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+--- Thread: It was bound to happen... (/showthread.php?tid=4270)
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It was bound to happen... - G.Irish - 05-23-2006
When I finally made the decision to get the bike I knew there were some things that came with the territory. Being honest with myself and my personality I knew it was only a matter of time...
vvv Pics below vvv
CALIFORNIA SUPERBIKE SCHOOL!!!
![[Image: dbl-m-zx6.jpg]](http://www.geraldirish.com/images/bikes/dbl-m-zx6.jpg)
I've only put about 1000 miles on the CBR thus far but I figured I might as well get professional instruction sooner than later so that I can build the proper habits and be able to handle the bike properly on the street. So I decided to sign up for the best school I know of; Keith Code's California Superbike School. They travel around the country (much the same as Skip Barber) giving their track school and they provide Kawasaki ZX-6R's to rent if you don't want to ride your own bike or if slots for riding your own bike are filled (I wanted to take the CBR but the slots were full).
Classroom
The major thing that stuck out about the classroom instruction (from Keith himself) was that he put things in stupid simple turns. "What are you trying to do in the turn? Get the motorcycle as stable as possible." From some very simple concepts he just built a few more simple concepts on top of that. Another thing that was kinda funny was that he talked a little bit about some of the pro riders he's coached and some of the common mistakes they make that hold them back. He even talked about why John Hopkins crashed out of the Moto GP race on Sunday.
On Track
When it came to get on track and ride I was a little surprised to find out that we could pass anywhere right off the bat (as long as we left 6 ft of room). But our first drill was the right around the entire track in 4th gear with no brakes so there wasn't a whole lot of passing anyway unless you really took a turn well.
For the next 2 sessions we still didn't use any brakes, we just worked on different aspects of cornering (turn in points and leaning in quickly). It wasn't until the 4th session that we got to use the brakes at all, then in the 5th we were allowed full usage.
During each session each 2 or 3 students was assigned a riding coach that would ride with us and observe us and lead sometimes. I was very lucky to get the chief ride instructor. After each session he gave us a debrief on how we did and what we need to be doing. Overall I got good marks but on a few occasions I did the wrong thing and he corrected me right away.
The only really hairy moments I felt were coming into turn 7 (uphill right) and I leaned it, then realizing I didn't have enough lean angle, leaned more while continuing to roll onto the throttle. The instructor was behind me and said that that maneuver left a long black mark on the pavement :oops:. My other mistake was blasting down the front straight in 5th and just not braking hard enough. I didn't really panic at all though, I just kept the bike up and just made sure I slowed down in a straight line in the event I had to go off. Tell you what, tipping it over for the front straight kink at 130-140 is um...a nut clencher
The End
In all my instructor was pretty happy with my pace and what I'd learned and I was extremely happy that I was able to build confidence and understand more about controlling the bike. I am really glad and went through and did this and I recommend it to anyone who rides, it can never hurt to be a better rider.
When the Cali SBK school comes back in September I plan to take at least the Level 2 course and maybe Level 3 as well. I've gotta say the instruction was top notch and well worth the money ($420 + $200 for bike rental. You can also rent leathers for $75).
- JohnC - 05-23-2006
Sweet.
- PDenbigh - 05-23-2006
G, that's awesome! Congratulations!
Re: It was bound to happen... - Dragon - 05-23-2006
G.Irish Wrote:When the Cali SBK school comes back in September I plan to take at least the Level 2 course and maybe Level 3 as well. I've gotta say the instruction was top notch and well worth the money ($420 + $200 for bike rental. You can also rent leathers for $75).Hmmmmmmm.
- mrbaggio - 05-23-2006
Take me on the next one.
Did you scrap the stars off those pucks?
Re: It was bound to happen... - Sijray21 - 05-23-2006
Dragon Wrote:G.Irish Wrote:When the Cali SBK school comes back in September I plan to take at least the Level 2 course and maybe Level 3 as well. I've gotta say the instruction was top notch and well worth the money ($420 + $200 for bike rental. You can also rent leathers for $75).Hmmmmmmm.
+2
that's awesome G. i remember you mentioning this before and this sounds like an incredible experience. i definitely want to do this.
did you rent that A* suit? if not how much was it?
Re: It was bound to happen... - .RJ - 05-23-2006
Sijray21 Wrote:did you rent that A* suit? if not how much was it?
G.Irish Wrote:You can also rent leathers for $75).
Re: It was bound to happen... - Sijray21 - 05-23-2006
Sijray21 Wrote:did you rent that A* suit? if not how much was it?
Re: It was bound to happen... - .RJ - 05-23-2006
Sijray21 Wrote:did you rent that A* suit? if not how much was it?
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- G.Irish - 05-23-2006
Actually I got it off ebay for $600. The leathers they had for rent were AGV sport. Most of em looked decent but some were a bit tattered up.
I think you can rent leathers from kneedraggers.com or ronayers.com too.
Re: It was bound to happen... - .RJ - 05-23-2006
G.Irish Wrote:I've only put about 1000 miles on the CBR thus far
BTW, you need to get out on that thing more
I've logged almost 1000 miles in the past week.
- Hunter - 05-23-2006
Gerald, that sounds amazing. This makes me want to start riding really really bad. I hate you guys.
- Feersty - 05-23-2006
Awesome man, I love that Team Green bike.
- ScottyB - 05-23-2006
rock on, G
- SameeRR - 05-23-2006
Hunter Wrote:Gerald, that sounds amazing. This makes me want to start riding really really bad. I hate you guys.
ISAT2005
hock:
- Chris - 05-24-2006
awesome man! When was this school, last weekend?
- G.Irish - 05-24-2006
mrbaggio Wrote:Take me on the next one.
Did you scrap the stars off those pucks?
Nah the pucks were scraped when I got em. My toe scraped a bit in turn 1 and in turn 7 but I wasn't getting that far off the bike until around the last session and my legs were tired and I was getting kinda sloppy so I decided to dial it back so I didn't crash.
One thing that was pretty cool was that they gave us potassium tablets at the beginning of the day to keep our muscles from cramping up and to keep us fresh. I definitely think it helped because I felt pretty good until the very end. My legs are pretty sore today though, I'm definitely gonna have to work on 'em.
- Ginger - 05-24-2006
Go, G! I'll be in on this for the next round, that much I'm sure.
- G.Irish - 05-25-2006
Chris Wrote:awesome man! When was this school, last weekend?Nah, Monday. A lot of the motorcycle track days end up being on weekdays, probably to keep cost down since they don't charge as much as car days and are probably less popular.
- Feersty - 05-26-2006
Did you ride down there G?