On April 3rd, 2005 I attended Keith Code's California Superbike School. It was
held at Willow Springs
Raceway on the Streets of Willow Springs track. It has been quite a while since I've been to the track and this is a new bike for me, so I decided to go with what was familiar by going to CSS again. One of their instructors convinced me in an on-line forum that it would be a good idea to go to the Level IV class, I'm glad I listened.
I'd rather work on improving my riding on my bike with my own gear than rent someone elses so I decided to take my CamBRee and my own leathers, again. CamBRee is much better suited for the track than VicToRia and I'm a better rider too, so there was no draggin' hard parts this time.
The Class is scheduled from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. I arrived just on time with my family after stopping at Burger King on the way. I registered and put my assigned number (#1) on CamBRee. I then walked around the pits and took some pictures before my first classroom session.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Level IV class is a self-developed course that allows you to focus on your weak points. Since my last 2 crashes were lowsides as a result of tucking the front, my coach thought it would be best for me to work on the Throttle Control skill I learned in Level I. During this session, we could only use 3rd & 4th gear and no brakes.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Yes, There was a crash in the 1st session of the day in the "White" Group (Level 3s & 4s). It was a rider that had been to CSS over 10 times. It was more of a low speed tip over than a crash. The student was ok (although mildly embarrased) and was allowed to keep riding.
During the first session I got really comfortable for front end feel again. This, of course, resulted
in me going at a faster pace in the later part of the session. My on-track coach, Frank, told me "I
noticed that when you got comfortable with front end feel that you started to go into corners a lot hotter.
Now, I see that you're running up into the back for the slower riders out there. It's like you have this nice
'Wide Vision' when the track is open, but then you target fixate on the rider in front of you when you should
continue to keep your wide vision so you can find a way to pass them." Needless to say, for my second session,
I focused on the 'Wide Vision' skill I learned in Level II.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Yes, There was a crash in the 2nd session of the day in the "White" group. It was the only other rider out there on a CBR600RR (not mine). He high-sided himself but was uninjured. He was just telling me that he had never slid the Michelin Pilot Powers he was using. I guess he figured out how to slide at least the back tire.
I didn't really work on trying to pass anyone in this sessions until I got caught up chasing a fast rider on a GSXR-750. Keeping up with him forced me to look passed other riders on the track. I was just about ready to make a pass on him (in the tight stuff) when the session ended.
My On-Track Coach, Frank, said that he thought I was starting to get the hang of it near the end of the
session, so he wanted me to focus on it again in the 3rd session.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
In the 3rd session, I was passing a lot more people. I even got bold enough to start looking at some of the bigger bikes to see if I could pass them too. I learned an important lesson trying to do this, there's no replacement for displacement. My little 600 was simply no match for the liter bikes on the long straights. I could carry more corner speed, so I could almost always pass them in the tight stuff (especially going into turn 7), but as soon as we hit the long front or back straights they would pass me right back.
I also learned another valuable lesson during this session, Just because you're in the Level IV class doesn't mean that you are fast. I had more trouble passing some of the Level III students than I did passing some of the Level IV students.
This session was really fun because my On-Track coach instructed me to pass him whenever I saw him. He and I diced it up a few times. Once the session was over he told me that he wanted me to work on getting even more comfortable on the bike by adjusting my body position slightly. After some off-track instruction, I found that I wasn't keeping my shoulders as square as I could (in relation to my hips) when I hung off on the right side.
Also, During the break between session 3 and 4 I got a chance to ride the Slide/Lean Bike for the slide drill. I was warned that someone had already high-sided themselves off the Slide bike earlier that day by chopping the throttle. I was real careful not to chop the throttle as I induced my slides. This was a fun drill because it let you find the point at which the rear will start to slide and how to recover from it. This also taught me how aggresive you could be with the throttle, even right after initial turn-in.
Now I was ready for my fourth session with a couple of more things to focus on. The main thing would be body position, the
secondary thing would be getting on the gas more aggresively coming out of the corners. I was also given the task by
my photographer to get my knee down in Turn 14, which I had never done before.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Well, I finally got my knee down in Turn 14. In fact, near the end of the session I was doing it every time I went through Turn 14. A few times I actually waved while doing it. I was amazed at how much less I actually had to work to maintain the same lap times once I had a more comfortable body position. I simply wasn't trusting my knee anchor when I hung off to the right. Once I started trusting it and relaxed my arms I was able to save a lot of energy. The Level IV students get an extra session on the track, so I took mine right after this session. I'm glad I learned how to save all of the extra energy, cause I needed it for this extra session.
 |
 |
 |
 |
I should have spent less time draggin my knee and waving in the last few sessions. At the end of the day I realized I could have had much better lap times in the last couple of sessions if I had simply stopped trying to show off and went through Turn 14 as fast as I could. Even still, I was doing consistent and lazy 1:51s by the end of the day. In fact, my best lap times are from the very last session despite the fact that I was tired and not pushing nearly as hard as I was in the first few sessions.
| Session | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ave. Lap Time | 2:03.9 | 1:59.1 | 1:55.4 | 1:53.0 | 1:51.1 |
| Ave. Speed | 52.3 mph | 54.4 mph | 56.2 mph | 57.3 mph | 58.3 mph |
| Hot Lap | 1:56.5 | 1:54.2 | 1:53.7 | 1:52.1 | 1:50.6 |
I have been riding now for 3 & a half years. I've put well over about 70K miles on the street. After my Level I Class, I thanked Keith for helping me move from operating a motorcycle to riding it. After my Level II class, I realized that riding is a skill that requires contants refinement. After my Level III class I thought I would venture on to a different school that has a different teaching philosophy. After some talking to a few people I respected, I figured it would be a good idea to at least complete all of the Levels that CSS offers. I'm not considering taking the CODE Race class to get a taste of what racing is really all about.
I never want to be a rider that feels I don't have room for improvement. I feel that CSS has a great program for all levels of riders, but it's especially good for new sportbikers that want to learn how to go fast, safely.
