSBA ART classes this year on the big track). If you poke your head into the garages at your next trackday there's usually a guy that has some GPS data from Shane Turpin riding the track that can also help you see what he does. td EDIT: you're right that there are 13 turns. I count 14 because I consider any time the track changes direction a turn, not just where they chose to put striping.

Done and done. Thanks again Hotfoot... you're all over my posts today with good advice.

I had not even thought of that... I will be checking my throttle as soon as it stops raining in Utah. Thank you! That's probably something I'd be inclined to do before dropping $300 on a PC3... we both know I'm going to get that PC regardless but I'll feel better about spending the $ if I have at least tried to fix the problem on my own. The tricky thing for me is I am a 90% Street/10% track rider right now and it takes some luck on my part to find myself on a stretch of road where I can focus on my riding and not cars, rocks, cliffs, guardrails, deer and runoff streams across the road. Thanks again for the advice though, much appreciated. td

When y'all come out to Miller Motorsports park I'd be more than happy to come work some corners!! Let me know on here or at thomasdark AT gmail DOT com ... sweet. td

The issue for me was that in the turn previous to my crash I was passed by someone who I believed I could keep up with. So, as I was exiting the corner that I crashed in I was trying to "keep up" and the rider mentioned was already on the front straight and pulling away. Instead of keeping my wits about me and standing the bike up before really getting on the throttle I rolled on too quickly while still at about 80% lean... the results were as expected in hindsight. I low-sided, he continued down the straight. I could not keep up with him on foot, running in my track suit, in the gravel. Now my throttle control has become the focus of many of my corners. Also my '02 CBR 954rr has a fairly abrupt lurch when I first crack the throttle which I'm thinking I'm going to try to resolve with a Power Commander. We'll see. Thoughts? Here's a helmet cam video of the whole experience. http://contour.com/v...on-2-race-group Got passed - 1m 39s Bad Decision with my right hand - 1m 58s

Holy necropost batman! Sorry for the absence but life became all I could handle for a while there. Cobie, If you ever find yourself in Salt Lake City here's a list of GREAT places to eat, by meal type. Breakfast: Finn's Cafe - 1700 South 1100 East - This is a norwegian style breakfast spot and one of my faves. The owner is a racer in our regional Masters of the Mountains road racing series here in Utah and a definite moto lover. I actually didn't even eat here until after CSS last year where I met the owner in my Level 1/Level 2 classes. Since then it's had a meteoric rise on my favorites list. If you go try the Trout and Eggs. It may not sound like something tasty at 7:30am (when they open) but I assure you you'll be surprised. The Park Cafe - 1300 South 600 East - This has been my go-to breakfast spot since college about a decade ago. Until Finn's came into the picture this was my no-brainer pick come Saturday morning. If you go I'd recommend the French Toast Foolishness... two eggs, two bacon or sausage pieces, breakfast potatoes, and a couple of slices of cinnimon-covered french toast to wrap it all up. If you're not quite as hungry try the Mini FTF, it's similar just short one slice of delightful FT. A word to the wise: If you don't want to plan on 30-60 minute wait to sit you should try to show up before about 8:30. It's totally worth the wait though. Ruth's Diner - 4160 Emigration Canyon Rd Salt Lake City, UT 84108 - This is a classic diner style restaurant tucked into one of the many pretty canyons surrounding Salt Lake. Their patio leaves nothing to be desired when it comes to atmosphere. There's a creek running by and it's always shaded by the trees. The food is epic. I (and my wife) love their home made corn bread they serve as a complimentary appetizer. During the summer they usually have ample seating. They do open a little late, 8:00am, but that just makes it easy to beat the rush because most of their patrons are... advanced in age... and show up around 8:30-9:00 Eggs In the City - 1300 South 1700 East - This is a hipster hangout yet the food is great. They're usually busy by about 9:00 but the wait is usually never longer than 20 minutes. It's tucked in the Sugarhouse neighborhood so some people are thrown off by it's surrounding neighborhood and don't ever find it. My advice, FIND IT! I love their breakfast burrito smothered in Chili Verde (the pork kind, not the green kind). LUNCH/DINNER The Soup Kitchen - Many locations - Their soups and salads are something I'd write home about. Be sure to grab ample amounts of their breadsticks to dip in their soup. The cheese ones are my fave. Pat's Bar-b-que - 155 W Commonwealth Ave Salt Lake City, UT 84115 - This is THE BEST BBQ IN SALT LAKE, possibly the western US. They've been featured on Diners Drive-In's and Dives and it's totally legit. When you're driving there it may seem like you're headed for a part of town where you'll wish you had brought your glock but it just looks that way, trust me it's fine. This spot smokes their own meat (haha) weekly and if you're lucky or savvy enough to show up on friday ask for the "burnt ends". They're the end of the smoked briskets where the fat meets the sirloin and are a thing of flavor beauty. They also usually have some sort of live music to set the mood, which I like. Tres Hombres - 3298 Highland Dr, Salt Lake City, UT - This is one of my favorite Mexican food spots in the valley. When I'm inside the building it reminds me of trips to Mazatlan in college. The food is good and the service is good. Portions tend to be on the larger side so go hungry. The Red Iguana - 736 West North Temple - This is probably the flag-ship local Mexican food spot in Salt Lake. They have great food but their main location is typically very very busy. It's a local secret that just around the corner there's a second restaurant called The Red Iguana 2. It's address is 866 West South Temple. You'll know you're in the right spot if parking is difficult and there are train tracks across the street from the restaurant. The neighborhood doesn't tend to be great so make sure to drive the hoopty and take valuables inside but the food is just amazing. They've definitely got the flare for bright colors in their decor that will remind you of our continental neighbor to the south. I think that's about it for now... I'll probably ad to the list as I remember my spots but that's a good start. I see from your schedule that you'll be out in the land of Zion in July. We'll have to try to meet up at some of these spots for dinner. As for me I just signed up with my brother and father to come see y'all at Willow Springs in early June. I actually was reading over my Level 1 and Level 2 booklets yesterday before one of my 30 minute trips up our windy canyons (Big Cottonwood Canyon yesterday... look it up and bring your bike when you come.) I'm looking forward to coming out this spring at finishing up Level 3 & 4. Keep the rubber side down. tom

After attending CSS in April I was lucky enough to get out on my local track (Miller Motorsports Park) this past weekend and try out my Level 1 and 2 skills on the big track. They all worked great, but I failed to adhear to rule 1, smooth, consistant roll on of the throttle and ended up losing the rear at the end of a corner and ending my day. Just a reminder to all of you from a guy that has to look at his bike for a while and put it back together -> THROTTLE CONTROL IS PARAMOUNT! Between Throttle Control and Picking the bike up at the end of the corner you can eliminate the majority of silly crashes. Thanks again for the cornering lessons, I was so happy with my improved riding at that trackday. It's amazing what a little body position and proper eye control can do for a rider.

It wasn't my first time on a track. I have done about 3 track days in my life, 2 on a CRB 1100XX and one on my 954. I was able to teach myself (albeit using the wrong technique) to put my knee slider down before CSS but it was very taxing on my muscle structure. I would say this was the first time I felt genuinely comfortable in the corners on a track and with my body position and general bike control. I read ToTW which I can confidently say has saved my life in a couple of instances by way of the Survival Response discussions, and ToTW2 but the interactive discussion and learning really put it all together for me in a package that I could utilize. The key for me was working on one thing at a time. Who knew I could ride a track, and have a blast, in only 4th gear using NO BRAKES! I never even considered trying that until CSS. I also feel empowered by the line diagnostic techniques I learned at CSS, now I just have to get better at my reference points so I don't pick them 20-30 feet away from where I end up wanting them.

Hey all. My name is Tom and I hail from Salt Lake City, UT. I just finished a thrilling and very informative weekend at Streets of Willow Springs with the amazing CSS. I took Level 1 and 2 and can not wait to get back in 'school' for Level 3 and 4. I can honestly say that i'm 10X the rider I was before this school. I enjoy a couple track days a year and about 10K of street riding in my favorite canyons around my area, which are plentiful. I do my work on a 2002 Honda 954rr, which I fell in love with even more at CSS. If anyone is ever in my area I am glad to recommend some rides that will peak your cornering interest as well as some less well known eateries around the valley. ...until we chat again keep the rubber side down and the throttle control precise! td