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Can Akkaya

Why I Consider Rider Education In California A Joke – Part 1/3

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Straight out: I consider the general motorcycle rider education- at least in California, nothing else as a joke. Though, my guess is that the situation isn’t much better in other states. First of- my knowledge comes from teaching thousands of students on the track and street- asking pretty much each of them from who- and where they learned from. I’ll give you some ‘pictures’ according to what I’ve seen where their level at:

There was a 17 year old new rider in one of me ‘Cornering School Day‘ classes and he was taught by “the” certified institution for motorcycle drivers licenses what ‘Trail Braking’ is. Quote: “...it’s applying the rear brake by being on the throttle while entering a turn“.  I have no name for that kind of “made-up”- but theories…

  1. No clue theory:  “The” certified institution has no idea what Trail Braking actually is, and just made this up… or
  2. No resources theory:  They actually know why the best riders on this planet are doing it- but can’t teach it… or
  3. Marketing theory (my favorite): They figured that the Trail Braking process involves front brake usage while entering a turn is actually a conflict to their certified curriculum- to stay away from the front brake doing any leaning.  The goal… in order to “sell” to the people that they do “teach” Trail Braking, and to have an effective Google key word driving traffic to their website… they just made their version of Trail Braking up

There was that 65 years old Lady who reached retirement and bought a brand new motorcycle to finally live her dream.  She called me to teach her to

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Can Akkaya

Huge succeed rate of 80%

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Knee Down & Wheelie Course at Stockton

The knee down and Wheelie classes last Saturday and Sunday (May 17 and 18) was a blast.  We had students coming over from D.C., Ohio, Oregon, Nevada, and from all over California.  All of them hard workers and no quitters- which I really appreciated the most.

Knee Down

That this class is more than just to drag the knee should be logic.  Of course there is more to know and to work on to get the job done.  To do this on public roads would be against the law and common sense- as well as our believes- so the environment we at Superbike-Coach are using since 3 years now is just perfect.

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The morning began as usual with a warm welcome and introduction. After a short briefing we went for a track walk, where we was talking about a big subject… the ideal line.  After this, the students were ready to roll out to learn the track. Pretty much ever Read more

Can Akkaya raced German IDM
Can Akkaya

A new racing season will start very soon

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Very soon…

…the racers getting out of the ‘winter silence’ and come back into the light. The draft-carousel has slowing down, and hopefully everybody has a safe seat for the new racing season. The best seats in this little elitist world are long gone of course… quite rightly.

Tcha, and the off-season of the elite guys is pretty short. Their break is too short to become worried, but not for those guys who are on the way to the elite. They are still doomed and hoping to get ‚something‘ out of the Sponsor Odyssey, without getting hurt by the in the game involved rejections.

Don’t give up hope, cuz‘ very soon, your for a BBQ working like a dog mechanic will push you out of the dim

garage into the sunlight of the pit lane. Then, nothing else matters as just you, those fn… three miles per lap, and to squeeze these unlasting ‚One-Minute-Whatsoever‘ out of this hotter getting machine among your ass.

But even though for the elite teams it is uncommon to get a ‚external-big bran

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Touring, Sport, and Cruiser Motorcycle Education at Superbike-Coach
Can Akkaya

Tips for a good start in the new riding season

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Tons of tips are available on the internet.  Some are good- some are bad… real bad.

Actually so bad, that it might end up in a disaster when you follow half-knowledge people.  Advice number one… don’t listen to someone on a forum who thinks that using the rear brake makes more sense today as it made sense 20 years ago…. no- it still doesn’t make sense, because rules of physics don’t change.  I understand that all of these “good” advices sound plausible for the newbie, and especially this is why you should spend less time listening to them.

If you are all set for the new riding season comes down to three factors;

1) riding experience;  The experience (and this includes also close calls, crashes, and tons of feeling) is the only thing can’t be taught, but all of it makes the rider. You gotta go through this on your own.

2) knowledge;  Can be taught in schools (there are good and bad ones), videos (not on youtube though), or books (good source)… and you’ll learn only if you admit to have to learn- even if you think you’re a heck of a rider.  I’d prefer a school, because reading about climbing is kinda different as really hanging on the edge of a cliff Read more

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Can Akkaya

Coach’s Viewpoint

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Honestly, I was shocked when I first came to America to make my dream come true.  You ask why? Well, the first time I commuted from the East Bay to San Francisco on a motorcycle, I was confronted with California’s laws and rules of the road. Furthermore, I had new experiences to process with lane splitting, city chaos and the Oakland Bay Bridge. The DMV circle test and the written exam were not difficult, but they did not prepare me for riding on California roads. I adjusted quickly. But as I considered ways to ride safely in California, as a European Championship professional and racer coach I had the training and skills to adapt quickly, but here is my point…what’s going to happen with a rookie who’s just started riding on the street, even though he learned to ride at the MSF course instead of going through the DMV circle test?  He might not have enough time to give his butt a quick goodbye kiss.

Then, I couldn’t wait to hit the road in California’s canyons. Ready to let the R1 horses rip on my first Sunday ride. To my surprise, all the cars were gentle and attentive, which is a marked difference to Germany’s drivers, believe me. But here I was confronted with fallen trees, deer, gravel, bumps and holes in the pavement as big as Read more

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Can Akkaya

3rd of November

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The 3rd of November 2008 was the date on our one-way flight tickets from Frankfurt to San Francisco. That’s the date on which Marion, Jill and I waved our friends goodbye, and on which we hugged our parents with tears flowing.  It’s the date on which Jill just was 4 years old and did not understand what the hell was going on. The 3rd of November was the most surreal day of our lives, full of ups and downs of excitement and emotions.

Just a couple of days before that particular date, we celebrated a goodbye party in an apartment where we used to live temporarily while we sold our house. The stuff we wanted to keep was already on its way through the Panama Canal, in a wooden 8x8x10 box. Some stuff we couldn’t sell was auctioned to our friends under heavy tequila influence at the party.  They supported us that way, because actually nobody needs a broken hand mixer. It was a hilarious party in that now-empty apartment, but there was always a cloud over it, with our friends looking in our eyes and asking a virtual “Are you serious?!” and “When are you coming back?!”. In the morning, or more accurately in the middle of the hangover, the answer was confirmed and clarified…there was nothing that could stop us. Read more