Flat Track School

Sunday, July 25, I attended a Flat Track School from flattrackmn.com to learn how to slide a bike around. It was supposed to be held in June, but due to massive rain it was rescheduled. With a ZARS day on Saturday, my legs were very sore. Fortunately, flat tracking uses some different muscles. I signed up for the class wanting to learn how to control a sliding motorcycle. I think this will come in handy for my dirt biking and on the street when traction is less than desirable.
 

The class was held at the Stockholm Motorsport Park in Cokato, MN which is about 60 miles west of Minneapolis along US-12. I thought better of trying to ride out there thinking of my last dirt bike class and how exhausted I was after it. I convinced my awesome wife to drive me out there and take some photos of the action. The track was just a small dirt oval, but was setup perfectly for learning to slide. Track resurfacing took place regularly which was really just dragging a big hunk of metal behind a van to flatten out the ruts. It worked well.
 

The price of the class included rental of a great little Yamaha 125. I really enjoyed that little bike and for the right price, would buy one. It was really easy to kick start, and oh so light. Since falling is part of learning, being easy to pickup and restart is very important!


We met in the tent and learned some of the basic techniques of flat tracking. There are a number of things that make it different than street riding. Holding the handlebars is different. High elbows and thumbs pointing in along the bars rather than wrapped around the grips. This makes it easier to control the throttle under bumpy conditions and with the high elbows makes it very hard to put weight or death grip the bars.
 

Keeping the bars light lets the bike find its own way on uncertain terrain. Death gripping the bars will cause a fall. Sitting on the bike the instructors kept repeating a phrase over and over “crack to crack.” The idea is the crack of your ass on the crack of the seat sitting on top of the bike rather than under it. This is also another huge difference with flat track vs pavement riding. On the pavement, you try to keep the bike as vertical as possible by leaning under the bike to shift weight. This is possible because of the traction on a sealed surface. It does not work in the dirt. On the dirt, you have to push the bike underneath you while keeping your weight centered above the bike – crack to crack.
  

Throughout the five hour class, I did get some good slides in. I also had some good falls.
  

Everyone fell, including all of the instructors. Fortunately, dirt is quite soft compared to concrete!
 

I did take quite a spill on one of my falls and managed to twist my knee as my foot augured into the dirt while the bike rotated around me and tossed me off like a rag doll. I got up and rode a few more times, but eventually stiffened up too much to continue. My wife captured the entire thing in HD video! I ended up limping around for a few days with a twisted knee and bruised back. (videos coming soon) I am near 100% now and should be good for our Big River trip next week! I will be taking this class again. It was a lot of fun.

Full Flickr set here (1000+ photos!)

Zalusky Advanced Riding School – July 2010

I attended the Zalusky Advanced Riding School (ZARS) for the third time this year on Saturday. I was in intermediate one group this time. The class was held at Dakota County Technical College’s (DCTC) driving range. This is the fourth time I have been at a riding school at this location in 2010, and the seventh time over all. Lucky for me there was an oil spill on part of the track, so we got to run the long course which I’ve never had the opportunity to do. It was a nice change from the standard configuration. This was also my most productive learning experience save for my first time there.

 

I had a great instructor today who really helped me understand what my legs were supposed to be doing while I was going around the corners. I knew they were supposed to be supporting me, but his example of 5% on the hands really clicked today. With his bike on a stand, he demonstrated exactly what to do with the feet, ankles, knees, and butt. I will need to practice the technique at home with my bike on the stand to really make it stick. Right now it is taking too much of my concentration.

 

I spent the rest of the sessions trying to unlearn some habits I acquired at previous schools, specifically using the bars to assist shifting my weight. When I transition from side to side (left turn followed by right turn), I like to hold on tight to the bars and it it upsets the suspension and the bike doing it that way. I practiced moving from side to side with only a feather’s touch on the grips. It really help a lot. The bike was more composed and didn’t bounce around as much as it used to.

We also learned how to drag the front break into corners to set the attitude of the bike for the turn to make it easier to turn in. I struggled with the transition from gas to break to gas because I always wanted to have a bit of coasting time in the middle. I found it useful to learn how to use the front break just slightly, only enough to make the caliper kiss the rotor made it possible to feel what the front end of the bike was doing. Even with my crappy stock suspension it was useful.

With all the new things to practice, I was exhausted before the last session. 140 minutes on track is a long time! We had seven sessions of twenty minutes. The track is about a mile long with 17 turns! My legs were shaking, and I am sure I’ll be quite sore tomorrow. It was a good day.

If you are in the area and haven’t attended a ZARS class, I highly recommend it. It’s a riding school, and not a track day. The instructors are the best in the area and they are very helpful. The full day sessions are 140 minutes on track. I believe my next session is after we get back from our Great River Ride in August where we will be riding the entire length of the Mississippi River.

 

Full Flickr album here

Safe Riding and Training

While I was talking to a non-riding friend today, the conversation shifted to motorcycles and scooters. We chatted for a bit about perception and motorcycling. I had been thinking about it after reading Dru's article. I was glad to hear they think I'm a safe rider, but even more happy when they said my choices and perspective has helped them warm to motorcycling and scootering when they were not fond of those vehicles or the people who operated them before me.

It got me thinking about riding next year, and I started looking for training schedules. I like to take at least a couple riding classes each year. In 2009, I took two advanced riding courses and a basic dirt bike class. I learned a lot from all three. In 2010, I hope to take at least an ERC, Total Control Clinic, and a couple track days.

I found two great perception tests on the MSF site while I was looking for schedules:

http://www.msf-usa.org/riderperception/ One for road signs and one for collision traps. I scored a 18/20 on both test the first time through on medium; I managed a 19/20 the second time through on fast. They change each time, so try them a few times. I found first a good reminder on uncommon and common road signs. The second was great for some of the common hazards and another reminder to look at the bigger picture when riding. MSF also has the Motorcycle Challenge which is also good. The animations help visualise what might happen, and I like the trivia while waiting for them to load.

I also found the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Center (MMSC) is giving away free reflective decals. I ordered a set and will put them on my helmet. The MMSC has a great list of courses available in Minnesota check it out here.

BTW: no training schedules for 2010 yet...

Riding Course

Today, I took the "first timer" class from Riding Course. The class was held at Dakota County Technical College (DCTC) on the driving range.



The course is described as a "Advanced Rider Defensive Skills Training and Advanced Rider Defensive Skills Development for street motorcycle riding" when in reality it is learning to how to be an amateur racer. The first time class is great for focusing on how to ride smoothly (throttle, braking, turning inputs), but the emphasize a racing line while never mentioning that a safe line on the street will be different.

The racing line is the shortest and fastest line through a corner while the safe line on the street is usually a delayed apex. Using a delayed apex on the street will maximize your sight line and keep you away from the middle of the road where oncoming traffic is likely to cross over. Being able to see down the road an extra second or two can help see the unexpected and give you a better idea how tight the turn is. On the track, you see the same corners over and over and you know what to expect. On the street, I've found it is best to expect the unexpected as it is filled with hazards (sand, potholes, and distracted drivers).

This group is great if you just want to see what your bike can do in a safe and controlled environment. They broke the riders into three groups and each group rode 20 minutes of each hour which is a lot of track time for your buck. I found it helpful to get some time in practicing techniques without having to worry about cars, dogs, sand, and kids with ice cream cones on the road.