The Gamble pays off! (Advanced rider clinic)

[bigsheep_imp]

So I took a personal day from work for tomorrow a few weeks ago and signed up for the Lee Parks Arc level 1 hoping the weather would be ok. Watching the forecast show a high as low as 5 (40) and lots of rain, the day tomorrow shows a low of 7 (45) and a high of 12 (55). May in Canada can be all over the place, I'm quite happy with tomorrow's forecast! I was expecting to ride there (about 45 minutes away) in much cooler temperatures.

I took this risk because this was the only day this year that Lee himself would be running the course in Toronto. The course begins at 8 am and runs to 6pm.

 

[the Ferret]

A high of 40 and lots of rain and you are riding there?

My kinda guy

Have fun, ride safe

 

[Cormanus]

Yeah. Have a great day bigsheep. Look forward to hearing about it.

 

[bigsheep_imp]

The weather was fine, none of the rain the weatherman was talking about earlier in the week. We had a high of 14 and I was comfortable all day.

My cb1100 was the second most popular bike there. A guy had a custom sportster made to look like an old XR1200r with some custom parts from California.

It was a long day, was up at 5:30 to beat the rush, make it there for 7:30 since I avoided the major highways. Met Lee and reduced my tire pressure as instructed. The day was broken up into short class sessions followed by drills in the lot. It was supposed to go from 8-6pm but at 7:30 they were still talking and answering questions. I'm a very new rider, but some of the exercises confudled guys with 30 years of experience! The culminating drill was a figure 8 using all the steps we were taught. Riding home I was trying to gradually incorporate some of the techniques I learned . It was loads of fun and the other riders were all great people! I will get a DVD in a week or so with some photos of me at various point in the day. In one of the photos I have my engine guard pretty close to the ground, surprised there were no sparks.

 

[bigsheep_imp]

So I just got back from an hour and a half journey through the twisties. The biggest differences after the course are:

My perception of leaned over has changed. I'm leaning the bike much farther now without hesitation, even just right turns in regular traffic, I'm much more comfortable at angles.

My body, after the course I now get all my limbs involved in turning. I used to just use my hands, but now I use my hips, head, shoulders, legs, everything.

Enjoyment, my bump in skill has also increased how much I enjoy being on my motorcycle and how I appreciate every corner.

I would highly recommend this course.

 

[the Ferret]

one of the best things about learning something new is putting it into practice. Good job.

 

[Cormanus]

Sounds like a great experience, bigsheep.

 

[bigsheep_imp]

A few stills from the Advanced rider clinic.
Another still

 

[Cormanus]

You won't be leaning too much further!

 

[curlyjoe]

Maybe the photo angles aren't quite right but it looks like those crash bars will hit pavement before the pegs. That's not good.

 

[bigsheep_imp]

The pegs are covered by my foot, but I'm quite certain that the feeler peg touches first. Because of my body shift I actually gain quite a bit extra clearance before the pegs will scrape.

 

[Carguy1959_imp]

Nice, I would like to find a class like that in my neck off the woods.

 

[bigsheep_imp]

Scheduled Courses | Total Control Training

Here is the national schedule, find the. closest one and go!

 

[Cormanus]

Once upon a time someone fitted some crash bars that scraped very early. Here it is Crash bars make me crash

 

[bigsheep_imp]

I scraped some pegs this weekend at "Surviving the Streets" it got it's own thread. I can check the underside of the bars when I get home, but I think the pegs touched first, and neither led to a crash, so I'm ok. I think SW Motech put the extra 5 minutes into design to make sure they don't hit before the pegs....