MotorBikes: Cornering school A Californian cornering school seems something of an oxymoron. The 'Golden State' is not exactly renowned for its hairpin bends and bikers there, like its Harley-riding Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, consider a sharp bend is having to do a U-turn between LA and San Francisco when you hit the Pacific Ocean.
Yet here we are, on a summer's day in Brands Hatch listening to the so-called California Superbike School attempt to teach us how to get round a bend in one piece. The cheek of these Yanks.
But Keith Code, who founded the school is more than just your average burger-eating Harley rider.
A former road racer, he has also trained and managed the likes of Wayne Rainey, a former world champion. Now he has distilled all those professional principles into a course for the leatherclad masses on bikes.
Learning about the methodology is simple. Mastering these skills, as we found out, is another ball game altogether.
The school now has a full-time base in Britain with Andy Ibbott, an MCN columnist, heading the team.
It's not surprising there's a growing popularity for this sort of advanced training this side of the Atlantic, given the dramatic rise in "born-again biker" and the availability of affordable ultra-fast race replica machines.
These middle-aged bikers are learning that a little cornering savvy could go a long way to making the Sunday ride safer and more enjoyable, and ensuring you get to work on Monday in one piece.
All the training is done on track, something that will seem alien to most, but it's probably the safest place for a motorcyclist to learn new skills, as there's no oncoming traffic, no pedestrians, good run-offs and a safety team present at all times.
What's more, you won't have to mix it with a gaggle of spotty wannabe racers, for the school does not accept aggressive and unsafe riding and there are instructors on track at all times.
Whether you're a novice or a long-in-the-tooth biker with bow legs, all must start at level one and work their way up to level four.
While we fit into neither category, we have to admit to initial nerves as we rode on to the Brands Hatch Circuit. Yet we were quickly put at ease.
The day is divided into five classes and five track sessions of about 20 minutes duration. You're assigned an instructor, and although he's responsible for two or three students there's plenty of time spent assessing your riding and correcting your mistakes. A quick safety briefing, then its off from the pit lane.
The five drills you must complete in level one are: throttle control, turn points, quick turning, rider input and two-step turning.
The throttle control drill sounds easy but when we were told not to use any brakes and to select only one gear for the session a nervous laugh could be heard in the room. This fear was then amplified by the fact that MotherNature decided to literally rain on our parade. Moving tentatively onto the track we snaked our way around the wet circuit, but fear was soon overtaken by excitement as we familiarised ourselves with the track.
Where to start your turn was the object of the second drill and it was no surprise that where they expect you to turn and where we actually turned were two different things. A cone marks out their suggested points and again with an order not to brake, you begin to wonder whether agreeing to be the Motors guinea pig for this training course was such a good idea.
But perseverance pays off and you actually find yourself turning in evenlater than they suggest.
Quick turning involves a slightly more deliberate use of that much misunderstood aspect of riding a bike "counter-steering".
Without going into technicalities, it basically involves pushing or pulling the bars a little more forcefully in the direction you want to go, forcing the bike to turn more quickly. We all do it automatically but the drill is to teach you that a bike can turn much faster then you would expect. Being relaxed and not grabbing onto the bars for dear life is rider input and this was the drill that I found most useful.
Even with all the track days under my belt I still have a tendency to tense up a little when cornering quickly.
Learning to be less forceful improves the bikes handling and stability.
The 'two-step turning' drill finished off the day and managed to be more difficult than expected. The idea is that you select your turning point and, before you begin to manoeuvre, turn your head to look around the bend, using your peripheral vision to tell you where your turning point is.
It sounds simple but as I discovered habit means your head turns to look and then turns back into the corner rather than around it.
Having completed level one and surviving I have found that I'm using some of the skills already on the road. I've done another track day since and using the techniques has helped but it needs lots of practice.
One of the biggest drawbacks to the course is the cost. At €375 for the day it's very expensive.
But it's worth it if you can afford it with the added novelty value of track time and quality instruction. If you are interested in trying it for yourself they have two dates scheduled for Mondello Park on September 13th and 14th for all levels.
For more information visit their website at www.superbikeschool.co.uk. There will also be a free evening presentation on the art of cornering by Andy Ibbott of the California Superbike School on the August 26th at Joe Duffy BMW at 7.30pm. If you wish to attend contact Paul Browne at 087 249 4652 or pbrowne@joeduffymotors.ie to book a place.