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Chaos Control

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I’ve already discussed the influences of the mind in regard recalling physical skills under panic. Now let’s kinda revers it here and see how you can use physical skills to create more of missing ‘mind-coolness’. Please understand, that your current skill (physical) level is absolutely secondary at this point. The relevance is how you put all those things you have to do to physically ride or race, to action.

Let me make two extreme examples to show you where we heading with this. A total beginner street rider- and a highly paid MotoGP pro racer. This is not a comparison of course, but will point out something which you HAVE to work on yourselves.

So here is our brand new rider ‘Joe’ and the first f’up doesn’t take long (no judgment. We’ve all been there). With harsh in/out movements on the clutch lever, Joe has a hard time finding the

Can Akkaya teaches track and street riders

friction zone. His unsteady throttle operation doubles the f up and the outcome is that the bike responses are accordingly. That freaks Joe out, and so the timing window for a up-shift is closed. His bike is screaming now at about 3% throttle opening. Shifting up through the gears is uncoordinated and never right, and this is just to move off. Joe is cornering now, but his down shifts are so out of line that it breaks the momentum. He most of the time ends up pulling the clutch through out the end of turns. That’s because he doesn’t know what gear he’s in and he is afraid that the engine brake will get him down. The inconsistency of brake/throttle put’s the dot on the ‘i’ and his eyes are following EVERY possible distraction. Etc, etc, etc. Ergo: chaos.

Now let’s have a look over the shoulder of MotoGP professional ‘Gusto’. He’s on his 19th lap of the French Grand Prix in Aragon. Gusto is doing a ‘lonely’ race, so no dog-fights etc. His ‘tire management modulus’ is ON, to make sure he’ll gets them trough the rest of the race. Gusto is highly focused now and totally dialed in. His lap times are about 1.2 seconds slower as his best qualifying time. Though, since the beginning of the 2nd lap he’s doing it continuously, in almost identical lap times… one after another, just half a second apart. With a precision of a Swiss watch, Gusto is nailing every braking marker- entry and mid turn. All in the same way and at the right time. All up and down shifts are pretty much in the exact same place. Gusto’s confidence to know that he’ll finish this race this way is rock solid. Everything is dialed in- continuously and harmonized. Ergo: patterns.

Quite a difference in dynamics, huh?!

Now imagine you (NO MATTER if you are a street rider or racer) would ride in a oval. Let’s say you’d do this totally within your comfort zone. Now let’s imagine that you would shift up twice out of turns, and down twice towards turns. Now let’s add a reliable line to it and a decent throttle brake transitions. Now picture you’d do all of this in the same manner, pace and feel at the same time in the same place… over and over again! Now if you’d do that, at that point you have to admit that NOTHING- absolutely nothing could ever go wrong, correct?! I mean look at it… it’s a pattern!

Patterns help to establish muscle memory- muscle memory leads to automatism. The consistency leads to self control. The control not just gives you confidence. It’s also a ‘risk-management’, because you’ll be fine as long you stay within established patterns. In the end it even helps to be more focused, because you might stop overthinking and just take care to perform the very next pattern- then the next- then the next- then the next…

Headcoach Can Akkaya, Superbike-Coach Corp

Featuring BikeMaster and what it can be for a DIY garage

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Yea, I know you might think ‘well they have to praise a sponsor’, but be assured- we have them as a sponsor for a darn good reason- our shop and to maintain our school bike fleet.

The thing is, when you do everything yourself on your bike, then you gotta go the whole nine yards. You need regular tools, special tools, tool boxes, carts, chemicals, lubricants, lights, seats, stands, tie downs, and whatnot. Nothing goes without a range of general parts like chains, sprockets, seals, brake pads, lights and mirrors. That, and a whole lotta more is BikeMaster.

Does it need space to turn your garage into a DIY shop?- sure- but maybe less than you might thing it takes. Does it cost?- of course- but not as much as you might thing, especially not with BikeMaster. Looking at their pricing proofs that part real quick.

Now, if you consider to start doing some little things yourself, you actually not just save lots of money- you are also about to connect more to your bike and to understand things on a different level. You’ll learn a lot. See, when I started racing I couldn’t do anything myself so I had to go into it. And last year I’ve rebuild an entire 4 stroke engine myself. The savings on the labor went in to the thousands and I had fun doing it, besides gaining a slight childish proud’yness about new abilities :-)

An oil change, swapping a battery or even a set of tires- it can go far. And to be clear- it’s not just the labor to save- it also is the time you spend for the back/forth and the confidence that things really have been done.

We at Superbike-Coach are super happy to have BikeMaster on our corner. Just the transport drama has been completely solved with their products.

So let’s wrestle some wrenches and get even deeper into your hobby. Check our BikeMaster and find out about their huge portfolio of bike specific parts or general tools. Viva BikeMaster :-)

Headcoach Can Akkaya, Superbike-Coach Corp

Superbike-Coach Wheelie & Knee Down Classes

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I wished I could put in words how it feels like to master a wheelie or to drag the knee. While a wheelie feels like flying- a dragging knee get’s you in contact with ‘the enemy’. Short and simple pure AWESOMENESS :-)

Now what kind of riders are attending these Superbike-Coach classes?!… the ‘you and me’ rider to be straight up. Riders who want to get into it in the most save possible way and legal. Riders who are most reliable actually, from lawyers to nurses, office workers and whatnot. We welcome riders from all over the planet to these classes because they know we deliver in this order:

  1. Safety
  2. Fun
  3. Success

So two weeks ago, we initialed another knee down class and a wheelie course next day. We combine these so that riders can extend their experience and learning with us and to give their long travels more value. Our rentals are ready for the task.

Twenty riders made it out for the knee class. Most of them are trying for years to finally get it done. Videos, other schools and lots and lots of track days. 169 bux and 7 hours is what it takes for me to make 15 of them dragging now. Our highest rating was 18 of a 21 ones. That’s a rating you need to think about for a second, and then you might know why all classes Superbike-Coach has to offer are booking up since the last 7 years!!! Remarkable at this point is, that those riders who are successful were mostly students in our cornering school program. Our knee students run through 3 stations- the big oval to use their bikes and rentals. The break area to rest (needed!), and our mini bike on a small oval. Every time our mini bike gets a hell of a beat, and guess what… no questions asked. I mean… try to find this somewhere else where you are allowed to damage! When you feel all this and add the darn good reviews we’re getting- then do you even wonder why the next Knee Down class on 10/26/2019 is booked up more than 3 months upfront?!

However, it would be naive to think that everyone must/should be successful. That wouldn’t be fair to expect from us and the students. this goes mainly towards the wheelie class because the success ratio there is about 60%. Most of the riders who couldn’t get it done are coming back, which says a lot about this program too doesn’t it?! So our wheelie students are running through a 4 stations circle- the long straight to use their bikes or rentals. The break area to rest (very much needed), our mini bike for coordination, and our own wheelie machine which makes you fee balance point and throttle control.

This machine allows us to instruct right next to you, which is why I’ve build it in the first place. Another aspect for me was, that those wheelie machines to buy are not realistic enough. They are not up to my measures and don’t deliver the feel nor options to learn the actual control of air-time. The plan and build time took about 6 month. Testing and developing another month, and now this piece of SBC equipment is permanently part since the last 3 classes. Established stuff, and you can use it! No question… also the next Wheelie Course on 10/27/2019 is going to book up.

You ask yourself if you should do it- and I go- WHY NOT?! :-)

SBC photographer’s (Dean Lonskey) pic gallery of the entire class.

Headcoach Can Akkaya, Superbike-Coach Corp

Featuring Dynojet Research Powercommander

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Painfully, I remember the outcome of my first top 10 race as a semi-professional in St. Wendel Germany in 1992. That was one of a bad ass half track half street tracks you don’t get to see these days anymore. I came of from 3rd row in qualifying and made my way up and kept 9th position till the last lap. I didn’t make any mistakes until exiting the last turn onto the straight. One single miss-shift, and three guys passed me. I was heartbroken. A year later the first quick shifters came out and when I tested it, I remembered that devastating mistake and I wished I would have one back then.

But a quick shifter doesn’t only help to reduce miss-shifts. In racing it reduces energy loss on two levels- forward momentum and physical input. That and a certain mental relief opens reserves. Today, most high-end street legal bikes are coming with a quick shifter, and if you don’t have one… go get one. Dynojet Research, one of the pioneers in regard fuel management systems for the aftermarket offers those for a variety of motorcycles and universals. Their famous Power commander adds their quick shifter in no time plug and play.

Now let me first explain what a Power commander can do for ya. Besides a gain of power with the right map (fuel/air management), you can determine every percentage of throttle position so that weak spots can be reduced- like an harsh throttle response for example. Ergo, drive-ability and general performance. If you’ve changed your exhaust and air filter, you might have to have a ECU flash done. That is not just pretty expensive, it is also imperfect if its data are not developed on a roller. On top of this- a flash is a one time thing, so any change would require another expensive flash. The Power commander is adjustable anytime.

Dynojet also offers an AutoTune, which optimizes fuel/air ratios on the fly, and a Ignition Module which can make the difference on the track. All of it can be connected to a network and fine adjusted on a computer, just like in a MotoGP garage. Additionally, the Quick Shifter Sensor. We just recently installed a PC-V and a Quick Shifter to one of our school bikes. The instructions are clear- nothing has to be spliced- and a matching map is a download away. The quick shifter need to be activated, and that’s it. The bike shifts through the gears as smooth as it can get.

These Dynojet systems are a big upgrade you can do to your bike.

Headcoach Can Akkaya, Superbike-Coach Corp

 

The Moment Your Skill Score Bubble Pops

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I know that my statement is not based on a solid study. It’s simply because it’s impossible to run statistics on this because it would require total honesty of the crashed rider, or at least an authority who knows better. Both are an illusion, so let me give it a wild shot here.

Based on my own experience as a pro racer, street rider and coach, who has seen thousands of riders- and analyzing crash scenarios which even include my own back then… I brutally predict that 70% of all incidents on track or street could have been prevented if the rider would have known the shit!!!

Yep, the texting soccer mom in that SUV was the trigger, BUT… was really the point of no return on the brake reached?! Was there an escaping gap you didn’t even see while you’ve been target fixating that right-of-way-taking Prius?!  Or let’s say you actually did see the escaping gap- but your “I thought I’d do counter steer technique” is not enough to get you there?! How about that Mercedes Benz lane jumper which causes you to overreact. Yes, it was close, but maybe because of your f’d up reaction time and lack of focus?! And so on and so on and so on…

I’m not even getting started about the triggers which cause lots of cornering crashes, ’cause I could write a book just about that one. In fact, the triggers are there, plenty of triggers- but riders are just not mastering them. Though, it would be presumptuous to claim that one will be ever able to master them all. That would be naive to think because there is a point of no return out there for even the best riders on this planet. That’s for sure, so that’s our 30% right there. You think that’s quite bold to say?… then wait for this one…

Let’s say you’ve earned skill points throughout your riding career. A newbie starts with 1 and a highly experienced- or even racer could score out at a 100. That actually is not possible since there is ALWAYS an extra margin to learn, but let’s just round that circle up for now. Your score depends on where and what you’ve learned: self taught, videos, books, schools, or even from Uncle Joe. All of this certainly defines the score for all those things we gotta do- from the shifting to the trail braking and so on. The skill score.

Now let’s say you’ve learned all of these riding skills–or at least you believe you did… what are all of these worth if panic in an extreme situation takes over?! That’s typically when a skill score pops like a soap bubble. The real quality of your skill score depends on a thing which I call “mind coolness”.

Mind coolness sets you free. Imagine instead of freaking out, that an out-of-the-blue Prius just bounces mentally off from you, like a rock throw against a wall! Just picture how powerful that would be. With mind coolness you’d be able to really recall all the physical skills at the right time- and in the right order. Mind coolness buys you TIME. Time is space. That little bit of space which might make the difference on your way back home!

So this ‘mind coolness’ thing is actually the biggest thing you can possibly learn. Where?! Well, good luck finding a place. I might know of one though!

Headcoach Can Akkaya, Superbike-Coach Corp