California Superbike School.

Here


Anybody been on one of their training days?  They look awesome but are expensive.

Nope, dont know of anyone who's been on one of those. Use Yamaha bikes at least. They do get a good right up on all reports in the mags I do admit. Kinda like the Ron Haslam school that's at Donington.

I'll be at Cadwell on the 15th of April hopefully, £85 which is a lot cheaper. Just waiting for my wingman to confirm his days holiday too.

Keith Code of the Twist of the throttle books brainchild, I'd absolutely love to do one of these, just had a good month at work so considering treating myself. I think Chris Eddie has done one, he was telling me about some of the techniques the use for training, defo on my bucket list as the books/DVD cheesy but very informative. He saved me from a potential disaster while out with DBD at BC last year!!

They have a very good reputation apparently.

It's apparently what the Haslams etc aspire to, expensive but very good, not necessarily geared toward the track either, it is general improvement of the riding, cornering braking etc.

Have you seen the DVD or read the books? I have both in an electronic version if you're interested?

Id like a copy please mate sounds good reading. Gonna get a track day done before bc hopefully

Thanks Steve, that would be great.

I went on one a few years ago, I'll be going on another later in the year. It's an expensive day but made such a difference to my enjoyment of riding it was worth every penny.
It's a mix of geeky science theory and then short track sessions to put it into practise.

I thoroughly recommend it.

I've found the vid most informative as a new rider

Thanks Chris, we both fancy doing this rather than a track day or bike safe etc, I know it's supposed to be good.

Will start filling my money box!

I have a friend who has done two days with the California Superbike School and also highly recommends them.

I'm tempted to have a go too. Keep me posted on your plans.

Same here, I'm interested as well.

Do people fancy booking as a group? I'm going to go on the 21st/22nd July, the VAT man will be handing me a chunk of cash back soon so as a wee treat to myself I might be a greedy bugger and do both days!

So, anyone else want to go in July? It's Silverstone Stowe circuit.

I'm at Cadwell again on the 16 th of June if you interested Chris. Going with my mate Tony and one of his work work colleagues, who's on a tricked up GSX1000.

99 quid with No limits trackdays. In the Novice group once again as the work mate of Tony's has never done one before.

Would love to mate but I'll be back at work then.

No fear then. Will be doing another sometime in August, again at Cadwell.

Might as well use the R1 for something this year....

Really want to do something like this and it is supposed to be good but compared to the other schools the price is shocking is it really that much better.

Can't comment on how it compares to the others but it is by far the most detailed tuition I've had. It's definitely NOT a track day and you'll be pulled into the pits and told off if you treat it as such (from personal experience  )
The aim is to ride well within your abilities and put into practice what was discussed during the classroom sessions. Each session builds on the last and adds another element, concentrating very specifically on one aspect at a time in great detail. Turn in, steering input, throttle control etc.

I thought that although it was expensive, it was well worth it. I use the things I was taught there every single time I ride and there have been several occasions where the techniques I learned have saved me from a possible accident.

I've no doubt that the lessons could be learned elsewhere or through experience but I viewed it as a 'fast-track' to improved bike control and observations.

My advice would be to get the 'Twist of the Wrist II' book & dvd (they're available free to download if you know where to look), ignore the cheesy one liners and buzzwords, and make your mind up from there if it's for you or not.

I loved it, but I'm a total geek and need to know the 'why?' about everything! Being able to learn that in a classroom then head straight out on track and try/feel it for yourself was invaluable for me.

Another great one to try and a bit more reasonable and closer to you is i2imca, they're have courses at Thirsk and Rufforth.

Iam with you on the geek front eddie iam like that about everything in life.
the only reason iam wanting to do a track day is for the lessons to improve my riding on the road and I share a subaru with a mate for track day tomfoolery so my bike stays in 1 piece which It nearly wasn't 2 days ago when I went over a dear corpse.
And thanks for the tip ill have a look at the courses near me.
Cheers
Mark

Just found this review on Visordown, quite interesting and if you've seen the Twist OfThe Throttle video seems to all coincide.

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Booked up 22nd July, Level 2.

Staying in the Silverstone Snoozebox Hotel the night before.

Looking forward to it, ease me back into track riding :-)

Had a fantastic day, weather was glorious and learned a hell of a lot. Thought I'd do a bit of a write up so people can see what they're money would be spent on.

Some great moments, managing to get my boots down on my new RC8R was a shock! Learning the tools to control a rear wheel slide turned out to be invaluable later in the day as the tyres got a bit weary  

Arrived at the Silverstone complex at around 7pm after a long day in the van via Gear4Motorcycles (...that's another story   ) and got checked into the Snoozebox which is a container based modular portable hotel! Room was 'cozy' sized but really comfortable and a great place to stay right on the side of the GP track. Would definitely use it again.
As it was a bit basic I wasn't holding out much hope for the food but was pleasantly surprised when my excellent pork chilli and nachos arrived. Washed down with a beer in the sunshine I headed back for some 'Twist of the Wrist' (oo-er!) and an early night. Registration and scrutineering at 07:00....

Quick brekkie the next morning then off to the Stowe complex (infield of the main circuit) to fill out my 'it's my own fault if I die' forms and get my kit and bike checked. Removed the number plate & hanger but couldn't figure out the mirror/indicator wiring and assembly so just folded them up out the way. Tyres down to 32psi front and 30psi rear and she's ready to go.

In for a mass briefing, mostly flags, signals etc but the added CSS credo, "You're here to learn and it's cost a lot of money so ride at 80% of your ability to allow yourself the extra brain capacity to analyse and change your riding behaviours".

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Briefing over, my group (Level 2) was first in the classroom to recap our level one drills and discuss drill one of the day, Reference Points.
What are they? How do you use them? What are they for? Everything was discussed and debated in great detail about what makes a good reference point for braking, gears, turning, apex, throttle, exit etc

Then, out on track to find as many of our own personal reference points as we could. We were introduced to our coaches who only deal with 2-3 students during the day (I was with Chewie). We were asked to use one gear only and no brakes to encourage smooth throttle control and give us less to concentrate on as we explored the track paying particular attention to the features, surface and markings. Every once in a while your coach would ride past you after following for a while, point at you and the tail of his bike and point things out to you, a mark on the track here or line in the kerb there. After about 20-25 minutes on track there was a full one-to-one debrief to make sure you had got the most from the lesson and had fully grasped what it was all about.

I thought this drill was a bit pointless and dull but it later proved fundamental in the rest of the drills that made up the day, this one was merely a foundation to build on.

After a short break, in sweltering heat, we were back in the classrooom for drill 2, Different Lines.

We discussed the 'perfect line' for each corner and a typical Moto2 start. How many riders were on their perfect line? Did it seem to make much difference to them? What was the rest of the circuit like? Slippy, grippy, debris, bumpy, etc?

Again a great discussion about how most of the bits of road/track that we don't like to ride on are actually absolutely fine and there is more than enough grip for our needs. Our brains tells us that because we don't KNOW what they are like then these untouched pieces of tarmac must be dangerous.

During this drill we had to ride around the track, again in one gear, first staying right beside the right hand side of the track for a lap, then the left, then dead centre. After these initial laps we had to try at least 3 different lines through each corner, ride on the kerbs, over the bumpy bits and again analyse what the bike was doing and what we were doing to the controls.

I thought this was a much better drill and suddenly the track completely opened up. I suddenly realised just how bloody wide it was and how little I was using. Everything started to smooth out and if I made a mess of the entry into a bend there was no 'PANIC!' moment because I knew there was plenty of room left and the grip was almost just as good over there.

We stopped for lunch and I hid in the airconned area. We jocks are not built for 20+ temperatures, especially not in one-piece leathers.

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Drill 3 was the one that made the most difference for me and continues to do so. I use it ALL the time when I'm riding and driving. CSS call it the 3 step but really it's just picking your reference points and linking them together in a very specific way.

We discussed vanishing points and how to pick a good 'exit' reference point (selecting turning and apex reference points is covered in level 1 and earlier in level 2) and were taken through in total geek detail about how not just the 'where' of a reference point is important but also when you look at it. Looking at the apex or through a corner too early encourages early turn in and you'll drift wide coming out. Looking too late and you're likely end up reducing speed too much.

This drill was fantastic, we were told to use 2 gears and light braking and everything started really flowing. The whole track became an inner commentary of turn point, apex, exit, brake point, turn point, apex, exit.....this was when I started to really enjoy myself and it started to come together. A great technique on the road too.

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Great write up! Sounds like a very informative course and well worth the money.

Glad you found it useful