California Superbike School – Level One – 17 April 2017
Finally it was here, CSS minus one. That is, the day before the California
Superbike School, Level One course at Phillip Island that I had been eagerly
anticipating since enrolling a month earlier.
The day also coincided with Easter Sunday. So as the small minority of local Christians
gathered to hear the proclamation “That Christ has risen” and respond
enthusiastically, “He is risen indeed”,
I was checking that the bike was secure in the trailer and the various items
of personal equipment were in the car. I
decided to drive down so I could be as fresh as possible on the big day.
My riding pal had ridden down earlier in the week, using the
opportunity to visit family in the region.
His advice was to go to Phillip
Island via Cann River. So the first
stage was the well-trodden path to
Cooma. My first surprise was the
closure of the Williamstown petrol station and the erection of an ugly array of
black panels by the puritans of a new faith.
Matching their equally ugly windmills over Lake George dedicated to
destroying what birdlife is in the area.
Perhaps these black shapes are an attack on the local flora.
Bombala is the outer boundary of the Canberra motorcycling
region and soon I was entering Kim Jong Dan’s (Andrews) eastern Gippsland. A lovely part of the world and some very
nice motorcycling roads. The Easter
festival must have denoted the rising of the caravan people as the road was
packed with these devices, or is east Gippsland where they go to die?
The trek east on the Princess Highway was via Orbost,
Bruthen, Bairnsdale, Sale and Traralgon, taking me close to the Yallourn
region. I wondered if Kim Jong-Dan would
be as brave as Kim Jong-Jay (Weatherall) and blow up the power station, often
putting Pyong-Adelaide in the same darkness as its sister city Pyongyang? Time will tell but I would plan on day
activities down south in the future. My
trek to Phillip island continued via Mirboo North, Leongatha, Wonthaggi and
finally Phillip Island. All up an eight
and a half hour journey.
The big day dawned and it was an early start to
proceedings. Students are instructed to be
ready to enter gate 7 of the hallowed grounds of Phillip Island Grand Prix
Circuit at 7 am. After completing the
requisite forms the gates were dutifully opened at 7 am and we all filed onto
the track grounds and onto the pit garages via the tunnel beneath the
track. For first timers like myself,
emerging from the tunnel into the bright sunshine of Support Paddock Garages
was like a religious experience. The
track and grounds looked, and were, in immaculate condition. We were directed to park behind the Pit
Garage/Media Centre and prepare our bikes for Scrutineering.
An interesting feature of scrutineering was the taping of
the mirrors and the speedo, and the tyre pressure being set to 30psi front and
back. The speedo is taped to force you
to use your sense of speed and the mirrors to keep you focussed on the
track. Soon I was wheeling the bike onto
the area designated for the “Green” (level One) group and affixing my bike
numbers. Back to the car and put on
the good gear and join my leather clad comrades.
The Safety and Admin briefings followed, then the course
participants for levels one to four identified and the teaching part of
proceedings started. For level one it
was a lesson on Throttle Control. But
this was no dry academic dirge but an informative, entertaining and engaging
discussion on all things related to throttle control by our enthusiastic
instructor of more than 20 years’ experience.
In this first lesson I learned something that really impressed me and
something I don’t think I would have intuitively figured out.
Our first session on the track was a two lap “sighter” where
we followed a car. Riding down the
access road parallel to Gardner Straight for the first time was a memorable
experience. Spread out before us was
Bass Straight and the view along the coastline with the surf rolling up the
cliffs was special. Back at the pits
we were advised that Green Group would have a 20 minute break while the Yellow
Group had their first session executing the throttle exercise.
During the practical exercises an instructor per three
students is allotted, guaranteeing each student personal instruction. Each exercise during the day has certain riding
criteria. In the first lesson, Throttle
Control, students are instructed to maintain
fourth gear once up to speed and not to use the brakes, unless safety
necessitates. A hand signal discussed
during the theory lesson is used by the instructor to indicate how a particular
technique is applied. Once demonstrated
at a few turns the instructor then invites you to lead and they follow to see
how you perform. If you do okay they
will overtake and give the thumbs up.
Prior to the exercise the instructor notes your pace and executes the
demonstrations at that pace, thus catering to all student levels.
This pattern is repeated with exercises on Turn Points,
Quick Steer, Rider Input and Two-Step Turning.
So five on track sessions of 20 minutes each, five classroom sessions
and five rest sessions. At the end of
each 20 minute track session the instructor provides feedback in the pits.
My riding partner had previously attended Stay Upright courses
and felt although CSS was more expensive it provided a much better learning environment
and overall value for money. CSS offers four course and more information
can be obtained on their website - https://www.superbikeschool.com.au/
I thoroughly enjoyed my day out with CSS and would recommend
the course to any road riding motorcycle enthusiast.
