davejennette Posted June 11, 2009 Report Share Posted June 11, 2009 I'm psyched! I have done three track days and the Novice rider’s school with Fastrack Riders. Last track day at Pahrump, LV I laid my Ducati 998 down. Fortunately a guy from Sport Rider was behind me (they were out doing bike reviews) when I went down. He approached me after getting back to the paddock to ask if I knew what I did wrong. Knowing better than opening my mouth and sounding stupid, I asked what he saw. He simply stated "you chopped the throttle." I immediately threw my explanation of not being on "track tires" out and admitted and agreed with the mistake. I probably would have never recognized the mistake if he did not come to talk to me. This actually prompted me to start looking for information on riding techniques and a Google search kicked back one of these threads on throttle control. Since then I have purchased and read TOTW 1 & 2 and can not believe how much I did not know. I am a very mechanically, thought oriented person and to start reading about the physics and how the bike reacts to input really got me amped up. I am really looking forward to the two day course and the near one-on-one coaching. There is a lot to work on and one of the biggest barriers for me is understanding the traction limit. I openly admit that my bike is and probably always will be far beyond my capacity, but I sure do want to understand it and where I should not push given my skill set. I am completely open minded and will work on each step methodically with my coach. I can't wait! See ya soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nydude2000 Posted June 13, 2009 Report Share Posted June 13, 2009 I'm psyched! I have done three track days and the Novice rider's school with Fastrack Riders. Last track day at Pahrump, LV I laid my Ducati 998 down. Fortunately a guy from Sport Rider was behind me (they were out doing bike reviews) when I went down. He approached me after getting back to the paddock to ask if I knew what I did wrong. Knowing better than opening my mouth and sounding stupid, I asked what he saw. He simply stated "you chopped the throttle." I immediately threw my explanation of not being on "track tires" out and admitted and agreed with the mistake. I probably would have never recognized the mistake if he did not come to talk to me. This actually prompted me to start looking for information on riding techniques and a Google search kicked back one of these threads on throttle control. Since then I have purchased and read TOTW 1 & 2 and can not believe how much I did not know. I am a very mechanically, thought oriented person and to start reading about the physics and how the bike reacts to input really got me amped up. I am really looking forward to the two day course and the near one-on-one coaching. There is a lot to work on and one of the biggest barriers for me is understanding the traction limit. I openly admit that my bike is and probably always will be far beyond my capacity, but I sure do want to understand it and where I should not push given my skill set. I am completely open minded and will work on each step methodically with my coach. I can't wait! See ya soon! Hey Red Just thought I would say hi…you will have a blast with the 2-day and it sounds like you have a great attitude which will make it even better. Sounds like we have some stuff in common. My second track day I ran my GSXR K7 750 off the track trying to "follow" a control rider at my second track day. I knew I had to get some good training or I would probably kill myself. I signed up for a 2day CSS and got TOTW I and II and read them…just reading the books…it was like a light went on..or better yet like Keith hit me hard in the back of the head and said "you idiot". My riding get better almost instantly mostly do to the "novel" ideas of throttle control and turning points …lol But it was the 2-day Lvls I II that really did it. It was such a revelation, and it was so much fun doing it. (Did that one at LV and my second 2-day at Streets…you will like Streets a lot) Anyway…if you have any questions just holler.... give a comeback on the board afterwards to see how it went… Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmj120 Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 I can't speak to Level 2, but Level 1 will blow your damn mind. From what I noticed, in Level 1, we were all a box of rocks fumbling around -- at first. It was pretty cool to see how with each step we all got faster, more confident and smoother. And by the day's end, I think, everyone had a real sense of accomplishment, a pretty good foundation and most importantly... more confidence in ourselves and the bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobie Fair Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 I'm psyched! I have done three track days and the Novice rider’s school with Fastrack Riders. Last track day at Pahrump, LV I laid my Ducati 998 down. Fortunately a guy from Sport Rider was behind me (they were out doing bike reviews) when I went down. He approached me after getting back to the paddock to ask if I knew what I did wrong. Knowing better than opening my mouth and sounding stupid, I asked what he saw. He simply stated "you chopped the throttle." I immediately threw my explanation of not being on "track tires" out and admitted and agreed with the mistake. I probably would have never recognized the mistake if he did not come to talk to me. This actually prompted me to start looking for information on riding techniques and a Google search kicked back one of these threads on throttle control. Since then I have purchased and read TOTW 1 & 2 and can not believe how much I did not know. I am a very mechanically, thought oriented person and to start reading about the physics and how the bike reacts to input really got me amped up. I am really looking forward to the two day course and the near one-on-one coaching. There is a lot to work on and one of the biggest barriers for me is understanding the traction limit. I openly admit that my bike is and probably always will be far beyond my capacity, but I sure do want to understand it and where I should not push given my skill set. I am completely open minded and will work on each step methodically with my coach. I can't wait! See ya soon! Hi Redduc, 2-days at Streets will be great. Come say hello to me in the morning. Best, Cobie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davejennette Posted November 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 OK. I have completed the two day course. Like many have said throughout the Forum, the light came on. I get it now! So I did get my confidence back on day one. Yes, good throttle control fixed that. I planned on picking up this critical skill when I signed up for the school, but it is what I did not expect that I thought was the biggest improvement factor during my two days at CSS. Everyone here at the forum at one time or another has heard "you go where you look" or "look where you want to go" and that is a simple concept. It was the other statement that always threw me - "Look through the turn". OK great! But what does that mean? Where do I look? How do I look? What should I look for? When do I look? These questions have all been answered with the Two Step and Three Step drills. It was very apparent to my coach and me how much I picked up the pace around the track. The visual drills were very unexpected. Once more, how much they helped. Your eyes are your enemy as Keith would say and training and practice with the visual skills learned are the counter attack to that enemy. Everything just seemed to come together. It turns out that I could not un-train myself during the panic brake bike drill. I just couldn't bring myself to clinch the front break for this training exercise. I have been riding long enough to quickly, but smoothly apply the front break. The drill involves intentionally locking up the front wheel to learn how to handle that. I found out I can do great stoppies though. A similar mistake can be seen by the coach whether you actually lock up the front or not as the bike "kind of" responds similarly during heavy breaking. Even though I could not perform the exercise drill, Kristi was able to point out the similarities during my stoppies and what I was doing correct and incorrectly. Very cool Kristi! Due to my crazy work schedule, I have yet been able to get out to the track to put all of this to practice and continually improve, but having the privilege to live in So. California, I will get there when the 2010 track day schedules come out! I will have goals on my next track day and specific areas I will focus on while there as opposed to just going out and wearing some tires down. I'll bet this time I won't have to replace the plastic fairings on my bike either! Thanks CSS! Great school! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobie Fair Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 Hey Reduck, Great result, very nice to hear that. Yeah, there is a lot of "advice" on looking through the turns, that is just not specific enough, and not broken down into exact pieces like Keith has done. Do I sound like a fan? CF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99VFR Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 It's a great program! I was amped after the first session (day 1), hard on myself one the next 3 sessions as I had some issues with turn 8 at Streets, it just seemed to be the turn that went on and on and on and I couldn't figure out where to get on the throttle, but finally on the final session so much came together and I finally was able to nail turn 8.. For me it was a matter of getting my eyes up and all of a sudden that turn that went on and on and on really wasn't and on day 2 I was rolling the throttle on earlier and earlier and getting such a rush getting a good drive on the exit and using up the entire track! Can't wait for levels 3 & 4 but I am using the winter to make a few modifications which will hopefully help me with my body positioning.. Have a great time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonzilla Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 Our trackday started back up in September. I'm going to work on what I've learned in levels one and two and HOPEFULLY in the spring I'm going to tweak what I've been working on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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