What I Learned at Keith Code's California Superbike School

[Motofool]

Copied from http://www.squidoo.com/motorcycle-school


What I Learned at Keith Code's California Superbike School

If you are an intermediate-level motorcycle rider wondering how you can improve your skills and become a better rider, this is the place for you.

Recently, I attended Levels 1-2 of Keith Code's California Superbike School (CSS), which took my riding to a higher level. This lens briefly describes the 12 drills we did (6 each day) and what I learned, including:

1. How each drill helps you to ride in a way that is more effective and in harmony with motorcycle design;

2. What our eyes and minds have evolved naturally to do that works against us while riding; and,

3. How to retrain our bodies, eyes, and minds so that we are more in control of our input into the motorcycle. Also there was practical discussion about how each drill helps you be safe and accurate while riding on the road.

DAY 1- LEVEL I
Riding in Harmony with Motorcycle Design

1. STEERING DRILL
The steering drill was simply to practice counter-steering by weaving back and forth about 25mph in the parking lot. The purpose was to learn and understand that: 1. We only need one steering input per turn; and, 2. Once you steer/turn, if you could theoretically let the bike run forever holding the throttle steady, the bike would continue to hold its line without any further input from you.

Personally, I learned that I was holding my wrists too high, which did not allow for optimal, direct steering of the bike. After I got my wrists down, I realized I could push forward and horizontally against the bars with the mid-palm of my hand, which resulted in a more direct and concise steering input.

2. THROTTLE CONTROL
The Throttle Control drill was to practice riding around the track 4-5 times in 4th gear with no brakes. As I was about the start the drill on the track, the "Code start line guy" told me I could experiment and do the drill in 3rd instead (since I was on the Hypermotard), if my bike was lugging too much. I took his advise, 4th was a bit ka-klunky, so I stayed in 3rd. The purpose of this drill was to understand and learn that having smooth and precise throttle control allows you to be able to control your speed, suspension, traction, and create stability with the bike.

This drill helped me experience the importance of setting turn-entry speed early. I realized my previous tendency was to arrive at a corner going too fast; so, I slowed down earlier and this gave me much more confidence when entering the corners.

3. TURN POINTS
For this exercise the staff stuck big yellow X's at the beginning of each corner letting you know WHERE to turn.
Oh, if only every road had BIG yellow duct tape "X"'s at every corner turn point.
How fun. Turn off brain, point and click turning.

Seriously though, it was so helpful to know where the pro's aim to start turning into a particular corner. I learned that ideal turn entry points are much wider than I thought. My previous natural tendency was to start my turn too early and take the corner as tight as possible. Unfortunately, turning in too early causes you to end having to make a steering correction mid-turn, thus, causing you to have to lean over further and/or increase your steering input, which results in less traction and less bike stability. So, the take-home lesson? Swing wide, and then aim for the corner apex.

4. QUICK TURN
For this session our job was simply to focus on flicking the bike quickly at the turn points.
Having the skill of turning the bike quickly allows you to go deeper (further) into a corner before turning, which gives you a better look at the apex and exit of the corner (right?. Also, when you turn quickly, you end up using less lean angle on the bike, resulting in increased bike stability.

I learned in this lesson that "lazy" (slow) steering requires more lean angle, which reduces optimum motorcycle traction and available suspension, thus making the bike less stable. I realized that when I turn slow, I run wide in the corner, which forces me to make a mid-turn correction of either rolling off the gas (losing traction) or changing my line, or leaning it over even further..... Slow turning is just a lose, lose, lose down-the-line situation. So, quick turn!

5. RIDER INPUT
This exercise was about various rider inputs (man vs. machine), but mainly focused on staying relaxed on the bars. They wanted us to take one corner we felt comfortable in, and actually let go of our left hand while staying steady on the throttle (without being tight).
Amazing. The bike works best when I let go. The harder I tried to hold on, the worse the bike worked. Motorcycle suspension is designed to wiggle but still hold it's line; so, if you hold on too tight you end up "fighting" the wiggles and the bike, and it ultimately will "high-side" and spit you off into the gravel.... so, let it wiggle, it will be fine.

The bike works great if given the the input it needs, and nothing more. You are not helping the bike by holding on tight.
So, after the initial counter-steer push on the bars, relax the arms.

6. TWO-STEP
When approaching a corner:
Step 1. Spot your Turn Point
Step 2. Spot your Apex (or mid-turn point)
The purpose of this drill was to start to train your eyes to look where you want to go; and to start to get control over your eyeballs. Code says our eyes evolved naturally to dart and hunt all over the place to look for danger or things we want, like a survival instinct. So, we want to retrain our eyes (like puppies to work for us on the motorcycle, instead of against us. Spotting danger (oil on road) or desires (ooooo, look at the pretty flowert causes us naturally to look at things we don't need to be looking at while riding, and since the bike goes where we look, we "target fixate," and then have to make steering corrections which result in making the bike less stable. We want to be control of our eyes and where we go on the bike.

Practicing the 2-step technique helped me corner more accurately and safely on the bike (be more in control of where the bike goes), and freed up visual attention and energy to have an awareness of other potential hazards in my peripheral vision. This allowed me to travel through a corner more quickly and confidently.

DAY 2- LEVEL II
Seeing the World with Eyes Wide Open

1. REFERENCE POINTS
The reference points drill was to practice riding around the track (no brakes again), WITHOUT the yellow X's and look for turn points ON THE PAVEMENT or very close to it. A rock, a flower, a certain cone, a portion of a wall, cracks in pavement, whatever. It was fun. I found a lightning bolt shaped scrape in the pavement a my mid-turn point in Turn 4 which I aimed for the rest of the day. It helped me get right on line for Turn 5 which allowed me to consistently pass machines MUCH faster than mine he, he, he....

The point of finding reference points was to learn how to be consistent.

2. CHANGE LINES
This is fun. We got to ride slowly around the track at our own pace in the following format:
First Lap: stay completely to the Left-hand side of track. Just hug the left edge of pavement, and maybe ride over some of the painted striped "tigers teeth" just to see what they felt like.
Second Lap: Stay completely on the right-hand side.
Third Lap: Stay in the middle.
Remainder of session practice your lines however you want.

The purpose of this exercise was to explore the track and to get to know the full extent of "real estate" available to us.
How could this help in the real world? In case your ideal line is somehow blocked or has a problem, you can confidently take alternate lines because you already are familiar with "what's out there."

3. THREE STEP
Well, I was so relieved when I learned that the famous "2-step" is REALLY 3-steps, because when doing the 2-step I kept thinking, "Okay, after Step 2, where do I aim for next??"

Step 1. Turn Point
Step 2. Apex (or mid-turn point)
Step 3. One of the following: The next turn point; The vanishing point; or, Where the road narrows.

The 3-Step was all about training our eyeballs to look where we want to go. Excellent. It's good to go where you want to go, no? After doing this drill, I realized that I can free up a lot of attention by having a plan of where I want to go, and knowing what I need to do in order to get there .....

So, to break it down: Look at turn entry point, quick flick, roll on, looking at next turn point, quick flick roll on. I guess that's it. Connect the dots.

4. WIDE VIEW
This was probably the most challenging drill for me, and the most rewarding. It was simply to practice being aware of when we are having tunnel vision, and instead to use all 120 degrees of our field of vision. In the wide view exercise our coach had us individually follow him on the track while he led us through distracting situations, like lap traffic.... Our goal was to keep following the coach while making our way through "obstacles." In order to do this safely and quicly we had for keep our heads/chins up and keep a wide field of vision, taking in all the reference points around us. He said this is one of the skills critical to MotoGP riders when they are going so flipping fast. When your vision is narrow or down or limited, all the reference points around appear to be going by really fast; whereas, if you look up, open your field of vision, the reference points around you help your perception slow things down and you can maneuver the bike more confidently and smoothly.

5. PICK-UP
Simply to "pick up," or put the bike back to vertical, when coming out of a corner so that you can get a good drive on the throttle. When the bike is vertical it is in a more stable position and has more traction, therefore it allows you to get on the gas sooner and get a stronger drive coming out of a corner. I got a completely unexpected but cool ego-stroke when coming out of one of the turns; I got such a good drive by picking up the bike that I almost passed my coach who was on a BMW S1000RR. I came right beside him. That was one of my good riding moments. *Pat self on back here* I need to put that moment into the context of, for the most part, the guys who were on the BMW S1000's completely and utterly flew by me (it was like being on a tricycle with lance armstrong's speeding by you all daylol. But I had him coming out of that one corner!!!!

6. LEAN BIKE
This was an off-track, parking lot drill where we got to ride a BMW S1000RR that was modified with out-rigging which kept it from falling over in a lean. So, I got to ride around in circles and practice getting in the correct position with my knee out, hips opening up into the corner, and outside leg locked into the tank.

End of story. Sorry kinda dry, laundry list, descriptive, but, I wanted to convey at least some information about what we did asap

[Snake]

Sounds like a great school. Would love to attend but it is way too far away.

[shiroganeshinobi]

Did you get a chance to try out the slide machine?

Good info!

[eddiekay]

excellent summary, thanks for taking the time

[mustang5.0]

sound like fun..i want to go

[csmith12]

I really really really really really wanna ride the slide bike so bad I can taste it. I mean, all of us track junkies have slid around a bit but to slide to the point of going down without the falling part..... I don't think you could ever get enough practice at that.

[Rexbo]

Originally Posted by csmith12

I really really really really really wanna ride the slide bike so bad I can taste it. I mean, all of us track junkies have slid around a bit but to slide to the point of going down without the falling part..... I don't think you could ever get enough practice at that.

+1 for sure!

[Sirref]

necro'd thanks to yakaru's thread

I feel the same way about the slide bike

good thing you copied the text motofool! I wouldn't have gotten to read it otherwise