On March 31st, 2001 I attended Keith Code's California Superbike School. It was held at Willow Springs Raceway on the Streets of Willow Springs track.

I decided to save some money and take my FZ-1 and my own leathers. Now that I have done it once, I think I may rent one of their bikes and leathers next time. My leathers don't have any sliders, and I could have used some. I would also be willing to push myself closer to MY limits with their bike.

The Class is scheduled from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. I arrived early and got some help from Bob Sr. & Jr. (don't know their last names) unloading my FZ-1 off the trailer. I registered and put my assigned number (#1) on my FZ. I then had time to walk around a take a few pictures from the garage area before the first session started.

Track	Keith & Kawis	Rental Ninja 600s
Lvl-4 Riders Bikes	FZ with Sportbikes	Ready to Ride

Since this was my first time to this school I was in the Level 1 Class. There were a wide variety of people in the Level 1 Class. Some were amatuer or club racers and others had put less than 50 miles on the street. The class is broken up into 5 sessions. Each session has some classroom training on a particular skill and was followed by some track time to practice this skill.

Keith Code is a legendary instructor for a reason. This guy simply knows how to communicate to riders and understands the "Art of Cornering". The entire operation seemed very professional and well structured yet casual. Most everyone on the staff remembered me by my first name, including Keith. I was surprised with how much Keith interacted and actually coached every single student. I was honored when he told me how to "properly" lean with the bike, personally watched me correct my mistake and then told me I did a great job.

The Level 1 Class includes some time on 1 of their specially designed "Skill Bikes". They have 5 bikes total, a "Lean" Bike, "Slide" Bike, the Body Alignment aka "BAD" Bike, the Panic Brake Bike and the Body Steering aka "BS" Bike. Level 1's only get to use the BS bike. It essentially has 2 sets of clip-ons. The second set are welded to the frame, have a throlle, no brake and DO NOT TURN. You start off with the "real" clip-ons, get some speed up, so that countersteering can happen and then switch. You're asked to try to turn the bike, just a little. You quickly find out that you can't turn the bike with your body, at least not well. So much for those "body steering" theories, you hear about.

Skill Bikes

After finishing with my time on the skill bikes I had the first session, Throttle Control. Trying to go around a track for your first time and being told to stay in one gear (3rd on the FZ-1, 4th on the Ninja 600s) and not use the brakes is a little nerve wracking at first but teachs you how to control your throttle much better. The second session is on turning points. Yellow X's are put on the track at "good" places to start your turn. This taught me a lot about how deeply I could run into turns and how to "straighten" a turn. The third session is on Quick Turning. I finally understand what the term "stuff it in there" means. It took a little getting used to but once I got the hang of it, there was a huge increase in my cornering confidence (and plenty of peg feeler grinding to prove it). The fourth session was on rider input. Basically, teaching you how to relax and be a good passenger on the bike. Ever wonder why your wrist and/or shoulders are sore ? ? try to relax when you're turning. The fifth and finally session is actually a prelude to the visual skills focus in Level II, 2-Step. Essentially, just before you make the turn look 2 steps ahead, to where you are going and want to be in the turn.

I will not get further into the details of the course because I don't want to discourage anyone from ACTUALLY taking the course. The books Keith has written "A Twist of the Wrist" and "A Twist of the Wrist II" explain the concepts and ideas that Keith conveys in the classroom. The sessions right before the track time, and focusing on one things at a time on a track, is really what helps significantly improve your skills. Check out how much my average lap times increased with the sessions. Keep in mind, in session 3 I was learning the quick turn skill.

At the end of the day I got my picture taken with Keith and also took one of Bobby (Bob Jr.) with him as well. Both of the pictures came out bad. A cheesy Digital Camera and a very bad lighting angle pretty much washes out our faces, but you can tell it's Keith.

Bobby & Keith

Keith & I

I have been riding now for 5 months and have put about 12K miles on the street. I've always beleived that I had a lot to learn but I KNEW how to ride a motorcycle. I was SOOO wrong, I knew how to OPERATE a motorcycle, not how to ride it. I'm now just really learning how to ride it . . . . Thanks Keith, I'll see you in November.