Shouldn’t I See A Bigger Percentage?!
Yep, I can feel you might think that I’m sales pitching. I ensure to you that I’m not. I leave a final opinion about this to you of course, but I need you to look right into a ongoing problem. Let’s have a peek what I got to see within all the years I’m coaching countless 1on1’s and tons of classes on road and track…
The beginner rider
I bet that you personally have hundreds of stories yourselves, about friends who made their motorcycle drivers licenses. Then you might know on what kind of rider level they’ve been released into the wild. Beginners who shouldn’t have get a license that quick actually, getting it almost effortless by paying around 300 bux and 2 days in some parking-lot-tiptoeing school. The “training” is basically useless and counterproductive actually. It creates anxieties for using brakes- and it gives the rider a hard to remove picture of how schooling looks like and keeps most people away from even looking. Besides this- I have to unfuck pretty much everything they’ve been taught.
The intermediate rider
They are finally through minor operation essentials so that this doesn’t block learning, but since they that watching “Bad car drivers vs motorcycles”, or “Road rage in America volume 155” YouTube videos all f’n night- they don’t see the necessity for professional schooling (especially not since they remember what that was like). Also their riding buddies are all “experts” and tell them that they ‘don’t need this shit’. That’s the time when they create and manifest bad habits, self taught or from that riding buddy who is oh so fast and so must be a good rider and therefore an ‘instructor’.
The advanced rider
They have lots of miles on them meanwhile and went through some riding books. Also are more particular with the YouTube video choice now. Why, because they gained some knowledge of how it suppose to look like. Shouldn’t just this ring the bell here?! Anyway- They begin to look for professional schools now, but most of them end up in a “advanced riding clinic” for 350 bux- and of course tiptoeing again on some parking lot. And I still don’t know what the fuck can be considered to be advanced there. No clue!
The advanced plus rider
Thinks that they need to go to the track now, because they’ve heard that ‘you learn more in one track day than riding for a year on the road’. The actual learning effect is to get to see what total chaos on C group looks like. Yes it’s exciting, but since we can’t admit to our friends that we’re actually overwhelmed- we keep doing this and get to crash for a while. The need for professional schooling is now totally numbed, because there are “instructors” who tell something like “you look great out there” and then this within 5 minutes “just stick your elbow more out”.
The expert rider
Yes they are faster now, but that’s almost happening naturally, surely not because they “stick their elbows more out”. They drag knee now, and so they think that they’ve ‘arrived’. For the majority- this marks top league and there is not much more to do here. Speed indicates goodness. Does it really?! So here and then we’re looking into books again because we stuck. I wonder why….
The expert plus rider
Thinks that there is nobody and nothing out there who can teach one or two things. We keep crashing, are frustrated and lose fun riding. He/she spends now 10.000 dollars on a fancy racing school for all 4 levels but still stuck- finally calls me and asks for help. Yea, I’m still not sales pitching. I just make a point!
The comparison
So… I know that you somewhere see yourself in this picture as well, but please understand that I don’t want you to feel bad with yourselves or even offended. THIS is just the way it goes nova days. You guys learned the wrong things- in the wrong order- at the wrong time- and in the wrong manner. Go ask me how I know!!!
I understand that some of you will hate when I run a comparison to me, and I actually don’t like it myself. But without a direct comparison- there ain’t no conclusion. However, here is the thang… I’ve learned it all from the scratch and made my carrier from a street rider to amateur racing- to international pro racing and almost up to top gun- MotoGP. Today I am still a professional rider and coach. All of it basically learned without any influences in a high volume competitive environment. No books- no schools- no videos- no coaches. Not that I didn’t wanted it this way- it’s because there was nothing like it, besides one totally senseless book.
Yes there is always this ‘well, coach has the talent’ excuse coming, but I can tell you right up… nobody is born with a ‘Racing DNA’ and with that word, you would actually only discredit what I did there giving my heart, soul and blood. So please don’t do that. Just compare my way to your way…
The conclusion
Cut of wish-thinking and you see that there is nothing else to learn on a damn parking lot ones you can shift through the gears. There is also a very low outcome of learning ‘advanced slow maneuver techniques’ all of those schools came up with, cuz’ in fact this is all they actually allowed do on a f’n parking lot. If you still believe this, you might live in a denial there.
Also your riding buddy knows shit actually. He just became naturally faster than you, so it appears to be a good and free source. I know you might feel offended here with this word and suggest that I’m sales pitching. I’m not… I’m just the one telling you the truth. Truth is a damn sharp knife- It cuts best. Take it.
Reading books about it doesn’t help you much. This is not Math, which you can learn from a book if you’re smart enough. This is more like reading a book about climbing the Eiger North Wall, and then go there to f’n die. And yea, you are guided by your riding buddy who seem and act to know how to get all the way up that Eiger mountain while he actually has no clue how to hold your ropes him selves. Tough thang with that truth huh?!
Same goes for watching all those videos. Why?… even if you read or watch an episode of how to counter steer… who says you got it right or still wrong??? You??? No, because there is no quality control after all for you, right? Another aspect here is… What’s the quality of that information. You don’t even know that YouTube channel guy who believes to be a Rock Star.
Another aspect is, that there seems to be nobody out there who knows in what order things should be taught. You can’t properly learn to trail brake- randomly some-when. Your eyes and brain might be not ready yet and many things have to be unfucked first before this can be served in the right doses and in the right manner at the god damn right time.
Same goes for that B-Level racer who ‘works’ for a free meal and track time for a track day organizer as an instructor (i can imagine how that feels like when I’m saying this, but consider it as a help to improve your service). Some call them professionals… no they are not! He tells you to “stick those elbows more out” and then goes back to race the other instructors throughout C-group and to literally cut into peoples lines (guess why I’m working with my 1on1s at only 2 track day organizers!). That’s what’s happening. That’s the truth. You take it, cuz’ you would love to look like Marc Marquez. It supports what you’re wish-thinking right there and so… it must be right. In fact though- you just been taught the ABC starting with a P.
So…
I get to see all these riders in Superbike-Coach classes and 1on1’s. That’s about 1200 to 1500 students per year!!! I see all levels, categories, characters, ages and genders… all of them should be highly educated when you consider what you guys have nova days- ALL THIS- all those ‘riding schools’, rock stars, ton loads of riding books, and especially those YouTube videos…
But guess what… I don’t get to see that. I don’t see much of a solid fully through operated counter steering. A few I can count of one hand who came and performed trail braking in all those years I’m doing this. A FEW…!!!
Consider all this… shouldn’t I see a bigger percentage?! Now what does this make all those books, schools and rock star videos???!!!
It should make you asking questions actually. Not everything which glares in the sun is gold.
Headcoach Can Akkaya, Superbike-Coach Corp
