I signed up for 'advanced street skills' class that was held at a race track south of Seattle called Pacific Raceway. This is a 2.5 mile race track for both motorcycles and sports cars. I think I was the oldest guy there being a few months shy of 65, although many were in there late fifties. I'm guessing the average age was forty. There were about fifty bikes there and we were in three different groups--level 1, level 2, level 3. Everyone starts at level 1 and the skills advance at each stage. When we were on the track, there was one instructor/teacher for roughly every six riders. You ride what you drove so there was a range from very fast ducatis and benellis to BMWs to a few cruiser types. This was a day long training--three hours in the morning and a lunch hour and a three hour afternoon. They teach the SMART system--Scan, Mark, Adjust (speed and body), Relax, and Throttle out of the apex of the corner.
I was 'coached' several times by the instructors to lean much harder with my head pretty much leading the way. Part of my fear really was seeing and trusting how far this bike can lean, and learning to trust the traction of the tires. I was amazed at how far the NT can lean. In tight S curves, I was scuffing the sides of both boots while firmly gripping the tank with my legs. Also, I've never run the NT past 7000 rpm ever and this became fairly common. Clearly the Ducati 1098s and the Benellis would fire past me on the straights but I was surprised at how competent the NT is. I've signed up for Level 2 class in early September.
At the end of the day I was (am) whipped, but I have a big grin on my face.
Terry
I was 'coached' several times by the instructors to lean much harder with my head pretty much leading the way. Part of my fear really was seeing and trusting how far this bike can lean, and learning to trust the traction of the tires. I was amazed at how far the NT can lean. In tight S curves, I was scuffing the sides of both boots while firmly gripping the tank with my legs. Also, I've never run the NT past 7000 rpm ever and this became fairly common. Clearly the Ducati 1098s and the Benellis would fire past me on the straights but I was surprised at how competent the NT is. I've signed up for Level 2 class in early September.
At the end of the day I was (am) whipped, but I have a big grin on my face.
Terry