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Old November 20th, 2019, 10:19 PM   #4
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
California Superbike Levels 1-3

Everyone starts at level 1. Some people dislike this but I have found it's usually because they don’t understand how the program is structured. The levels do not reflect a level of skill like at a trackday. The best riders at some schools have been level ones, but I rarely hear of someone who engages with the program who didn't gain from it no matter their starting skill. Instead of speed, CSS groups the levels by the skill they're working on, roughly: controls, vision, and body position. Exceedingly attentive track control combined with a low number of riders on track lets this function despite potential large differences in rider skill. (As an aside: Trevor, CSS’s Head Track Control, should frankly teach classes on how to run a track).

While some people might say, “I have excellent control skills and want to work on body position,” thinking they should be able to jump straight to level 3, I have found this is nearly always a mistake. People often focus on skills that are in fashion and don’t have as good an understanding of their competencies; additionally, by having a strict progression CSS can be sure that riders in Level 2 all are aware of the signals and techniques of Level 1. Finally, the techniques build on each other – if your turn point selection is weak and inconsistent, your visuals are more likely to be confused. Focusing on body position without an understanding of control technique can easily lead to things like being crossed up or hanging too far off which actually destabilizes the bike.

Further, everyone can always improve these skills. I recently went back and redid the first three levels and even though I already knew the techniques I found that revisiting them often led to a greater understanding and could contribute to addressing my problem areas in ways I didn’t expect.

As mentioned above, the school follows a specified exercise approach. Every session starts with classroom discussion of topics related to the drill, followed by a ride with a specific riding technique to be practiced (for example: picking and using turn points). When you ride you have a coach who will follow you and then lead you, addressing any specific issues you are having. After this the coach debriefs with you, with a semi-Socratic technique – they try to help both themselves and you understand your thought process and identify holes or weaknesses that can be addressed.

Over the years, CSS has also developed a series of hand signals which allows a coach to remind you of something – most often the technique you are performing, but they will use previous signals if they notice a technique which is suffering. This allows for instant feedback. Coaches have mirrors and get a feeling for a rider’s pace which means they will generally ride at your level, or if appropriate, push you just enough that you up the pace without introducing errors nor getting ‘sucked into their tail’ and just mimicking them blindly.

Over the years I’ve heard some people say things about CSS that I didn’t understand, but after more discussion have usually identified the issue to be related to the drill structure. I’ll use one of the early drills, turn point, as an example. When the drill for turn point is given, the instruction is (to over simplify and paraphrase) to accurately pick and use a turn point, and to do this you should finish all braking beforehand. People take this as, “The CSS way to turn is to finish your braking before you turn,” (that is, don’t trail brake) when the goal is to make you focus on your turn point and not be distracted by other factors. The drill isn’t about brake technique. Another one I’ve heard is misunderstandings on why every first session CSS actually goes a step further and says “No Brakes”. I’ve seen some really out there reasons for this but the best explanation for what the school is doing is here: https://ytcropper.com/cropped/2Y5dd61c0e9aca8

Personally I think this approach is extremely valuable. I meet so many track riders (both ‘friendly advice’ from other participants and from track coaches/marshals) that focus on finesse techniques like trail braking while a rider is still getting their fundamentals down. While there is an argument for trail braking often being safer or easier (for me one of the big advantages is minimizing suspension bounce), but it takes a lot of mental space to manipulate multiple controls in concert well, and thus it isn’t a place I’d start with.

An anecdote that I think applies is when I began learning how to operate a car with manual transmission. My first instructor was trying to teach the technique as a full system – ease off the clutch and onto the gas all as one big process. It didn’t go well and I never quite got the hang of it. Later, another person offered to teach me, and they had me just set a very low amount of throttle and hold it steady, then ease the clutch out super slowly. By doing one action at a time and paying attention to it I had success, and before long I was performing the smooth combination because I had more confidence in each action and could understand the interplay.

The final thing I’ll add is that CSS builds its techniques from a strong basis of research. They use real race data analysis and study the physics and biology related topics exhaustively, which sometimes goes against ‘common wisdom’ in many circles. Some people tend to react negatively to this, and will feel like there is a sort of ego involved when they try to dissuade the point.
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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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