Hi all, Some background... I have been riding since 1979,everything from Guzzi Le Mans and Californians, Triumph Daytonas (675s 650s and 900s) and enjoyed all of them. Always being based in London 90% of my riding has been urban with a few blats out to the coast etc at weekends or the odd trip to the IOM. Subsequently I have never learnt to lean and corner properly - I am a "Filtering Meister" and I challenge anyone to beat me from, say, Tower Bridge to Paddington Station in the rush hour:wink: BUT I cannot corner efficiently and never had my knee down (not many swoopy bends in SW1). On a recent charity ride out on the IOM I showed myself up embarrassingly Now you know my guilty secret - I'm "Lean Shy" Anyone recommend courses / track days in the SE that could get me out of it?
Ron Haslam race school would be a good place to start , great tuition and you do it all on their bikes and in their kit so no risk to your beloved , only your bones
These are who I would like to have a couple of days with - have heard very good reports Just need the money! Rapid Training
Superbike School :: Discover the art of cornering About 1,740,000 results (0.23 seconds) [h=2]Search Results[/h] [h=3]Superbike School :: Discover the art of cornering[/h]
They're in Yorkshire, but the trek is well worth it: i2i Motorcycle Academy : About Us I can't recommend them highly enough. The MC1 and MC3 courses will teach you things that will save your life. They're very reasonably priced too. Cornering is a complex subject and Tom and his gang will teach you more in a weekend than CSS will in their first two courses. Haslam is more of an 'experience' day than a training day (unless you go back). Disclaimer: no affiliation other than as a very satisfied customer.
Triang, I also highly recommend Rapid Training. As you are SW London, the Coulston trainer John is superb. Ex Nurbirgring instructor, police rider and author of the IAM handbook. I have ridden with him twice and he really makes a difference. Not cheap as a singleton but so worth it. If you can find a second rider, the cost comes down. Two is the max they will do any one time. I am not a racer but after 100+ track days, two Bikesafe courses and Cali Superbike School level 2 (also twice) I would still put RT up there as worth it.
I also do most of my biking through London, Sth to Nth every week day, I do go on the odd ride out in the Spring/Summer but not enough, which shows when I do get out with others, usually the UKMOC lot, I do struggle to keep up at times, mind you there are parts of North Greenwich that I think I can go round quicker than Rossi. I did the Rapid training last year which was great but I must admit I found the Bikesafe course you can do with the Police just as good for a quarter of the dosh, really because they do a mix of riding, country roads we went on were superb and we did stuff through heavy traffic and towns which I learned loads from, thought I knew everything about riding in traffic but not so. Rapid is great fun though, superb for getting you to think ahead and sort your planning whilst going like stink, great routes as well.
For road riding you could do a lot worse than Bikesafe. And try to spend time thinking about and practising countersteering when you're out on the bike. You do it subconsciously anyway, but it really is a useful cornering tool.
Of you were on a IAM ride, you must know them, so why not get them to take you out and bring your skills up? Seems an obvious, cheap and immediate solution
Guilty of skim reading as charged.... in which case contact a local IAM grpup and back to plan A my road riding improved immeasurably riding with mates who did PACE and IAM and my track riding when I read Twist of the Wrist and practiced it on both road and track.
Twist of the Wrist 2 is the best place to start, yeah I know... I'm an ex-California Superbike School riding coach and all of level 1 (your first day) comes from book 2. There's excellent information in both. At the CSS you get an opportunity to walk out of the classroom, fresh from learning a new technique, stick your helmet on and go out on track in a controlled environment designed to allow you to focus on what you've just learned and practice it. A riding coach will be on track with you and they will communicate with you both on and off track to help you apply the knowledge correctly so you can see the improvement and understand what is going on. There's lots of good advice on here and some training is better than none - in most cases :biggrin:
Ive done the Haslam and the Walker Schools. Ive done a few laps with the MSV trainers and I've spent a day with Rapid Training as well. If you've never done a trackday, look out for the road only trackdays run by Bike magazine. Very relaxed and as they're run by MSV, you can get training as well so they are very good. If you want road riding training, you cant get better than Rapid training. There are reviews on my website if you're interested. CSS is supposed to be excellent as well, but as I havent gone, I cant really comment
