Advanced Riding Course with Turn 2

[rafiki911]

Thanks for the link, after reading the above posts I think it would be better to start on something small! lol...
What other schools offer this kind of program?

Racer 5 offers a whole weekend of doing all their courses. FAST school does as well. http://www.fastridingschool.com/index3.html

I found the Racer 5 school to be the best bang for the buck as the price of the rental bike is included in the course. Their Stage 1 was very similar to Turn 2's ARC 1 course.

[2live&ride]

So either Racer5 or FAST riding school...
I'll look into both and decide from there, thanks for your help raf.

[stormcat]

I found the Racer 5 school to be the best bang for the buck as the price of the rental bike is included in the course. Their Stage 1 was very similar to Turn 2's ARC 1 course.

Having done both, I think Turn2's ARC1 was far more intensive than Racer5. No offence to Racer5 with this and I'm not slagging them in any way. I found the ARC1 covered a lot more, while the way the Racer5 course was set up seemed like it assumed riders had already been on a track. The ARC1 had a lot more theory and in-class mixed with instructors showing students techniques (body positioning for example) on a static bike. They had just as much, if not more, track time as well. It was by far the single most exhausting, yet fun, day of my life.

[reciprocity]

Well, I've never been riding the track, though I'll be taking my FZ6 next season for sure. That said, I probably don't know what I'm talking about, but nevertheless, I'll risk getting flamed by asking this:

How is it possible for a 13 HP bike like the CBR125R to give you any kind of track experience? The latter being not only cornering and choosing the best line, but also opening her up in the straights for pure addictive acceleration and speed! For all I know, if I can't attain the ripping speed I am dreaming of, how would I even learn to do proper braking?!

13HP---I've never been on one, but is that thing even capable of moving my fat 190lb *** around above the speed limit?

...pardon my apparent ignorance, just wondering here.

There was about 300lbs on this 125, it'll move you just fine.

for the record, I'm the good looking one in the photo.

[Jayv]

Your not holding the clutch in....rookie.

[rafiki911]

So either Racer5 or FAST riding school...
I'll look into both and decide from there, thanks for your help raf.

Any time I'm sure there are more, if the more experience people can speak up please

Having done both, I think Turn2's ARC1 was far more intensive than Racer5. No offence to Racer5 with this and I'm not slagging them in any way. I found the ARC1 covered a lot more, while the way the Racer5 course was set up seemed like it assumed riders had already been on a track. The ARC1 had a lot more theory and in-class mixed with instructors showing students techniques (body positioning for example) on a static bike. They had just as much, if not more, track time as well. It was by far the single most exhausting, yet fun, day of my life.

I think it depends on the instructors or days you go I guess. For me the ARC1 was wicked cause I went with a bunch of friends and Bogie makes me drool. I found that I learned way more with the Racer 5 in the morning and was able to practice it more with each session we had.
The ARC 1 instructor didn't even introduce getting our butts off the seat until the afternoon when we were already pooped.

[TMPracing]

TMP has training as well. In the latest issue of Mojo magazine there is an article called flight school.
http://www.motorcyclemojo.com/2011/11/flight-school/

[john bickle]

Remember Daryl Cooney ?

Yes, he was on a Sponden Rotax,[originally built by Al Inglis at Brutune],,Crevier and Cornwall [Jon was on the Sponden for a bit]were on factory Aprilia race bikes by Q 107. The school bikes were Aprilia street bikes. Different animals.

[Corsara]

TMP has training as well. In the latest issue of Mojo magazine there is an article called flight school.
http://www.motorcyclemojo.com/2011/11/flight-school/

I will be most probably taking this intro class at the beginning of next season. Too bad the link has the article slashed in half, requiring subscription to read it all. In all cases, it's a nice read, thanks!

[john bickle]

Having taught at both Cayuga and Calabogie,, way different. Calabogie is so dimensional compared to Cayuga it's hard to even offer a far comparison with schools.
Racer 5 does a great job with the track they have. Calabogie offers you so many diverse corners and elevation changes it is easy to teach there. Cayuga is a very hard track becasue it has no elevation. The riders get comfortable very quick so that makes the instructors job much harder. Does not matter what school you go to. Remember,, good schools give you the tools to go to a track day and turn some good-time laps. Don"t expect to come away riding like Rossi,, but you should be more comfortable and ride less aggressivly and be going faster, easier! Don"t expect miracles! If you're afraid of the last 1/4 throttle,, the bike is too powerfull!
The thrill is riding a bike with the throttle wide open and your knee on the ground. Do that on ANY bike and you will have a huge grin! For days!

[TimJ]

Thanks for the link, after reading the above posts I think it would be better to start on something small! lol...
What other schools offer this kind of program?

As others have mentioned, Racer5 is the way to go. You'll learn so much in one day with them and it's so much fun. I have done stage 1,2,3 a few times with them and the progression people make from the morning to the afternoon is amazing.
If you sign up for stage 1,2 the Stage 2 on Friday will get you your race license, just like what Rafiki posted and with an instructor to answer all your questions.

Whatever school you sign up for, ask the instructors lots of questions - that's what they're for!

[Corsara]

Having taught at both Cayuga and Calabogie,, way different. Calabogie is so dimensional compared to Cayuga it's hard to even offer a far comparison with schools.
Racer 5 does a great job with the track they have. Calabogie offers you so many diverse corners and elevation changes it is easy to teach there. Cayuga is a very hard track becasue it has no elevation. The riders get comfortable very quick so that makes the instructors job much harder. Does not matter what school you go to. Remember,, good schools give you the tools to go to a track day and turn some good-time laps. Don"t expect to come away riding like Rossi,, but you should be more comfortable and ride less aggressivly and be going faster, easier! Don"t expect miracles! If you're afraid of the last 1/4 throttle,, the bike is too powerfull!
The thrill is riding a bike with the throttle wide open and your knee on the ground. Do that on ANY bike and you will have a huge grin! For days!

That's very relevant to what my line of thought, at least so appears to me. Let me explain.

When I posted earlier doubting that the 13 hp bike will give me satisfaction, I should have elaborated more. The way I see it, there are going to be two types of students taking the track school:

One group would have the aspirations to improve their riding abilities as much as possible, thus the 125cc bike would be obviously an excellent choice that will yield incomparable benefits (as I was convinced in the replies in the thread after I posted).

Then there is this other group of people (in which I belong), who won't be able to do track days all summer long and have no aspirations to ever participate in official races, who won't care if they are losing a second here and 10 seconds there because of not choosing the most optimal lines, etc. The guys in my group would want to take the track school, learn the basics WHILE having a blast at the same time (read blast they can't get on the street due to speed limits, cops, safety concerns..). Partly because most probably I'll be counting the track days I do during the whole season by using only the fingers on my hands...(read family budget restrictions).. So, for the price of sacrificing to some degree the amount of skills and knowledge I'll gain during that first track day, I'll get more adrenaline rush and excitement by choosing a more powerful bike. Sort of like "get it out of my system in safer environment" kinda thing.

Don't know if that makes sense, but that's my line of though

[Brian P]

Then there is this other group of people (in which I belong), who won't be able to do track days all summer long and have no aspirations to ever participate in official races, who won't care if they are losing a second here and 10 seconds there because of not choosing the most optimal lines, etc.

You owe it to yourself and to everyone else on the same track with you, to not be one of "those" riders.

The guys in my group would want to take the track school, learn the basics WHILE having a blast at the same time (read blast they can't get on the street due to speed limits, cops, safety concerns..). Partly because most probably I'll be counting the track days I do during the whole season by using only the fingers on my hands...(read family budget restrictions).. So, for the price of sacrificing to some degree the amount of skills and knowledge I'll gain during that first track day, I'll get more adrenaline rush and excitement by choosing a more powerful bike. Sort of like "get it out of my system in safer environment" kinda thing.

Don't know if that makes sense, but that's my line of though

No one is saying to do a whole season of track days on a 125 or 250. But, do yourself and all of the other riders on track with you at the same time a favour ... and do the FIRST track day at a proper track school on a 125 or 250.

You will enjoy every subsequent track day a LOT more by knowing the correct lines and having a better idea of the correct cornering speed. You'll be less likely to crash your own bike on every subsequent track day, because you've taken proper training about the correct lines and cornering speed. And ... you won't be "that guy" ... the one that other riders are complaining about for slowing them down and riding erratically because no one has ever showed them how to ride properly.

[Fiery254]

That's very relevant to what my line of thought, at least so appears to me. Let me explain.

When I posted earlier doubting that the 13 hp bike will give me satisfaction, I should have elaborated more. The way I see it, there are going to be two types of students taking the track school:

One group would have the aspirations to improve their riding abilities as much as possible, thus the 125cc bike would be obviously an excellent choice that will yield incomparable benefits (as I was convinced in the replies in the thread after I posted).

Then there is this other group of people (in which I belong), who won't be able to do track days all summer long and have no aspirations to ever participate in official races, who won't care if they are losing a second here and 10 seconds there because of not choosing the most optimal lines, etc. The guys in my group would want to take the track school, learn the basics WHILE having a blast at the same time (read blast they can't get on the street due to speed limits, cops, safety concerns..). Partly because most probably I'll be counting the track days I do during the whole season by using only the fingers on my hands...(read family budget restrictions).. So, for the price of sacrificing to some degree the amount of skills and knowledge I'll gain during that first track day, I'll get more adrenaline rush and excitement by choosing a more powerful bike. Sort of like "get it out of my system in safer environment" kinda thing.

Don't know if that makes sense, but that's my line of though

So basically you want to sign up for intermediate ('cos you're no ****ing learner dude), pin it on the straights and either a) run off at the corners, or b) park it in the corner right on the line. Either way you'll screw someone elses day up. The track isn't for playing around and seeing how fast your bike will go. I'd like to count the amount of track days you do on one hand as well. I'll give you a clue how many fingers i'm holding up. It's a number between 1 & 3.

Do me a favour, stay away from Calabogie. Or, like Bickle said, go drag racing.

[Corsara]

So basically you want to sign up for intermediate ('cos you're no ****ing learner dude), pin it on the straights and either a) run off at the corners, or b) park it in the corner right on the line. Either way you'll screw someone elses day up. The track isn't for playing around and seeing how fast your bike will go. I'd like to count the amount of track days you do on one hand as well. I'll give you a clue how many fingers i'm holding up. It's a number between 1 & 3.

Do me a favour, stay away from Calabogie. Or, like Bickle said, go drag racing.

Well, couldn't hold the profanities much longer, could you?!

My plan, as clearly expressed earlier, is to take an intro to track on my own bike, just like many many other people did. And yes, by all means I'll follow all rules, and yes, if allowed, I'll pin her madly in the straights cause I don't need much skill for that, you're right....and since I'll take my time in the turns and follow closely all advice I can get from instructors or other riders, at the end, who knows, I might have just the same skills as you. Or if not---I'll never know, nor would I ever care. But I know I'll have fun, cause that's why I'm riding in the first place. You---good luck with becoming another Rossi! (*Don't need to give you clues about the positioning of my fingers, do I?!)

[Brian P]

I am of the opinion that track-day organizers should not allow anyone in intermediate or "yellow" unless they have had formal instruction (a track-riding course - any of them), and not allow anyone in "red" unless they either have a roadracing license or have demonstrated proficiency in intermediate at previous track days ... Too many people out there in both of those groups who shouldn't be there.

[Brian P]

....and since I'll take my time in the turns ...

Therein lies the problem.

[ZX600]

There was about 300lbs on this 125, it'll move you just fine.

for the record, I'm the good looking one in the photo.

nice arai helmet

[GRAYZ]

So, for the price of sacrificing to some degree the amount of skills and knowledge I'll gain during that first track day, I'll get more adrenaline rush and excitement by choosing a more powerful bike. Sort of like "get it out of my system in safer environment" kinda thing.

Yeah... no you won't. Anyone can hammer open the throttle when the bike is straight upright, you don't need to be on a track any highway will do...

But - if you are only doing your first track school, you likely won't get your knee down regardless of what you are riding. BUT you will notice the effect of a mistake much more, and learn how to avoid it.

But fair warning, as it seems you are starting to feel some of the impatience of others who saw too much bad action go down this season: there is a way to ride around a track. Going out for an "adrenaline rush" may make others feel a risk of injury on the track and either they or the organizer may have to speak with you about it. Even if you only do one day a year, being "that guy" will soon sour the experience for you and everyone else. Just drop any expectations, and go out and have a great time.

To further BrianP's point, I think there are enough schools out there right now that all TD organizers should require a course certificate before allowing anyone to enroll in ANY group. When I was riding in intermediate to help some friends this season, it seems that group has turned into a Gong show.

[Fiery254]

Well, couldn't hold the profanities much longer, could you?!

My plan, as clearly expressed earlier, is to take an intro to track on my own bike, just like many many other people did. And yes, by all means I'll follow all rules, and yes, if allowed, I'll pin her madly in the straights cause I don't need much skill for that, you're right....and since I'll take my time in the turns and follow closely all advice I can get from instructors or other riders, at the end, who knows, I might have just the same skills as you. Or if not---I'll never know, nor would I ever care. But I know I'll have fun, cause that's why I'm riding in the first place. You---good luck with becoming another Rossi! (*Don't need to give you clues about the positioning of my fingers, do I?!)

Forgive me if i'm not offended by your reply. Even in my short 2 years of riding track I've lost plenty of track time to your sort. And I'll say "your sort" because you deffo fit into a certain category. And that's the sort who no one else wants to be on a track with. Like I said, stay away from Calabogie and we'll all be happy. If you do get to Calabogie then look me up. I have Fiery on the back of my suit and I'll dazzle you with my mad skillz.