My Superbike School Experience

[WarProfiteer]

Just wanted to add some content... and maybe at some point this will help someone else who is considering signing up for a bike school.

Quick background info... I've only been riding for about 2.5 years now. I've done maybe 7K-8K total on bigger bikes (daily use of a 125cc doesnt count). I've done lots of multi-day trips on rented 500X's & ER6's, and tried out several other models along the way... tho I tended to keep going back to those two. No serious accidents in that time but I felt I would benefit from professional level instruction as I just havent got the multiple decades of riding experience that many others have, so I began looking around at various schools. Eventually I settled on Keith Code's Suberbike School.

I did levels 1 & 2 (each level is a day). Up through level 3 it's a structured cirriculum, with level 4 being nearly all tailored sessions to work on whatever you and your track coach feel you should work on. You can go back for level 4 instruction/improvement as often as you like. For me though, it was just an initial 2 day thing... my thinking was that maybe I'd go back and do another pair of days at a different track for levels 3 & 4 some day.

As I figure it'll be a question asked, I'll put this in there early... the class fee was about $2500 for the 2 days. You book your own flights and hotels, so that's more cost as well. That makes it pretty much the most expensive school out there. That said, it's also got the best reputation, the best equipment and some seriously good instructors. There is a difference between being able to do something and being able to teach it. It's 2 different skillsets entirely. It's obvious to me that they teach their coaches on specific ways of coaching... and the coaches are obviously hand picked from ex-level 4 riders who seemed to have the right personality traits. I never heard one single complaint all weekend about any of the track coaches (there were 6 or 7 of them). They really were great riders and egoless, affable personalities as well.

As far as equipment goes, everyone gets their own bike... a BMW1000RR. A serious piece of machinery. I was (obviously) bike 25 for 2 days. Although it's not common, you are also allowed to bring your own bike & use it. No one brought their own bike for the time I was there, though many lived close enough to do that... everyone wanted to ride those badass beemers. Who could blame them?

The students ride the black and grey models, the coaches ride the red, white & blue ones. It makes it easy to instantly identify one from the other on the track. The students also get black & grey racing suits (you can wear your own if you have one- most early students dont). And if you didnt feel like bringing your own helmet, they'll give you a nice grey Schuberth modular helmet to wear. I'd just bought a new helmet on this trip (a matte black HJC) since it's so hard to find one that fits perfectly and feels comfortable for long periods of time... so I used my own helmet.

The track we used was the Willow Springs Raceway, in the middle of the California desert, about 90 minutes inland from L.A. It was cool in the mornings, then damn hot when the sun got overhead. Even more hot in those racing suits. I had no idea they'd be so heavy and hot. Anyway, the track is set against a hillside, so you get lots of elevation changes as well as banked and off-camber turns, but with 2 separate long flat straights. It's the track that the coaches seem to say is the best for teaching. It also has a very large skidpad off to the side, which allows them to use the other teaching machine bikes... notably the lean bike and the brake bike. So although I initially signed up for Laguna Seca and the infamous corkscrew, and was disappointed when I was told it was full, I was eventually happier with the decision to do Willow Springs. With the aid of hindisght, I'd say maybe the corkscrew is better left for later classes once one's skillset is a little better.

We alternated between track time and class time, with breaks for bathroom and hydration as well. Basically we'd do 7 track sessions per day, each for roughly 20 minutes. I'd say that was just about perfect, as the laps only take about 2 minutes... so after 20 minutes you can definitely tell you've learned and improved on something, but it's not too much time so that ya get bored. Likewise for the class sessions... only about 20-30 minutes per session... enough to learn some basic concept and discuss it, but not too much so that ya got bored. It was a great, balanced approach to the day and worked well to keep you both learning and involved.

Ok, that's the facts for now... I'll add actual thoughts and impressions later, as well as specific things that were adressed... feel free to ask any questions for now and I'll come back to finish this soon...

 

[Lightemup]

Good you decided to do a writeup. Looking forward to the next posts from you.

 

[WarProfiteer]

Ok, so I'll now add the actual things covered in the class as well as my anecdotal experiences... think I'll do 2 separate write ups for the 2 different days as I have notes about what was covered for each day.

Day 1 starts early with basic registration and equipment issue. The schedule then rotates between class sessions & on track sessions where you drill about what was just taught, followed by talks with your coach about your riding. You are brought out on to the track for a half dozen slow speed famliarization laps... just so you know the basics of the track as well as orienting yourself with the bike's controls before starting the actual drills.

The very first discussion, which is the longest, is about throttle control. You then spend the first track session doing laps entirely in 4th gear, with no passing and no brakes. The point is to teach you basic bike engineering and how it depends on correct throttle use to balance itself and work properly... and to use the throttle smartly, rolling on and off at the proper times, not cutting it suddenly or pegging it full-on. Here you learn the mantra, which is repeated often, once the throttle is cracked open, it's rolled on smoothly and evenly. It should generally be rolled off in the same manner.

After the first break, the next lesson was about the 3 components of cornering... the turn point, the apex and the exit. The focus here is on hitting the proper turn-in point for the various track turns, which should lead you to the right apex, which should then lead you to the correct exit line. The rules for this session were, 3rd and 4th gears only, no passing and no brakes. This serves to slow everything down and really make you focus on what you're supposed to be learning. They put a chalk X down at the right turn in points, which you find are generally a lot different than the ones you were using on the previous laps where you just focused on throttle inputs and slowing down enough with the motor to get the right entry speed into the turns (remember, no brakes). Generally speaking, the turn in points are far deeper into the turn than what seems right... but then when you use their line, sure enough it works great.

The next session focused on the quick turn, or basically increasing the speed in which you flip the bike in at the turn point. The faster you can get the bike flipped in and pointed, the faster you can begin your throttle roll on. The format here allowed for passing (I wasnt much interested in that, honestly), very light use of brakes if necessary (before beginning the turn), and only 3rd & 4th gears.

Class and drill #4 was all about rider input. Bringing together the previous 3 things (throttle, turn-in point and quick turning) with proper body/wrist position and increasing your pace if you were comfortable doing so. I felt quite luckily that Keith's son Dylan taught most of the class sessions personally. More on him later...

It was during this riding session where those with lots of experience (not me) could openly blow by the slower folks (me) and really strech the legs of the BMW1000RR. There was an 18 year old kid there with his father... the kid blew by me twice in just 10 laps. He was flying. When I spoke to him and his dad on the break after, he told me that his dad had him on 2 wheels since he was about 5. He'd been riding in the dirt his whole childhood. He'd never even had a normal bicycle... always motored around since he could walk. So at the ripe old age of 18, he already had about a dozen years of riding experience. Seemed like a good enough kid though... no ego about it... he was always respectful of everyone, but the kid was obviously the fastest student out there, by far.

At this point we took a break from the track and half of us began to rotate through the use of the lean/slide bike on the skidpad. (not my pic, taken from the interweb)

It basically has outriggers that help to keep the bike up. That said, it is repeated over and over, "this bike is NOT unwreckable... if you just flop over on it, you're going to hit the ground". For level 1, the main purpose for using this tool-bike is to teach people that they can lean over farther than they think they can. The bike is used again in level 3 where riders are encouraged to induce a rear wheel slide and roll out of the throttle slowly and countersteer to recover. So it's called the lean/slide bike, depending on what level you are.

The last drill of the day was called the 2 step. I can honestly say that my riding made more progress in that hour than in all of my prvious riding. The 2 step seems basic now, but the idea is to find your turn in point well ahead of time, then quickly look to find your apex. As we all know, where your eyes look, you bike will usually follow. So you were now using correct throttle control, any gear you felt confident in, full use of the brakes, hitting the proper turn in points, quick flipping the bike and 2-stepping the turns... finding the chalked X, then immediately and purposefully shifting your gaze to the apex you wished to hit.

Dont worry, this was improved on later. I'll get to that.

Point is though, it was the initial lead in to a far superior cornering technique than I'd ever previously used. As grandma used to say, "when ya know better, you'll do better". I just never had anyone explain this concept of cornering to me. As a result my cornering improved immensely during the track time on this one. Something we discussed, which was quite true, was that if you're looking at the wrong thing (fixated) then the closer you get the more it seems to almost rush at you- even if you're actually slowing down/braking. Whereas if you shift your gaze away and look at where you want to go, you'll not suffer from that fear or sudden tensing up as you approach a turn.

That was it for the structured stuff for the first day. There was another "last" track session if you wanted it... just to work on bringing it all together. However, I'd flown in all the way from the middle east, so I was beat. Really beat. So I skipped it. My flight had been delayed 2 hours and getting the rental car from LAX turned out to take over an hour, so I was really running on fumes. I'd gotten to the hotel at midnight and was back up at 5am after a very long trip to get there.

The two biggest things I gained from that first day were focusing on relaxing so that my inputs were the proper ones Vs unintentional ones, and the 2 step process of turning. My coach immediately noticed that I rode in a tense sort of way, so our post-riding coaching sessions were often focused on that. We eventually came up with a sign for "relax" which involved flapping ones elbows out like dancing the funky chicken. You alternate between the coach leading you and following you, in which he evaluates how you're doing. He'd occasionally whip in front of me and flap his elbows out funky chicken style, and I'd know to relax... sure enough, my riding would improve.

One quick word on the coaches... they really are very, very good at their jobs. I noticed they rarely made statements about riding, instead asking questions so that you arrived at the same conclusion on your own. Instead of saying "you're not hitting the right turn point in turn 2" (the uphill/blind hairpin), he'd ask "how do you feel about your line on turn 2? Is it feeling right or do you think it could be improved?". That's just a small example I remember, but it went like that all day long. "Do you think you're hitting the right turn in point for that turn or could you try running a little deeper into the turn first?"

In my defense, turn 2 was a nasty one... heading uphill, then it levels off right at the turn in, so you only get a split second to identify the chalked X on the ground, then you're flipping the bike and looking for the apex of the hairpin.

The other turn that's supposedly quite difficult for most to master, I seemed to naturally hit right from very early on... turn 10, which is an off-camber 90 degree turn at the end of a straight. Most people had great difficulty gauging the right speed to slow to, so they'd push way off line as they came in too quickly.

Of the 4 crashes we had that weekend, 3 were on turn 10 and one was on turn 2. Same problem for each crash... too quick on the entry speed. Luckily no one was severely hurt... one guy was on crutches afterwards, but was able to at least sit through the remaining classes of the day. The rest were just shaken up. All were asked to stroke a check for the damage. As I watched one guy swipe a credit card for the damage, I decided then and there that the class was expensive enough already... no need to add to the approximately $5K of cost by being overzealous & speedy. As far as I knew, they werent giving out any prize money for being the fastest. My approach was that it was a class, I was a student, there to learn not prove how cool or fast I am. As such, I never even came close to crashing.

Ok, enough coverage for day 1... I'll write up day 2 tomorrow at some point...

 

[WarProfiteer]

OK, so day 2...

The first drill we started on was called "reference points". I am sure most folks already understand this, but I'll spell it out anyway... it's basically picking out something at a spot that acts as a trigger for an action; braking, leaning, accelerating out of an exit, etc. There was a specific chunk of concrete missing from the very inside edge of the apex (well, the one I liked) of turn 8... I also knew once I was there, I could start rolling on the throttle. There was a black streak on the concrete where I first hit the brakes going in to turn 10. Those are basic references points. The exercise was simply to find a few references points of our own and start using them.

Also, we ran the track in reverse. This basically made the track entirely new to us, in terms of turn-in, apexes, braking points, etc. It changed the well-practiced lines we were using on the previous day, so we were forced to figure it all out again. After a few laps, most folk's on-track coach would take pity on them and offer to lead them through a lap to give a rough idea where the right lines were.

After a break and more discussion with our coaches, we started class and drill #2... it was called "change lines", but it should have been called "learn how much space there actually is". We rode the first lap entirely on the outside rim of the track... every turn, every straight, all on the far outside edge of the tarmac. Then after a lap, we switched to the far inside... every turn, every straight, all on the very inside edge. Doing this in 3rd & 4th, with no brakes... it really teaches you that although there are optimal lines that should be used, there is a TON of space out there that can also be used. The road is far wider than you think. Only you dont realize it until you're forced to use only a fraction of it. It was a great drill. Very instructive.

Drill #3 for me was another one of those 'huge improvement' drills. Dramatic how much one can change over just the space of an hour when you're working from a different perspective. The class and drill afterwards was called "the 3 step". Basically adding to the 2 step, where one identified the desired turn in point far in advance, then quickly shift vision to decide where to apex, then the new step... focusing on the exit path you wish to follow. Often for self taught riders, when you're turning at least part of your mind and vision is on the edge of the road, the tress nearby, the other lane, etc... the limitations. Well, as we know, what we focus on tends to attract us. So the 3rd step was all about dropping any concerns for all the other stuff and just actively chosing your exit, the exact moment to begin to roll on the throttle, the line we want, etc. So now we had a mechnical process of breaking down each corner to an easily repeated process of (1) finding the turn in point we wish to use, then (2) immediately shifting the gaze to the desired apex, then (3) rolling our eyes upward and chosing which line to exit on and where to begin opening the throttle. Believe me when I say, this was really great stuff to me and I was amazed at what a difference applying this technique made.

But wait, there's more...

Class and drill #4 was next and it basically sealed the deal for me mentally; that all the effort and expense of this course was worth it. It was called "the wide view" and basically you just opened up your vision to incomporate all 3 of the above steps, without focusing on any single one individually. The best words Dylan used to describe it was "let it be like a filmstrip that's flowing information to your eyes... dont fixate; not on threats or on turn points or apexes... just let it be a steady flow of information". That guy is a wizard.

We also talked about the anatomy of the eye and how it processes information. Did you know that the brain actively wipes information fed from the eye? Basically if it recorded and retained everything your eyes ever saw, it would overload almost immediately. So one of the things we dicussed is eye function and how the brain processes that info. There is actually a very concentrated clump of rods & cones at the back of the eye, just above the optic nerve, called your Fovea. When you say you "focused your attention" or "fixated" on something, you pointed your fovea at it. This brought it into sharper detail and signalled the brain to not just wipe the information immediately. There are rods & cones throughout the back of the eye, but the fovea is where your focus is. Your unfocused or un-pointed vision is your peripheral vision and it works primarily to detect threats... evolution provided us this great asset, but as it developed over time it mostly became "movement oriented"... in other words, your peripheral vision is always seeing and picking up information outside of your focus, but the brain is wiping it as "not needed"... with the exeption of when your peripheral vision detects movement. Then your brain immediately tells you to look that way and process whether or not there's a threat there.

Color me nerdy, but I found all that fascinating.

How this relates to riding and the wide view drill was simply training yourself to use your eyes purposefully while riding and to process the information you're seeing as a film strip... purposely letting it glide across your fovea without fixating on any one thing. Keith had done an experiment where he put a camera looking into the face shield of experienced racers Vs junior riders and they still had this video to show (that's Dylan cueing it up in the above pic)... sure enough, the uber confident racer held a steady gaze and rarely blinked at all as he whipped around the track. The newer riders however blinked often and shifted their gaze from this to that to the other. So as we set out for the track to practice the wide view, we had a great visiual of exactly what it looks like when you're doing it right... dont let your peripheral vision call attention to all sorts of things off to the side, focus on the space you're moving into and processing each turn in a sort of instinctive way of 3 stepping without actually focusing or fixating on any one point. This, above anything else, was the greatest shift in my approach to riding over the 2 days. I felt genuinely grateful for the class after practicing this one for a while.

Next up, we cycled through the camera bike. It's basically a bike with a rear mounted camera that tracks your lines as well providing a digital read out of your speed, gear, when you're on the throttle Vs braking, etc. Then after 3 laps you sit down with your coach and go over the footage, analyzing every aspect of your laps. It takes a good long while to discuss what was done right Vs what was done wrong. Of course, being a level 2 meant that a lot of what I did was still wrong, but I found the camera bike to be yet another extremely helpful diagnostic tool. I have to give to the Superbike School, their reputation is well earned.

Side note, another thing my coach was helping me work on here, which he was glad to see in this pic, is what he called "leading with the chin"... using proper head position, which should lead to proper eye use and thus, correct lines being used. So he was especially proud of this particular picture.

The last formal class and drill of the day was pretty much lost on me, but that's ok... I got so much mileage out of everything else that I didnt care. This class and drill was call "the pick up". Basically, as you lean the bike over, you are somewhat working against the engineering of the bike and what it's intended to do. Try braking hard or pegging the throttle on a BMW1000RR which is leaned all the way over if you disagree. Anyway, the point of this drill was to begin to push the bike to it's optimal position (upright) as soon as you began to open throttle and hit your exit line. Basically you're picking the bike up before you get your body weight shifted back over it.... that way you can roll on the throttle sooner and much harder than if you waited until both your body and the bike were upright. It's one of those things that really only saves a split second, so I wasnt much interested... but it was part of the cirriculum so I thought I'd put it in this review.

So that was it for the formal training. Once again, there was one last "bring it all together" session if you wanted it. Again I was beat, so I opted out. I'd done enough laps and felt I'd more than gotten my money's worth. Not to mention under my race suit my clothes were salt encrusted from all the sweating I'd done all day and I badly wanted a shower and rest.

I collected my certificate, my CD from my camera bike laps, bought a t-shirt and prepared to go. As I was shaking hands and saying my goodbyes, my instructor gave me a Superbike School poker chip as his best student (each instructor is assigned to 3 or 4 folks over a weekend, with no more than 2 being on track at any given time). As my instructor for the 2nd day was the top instructor for that location (more on this in the wrap up post), it felt pretty cool to be recognized as a good riding student. He said it was basically because I never resisted anything he suggested, didnt let my ego get in the way, listened carefully & applied what was taught and showed the most riding improvement over the weekend. Sure, I could shrug it off and just say it was a cheezy poker chip boobie-prize, but the sentiment seemed genuine enough and it felt good to be complimented on my progress. No one else is likely to say anything, so I'll take it, haha...

Ok, that's it for level 2... I'll do one last wrap up post tomorrow to cover any other details, thoughts or experiences that I left out...

 

[WarProfiteer]

So... the wrap up...

First I want to talk about Dylan Code. During the course of my Biz Degree, I had to take 2 separate speaking courses. Dylan is the most polished informal public speaker I think I've ever seen. Obviously much of that comes from years of teaching the same thing and refining the way he explains things, but he really is very, very good at what he does. I would have a difficult time imagining Keith Code himself being better at teaching. Keith was a mad scientist of his day... trying to figure things out, building all sorts of experimental test bikes to try different theories, working with various racers to see what works and what doesnt, making little inventions to improve his understanding of riding. I give him full credit for all that. But Dylan really has taken the art of speaking and instructing to a whole new level. It's like Keith built the ultimate lesson plan, but Dylan became the ultimate teacher. And I wouldnt be surprised if the school's emphasis on having high level, professional coaching staff isnt a reflection of Dylan's talents and leadership.

Speaking of the coaches themselves, they were more than just skilled riders. They were great communicators and egoless in their instruction. Usually there are either 2 or 3 groups... labelled red, white or blue. I was in the white group and I was the only one working with my coach in the white group that day as there were an odd number of people. Usually each coach gets 2 students from each group, which keeps the ratio low and the feedback specific. He had two people in the blue group. So while I was in class or taking a break, Blue group would be out riding and he would be following/observing or leading them. Then they'd come in and he'd provide feedback, meanwhile white group would suit up, grab our bikes and make our way on to the track. As he finished with the Blue group and they went into class, he'd head back out on track to find me and follow/observe or lead.

On day 2 I worked with Cobie (pronounced like Kobe Bryant- only with less rape). Later I found out that he was the head instructor (bike #01) for that location. To say he was a damn good rider would be like saying Warren Buffet knows how to make a little money. The guy was uber. As he'd lead, he would lean over (even in off-camber turn 10) and physically touch the ground at the place in the turn that I should be using as an apex. When leaning over, I tend to feel a lot more comfortable with both hands on the bars, haha. But I guess from signalling info to riders behind him using various hand signs, he's gotten quite good at riding with just his right hand.

I told Dylan during one of the breaks that one of the hardest things he's now facing is how to improve the product. Any business should always be working on improving itself if it's going to thrive. The Superbike School really is about as close to perfect as one could get. There's very little I saw that I felt could be improved on. Not only are they good, they are passionate about what they are doing. You can literally feel it... that they're all genuinely passionate about what they're teaching.

The few cons I can think of are as follows...

It's petty, but I did kind of feel that at that price point, the T-shirt should have been free with the course. I'm not sweating $25 after spending $2500 on the class... just something I noticed should probably be included in the price.

Another thing was that they used a professional track photographer, which was nice, but the photos were fairly expensive. As in, $20 each. You got a discount if you bought everything he shot of you over the course... I think it was $200 total. But once again, I felt for the pricepoint this should probably have been a service included with the school package. Or at the very least, not quite so steeply priced. I paid $40 for 2 digital copies of pictures of me riding. Considering the guy took several hundred photos that weekend, as he was shooting all of us not just me, I just found the pricing a little too high- esp for something that probably should have been included with the school fee.

One thing I wasnt aware of is that the Superbike School is quite international. Not only do they travel to all sorts of tracks in the US (though Willow Springs is kind of "home base"), they also have extensive branches in Europe, as well as Austalia. The Euro branch is mostly focused in the UK, but that crew does roving classes in places like Cyprus, Dubai, India and South Africa as well. Dylan mentioned in a conversation one day, as we were talking about my work in the M-E, that there was a school coming up in Dubai in December- and that since they are trying to build the business base there, the price would be discounted. I would not only love to ride that track (Dubai Autdrome), but I'd like to work with other instructors for level 3- which is basically all about body position and of course, more focus on cornering. We'll see, but I am thinking I'll probably do it.

So that's about it. I'd say the school is nearly perfect and although it's pricey, it's a great experience. And as I've said elsewhere, what's the cost of wrecking because you havent developed your skillset to handle something that might happen out there? Not just in terms of money, but in terms of physical recovery. In the words of one of my mentors, "you're gonna learn one way or the other... you can choose to pay for formal instruction and actively pursue learning, or you can simply go to the school of hard knocks. The choice is yours." I've always remembere that. It's good wisdom.

 

[WarProfiteer]

p.s. I found that video Keith did of the expert rider's eyes... compare that to what you might typically be doing while riding and you'll probably notice there's a slight difference...

p.s. By the end of this vid, I am mentally screaming "Bliiiiiink Dammit!!!"

 

[monsterman]

Thanks thats very interesting .

 

[KTMphil]

Kevin, finally had a chance to read this thanks for all the detail. Would like to get out and ride with you, would be interesting to see the level of improvement.