LEVEL ONE
The first thing you will notice when you start riding is that everyone is an expert. The second thing you notice is that generally, they aren’t. Enter California Superbike School. These guys actually are experts.

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Keith Code is the Founding Father of the CSS (California Superbike School) and it’s on his teachings that the school is based. If you’ve not heard of his [Twist of the Wrist] books, they’re the first documentation of the key principles relating to riding motorcycles around racetracks. He wrote the book and created the program combining theory and practice to make the track a better place for us.

Once the gates are open we make our way to a garage, unpack all the gear and take care of all the formalities – forms to be signed, bike to go to the scrutineers, and me to be registered and assigned to a group – in this case Level 1. 

Firstly, we had to cover rules and regulations. We’re taught the flags and their meanings, safe passing distance and the like. There is an eclectic group of riders in class today. The good thing is that we’re all taken back to basics, what’s more basic than throttle control?

If you want to take this stuff seriously, take a pen and paper. There is lots of info, all of it valuable. Steve almost has us chanting, “What’s your job?”, ‘Stabilise the bike.’, “With what?”, ‘With the throttle.’, “What’s your job…” It’s a quick lesson on the track, fourth gear only and no brakes allowed. 

There is a stellar team of riding coaches who are teamed with us out on the track. Small groups are assigned to each coach. It’s their job for the day to shadow us on-track and give us practical instruction. You notice them waiting at certain points along the way and they’ll shoot out after you. In this first drill we’re taught hand signals that the instructors will use to show us when to roll on and off the throttle coming into and out of corners.

Choosing a turn-in point into a corner is one of those important things. It sets you up so you come out free to set up for the next turn and, on the street, stops you running into oncoming traffic. The idea is to pick your apex and straighten the turn.

This is by far my favourite lesson because, like it tells you in the drill sheet, in this one you’re spoon-fed. The turn-in points are marked for you on each corner with tape. You’re allowed the use of third and fourth gear this time, but still no brakes. But with the combination of knowing when exactly to throw my bike into the corner – and coaches leading to remind me when to roll the throttle on – my confidence soars. This is evident by my dramatically increased speed through the turns.

Along with a few others, I’m picked out after this classroom lesson to take our bikes up to an off-track area where we’re given individual counter-steering drills, consciously pushing down on the bars to throw the bike left or right. It doesn’t take long but it gives you a much better idea of how quickly you can have the bike move to where you want it to move.

Your bike will respond to you, your riding position, and how tightly you’re holding on to the bars. This lesson is all about learning how to relax. Light braking as well as third, fourth and fifth gears were allowed in this session.

It doesn’t take long before you realise the effect that a nervous death grip on the bars has on the suspension. Leaving your arms relaxed and loose but using your stomach muscles and legs to grip the bike and control your posture allows the suspension to do what it was designed to do. Let the bike do all the work.

The last lesson was basically an intro to Level 2 visual skills and drills. Full gears and brakes allowed this time.

“Step one – Locate your entry point as soon as possible. Step two – When you’re confident you’ll hit your entry point, look in and locate the apex.”

The idea of two-step turning is to pick your apex before you start to turn your bike in. This enables you to get a more consistent line, and when you’ve got a predictable line you can increase your speed – that’s why we’re really all here, isn’t it?

LEVEL 2
Having done the Level 1 course only a few months earlier and finding it a fantastic experience and an eye opener in many ways, I returned for the Level 2 Course.

I’m a mature rider, I turned 53 a few weeks back but I’m no stranger to riding, I’ve owned motorcycles since I was eight. In fact I’ve never been without a motorcycle in my possession since then. So I would consider myself an experienced rider, just through my years of riding alone.

But I have also spent many years in the NSW Police Force, 18 of those years as a Police HWP motorcyclist. Obviously I had extensive training within the NSW Police Driver/Rider Training unit to deal with high-speed pursuit work, traffic work and even VIP escorts.  I’ve also been racing motorcycles for most of my life, from motocross to classic road racing and more recently modern bikes and in particular BEARS racing.

So in many ways I’ve had my share of experience from many different perspectives of riding. I have learned and adapted to my chosen riding over the years but making the decision to attend the California Superbike School was a very definite positive step in my never ending learning curve of motorcycle riding.

It’s funny though, the name, California Superbike School in some ways can give a false impression of what it is all about. Yes, you will learn how to ride a superbike fast, and if you want, go racing from that tuition. But the courses also suit all riders, from sportbikes to cruisers and everything in between, you see, the School is all about teaching and then showing you in a very practical way the teachings of the creator and owner of the California Superbike School worldwide franchise, Keith Code. 

Keith, over many decades of observation, training, analysis, practical application and countless hours of thought has developed the business to the point where it is arguably the best training school in the world.

“The days are extremely well run from the moment you arrive at the track to the very last moment of the day.”

The day starts with you arriving and attending the registration area, here you fill out the necessary paperwork, have you name checked off, and are given some instructions on how the day will progress, you get assigned to a particular group which is in a certain area of the pits. Numbers that are given to you have to be attached to your bike, your bike also has to be scrutineered for safety prior to the start of the day.

The day is split into sections, including classroom work with Steve Brouggy as the facilitator. Steve has a very concise and deliberate way of teaching and discussing the different tasks and drills that you will do throughout the day. Each classroom session will then be followed by a practical session on track where the tasks or drills that were given to you are applied on track. There are a large number of the school’s coaches on hand to ride with you or around you on track, even at times ushering you to follow them for a lap or so, and vice versa. 

At the end of the practical session there is a sort of debrief with your allocated coach on how you went or on how the coach feels you may better do the drill and so on. The days are regulated with warning bells and announcements given as where each group needs to be at that time or within five minutes, it’s not an easy day but the time flies very quickly as you go from class to track for the day. There is a lunch break, which everyone enjoys.

Now, many of the drills you do are controlled very carefully, for example you will be required to use only one gear for the whole of the track, you may or may not be allowed to use brakes, you may be allowed to use up to fourth gear only on some drills.  All of these requirements have a purpose and a deliberate meaning for the student. 

If you attend the day with an attitude that you are there to learn and take something away from the day, you will have one of the best learning experiences for motorcycling that can be given to you. Level 2 really starts to open to you the whole world of rider behaviour and how to get the most from your riding with one of the best schools in the world.

The single most important thing I believe, is to come away from the day and from that day on put into practice what you have learnt and become a better rider for it. Points covered in Level 2 included Reference Points, Changing lines, Vanishing Points, Wide Screen Track View and Pick Up. This is what the California Superbike School is really all about.

LEVEL 3
As with all the School days whether you are there for your first level or your fourth level it is very regimented and controlled during the day. I liked this, especially after having done the two other levels it gave me a sense of confidence and knowing about how the day will transpire and what to expect during that day. Good stuff!

Level 3 is really where it all starts to come together, the drills and skills you have learnt and developed with the previous two levels now give you the base to develop and to put these and the new skills that you will learn through the drills into practise.

It all really starts for fall into place in level three. The coaching is very similar, you will spend time on track in a small group with coaches that will observe and check you on track, at the end of each session you will have a debrief and a critique of how you were doing. The coaches will give you practical, hand on tuition on a bike to show and highlight the drills and the body movements needed for some of the drills. The coaches are acutely aware that you are there for Level 3 training and they make every effort to talk to you and help you in any way that may improve how you can perform the drills, the coaches really do want to see you do well, no, better than that they want to see you do great!

Off track it’s back to the classroom – Steve Brouggy the owner of the franchise here in Australia is like a man possessed! But in the most absolute and positive way that could be imagined. It seems that his whole being is there for YOU! Steve has a charisma that is unique and very right for him and his teaching roles. The clarity, confidence and total certainty that he delivers the classroom training leave absolutely no one with any doubt as to what they have just been taught and no doubt in what they now need to do on track.

“The class room with Steve is not a chore, not a bore and not a waste of any second of your time, it is complete, exact and compelling, and it complements totally what the coaches are teaching you on the track.”

As with the other levels there is time to absorb what Steve has just coached you on in the classroom before you go on track again. I also found this time to make acquaintances with other riders in my level and learn a little about why they were there. Many were riders with years of road experience that needed to come up to speed so to speak with riding skills, many had done courses with other schools but were hear, as I was because of the need to learn more and learn in a different way to how others teach.

While others were looking at doing track days and wanted to get their skill and knowledge levels up before they did track days, others were long term track day junkies that recognised the need to improve their skill level, some were just new to motorcycling but wanted to learn as much as possible.

I suppose that this is what it is really about, as riders of whatever level of skill or experience, we need or want to know more, improve more, enjoy more, and understand more of what our life style is all about. Yes you can ignore all the experts out there and do it all on your own, but at what cost? Can you really learn and understand it all? Can you really afford to take twenty years of riding to develop the skills you need to stay safe on our roads today?

I don’t think so, That is why taking that step to enrol in motorcycle training is one of the most important steps you will ever take in your life and you can’t do much better than doing that training with the California Superbike School.

LEVEL 4
Over the past levels I’ve tried to give you all some insight into the California Superbike School and how it works and what you get out of it. We have had a look at the first three levels of the school, which you must do in order to progress and get the maximum out of these courses.

The first three levels bring you to a level of skill, control, confidence and self-awareness that can only be achieved by doing courses of this nature. They are designed and implemented in such a way as to make each compliment the previous and to make all the levels come together as one learning revelation by the end. Well that last paragraph is really a bit of a prelude to the final outcome. 

The level four course is conducted alongside the other courses over the same days as the other courses but this level is done in a far different and ultimately better way to what you have done and learnt in the previous levels. This is where it all comes together, this is where it all makes sense and this is where you really start to see the reasons for the drills. You discover the reasons for the levels and an understanding of the quality of coaching from the staff at the California Superbike School.

As I mentioned very early in these stories, I’ve been riding for over 40 years and have done a lot of riding, including racing both road and dirt, touring, bar hopping, cafe crawling. I’ve raced in snow, I’ve ridden a road bike through the Daintree and up the Cape and any other form of motorcycle riding that can be possibly done. All of this though has been done with a certain level of blissful ignorance as to what I was actually doing and why I was doing it. Sure I’ve developed some skills along the way, even won my share of trophies and titles – both state and national.

But I have to admit with humility that I learnt techniques, skills and heightened my awareness by participating in the California Superbike Schools. All of this culminates to level four, where it all happens – it’s the centre of the universe, it’s the Yoda of Star Wars, it’s the Wizard from OZ, it is the understanding of all things in the motorcycling world.

At this level in the School, you get a much more personal experience, the group size is small – about five or six. The coaches that are looking after you are some of the best in the business and at the highest levels within the California Superbike School system around the world. You have more time with the coach, you get closer scrutiny on the track and you get better personal evaluation of what you were doing. You get to have a full and thorough training day with coaches that care and want to see you improve and come away from the final level as the best rider you can.

Everything from the very first drill you do, to the culmination of all the days and drills learnt, are all finally understood in level four and you are shown, given, coached and critiqued in all that you have done and learnt.

All of this new found knowledge is what this is all about. Anything we can do as motorcyclists to improve our skills, better understand ourself and our motorcycle are qualities that we need and must have. 

Anyone can ride a bike fast but to have the skills to truly get the best from the bike and yourself is something that very few of us can achieve from just experience on the road. We can all learn, we can all improve and we can all learn that fast is not the only thing a motorcycle is for.

Schools also give us wisdom, we learn that there are limits to ourselves and to the motorcycle. These limits then act to control us better on the road, we now know that we can’t do 180km/h in the rain around a 40km/h corner. We have learnt that it is simply impossible. So we now can control our actions better, with more skill and more wisdom.

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There are four levels of advanced rider training offered at CSS all designed to teach you step by step how to improve the stability of your bike around a corner by refining riding technique. I enrolled for Level 1, which teaches the fundamentals, gets you comfortable with the track and corrects bad habits.

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My riding experience surmounts to a little over a year of inner-city Sydney commuting. So although I am quite proficient at dodging apparently blinker-less cars at speeds less than 80km/h, I had never graced the track. As the date for the event drew closer and closer, my trepidation grew and grew. 

My pride and joy is a 2013 Honda CBR250R Moriwaki Edition, a bike that until the morning of the CSS day, I felt had more than enough power. Arriving at Eastern Creek Raceway at 7am sharp, my nervousness was compounded as my little bike seemed to shrink in the company of the other motorcycles lining up to be inspected by the CSS staff. 

As I fretted about potentially being the only person to never have ridden on a track before, I struck up a conversation with some gentlemen waiting in line next to me. Both had been riding for over a decade, but had never set tyre to track either. Throughout the day I met a huge variety of people, mainly participating in Levels 1 and 2, and it became clear to me that CSS caters for every rider.

After my bike was inspected and deemed ‘track-worthy’, the charismatic Steve Brouggy, the co-founder and managing director of CSS, gave us an introductory safety briefing. Steve was quick to establish a sense of ease and excitement among the students, peppering his talk with jokes that bordered on inappropriate, but were nonetheless hilarious. After this initial talk, we were split into our respective classes and assigned coaches with no more than three students allocated to each coach. 

Our group was the first on the track – a daunting prospect for any first-timer. The first session was an orientation lap, where we could only use fourth gear and absolutely no brakes. I was mildly terrified at this announcement, thinking it would be a virtually impossible task based on my winding, convoluted map of the track. These first laps were also designed to get us comfortable with the entry speeds of each corner of the track.

Shaking with adrenalin after the initial slow but nerve-wracking session on the track, we were marched directly upstairs for our first lesson with Steve – throttle control, arguably the most important control for cornering. On the track, the coaches would locate each of us in turn and ride ahead, signalling with a specific hand movement when and how much to throttle-on in the corner. Out of all the drills, this was probably the one I had least trouble with. I found my normal pattern of acceleration was similar to what my coach was instructing, if a little early in the corner. The second drill however, had a profound effect on my mindset and consequently on my riding. 

In this drill we studied turn points, or simply the spot you aim for in a curve that will give you the straightest line through the corner and the most predictable exit line. The turn points for each corner were marked with a white cross and on the first lap, all of the turn points felt very late in the corner and about a quarter of them felt nearly impossible to hit. It was then I learned that I had been inadvertently increasing the curve of my line around a corner by turning too early. 

By the end of the 20-minute track session, I was getting accustomed to the new turn points with the most significant improvement being a tight finishing line, rather than the usual line, consistently wide and less-predictable. 

Up until that point, I am ashamed to admit that I had never been aware of counter-steering. This drill was a revelation, and from talking to the other participates, I believe it was enlightening for everyone. The drill involved weaving at a constant speed down a straight line by consciously counter-steering. Two coaches watched from the start line and corrected positioning and technique. We all had to repeat the laps of the straight at least five times before the coaches were satisfied. Although the drill was tricky to get the hang of, once I had the hang of it, achieving the turn points on the track became easy as I learnt to quick steer later in the turn to avoid correcting in the middle of the corner.

The next drill also had a profound effect on all the riders present. The drill was called ‘rider input’ and focused on allowing the motorcycle to have its head in a corner, not trying to fight against bike. All of us found that since we were concentrating hard to put all our learning into practice, as well as the fact that we were repeatedly putting our bodies into a stressful, adrenalin-ridden state, we tended to grip the handlebars for dear life, tensing our upper bodies. 

As we discovered, this makes the vehicle unstable in a corner. A bike oscillates within a natural degree of lateral movement, particularly when headed around a corner. By allowing the motorcycle to move within its own framework by relaxing the grip on the bars and dropping the elbows into a relaxed state, the motorbike becomes perceivably more stable. Coming out of the infamous turn two hairpin, I audibly gasped in amazement at the difference in stability exiting the curve compared to the previous session. However old habits die hard and I still had to fight my body at each corner as it attempted to tense up at the prospect of leaning closer to the asphalt.

Early in the day I had felt the unexpected thrill of terror and then triumph as my boot scraped the ground around my favourite hairpin on the track (turn 9). The concentration I held on the track gave me a symbiosis with the bike and I didn’t even realise how far I was leaning until this sudden jolt. 

Naturally, I freaked out and immediately backed off the throttle, ending up with a wide exit line. After this and as the day wore on, I felt as if I was actually decreasing my speed into the corners and each one began to feel laboured. I thought this may be a result of muscle fatigue after four separate adrenalin shots around the track. On the fifth and final drill, the reason for my discomfort became apparent. Since the second drill teaching us about turn points, I had had my attention focused too much on meeting the white crosses on the track. This meant as I approached the cross, I reduced entry speed too much and was tense moving into the corner. Drill five was called ‘two-step turning’ and focussed on teaching us to locate the turn point on the road, then once it is clear that you will hit that mark, change your eye line to focus on the apex of your corner.

“Once I understood this, all the other drills and skills I learnt throughout the day fell together, the corners felt much more natural and it became an immensely thrilling last hurrah around the track. I was cornering faster and with much more stability and I now had the confidence I was lacking previously.”

The first few laps on the track are frightening because the experience was completely foreign to me. I had never had somebody tape up my rear vision mirrors and speedometer and tell me ride – presumably at high speed – with no cars and your control of the motorcycle being the only potential hazard. Besides forcing myself to stop trying to check my mirrors, as the day wore on and with the help of Steve and the coaches I became immensely comfortable in this environment. There is something entirely euphoric about the experience. You become removed from your body as you execute a series of actions to bring you successfully around a corner at ludicrous speeds. 

In your mind you know you are putting yourself in danger, but the risk is confined entirely to the accuracy of your actions. As a result, leaving at the end of the day to putt once more through Sydney traffic felt as foreign and dangerous to me as the initial laps around the track did at 8am that morning. As I grew accustomed once again to city riding, I found I had a new confidence in my abilities to handle my motorcycle. 

I found myself consciously applying each drill we learnt into my riding and felt my old habits – the ones I hadn’t realised were there – gradually dissipate. The school exceeded my expectations 10-fold and I was utterly spent after the long day – both mentally and physically – having crammed so much information into a single day. The skills learned are so important to any rider, I fervently believe everyone with a newly acquired full riders licence should participate in a day at California Superbike School and set their standard of riding early for an inherently safer and undoubtedly more enjoyable ride.

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I had no gear and at the time I had very little money to sort out what I needed for the day. My Father managed to organise a one-piece race suit that I could use for the day. I called a good friend of mine to see if I could borrow his race boots. Luckily they were a perfect fit.  I managed to pick up a pair of AXO motorcycle gloves for $80 the week before the day as well. I had gotten pretty luck in preparation for this day so far.

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The night before the track day, I could barely sleep. I had prepared everything the night before. Leathers out, boots together, a once over of the bike and a full tank of fuel. I rode to the track as I didn’t have a trailer to take the bike. I filled up the tank again at the Shell right by the track. Just to be sure I wouldn’t run out.

Arriving at the track safe and sound I parked my bike in our garage in the pit and upstairs for an orientation where (Paul) talked us through the track day. They went through all the different flags and what we should do in case of an emergency. It was good as I had no idea about any of the procedures for the track.

While I was upstairs scrutineering was underway where they check over the bikes. They taped over the speedo and mirrors. My Father also checked the tyre pressures and pre pumped them up to 32psi at the front and 30psi at the rear as per the recommendation of Paul Bailey at orientation. Now my bike was 100 per cent ready to go out on the track.

I started my bike and let it warm up at the five-minute warning before my group went out. It was now my time. The first session out on the track we were instructed to follow one of the mentors from the California Superbike School. Just to get a feel for the track and the lines to take. Just following along behind, getting used to the surroundings and letting the tyres warm up properly. After the two laps we were on our own. What a feeling! Every corner felt amazing. Being able to accelerate full throttle, come in to the corners as fast as possible and go as fast as my bike could go down the main straight.

I came back into the pits after my first session. I had a smile from ear to ear. Before the second session I had been talking with Mark Weaver as he was there for the day with us. He was giving me tips on how to get the most out of my track day from riding position to the line I was taking. He decided he would just come out on the track with me and show me the best way to go about it. 

Back out onto the track again, this time my Father was out on the KTM 390. It’s a bit bigger capacity then my Kawasaki ZX-R 250 but I knew we would be blasting around the track at about the same speeds and I was a lot more confident. I was following Mark’s lines. He was getting his knee down on every corner. I was trying to do the same but just not getting there. We came back in after what felt like two minutes. Time really does fly when you’re having fun and Mark told me I was so close to getting my knee down. 

Ready and confident for the next session, I head out from the pits with a clear mind. I let the tyres warm up for the first two laps. Then I started pushing harder on the third lap. I go into turn two prepared for the double apex. I was half off the seat, arms relaxed, looking through the corner, knee out and it touches! What a feeling. My confidence went through the roof. I roll on the throttle all the way. The bike revs out to 20,000rpm in second, I come out the corner change into third, roll on the throttle to full and knee down again on turn three. I am smiling so hard by this point. Loving every second of being out on the track. 

Each corner became easier and easier. I felt I was riding a lot smoother. Not like the first sessions where I was coming in too hot to the corners and having to over brake and lose all of my momentum.

On this session my father was in front of me. It was a great feeling to be on the track the day before his birthday with him. The best part was through the last few corners before the straight. Our little bikes were overtaking the bigger bikes. That was probably one of the best feelings of the day. 

Overall though its all about having as much fun as you can and going home in one piece – you and your bike. I would recommend every one to get out there and have a go at the track. It’s the best experience you can have on a motorcycle. 

A big thanks to Jeff for letting me come along for the day and my father for helping me set everything up for the day. Can’t wait for the next one!

Track Day Recommendations 

• Appropriate gear under leathers, such as an under suit.
• Watered down energy drinks, plus food.
• Tyre pressure gauge with release valve.
• Check all your bike’s fluid levels and for leaks.
• Check chain tension, fill up with fuel before arriving.
• Check tyre, brake pad and brake rotor wear.
• Tools for general adjustments or to remove mirrors.

Richard’s Thoughts
It’s really weird at first riding with your son on his first track day. First thoughts are to say, ‘Do this, don’t do that,’ but then how can you say that when you are going to do the exact opposite and will be seen doing it! 

Being William’s first time, he went into the white group as did I. When the first white group session started, all the first timers went out with a California Superbike coach to do a couple of slow – no overtaking allowed – sighting laps. Then the rest of the group are allowed to join, so I waited for William to appear down the main straight so I could hook in with him and show him the lines I take, then follow him for a while to observe.

Any fatherly concerns are gone as he picks his lines really well and I can see that he is a natural and if he was on a bigger bike, probably quicker than his old man. His Kawasaki ZXR250C ‘screamer’ handles like a dream in his hands. Unfortunately my Ducati had an issue, which was my preparation fault, so I parked it for the day, as we had a KTM 390 to test, which I took out in later sessions. What a hoot to ride, specially in corners, but not a match for the Kawasaki.

Fortunately Mark Weaver was with us on his GSX-R1000 and spent a lot of track time showing William lines, how go through the apexes, entry, speed and body positioning/weight distribution techniques, plus coaching back in the pit.  After a couple of sessions and Mark’s coaching, William had his knee down, scraping the knee sliders on the one-piece suit loaned by Jeff. It made me feel pretty good and more at ease that he obviously knows how to control his bike on the track and road. 

Track Day Requirements:

• Provisional motorcycle license or Motorcycling Australia licence.
• Full leathers (one piece or zip together).
• Leather boots that overlap pants (with replaceable sliders recommended).
• Gloves – gauntlets, not wrist length.
• Helmet – minimum of Australian AS1698 standards.
• Motorcycle in good mechanic order.
• Metal tyre valve caps – no caps no go.
• Cameras are allowed but with very specific requirements.

William heads to SMSP for his first track day, with his Dad along for a truly memorable experience… Words: William Collins, Richard Collins  Photography: Tim Munro

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