I had the great pleasure of enjoying my first track day at the Streets at Willow Springs on Saturday, October 11th. Accompanied and tremendously assisted by DuckStew (a.k.a. Stuart Baker), we took my ’06 Monster 620 out to the track so I could participate in the California Superbike School Level I program (Keith Code’s school). In a word: AMAZING. I learned so much and my riding improved dramatically in just one day. I was lucky enough to be paired with the Chief Riding Instructor, Cobie Fair, as my coach. He was fantastic as a coach and an all-around stand-up guy.
Before I get into the skills we worked on, which some of you might find interesting, here are a few pics…
Me and my Monster
Stuart showing off his handy work—he prepped the bike for the track and made sure she was in good working order.
Stuart thought it would be funny to put a winking smiley face on the headlight. I think it’s funny and adds character.
Some of the other motorcycles I rode with that day.
There were five skills that we worked on in five different sessions: Throttle control, Turn Points, Quick Turns, Relax (yes, it was a skill & now I know why), and 2-Step.
In Throttle Control they had us run the entire course in 4th gear, no braking or shifting allowed. We were to get the hang of how good throttle control alone stabilizes the bike in turns. In other words we had to learn how to ease off the throttle prior to entering the turn without the benefit of brakes or downshifting, set the turn up, lean, and roll the throttle back on smoothly to stabilize the bike in the turn. One good lesson I learned on that exercise: increasing throttle and increasing lean simultaneously is not a good idea! I didn’t wipe out or anything, but I felt my poor motorcycle warn me about that, and got that reinforcement from my coach after the first session. Also, I did not realize until now that when braking or doing something to compress the forks and springs, that the geometry of the bike changes. Whoa! That’s another reason why stabilizing using throttle control is so important.
In the Turn Points exercise, they set up big X’s on the track to show you where the ideal starting point was for each turn. It surprised me on a couple of turns (particularly turn 2 for those of you familiar with that track) how late they wanted us to start the turn and how efficient the turn was as a result of hitting the mark. Kind of makes me wish roads like Angeles Crest had big X’s on them!
In the Quick Turn exercise we learned how to flick the bike over quicker by simply pressing more firmly on the handlebars. I have to admit I was timid about this one. Though I’d already had two sessions on the track, I kind of liked the relative putzing around and easy turns we had been making thus far. But I got the hang of it after Cobie road with me and showed me how it was done. Very cool! Now I can get out of the way faster if necessary on the street. Probably a good skill to have!
In the Relax exercise, obviously, we were expected to relax. You can’t relax when you initiate a turn. Obviously some input is required. But otherwise, relaxing will save your butt. When you feel the bike giving you feedback through the handlebars (a little wobble), if you relax and let go the bike stabilizes itself for you. If you panic and tighten up, YOU actually destabilize the bike. If you get into a tank-slapper and relax, the bike will correct itself. Interesting…
The final exercise was dubbed “2-Step” because we were learning to disconnect our vision from our arms by looking to find the line we wanted to take WITHOUT actually turning at the same time. So you look, identify your apex, THEN initiate the turn when you find the line you want. AND you keep in mind that you don’t want to turn early. The turn probably needs to be initiated a little later than you think. Coming from someone who is used to looking and turning simultaneously I can tell you it was a challenge, but really an interesting exercise. I’ll be practicing that one for some time to come, but I started to feel comfortable with the idea by the time I exited the track.
As a complete novice, I was just about the slowest rider on the track. I passed maybe two or three riders all day. Other than that I was routinely overtaken--on the inside, no less.
Most people seemed okay with that. In fact some were really nice, giving me a wave or nod as they passed. One guy seemed torked that I ruined his track times, but we were in a level I class for heaven’s sake. He should have been in a higher level. (Grumble grumble grumble.) Other than that everyone was really cool—instructors and students alike. Stu and I met some really great people and had a lot of fun.
I did make a lot of headway on my chicken strips:
I learned a lot about my limits and the limits of my bike, which I haven’t come close to yet. She is a great riding partner. By the end of class I felt a good deal more confident and proficient than I had earlier that day. I highly recommend Keith Code’s school to anyone who has not yet tried it. It was a very professional organization, well-managed and well thought out. 2 thumbs up!
