The Superbike-Coach Corp team is an outstanding group of people- experts in their fields. All of them are motorcycle riders themselves for many years. We cherish each other. Respect, love and pride for what we do and who we are shows every minute. We don’t just work together. We do fun stuff together, have BBQ’s and team ride outs. We’re family! It’s probably impossible to find a more dedicated and passionate team as Superbike-Coach. Come meet them.
Dean Lonskey
Superbike-Coach Corp photographer, assistant coach
Started riding dirt bikes back in 1970 when I was 4 years old. Between 1972 – 1999, I also did some desert and motocross racing. Started riding street bikes in 1986 on a 1982 Yamaha 750. Seca and since then I’ve either owned or rode: FZR600, FJ1200, R1, FJR1300, Ninja 650R, and FZ-10. In 2018, From 1986 – 2003, not only did I commute and canyon ride, I also did a lot of touring, from going down to Southern California and up to Idaho. I’ve even gone on a couple 4,000 mile rides, first on my FZR600 then on my FJ1200.In 2018 I bought a KTM 450SMR and started riding it to take the place of motocross. I’ve taken pictures most of my life but in 2014 I got really serious about it, In 2014, I took my first Superbike-Coach class (the Wheelie Class) then in November 2014, I came on as Coach Can’s official photographer and haven’t looked back since!
Chris Baird
Superbike-Coach Corp mechanic, assistant coach
When I was 12 years old, I asked my mom if I could get a motorcycle and she told me to talk to my dad. He said it was too dangerous and mom replied that he’d have to get rid of his bike, knowing I would just “borrow” it. That’s how I ended up working with my dad to fix up a 1975 Honda XL350, my first fabrication project. He then taught me how to ride safely. I have always enjoyed riding. The freedom of movement and connection to the world around me let me just exist without the intrusions of daily living. Around 6 years ago, a mutual friend told me that Coach really needed help…with a project. That’s how I ended up fabricating a crazy wheelie-popping machine. Our relationship developed from there with a mutual love of the freedom, the drive to improve our skills, and the joy of passing on knowledge. I greatly enjoy working with the group of people Coach has been collecting…as long as my wife says it’s okay.
Wayne Steele
Superbike-Coach Corp assistant coach
I’m your typical 90s kid in a 2022 world. I still remember playing in the mud for fun, and running home from school to watch MTV with my older (much cooler) cousin. I was born with a guitar in hand and Metallica running through my veins. In my teens it wasn’t unusual for someone to find me rehearsing on my 16th hour trying to perfect every nuance of a song. Beyond that my hobbies included, photography, traveling, building/fixing computers, and until recently motorcycles. Motorcycles were something that was never accessible, nor acceptable growing up, and to be honest..not even something I’ve ever found interest in. I can’t describe the feeling I had a few years ago, but I joke with people that “I looked at the calendar and realized that I was overdue for my midlife crisis”. Very quickly I found myself thrown into a world of uncertainty and misinformation. After failing and retaking a MSF course, I found myself 50 miles from home at a dealership in Livermore. My best friend drove me out so I could purchase my first bike. With all the paperwork done, I sat scared in the parking lot trying to build up courage to go 55mph all the way home. I felt abandoned by those few hours I spend circling around a few cones in some parking lot. Fast forward about 5 months and I thought I knew it all. Ive spent every minute I could riding, and now I was ready to drag knee like the big boys on youtube, or so I thought. By happen-chance I found Can Akkaya and the Superbike Coach team. I was looking for big accessible parking lots to practice in, and ran across a google link for Superbike Coach. I never suspected that tiny action would amount to the family I’ve gained today. One of my most cherished memories is when Coach took me aside one morning and asked me to be apart of his team. Not for my skills or abilities, but simply for my dedication to his passion and mission to make safer better riders. I said yes, and never felt prouder to be apart of something in my life.
Mark Stewart
Superbike-Coach Corp mechanic, assistant coach
My love of all things with motors started well before I had a learner’s permit. Starting out with RC cars and go karts on family vacations. I remember my first time in a kart feeling cornering G’s I was hooked. Like most growing up in “rural” Upstate New York I got to drive in heavy snow and ice. A lot. I would get out of school find an empty parking lot and practice doing evasive maneuvers, emergency braking, and of course drifting. Soon I was neck deep in racing. Starting with autocross, eventually racing at full on Track events across the Northeast. Any event I could sign up for I was in it. Eventually I became a instructor for a driving school and also taught new teen drivers car control with Tire rack’s Street Survival classes. My journey into motorsports was like many others, my journey into motorcycling however was one of heartache. I got a phone call that no one ever wants. I lost my best friend while he was riding a motorcycle. I swore I’d never get on a motorcycle again. Well Fast-forward to 2015 I moved to the bay area and watching motorcycles cruise by everyday on my commute I decided to put my fears aside and give it a try. After getting my M1 my friend suggested I try a class with Superbike coach. I was hooked and took all the classes I could soaking up every shred of knowledge I could get from Coach Can. Some time later Can asked if I could figure out what was wrong with his Supermoto’s engine, after a little bit of work on the top end we had it back in and ripping wheelies in no time. Not long after Coach needed help running the wheelie class and asked if I would jump in to help. Since then, I’ve been a mechanic, and assistant coach for Superbike Coach. I’ve loved every minute of these times with the team that is my second family. To wrap it all together though I’ve seen what lessons from Coach Can will do to make someone a better and safer rider firsthand for both myself and friends I’ve made along the way. These courses and skills I’ve learned have saved my life, and I am proud I can be apart of something that can keep someone from getting the worst phone call of their life. And no one else out there will be more dedicated to keeping it that way than our team at Superbike-Coach.
Marion Akkaya
Superbike-Coach Corp event org
I’ve been wit Can since he was an amateur racer and all the way up to high level FIM international pro racing. I’ve been always working as a team support member and pitlane crew. I know all the up’s and down’s of making a career in a dense competition like that, so without racing myself- I know what it takes. I never rode bikes myself till we moved to the U.S., where I made my M1 drivers license. Coach and I designed and built my first sportbike. I loved it but now I am riding an adventure bike. As a Superbike-Coach Corp member, I am the event organizer and also take care of the needs of students and the team. I love what we do and I believe we’re saving lots of lives.
Can Akkaya
Superbike-Coach Corp headcoach, owner
Everything I’ve learned, from a beginner on the street up to professional European Championship racing is fundamental of what I teach and who we are today. Nothing is copied or tricked out- Superbike-Coach is first hand and hands-on. My teaching experience goes back almost two decades now and the mental aspect of riding is my strength actually. I know what rider go through- because I’ve been there myself- and I know the way out for them. I can’t be more proud for the people I’ve put together, helping to run this motorcycle riding school. Their passion, respect and loyalty is out of this world. Our students feel how much we love each other. Something which is hard to find somewhere else.
