First Women-Only California Superbike School

by Rebecca Sattin

Mota, a store in northern California that specializes in motorbike gear for women, sponsored the first women-only Keith Code California Superbike School at Willow Springs Raceway on September 10th. After much deliberation and coaxing from friends, I decided to sign up and was lucky enough to get one of the last available spots riding one of the schoolÍs Kawasaki ZX-6Rs.

Since many of the participants were booked into the same hotel, we gathered together the night before to talk about our bikes and riding experiences. There were women from all over California as well as Nevada and even as far east as North Carolina. Regardless of riding experience, everyone seemed excited and nervous.

During the 7am sign-in we were provided with coffee, fruit, muffins, and other assorted items after which we were divided randomly into three groups. I have little sportbike experience and no track experience yet I was placed with women who had club racing experience and some who had hardly any street-riding experience at all. Next, those participants riding their own bikes had mirrors removed, lights taped and numbers pasted on.
Mota co-owners Melissa Shimmin and Jocelyn Kane (in her hot pink leathers!) were there. Melissa is involved in club racing in northern California while Jocelyn has never been on a track before. Both were participating in the class and Jocelyn seemed just as nervous as I was.

Being the first women-only California Superbike School, members of the press were there but I was unprepared for the large number of them and somewhat flabbergasted by their unlimited access to the track. While itÍs great that this event got so much attention, some restrictions should have been put on the press to prevent them from interfering with the class.

The day was structured so that each group had five briefings followed by five 20- to 30-minute track sessions. Each student was assigned an Riding Coach with each Riding Coach being responsible for four to five students. Input was given verbally before and after each track session and via hand signals during the session. The five briefings and track sessions were throttle control, turn points, quick turning, rider input, and two-step turning.

In the throttle control exercise, we were to ride around the track in one gear (preferably fourth) using only the throttle to adjust our speed. With no time given to get acquainted with my school-provided Ninja or the track, I spent the first exercise getting acquainted with both.

In preparation for the second session, turn points had been marked on the track with big yellow XÍs. The first time around the track the yellow XÍs werenÍt always where I thought they would be„usually they were a lot closer to the edge of the track than I expected. Once I found them all, I began to relax and have fun. It made me wish that someone could ride ahead of me all the time and mark the roads with big yellow XÍs!

During the third session, we were to add quick turning to our repertoire. Quick turning meant performing a hard countersteer at each of the turn points. Although I know I use countersteering every time I get on my bike, I have no doubt that forcing us to concentrate on this aspect of turning has changed the way I ride.

The fourth session was my favorite. Although it was referred to in the handout as the rider input session, it was really about the rider not adding input. In the briefing for this session, Mr. Code told us that riding well meant being lazy. Once we made our quick turn, we were to do nothing but relax. Many riders stay tense throughout turns and just by virtue of allowing the muscles to remain flexed, the path of the bike is impacted. By relaxing and letting the bike go based on the quick turn input, the bike goes where the rider intends it to go.

In the fifth and final session we learned to look into the turn before we performed our countersteering. Putting together all of the skills I had learned throughout the day, I realized how much I had improved.

There were two other exercises made available to us over the course of the day„steering and braking drills. During the steering drill, we rode to the end of the skid pad and back weaving the whole way. This was followed by a critique of our technique and suggestions on leaning, body position and other ways of smoothing out turns.

During the braking drill a special bike equipped with ñoutriggersî that prevent the bike from falling over even if the front brakes are locked was used. The idea was to get a feel for a locked front brake and learn how to control it.

While both the steering and braking drills were to be done at some point during the day, there was usually a line of people waiting for the braking exercise, and I never did get to try it. This exercise should have been organized so that everyone could get a chance to do it.

Other than our track time and the briefings, the rest of our time was relatively unstructured. In talking to other women, I learned there was quite a bit of variation in the amount of Riding Coach attention between students. I felt I received a lot of input on the track by way of hand signals, but not much verbal instruction off-track. Others felt just the opposite.

Overall, the class made me aware of some of my bad habits and taught me to trust myself and my bike more.

This article originally appeared in Frcition Zone. It is reprinted with their permission.