California Superbike School at VIR
Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 1:20 pm
I did the Level 1 and Level 2 classes at California Superbike School (CSS) at Virginia International Raceway this last week. CSS is run by Keith Code, the author of Twist of the Wrist (and twist Vol II). What an experience.
Now I've been on bikes for 25 year or so, and doing track days for about a year now, holding my own as a "Beginner" at the http://nesba.com/A events. I thought I was an OK sport rider--now I'm having second thoughts.
CSS school offers four levels to be taken in sequence, or a two day camp. I opted for two days Level 1&2. (The camp cost more than I paid for my bike!)
The emphasis is braking on cornering--breaking it down into fundamental
skills and teaching and practicing them one at a time, skills building on each other.
Level I starts with throttle control and the idea of stabilizing the bike by rolling on the throttle ASAP after the bike is leaned over. The rational is that the act of braking and turning compresses the suspension, and being off the brakes and by gently rolling on the throttle early you can to shift weight back, bring the suspension into its most compliant range and stabilize bike's geometry so it is stable through the turn. It also helps compensate for the bike's tendency to slow down as it goes around the corner.
The drill was to use no brakes (4th gear) and get on the throttle early. It works. It's also very different than my old style which was to brake late and hard, sometimes going into the turn, and wait until I was at the apex before rolling on.
Next drill was a focus on reference points--the idea that you need to use precise reference points to ride consistently and know where to take what actions. This drill focused on using a turn in point where any braking was to be finished and lean in begins. Without a turn in point riders have a tendency to turn in too early. Easy enough.
Next drill--focus on quick turns. The idea is to snap the bike over with countersteering. The claim is that riders tend to go into turns slow and lazy. Slow means delay in getting the bike leaned over and getting on the throttle. It also means that as you go faster you may enter a corner late, requiring further slowing in the turn as you take a suboptimal line through the corner.
Next drill--light on the bars. Idea here is that once a bike is leaned over and in the corner it will maintain its track through the turn. Rider input to the bars is more likely to interfere with the bike's self compensating mechanisms than it is to help.
And here I really struggled. At 6'1" with aftermarket rearsets I found that getting the balls of my feet on the pegs tended to push me forward in the seat and torso my up to and over the tank. In that position, hunched over the tank, my thighs weren't locking into the sides of tanks to hold me in place during braking or when leaned over.
On braking before a corner I would be hard on the bars to hold myself back from sliding over the tank. So when I began leaning the bike over in to the turn I was still very heavy on the bars and forward in the seat. Not good. Next step is to roll on the throttle where the power of the bike was pulling me back. Since I was still forward in the seat from braking, the tail section wasn't holding me in place, so I was holding the bars tight as the bike accelerated forward. Not good x 2.
All day I struggled, then I did an exercise on one of the school's ZX600s. The leg room was more generous and they had Stomp Grip (http://www.stompdesign.com/stompgrip/press.asp) on the tank. I now realize I need to make some adjustments to the rearsets and probably put some traction matierial or a bra on that slippery tank if I'm ever going to get my body position sorted out and stay light on the bars. That lesson alone was well worth the price of admission.
Leave it to say I never did get really loose on the bars for more than a few corners. I kept trying to push myself back in the seat, stay loose on the bars, but my cramped legs and the slippery tank conspired against me.
Last drill of Day One Level I was a simple two step look and turn exercise. Once you know you'll hit your turn in point look up into the corner and snap it over. The idea is by looking in before you turn you can better judge how much to snap over and lean in, and by looking up you decrease you sense of speed which makes you willing to go faster. Ever since I read Ienatsch "Sport Riding Techniques" I've been looking into turns. The added value here was the emphasis on doing it well before you begin your turn.
Day Two Level II built on Level I with a heavy focus on eye skills. Picking up and using multiple reference points through corners, surveying and trying different lines through corners, looking up at the vanishing point of a curve to better judge speed and the corner's radius, and "picking up" the bike coming out of corners to allow for earlier and better drive or poor traction. Truth is, I was still working one many of my level I skills during Day Two.
CSS format was 20 riders per level with 20 minute lectures followed by a short break, 20 minutes of riding, and 5-10 minutes with your "coach" (1 coach : 3 riders). The classes were informative and entertaining with Keith Code leading most of the lectures. The riding session would have you doing the drills with your coach pulling alongside and using hand signals to show you what needed correction or give you that welcomed thumbs ups when you hit it right. After the drills you meet with you coach for a critique. I thought Code's lectures were great and all the coaches very skilled in observing and conveying feedback in a positive manner.
Overall, highly recommended if you want to hone skills or are wondering why you not getting any faster. Only thing I would do different is take one day at a time. I could of used a whole track day after one lecture to turn the skills I was practicing into habits. By the end of day one I needed a year to hone the skills.
Now I did say I could hold my own as a begginer in NESBA, so it was a little disconcerting when we would go into our practice sessions and this guy was just blasting by me and everyone else. On the two mile course he was actually lapping me, He was that fast.
We shared the same coach on day two. His name is Rollie Wilkey. He leads the CCS Mid Atlantic conference! This is his first year riding big bikes--he use to race pocket bikes. I was told by his dad he finished first in every race (except the ones he crashed in!).
And he is just 16!
Kontoboy
Now I've been on bikes for 25 year or so, and doing track days for about a year now, holding my own as a "Beginner" at the http://nesba.com/A events. I thought I was an OK sport rider--now I'm having second thoughts.
CSS school offers four levels to be taken in sequence, or a two day camp. I opted for two days Level 1&2. (The camp cost more than I paid for my bike!)
The emphasis is braking on cornering--breaking it down into fundamental
skills and teaching and practicing them one at a time, skills building on each other.
Level I starts with throttle control and the idea of stabilizing the bike by rolling on the throttle ASAP after the bike is leaned over. The rational is that the act of braking and turning compresses the suspension, and being off the brakes and by gently rolling on the throttle early you can to shift weight back, bring the suspension into its most compliant range and stabilize bike's geometry so it is stable through the turn. It also helps compensate for the bike's tendency to slow down as it goes around the corner.
The drill was to use no brakes (4th gear) and get on the throttle early. It works. It's also very different than my old style which was to brake late and hard, sometimes going into the turn, and wait until I was at the apex before rolling on.
Next drill was a focus on reference points--the idea that you need to use precise reference points to ride consistently and know where to take what actions. This drill focused on using a turn in point where any braking was to be finished and lean in begins. Without a turn in point riders have a tendency to turn in too early. Easy enough.
Next drill--focus on quick turns. The idea is to snap the bike over with countersteering. The claim is that riders tend to go into turns slow and lazy. Slow means delay in getting the bike leaned over and getting on the throttle. It also means that as you go faster you may enter a corner late, requiring further slowing in the turn as you take a suboptimal line through the corner.
Next drill--light on the bars. Idea here is that once a bike is leaned over and in the corner it will maintain its track through the turn. Rider input to the bars is more likely to interfere with the bike's self compensating mechanisms than it is to help.
And here I really struggled. At 6'1" with aftermarket rearsets I found that getting the balls of my feet on the pegs tended to push me forward in the seat and torso my up to and over the tank. In that position, hunched over the tank, my thighs weren't locking into the sides of tanks to hold me in place during braking or when leaned over.
On braking before a corner I would be hard on the bars to hold myself back from sliding over the tank. So when I began leaning the bike over in to the turn I was still very heavy on the bars and forward in the seat. Not good. Next step is to roll on the throttle where the power of the bike was pulling me back. Since I was still forward in the seat from braking, the tail section wasn't holding me in place, so I was holding the bars tight as the bike accelerated forward. Not good x 2.
All day I struggled, then I did an exercise on one of the school's ZX600s. The leg room was more generous and they had Stomp Grip (http://www.stompdesign.com/stompgrip/press.asp) on the tank. I now realize I need to make some adjustments to the rearsets and probably put some traction matierial or a bra on that slippery tank if I'm ever going to get my body position sorted out and stay light on the bars. That lesson alone was well worth the price of admission.
Leave it to say I never did get really loose on the bars for more than a few corners. I kept trying to push myself back in the seat, stay loose on the bars, but my cramped legs and the slippery tank conspired against me.
Last drill of Day One Level I was a simple two step look and turn exercise. Once you know you'll hit your turn in point look up into the corner and snap it over. The idea is by looking in before you turn you can better judge how much to snap over and lean in, and by looking up you decrease you sense of speed which makes you willing to go faster. Ever since I read Ienatsch "Sport Riding Techniques" I've been looking into turns. The added value here was the emphasis on doing it well before you begin your turn.
Day Two Level II built on Level I with a heavy focus on eye skills. Picking up and using multiple reference points through corners, surveying and trying different lines through corners, looking up at the vanishing point of a curve to better judge speed and the corner's radius, and "picking up" the bike coming out of corners to allow for earlier and better drive or poor traction. Truth is, I was still working one many of my level I skills during Day Two.
CSS format was 20 riders per level with 20 minute lectures followed by a short break, 20 minutes of riding, and 5-10 minutes with your "coach" (1 coach : 3 riders). The classes were informative and entertaining with Keith Code leading most of the lectures. The riding session would have you doing the drills with your coach pulling alongside and using hand signals to show you what needed correction or give you that welcomed thumbs ups when you hit it right. After the drills you meet with you coach for a critique. I thought Code's lectures were great and all the coaches very skilled in observing and conveying feedback in a positive manner.
Overall, highly recommended if you want to hone skills or are wondering why you not getting any faster. Only thing I would do different is take one day at a time. I could of used a whole track day after one lecture to turn the skills I was practicing into habits. By the end of day one I needed a year to hone the skills.
Now I did say I could hold my own as a begginer in NESBA, so it was a little disconcerting when we would go into our practice sessions and this guy was just blasting by me and everyone else. On the two mile course he was actually lapping me, He was that fast.
We shared the same coach on day two. His name is Rollie Wilkey. He leads the CCS Mid Atlantic conference! This is his first year riding big bikes--he use to race pocket bikes. I was told by his dad he finished first in every race (except the ones he crashed in!).
And he is just 16!
Kontoboy
