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Old November 20th, 2019, 10:04 PM   #3
Yakaru
The Violet Vixen
 
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Name: Yakaru
Location: Issaquah, WA & Las Vegas, NV
Join Date: Jun 2012

Motorcycle(s): Perigee (250), Hotaru (250), Saturn (300), Pearl (300), Zero (S1000RR), Chibi (Z125), Xellos ('18 HP4R)

Posts: A lot.
MOTM - Jun '16
So the "Big 2" schools I've always heard about have been California Superbike School (CSS) and Yamaha Champions Riding School (YCRS). There are some others (Pridmore is probably the best known past these), and many track day organizers offer instructors, but CSS and YCRS are the big ones.

Top line: If you can attend a school instead of a normal track day, do it. YCRS and CSS are both solid programs and worth the extra expense because you're not paying just for track time but for the instruction.

California Superbike School: CSS has a 'leveled' program. You could be Rossi or someone with only commuting experience but everyone starts at Level One. You progress through the levels, one per school day, until you reach Level 4. Despite my efforts I have never been able to get into Level 5. You have an instructor (or consultant for L4) teach theory and technique in class and an on-track coach who both follows you and leads you to observe and demonstrate the techniques you’re working on. Coaches have 3 students (2 at ‘camps’) and are able to spend one-on-one time with each both on track and then, after a session, doing a debrief on how the drill went and any observations as well as some Socratic style questioning to probe at a rider’s understanding of both the proper technique (and why) as well as their own riding habits.

Yamaha Champions School: I’ve only attended the 2-day “Champ School”, so I will restrict my comments to that. The school is not leveled – everyone gets the same instruction for the most part. They have a variety of techniques and drills that are demonstrated, and on track coaching is primarily done via 3 methods: a “Lead and Tow” where a coach leads a small group of riders, video review where a coach follows and videos a rider, and for a few drills “on track discussion”. I’ll get into these more in that school’s section. They’re generally very receptive to questions and have a more back-and-forth style discussion vs CSS’s lecture/debrief format.
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"most folks racing this bike get it in a competitive state of being with much less invested than you've already put in Saturn." - Alex
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