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Product/Service: Advanced Riding/Racing School
Manufacturer/Provider: Keith Code - California Superbike School
Reviewed by: Jeff

Becoming a Jedi Master - Level III of Keith Code's California Superbike School

Okay, so you might not be able to levitate things at the completion of this course, but you'll feel every bit as powerful as your average action movie hero upon completion of Level III.

I took level I and II last year in Keith's 2 day camp (click here for review), which dealt with stabilizing the bike through throttle control and proper inputs (level I) and then onto visual skills (level II). Implementing these skills into my racing program has made a large difference in my comfort and abilities. Level III was the next progression.

Originally I had wanted to take Level III early in the season and at Blackhawk Farms, a track I'm very familiar with. However, in retrospect I'm glad I picked up the course 1/2 way through the season at a NEW and unfamiliar track, Autobahn Country Club - South Course. The time and place gave me the opportunity to have ALL my personal issues between rider and bike worked out, and it put me on a track that I had NO experience on, so I HAD to ride the drills instead of riding from memory. Additionally it worked out good because I got in around 100 or so laps on a track that we will be racing on in 5 weeks for the first time ever.

Level III is all about the body on the bike. Getting in the right position, staying in the right position, changing positions, altering the bikes feel/turning through varying positions. I would personally say that thus far, this level was the greatest benefit for me. Naturally, if a person didn't have level I or II down, level III wouldn't work very well, but out of the 3 levels I've taken so far, this one seemed to make the largest difference in my riding style/comfort.

The setup of the school is quite structured and very spot on. You're broken into groups by level, given a class-room discussion which explains a SINGLE theory/method. Then you are to go on track to work the drill, and finally come back to review it and introduce the next topic/trick/method. My group had 4 people in it.

On track, you are followed and lead by a personal instructor, who always seems to show up when you blow something, and will give you hand signals to get you back on track. The personal attention is VERY good both on and off track. After you come in, your personal riding instructor (who is different from the classroom instructor) will de-brief with you and talk about goals for the next session if there's anything you should really be working on aside from the drill at hand.

For my day, in-class was taught by the man himself, Keith Code. On-track, my coach was Dylan Code. Keith's teaching ability is legendary. He breaks things down into the smallest and simplest terms/concepts necessary for everyone to understand. The apple doesn't really fall far from the tree in teaching. Dylan was extremely observant and picked up on the slightest things that were causing me problems, while offering the correct solution for these problems. One of my problems has been running wide in turns. I've done my best to ride through this problem, and have become pretty proficient at it. However, I couldn't really understand why it was happening until Dylan picked up that I was cracking the gas on before and WHILE initially turning the bike. Watching it on video was incredibly dramatic. You could see EXACTLY where I got on the gas before being completely on my line and see how it extended the bike and pushed my turn line wide.

The drills we performed were excellent. I won't elaborate on each of them as I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but again, they related to body positioning and its effect on the motorcycle.

The first two drills turned out to be things which I had been doing for about the last year just because they 'made sense' to me. So coming in and reviewing the session, Dylan simply confirmed that I definitely knew how to do the drill. He did pick up on a couple errors that I was making in relation to quick-turning and throttle control (both level I principles), so we set a goal for the rest of the day to perfect turning the bike quicker while working the drills.

Having just returned from a weekend of racing at Gingerman, my body was already pretty shot. After the first track session (the sessions are pretty lengthy I must say), my legs were quite sore. I wondered how I'd make it through the day. The subsequent sessions, classroom and track would answer this question in detail.

I made it through the day without a hitch! How? Well, in Level III, you will learn different ways to hang on and move around on the bike! Leaving from the track, my quads were not as beat up as I figured they would be, but I was sore in muscles I didn't know I had! My groin muscles were on fire. The outsides of my calves are still crying. Muscles I'd never used before or considered using on the track are now in play, bringing together a far more stable "package" for riding.

So what else was there? Well, on top of the 5 techniques given in class and then practiced, the Lean & Slide bike, and NO BS bike were both up for grabs. I have ridden the NO BS bike before, so I passed on it, and my own personal preference kept me off the Lean & Slide bike (I lean & slide enough as it is, and do pretty well at not crashing along the way), but both were offered up for our use/experience. I didn't see the control-trainer, but I'm sure it was there as well. The control-trainer is a machine used to teach blipping and clutch-less shifting.

One thing which blew me away, that I'd welcome you to try to perfect... The classroom stuff was done on a ZX-6, on a rear stand. Keith showed all the body positions using this setup. Now, here's the piece for you... While only on the rear-stand, he will hang off one side of the bike in the proper positon and FLIP over to the other side of the bike in a few tenths of a second. It is LIGHTNING fast. And he does it WITHOUT UPSETTING THE BIKE!!! I hopped on and followed his instructions. I made 30 or so changes and every time, I was 4x slower than him and the bike almost tipped over (had to be held by Keith) - EVERY TIME!! So now I find myself spending hours in the garage with my bike on the rear-stand, trying to flip back/forth without upsetting the bike. I know how to do it, and know it can be done. Now it's a matter of being consistent. Try it! You'll see how near-impossible this is, but Keith will do it before your eyes and explain exactly how to do it yourself...

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