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California Superbike School or Fasttrack Riders School?

3K views 16 replies 5 participants last post by  pascal 
#1 ·
I need opinions on which school I should take.

California SuperBike School is Keith Code's school. It's a one day class up at Willow Springs, CA. Cost is $345 with your own bike or $595 if you use theirs (Kawasaki Ninja 636cc). I haven't heard too much about this course, but the fact that I don't have to trek my own bike to Willow Springs makes it a good advantage. Plus the course is being held around June 12 or 13.

Fastrack Riders is closer to where I live. It's held at the California Speedway AMA Track. It costs $235, but you have to bring your own bike. I've heard really good things about this school. It'd be my first choice, but you have to take your bike on a trailer, which I don't have. Plus, you gotta prep the bike with safety wiring, taping the lights, and replacing the coolant with distilled water. I've seen my friend do his, and it's a major pain in the ass. Plus it's being held later in June (26 or 27).

So, anybody been to either course? Which one would you go to?
 
#3 ·
School

I was looking at the Keith Code's school website, and was thinking, I would rather pay the extra $250 instead of buying new plastics (just in case I go down), prepping my bike, and trailering my bike from Vegas.

I just called Fast Track, and they said it's $100 bucks + where ever you take the class/track day. For example, since I live in Vegas it would've been $279, and they have one tomorrow. Too bad I didn't know about it earlier. I'll try for October. If anyone in Vegas is interested for the group rates in October, let me know!!! Oh yeah, the woman I spoke to at Fast Track told me that the only prep work I need to do, is tape the headlights and some other stuff, but I don't need to replace my coolant with an alternative (water wetter???).
 
#4 ·
i went to the CA superbike school levels 1 & 2, and i can't even begin to tell you how much i learned during those two days. i was just talking to my friend about when we are going back. i was going to fly out to VIR, or he was going to fly out here. either way, we are going again.

Don't know much about the fastrack riders school.

but the CA school was worth EVERY penny....
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the replies.

My friend who took fastrack is really pushing hard about it. Says they have a lot of track support and will help you out a lot, so I think I'm leaning toward them.

I'm planning on going to the AMA California Speedway one. They say it's a really nice facility. I know it's more expensive than the other locations that they hold the course at, but it's not too much.

Anybody in California up for it? Let me know...
 
#8 ·
I signed up for the Keith Code California Superbike school today. It's taking place at Streets of Willow (Willow Springs) next week. Yeah, that's right, next week. I'll be riding a Kawasaki Ninja, though. Didn't want to go through the hassle of prepping my own bike and hauling it up there. I'll let you all know how it goes, but judging by TwotheOne and Pascal's response, I'm sure you already know it'll be good.
 
#9 ·
Some people love Keith's school... and a lot of people hate it.

A friend of mine did the school, ended up wrecking the bike and Keith was kind of a prick about it. Charged him some rediculous amount to repair some pretty minor damage. They let him continue in the class, but not until he paid them for the bike.

FYI... if you wreck your bike at a track SCHOOL, most insurance companies will still cover it.

A group of my friends just did Jason Pridmore's school and they are raving about it. And the results speak volumes... they both improved their lap times by a couple seconds. Which is amazing, AFAIC. Unfortunately I had JUST gotten back from Mexico when the school was held, and really couldn't miss any more work. (it was on a Mon & Tue)

Although the consensus I have heard is that Freddie Spencer's class is the best. But it is some serious $$$.
 
#10 ·
RockyR6 said:
Although the consensus I have heard is that Freddie Spencer's class is the best. But it is some serious $$$.
i am going to try to go in Sept....

i might be corner working at the keith code school next week...see if i can sweet talk my way in.
 
#11 ·
RockyR6, that's the first I heard of people hating it? What did they hate about it? I kinda want to know so there won't be any surprises.

Yeah, I don't think I'll be going too crazy since it isn't my bike, and I've never ridden a Kawasaki. I guess I'll have to get used to the slipper clutch and all that other bullshit. Damn, I hope the guy isn't a prick about things.
 
#12 ·
Keith was very professional and polite about everything. Even says hi when i see him at the track outside of the school.

One thing i will say is to go in to the class with an open mind. Even if you think you know something, try it out their way.

you'll get out of it what you put into it. Bring a notebook and take notes.
 
#13 ·
oh yeah, i'm going into the class with a completely open mind. I'm not johnny know-it-all squid. my ass is going to try to take in as much as i can. my biggest fear is fucking up the bike they're giving me, so I'll probably take it really easy.

thanks for the tip on the notebook. never would have thought of that.
 
#14 ·
Well, I have heard some people complain about the amount of actual "instruction" on the track. One fellow said he had to actually chase down his "instructor" to get some feedback, and the information he got was worthless.

Another said that Keith really didn't do ANYTHING other than give a canned little talk, and then just turned it over to his instructors.

Then the story I told you about my bud who took the class and crashed... ended up paying WAY too much for the amount of damage he did.

Now I am just passing on what I heard... with the exception of that last comment. If he were to come back to Colorado, I would take his school... as I am not one to pass judgement without personal knowledge. But just based on what I have heard... if I had to choose between Pridmore and Code, I would probably go with Pridmore.
 
#15 ·
BTW... I don't ride on the street anymore, so my goals in a class may be different than yours.

Sport-touring riding like I have been doing for the past 10 years is WORLD's different than racing. I have no problem keeping the rubber side down, but I want to get faster.

It is kinda weird... all the really slow novices are ~ 5 sec a lap slower than me, and the fast group is ~ 5 sec a lap faster than me. There are only a couple guys running about the same pace as me... and one-by-one they seem to be having breakthroughs and leaving me behind. So I really don't have anyone to dice it up with.
 
#16 ·
RockyR6 said:
BTW... I don't ride on the street anymore, so my goals in a class may be different than yours.

i don't ride the street any more either, and i can say that what they teach you can be used on the track or the street. mostly track oriented techniques that you could apply to the street, nothing vice versa. after all, it is the SUPERBIKE school.

but it made me an overall better rider. i plateued in my lap times for a few months...took the school, and have shaved 3 seconds off since, and showing no signs of plateuing again. I went from a best finish of 9th, to two top 5 finishes and an eventual win (granted it was all in the novice class)...either way, i am showing improvement. My friend took 8 seconds off his lap time in one month after the school.

Obviously some instructors are going to be better than others, but everyone that i had was top notch. i learned A LOT. You have to have some idea of what you are doing wrong in order to fix it. You can't just tell the instructors that you are having trouble cornering and expect to get any help.

i don't know, i can't speak highly enough about this school...i will be going back.
 
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