After the chat with Kope and a few others about cornering technique I'm thinking about attending a race school to get a the knowledge to go quickly. I've had a browse around the internet and checked out CSS, Ron Haslam and Chris Walker. CSS dates are few and far between, Ron Haslam's first day is only a half day and CW has no info on his site. I'm looking for a training package up to a week in length but 3-4days would be ideal involving bike hire, tuition and plenty of track time that will cover the basics and build me up. I can only really find half day courses or single day courses; there's no complete learning package. Any ideas?
Thought you had a track bike Tom, why hire one? CSS as Matt says alternatively there are some top instructors that you can book to instruct you at track days, you pay for their TD and some other costs but for this you get 1 to 1 tutoring with video playback etc etc. check out TrackDayRiders.co.uk The trackday riders place No1bloke and Bullet are two that come to mind. Spike Edwards (no1bloke) has a very good reputation .
Thanks for that Drinky. I certainly do have a bike I am happy to ride on track and spare fairings for just that purpose, however I am not too keen on dropping my bike whilst training. Once I'm satisfied I can keep it the right way up then I'd be more willing to risk my pride and joy. When I think about what I have had to go through in order to be able to buy the bike that I have, I really really don't want to drop it. I'll look in to the link you just posted. MADASL would be my first port of call but I want to ride an inline 4 rather than a v-twin because that's what I'll be running after.
If you have the cash to do it, go get a coach. Mike 'spike' Edwards for example. Prob cost a little more than CSS but imho likely you will get twice as much
Have you done a TD before Tom? If not sod the instruction until you've done a couple of TD's book a TD with with Focused Events or No Limits they both do bike hire (FE certainly do) and have a crack on their bikes before you ho spending hard earned on instruction. If you do a TD you'll be able to nab an instructor free of charge in a couple of sessions. If you book a NL TD let me know when and where and I'll have a chat with a few mates who instruct for them.
Don't go to a TD thinking your going to crash and stuff your pride and joy road bike, just ho and ride it within your ability, which will increase as you go on. Alternatively get your name down with OMCC and pay £60 for one of their ARD's to get an insight.
Ask yourself what your objectives are; do you want to learn riding techniques which will make you a better/faster rider, or do you just want to learn a specific track? There's a big difference between the two and a lot of instructors will teach you the latter on a trackday but not the former. If you want to learn something that can be applied to all tracks then you really want to look at a structured training course such as CSS. It is split between classroom and track, but you will be learning stuff that you can take away and apply anywhere.
I want to learn how to be a better and (when appropriate) faster rider. Being able to ride a bike is something all of us with a license can do. Being able to ride a bike well is something that comes with tuition, practice and knowledge of how and why bikes do what they do.
Then I think you would benefit from going to somewhere like the CSS who will deconstruct what it takes to ride better/faster and will work on those attributes in the classroom before taking you out on to the track to apply them. Going out and doing a trackday is great fun and you will (probably!) get faster, but if you don't know why you're getting faster, or how to get faster in different corners, then you're never going to progress. This is why going out with an instructor is not always the best solution as he is using his knowledge to tell you the fastest line around a corner and you follow his instruction. Knowing how to approach and take the corner yourself is the art.
Come out for a couple of days with me and Bradders at a circuit. Bradders will show you how to crash, I will show you how to blow engines up. In between the exciting bits we can do chicken wings and work on body positioning (forward roles, bike leap frog, air hang ten etc) and close quarters fairing bashing.
Odiham Motorcycle Club It's a total pain in the ass to join but it's worth the perseverance, if you fancy a bit of off reading the off road days using their bikes for £50 is a total bargain.
You give the impression you like self learning. Download/buy twist of the wrist 2 and there is another one sport riding techniques or something like that. You can learn the basics riding on the road, understand what will be taught so you are at least consciously incompetent (blah blah) then if you get training it should be quicker and easier to embed OMCC is easy to join now once registered, can do all of it online. Greatenvironment to practice
I've done a couple of days at Haslam and they are a great introduction to trackdays. I learned a hell of a lot more from a 1-2-1 day with Nemomoto though (he's also on TDR) As others have said CSS is a superb syllabus although the instructors have a lot to get through and sometimes get a bit rushed. Get a days tuition then go ride the wheels off your bike on a few trackdays trying to put it all into practice, if you are struggling with something get some more tuition. Don't forget its supposed to be fun though, too many people get far too serious at trackdays...
