This Blog is intended for you, so please, take some time and send us some ideas of blogs you want to read about. Want to know the inside scoop on the development of a certain bike? Ask an expert a question? Find some sweet riding places/roads? Hear stories from the road? Feel free to tell us what you want.

Thanks!

DanBro

More recently, one of our agents helped provide some tech specs to a then-and-now Yamaha rider named Lynn. As it turns out, Lynn endured some eerie coincidence on her new bike. (Looking at her pics, she’s also attained some wisdom in regards to proper riding gear )

Thanks for sending me the detailed tech specs for that DT200.  I am comparing it to what I currently have, the WR250R, which was the bike that replaced the DT200.  I never thought I’d be able to come close to replacing that beloved DT, and to be honest, when I bought the WR and was riding it home, I got goose bumps.  Not because I was on a flashy new bike (well, that was kinda part of it) but because of the day and time I took possession.  It’s REAL creepy.

I bought that old 1986 DT200 brand new in Penticton; I was 19 and had saved up from working a whole winter up at the ski hill in Kelowna.  I absolutely LOVED that little bike.  Roll forward to 11:30 AM, Oct 23, 1988.  I wrote off my poor bike after an old lady failed to yield and decided to cut in between me and the truck in front of me.  Bike was totaled.  All I have left of that memory is a picture of me on it when I was camping at Christina Lake in the Kootenays.

I had always wanted to get another bike like the one I had.  Life took me different places and I never got the chance to get another, even though I kept my eyes open for that year of bike.  Nothing.  I ended up with an old 1977 Honda XL 250 that was a heavy tank of a bike, and didn’t enjoy it near as much (I still have that old bike)…in fact it never even could be compared.  I had numerous street bikes, the last one being a 1995 Suzuki RF600R.  Stupid fast bike.  It was a scream to ride, but every time I’d go past a trail off the road I’d want to explore it.  NOT a good thing on a sportbike.

I then went onto the Yamaha site and saw the WR on there.  I had looked at the WR250 years before, but because it wasn’t street legal I never took a second look.  I read up on the R that others own, and the responses were incredible.  A new bike, basically a dirt bike you can ride on the road right out of the crate.  I immediately thought of my old DT, and HAD to take a ride on one.  I had to wait for a demo day in order for that to happen, but once I rode it, I was hooked.  I felt I had finally found a replacement, even if the damned thing was so high I couldn’t touch the ground.  That was in July, 2008.  A month later I sold the 600.

Roll forward to Oct 23, 2009.  I’ve got the paperwork in my hands, my gear on and anticipating my first ride on my brand new 09 WR250R.  The salesman had managed to get in the very first ‘09 in BC, right after the dealer demo that was held in Whistler, just for me.  They hadn’t even been released to the public at that point, but he apparently knew someone and pulled a few strings.  So at 11:30, I am on my new bike and riding down the highway.  It was then that it hit me, and why I felt a cold shiver run the length of my spine.   When I got home, I found the paperwork from the accident on the old DT.  Check this out:

Oct 23, 1988  11:30 AM :  1986 Yamaha DT200S written off
Oct 23, 2008  11:30 AM : 2009 Yamaha WR25R ridden off the showroom floor.
Last 2 numbers on the VIN are 23.

20 years later to the exact date and time, I have replaced something I never thought I ever would.

Sorry if I’ve bored you with this, but what you’ve done really means a lot to me.  I’m going over the spec sheets for both bikes, and besides the difference of the DT being a 2-stroke, the two bikes are very similar in a lot of ways.

Again, I thank you for doing this for me.  I’ve sent along some pics, just for comparison.  One of me when I was on the old DT (well it was maybe 5 months old there), me on the new WR250R, and the WR after I went to work and modified it.

What do you think? Is this all coincidence? Or was Lynn meant to be back on a Yamaha dual sport?

Japanese two wheeler manufacturer Yamaha has launched the all new commuter segment motorcycle the YBR 110 yesterday in NewDelhi. The bike carries a reliable four stroke 106 cc engine with a four speed gear box.

Speaking to the press Mr.Yukimine Tsuji  Yamaha India Motor Chief Executive Officer and MD said that they were studing the Indian entry level segment commuter market for quite some time and after extensive research this bike has been finally modeled satisfying the daily Indian commuter with the mileage quotient in mind.

The bike is priced at Rs.41,000 which is pretty close to all it’s competitors from the same 110 cc segment. Whether the bike is a hit or not? The answer lies in the Indian commuter’s mind!

This is an article from from: BikeAdvice.in - The Indian Bike Blog

Yamaha India Launches YBR 110

Related posts:

1. Yamaha YBR Concept Photos
2. Yamaha Launches V-Max In India
3. Yamaha Launches a New Variant of FZ-16 – The FZ-S
4. Yamaha FZ16 Ownership Experience by Siddharth
5. Yamaha Launches Limited Editions of Fazer & FZ

I was to buy my first bike and I wanted a bike which had a feel of 150cc as well one which will not be harsh on my pocket i.e. on mileage and maintenance front on the long run. I had decided not to go for Bajaj pulsar for two reasons firstly because it is now so common on the road and secondly I was a bit concerned about the quality of the parts used in it and eventually the maintenance cost over the period of time.

This made me to go to Yamaha, Yamaha FZ 16 is a great bike with good engine refinement and with arguably (considering Apache) best in class performance. But performance takes a toll on the petrol consumption as it returns no more than 35 kmpl.

Turning to TVS Apache, the bike is a great performer but lacks smoothness and incurs maintenance cost at quite an early stage. As FZ, performance takes a toll on Apache’s mileage too.

Now, the bikes under my consideration were:

• Honda Unicorn
• HH CBZ Extreme and
• Hero Honda Hunk

Honda Unicorn has a silent and superb engine, quite actually the best in class, engine refinement that gives the rider a vibe free ride. It returns a healthy mileage of 55-60kmpl too. The vital factor that the bike lacks is initial pickup and acceleration. It performs well in low and mid range of speed spectrum, but losses out on high end too. As compared to other 150cc’s it takes longer time to reach 60-100kmph and maxes out at 101kmph. It has been made so to make it an efficient city commuter. Unicorn gives a comfortable ride with good handling (due to ‘unicorn’ i.e. its got a mono-suspension.) Hero Honda Hunk and CBZ-Extreme share same engine with some differences in gear shift assembly and some vibe control measures included in CBZ Extreme.

Hunk is one of the best looking bikes in 150cc with a comfortable seating arrangement and Hero Honda’s first bike to have SRS suspensions. Hunk and CBZ Extreme gives you smooth and silent engine, good initial pick up, competitive 60-100 kmph time and about 48-55 Kmpl of mileage. The reason I chose CBZ-X over Hunk were wider seats and vibe free ride in CBZ-X as in Hunk vibrations creep in at about 6500rpm. Hunk looks great but I personally didn’t like the bulky feel of its tank after getting seated on its saddle. It’s now 2000km since I have purchase my bike and is only one service old. I can say from my experience that it is good city bike as CBZ-X has comfortable though sporty seating posture and great handling capabilities. Also, one can take the bike to as low as 25 kmph in 5th gear without knocking, and 4th one can go as low as 20kmph. Thus, not much gear shifting is required even in traffic conditions. My bike gives mileage anywhere between 48-53kmpl in combined city and highway kind of driving.
Well, that’s all I have to say about my experiences about my first bike and thanks for reading my first write up.

– Ranjeet Takawale

This is an article from from: BikeAdvice.in - The Indian Bike Blog

How I Acquired My Steed – A Short Write-UP by Ranjeet Takawale

Related posts:

1. Questions And Answers – Round 1 (General)
2. New CBZ Xtreme ATFT in Black & Red
3. Hero Honda Hunk Review
4. Suzuki GSR 150 Lanza Expected This Month

We apologize for the delay in presenting the February 2010 sales figures. We have clubbed both the month’s figures in this one for easy reading.

Hero Honda: Month on month, year on year Hero Honda has showed their supremacy over all other Indian manufacturers. Continuing with the lead, Hero Honda sold a whooping 3,82,096 two wheelers in February 2010 which was an increment of 16 percent over last February. March 2010 saw Hero Honda breaking all shackles as they steer their sales tally over 4 lakh mark by recording 4,14,638 two wheelers which was an increase of 14 percent as compared to 3,53,342 units the company managed to sell in March 2009.

Recently Hero Honda launched sticker upgrades to their commuter bikes to retain their freshness and is in process of opening up its fourth manufacturing unit shortly which will act as an additives to propel further growth.

Bajaj Auto: Pune based Bajaj auto also was on a roll for both of these months. In February 2010, company registered a phenomenal growth of 77 percent over the corresponding period last year. Bajaj managed to sell 2,34,710 two wheelers which comprised of 234,623 motorcycles. The same figures for last February were 1,32,393 two wheelers and 1,31,785 motorcycles out of them. For March 2010, Bajaj witnessed an increase of an even better 85 percent.

Out of the total 2,44,889 units sold in March 2010, 2,44,828 units were motorcycles. The same figures for last years March were 1,32,683 & 1,32,253 respectively. For both the months, growth was propelled by the more profitable Discover and Pulsar branded bikes. For March 2010, Bajaj managed to sell 97,096 Discovers and 72,804 Pulsars which formed around 70 percent of the total sales. As an after effect of this huge growth, Bajaj will be expanding its motorcycle capacity to 3,00,000 units per month from April 2010. Commercial vehicles and exports continued to follow a stronghold for both the bygone months.

TVS Motors: Chennai based TVS Motor Company recorded 31 percent growth in February 2010 registering total sales of 1,40,544 two wheelers as compared to 1,07,301 units sold in February 2009. Domestic sales grew by 34 percent registering 1,21,403 two wheeler units as compared to 90,718 units TVS managed to sell during the corresponding period last year. Motorcycle sales grew by almost 28 percent to 63,394 units when compared to 49,659 units recorded for the previous February. On the other hand scooters also witnessed 38 percent rise in sales registering 27,017 units as compared to 19,532 units sold in February 2009. For the month of March 2010 also TVS stood tall and registered handsome profits. On the whole, TVS posted 24 percent increase in sales of its two wheelers. Overall, TVS managed to register sales of 1,46,736 two wheelers in March 2010 as compared to 1,18,000 units they managed to sell during the whole of March 2009.Domestic sales grew by 25 percent registering 1,26,669 units as compared to 1,01,660 units TVS sold in March 2009. Ironically, scooters enabled TVS to growth such good stats. TVS sold 28,504 scooters which is almost 50 percent increase when compared to 19,054 units sold in March 2009. Motorcycles also registered 7 percent gain registering sales of 64,120 units when compared to 59,796 units sold during the corresponding month last year. Exports for both the months continued their upward slide registering 15 and 23 percent increase respectively. During this period TVS introduced the clutchless wonder 110cc bike, Jive and the metal bodied 125cc unisex scooter Wego to the market and have plans to roll both of them in phases.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter in India: Honda motors Japans fully owned subsidiary HMSI has been doing wonderfully well ever since it got rid of those labor unrest issues. For the month of February 2010 the company registered an impressive sales tally of 1.22 lakh units which were higher by 22 percent as compared to the corresponding month last year. But the major boost came in the month of March 2010 where the company nearly piped TVS Motors for the third spot. HMSI registered handsome gains of impressive 76.25 percent registering 1,44,288 units compared to 81,865 units sold during the corresponding month last year. These figures are just shy of TVS figures by a couple of thousand units only. Motorcycle sales gained by as much as 63.25 percent and stood tall at 65,888 units as compared to 40,360 units sold in March 2009. Scooters also saw a massive almost 89 percent increase in sales at 78,400 units when compared to 41,505 units sold in the March 2009. We ourselves are a little out of our minds when we analyze that these figures are a result of slight tweaking and twisting of models only. No real upgrade has been launched. But then it has always worked this way for Honda be it the JV with Hero or this one.

Yamaha India: Yamaha had some respite in February 2010 after the sales not picking up in the preceding months. Yamaha recorded a massive 48 percent gain in its sales. Total sales stood at 25,766 units whereas for the same month previous year these figures were 17,407 units. Domestic sales for the company increased by 17.8 percent to 16,313 units this month as compared to 13,848 units sold in the same month last year. March 2010 also saw some fruitful results for the company when they managed to notch up their sales by 27 percent. Total sales stood at 27,460 units as compared to 21, 571 units registered in March 2009. Yamaha received an increment of almost 23 percent in the domestic market by selling 17,892 units as compared to 14,575 units registered the previous year for the month of March. Exports also continued to grow for the company for both the months. Company accorded all the results to fantastic performance of its high end bikes, FZ series and R15.

Suzuki Motorcycles India: SMIL, Suzuki Motorcycles India Pvt Ltd. also ended the fiscal year with a boom. The company recorded 76 percent increase in sales for March 2010 when they sold 21,752 units. These figures were mainly pushed by the companies 150cc motorcycle GS150R and 125cc scooter Access.

Mahindra two wheelers: March 2010 was another good month for Mahindra Two Wheelers as well. The company managed to record 12,753 units of its 125cc scooters this month. In fact, Mahindra achieved record sales of 70,000 units in this financial year which is a proof of the good times to come for the company. All this was achieved with only three models in hand, the Rodeo, Duro and Flyte, all 125cc scooters based on the same mill.

All the companies have had a gala time this period. We look forward to how will the tally and standings change as we enter a new financial year. We also look forward to better and technically advanced products from companies as we will continue to present these figures on a monthly basis to you.

- Saad Khan

This is an article from from: BikeAdvice.in - The Indian Bike Blog

Indian Motorcycles Sales Report for February & March 2010

Related posts:

1. Indian Bike Sales Figures for October and November
2. Indian Motorcycles’ Sales Figures for January 2010
3. Bajaj Registers 52% Growth In October 2009!
4. Bajaj sells 71,970 Pulsars in January 2010
5. Indian Bikes Sales Figures for December 2009

Hello Bike-o-Philes! This is Sai Sudharshan, proud owner of “World’s first 4-Valve DTS-I Engined bike!”. Yes, the Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS. First of all, I want to thank Bikeadvice.in, a million times for this opportunity. I used to read Bikeadvice.in daily, each and every article/review that has been published in this site is just awesome. These were of great use to me to know more about every bike. Bikeadvice is the best place for every bike enthusiast to find every piece of information about the bikes. Hats off to these guys for their wonderful work and my wishes too.

Review of my Pulsar 135 LS : This is my first bike and Bajaj is not new to me since my dad is having a Caliber 115 (Hoodibabaa!) for the past 7 years.

Hence, i know pretty well about the merits and demerits of a bike that has a Bajaj tag attached to it! Since I look thin, I felt larger bikes won’t suit me. But I must admit that I love the Pulsar’s look and styling. So I was eagerly waiting for years to see a lightweight pulsar that would suit my physique. My God! On 26th November, I saw the photo of a bike that had leaked in the internet and it was the Pulsar 135 LS. Thanks to Bikeadvice for displaying that spy picture! My dream came true that day. I waited nearly a month before I booked it. Finally I bought a Midnight Black Pulsar 135 LS on February 4th.The bike has clocked 1500kms as of now and moreover I thought of writing the review after 1000 kms. So here it is! I am not a bike expert! So nothing very technical.

Looks: At first sight, you will be definitely disappointed by its looks. Probably our mind brings a fixed image in front of our eyes when you utter the word “Pulsar”! Thats natural, since we have been gazing at every Pulsar(150’s, 180’s, 200’s and 220’s) daily. But I bet you… Definitely this bike looks awesome when you see this bike and when someone sits on it. I say this because the body of Pulsar 135LS is designed in such a way that it exposes itself perfectly when someone is sitting on it. The Bikini fairing (as Bajaj calls it) headlight is triangular in shape with two wolf-eyes is great and added to that the visor looks really aggressive than its elder siblings! The speedometer, fuel gauge, trip meter, battery indicator etc. are digital with yellow backlight and not orange as in the case of the elder pulsars which will stand apart. The bike features clip-on handlebars by which bajaj had made sure that the rider doesn’t feel like riding a small bike. The fuel tank is smaller in size when compared to its siblings, having a capacity of 8L (excluding reserve).

This accounts for the bike’s lightweight character! For the first time in the history of Pulsars, this youngest sibling possesses knee rests which gives you extra grip while riding at high speeds. Disk brakes are provided for the front wheel and the MRF Zappers look stylish on both the wheels apart from functionality. The seat’s are different from the 150cc ones. Did you notice the previous sentence properly? I said SEATS! Yes, Pulsar 135LS features Split Seats as in the 180’s and its elders. The rear LED tail lamps are again different from its elders. If I play any interesting game with the traffic rules, the traffic police can spot my bike’s registration number clearly even at night time since there is lamp attached to the number plate which will bring my game to an end. Finally, here comes the most eye-catching feature of the bike. The Rear Mud-Guard! Wondering how it can be eye-catchy? Because they are absent! By saying it eye-catching, I meant that people would see that and say “Where is the mud-guard gone??” Frankly I too don’t like this! But as a substitute, there is a tyre-hugger which covers almost half of the rear tyre. (This could have been absent instead which may look good!!). The length of the silencer has been reduced. Thus, Bajaj tries to give a sporty look to the bike to justify why they call it as ‘LS’ which stands for Light Sport.

Riding and Handling: The bike features both kick and self start and an Auto-Choke helps in cold starts. When you start the bike, one can hear the same growl which the bigger pulsars make, inviting everyone to turn towards you! Not only this, when you start giving some work for your wrist on the accelerator, you can definitely prove that you are not driving an ordinary 135cc bike but a pulsar! The bike features 5 speed transmission.

Since, I wish to use my bike for a long time and its a new bike, i haven’t driven it with more than 75kmph speed. So I didn’t get a chance to experience my bike’s maximum power. But since we drive most of the time in 50s and 60s in daily traffic, what I feel is that the bike is smoother when it is running in 60s when compared to 50s.
Last but not the least.. Brakes; The most important entity which gives every biker the guts to twist the wrist more and more. I would say that the brakes are really awesome! You engage! You Stop! Since the bike is very light, you can easily twist and turn it around the corners, amidst the vehicles during traffic jams with least effort.

Talking about the performance of the bike at lower speeds, the bike moves freely in fourth gear even in 25+ kmph! The bike stands high in terms of fuel efficiency. When you drive it in 45-50kmph,the bike gives you around 65 kmpl. When you treat it harsh, it in turn behaves the same way towards your wallet, but even then you get more than 55 kmpl!!!

Pros

• Light Weight
• Very good mileage
• Stylish (People are tired of looking at the bigger pulsars, Its Pulsar 135 Mania now!)

Cons

• Feel less secure at high speeds due to lightweight.
• Costly among the 135cc segment competitors.
• Digital Speedometers could have been better in size as in its siblings.
• No seat covers for the split seats!

In short, Pulsar 135 LS = Headlight(FZ) + Mirrors(Apache) + Indicators(XCD 135) + Fuel Tank(Hunk/Flame) + Seats(Pulsar 180) + Raised Handlebars(Pulsar 180) + Speedometer(XCD 135) + Rear holders(Apache) + LED lamps(XCD 135)
Thats why I like to say that Pulsar 135 LS is a complete Package!

– Sai Sudharshan

This is an article from from: BikeAdvice.in - The Indian Bike Blog

Yet Another Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS Review by Sai Sudarshan

Related posts:

1. New Bajaj Pulsar 180 – The Teen Matures
2. Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTSi UG4 Review by Sachin
3. Bajaj Pulsar 200 DTSi Review
4. Bajaj Pulsar 150cc DTS-i Review
5. Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS DTS-i Preview

As the motoring industry this week had taken a short nap, there is no nerve chilling news apart from the one’s listed below. Let’s take a look!

Honda Renames Shine to CB Shine: The renaming strategy in which Honda beleives has not left their Shine too after renaming Unicorn as CB Unicorn the new name assigned to Shine is CB shine. The CB shine gets an all new viscous air filter and a maintenance free battery. Read More…

All About Tube and Tubeless Tyres: This time it’s Mahavir Kothari who briefs out the differences in Tube and Tubeless tyres with their advantages and disadvantages. Read More…

Pros and Cons of Nitrogen Gas for Tyres: It’s again Mahavir Kothari who describes the pros and cons of Nitrogen gas for tyres. This time he las left the users to decide the tyres they choose to fill N2. Read more…

California Superbike School – My 4 Days of Pure Bliss: It’s Rohan Albal describing his experience with the world’s most favourite quarter litre sports bike taking him to new gaming level at the california Superbike School held at Chennai. Read More…

Chris Pfeiffer’s Stunt Schedule in India: It’s the legend Chris Pfeiffer’s India stunt show schedule that has come out leaving the much expected city Pune behind. Read More…

– Ram

This is an article from from: BikeAdvice.in - The Indian Bike Blog

BikeAdvice Weekly Newsletter No.3

Related posts:

1. BikeAdvice Weekly Newsletter No.1
2. Pros and Cons of Nitrogen Gas for Tyres
3. All About Tube and Tubeless Tyres
4. Honda Renames Shine to CB Shine
5. BikeAdvice Weekly Newsletter No.2

This summer sun will have to shine extra bright to keep away the crowd from this first of its kind stunt mania event from Chris Pfeiffer. We reported a few days back that BMW rider and world stunt biking champion, the madness symbolic icon Chris Pfeiffer is coming to India to enthrall Indians with his sheer lunacy on bikes.

So get ready to beat the heat as we list the dates and schedule for his live performances all around India.

Schedule:
April 29 2010 : Delhi, DLF Saket, 5pm
May 01 2010 : Mumbai, Inorbit Mall, Malad, 5pm
May 04 2010 : Hyderabad, Prasads, 5pm
May 06 2010 : Bangalore, Kanteerava Stadium, 5pm
May 07 2010 : Chennai, Besant Nagar Beach, 5:30pm

Sadly, Pune enthusiasts will miss the fun as it has been omitted from his calendar. The best part of the story is that you just need to be present at the venue. The whole event would be free of cost and no tickets or passes would be required. The event is sponsored by Red Bull and Chris’ bike would be sponsored by BMW. So block all your calendars for the above mentioned times in your respective cities. It would not get any better than this! Till then we leave you with this video from the man himself!

– Saad Khan

This is an article from from: BikeAdvice.in - The Indian Bike Blog

Chris Pfeiffer’s Stunt Schedule in India

Related posts:

1. BikeAdvice Weekly Newsletter No.1
2. Bangalore International Auto Expo 2009
3. Motorcycle Stunts – Do You Really Need it?
4. Relio Quick Auto Mall 2010 -India’s Largest Multicity Automobile Exhibition
5. Honda to Launch New Imported Sports Bike in India

Although we were not able to present the coming of California Superbike School right here in India, we bring to you the complete in house experience from one of our friends who actually participated in it. California Superbike School is one of the best schools in the world which teaches and trains aspiring riders the very basic nuances of the game, racing. Read on for a comprehensive coverage of what went inside.

How would you feel if sitting at your home you stumble across an opportunity to learn high performance motorcycling from people who taught Eric Bostrom, Doug Chandler, Tommy Hayden and James Toseland? I don’t think you would have much to complain. And if you are a motorcycling junkie like I am then you would be pulling your hair out in ecstasy and begin fantasising yourself at the pole position at the grid. I shot out of my home and indulged myself into some shopping. Now I gotta tell you here…I just can’t get enough of motorcycling Gear. I am always looking out for a reason and an opportunity to buy new gear and California Superbike School coming to India was as good an excuse as any other.  Money was splurged onto a Marushin crash helmet, MX-1 One- piece full leather s and full length SMX boots. With almost no money left to even buy myself breakfast I spent whatever last dimes and nickels that I could find in my pocket on DSG Riding Gloves.

Yes, California Superbike School was coming to India. For the first time EVER ! And I was gonna be a part of it…for the first time EVER. My Ninja 250R was gonna serve me at the track…for the first time EVER. With so many ‘first time evers, nervousness and curiosity was very high. Firstly to be able to attend California Superbike Schools sessions I had to get myself teleported to Chennai, a city more than 1000 kms away from the place where I was hatching my pole position dreams, namely Pune. I had to show up at the Madras Motor Sports Club race track at Irrungattukottai, Chennai on the 16th of February on time and in good health. With an extra load of enthusiasm and adrenaline already pumping into my veins an esoteric decision of riding down to Chennai was considered.

That would be the icing on the cake, you would get to tour to Chennai and when there you will get to hit the track… Little did I realise when I made the decision that riding down to Chennai was nowhere an experience anywhere close to the icing on the cake. It was like rubbing my buttocks and my back against a Texan huge-ass Cactus plant. When you are wearing 1.4mm leathers at temperatures wonted of a typical American barbeque you do feel like dead meat. Having to wear leather gear in sun, rain and snow (well it will never snow in this part of the world) is one of those downsides of riding a motorcycle.

It’s a bloody risky thing that you are endeavouring to undertake…you have no long distance experience and have never toured more than 250kms at one go. Sound advice…made sense…except that it made no sense at all. When you ride a motorcycle you assume and accept the associated risks that come along with it. If you wanna tip toe through life only to arrive at death safely, then STAY HOME! Soon I was in the saddle and the Ninja 250R was on NH4 and within no time was munching miles and drinking fuel at a rate comparable to that of a Space Shuttle.

California Superbike School has 1 day classes and a two day camp ! I was blessed with two 2 day camps! Yes! Four days at the track with coaches who did nothing but ride bikes all over the world all throughout the year. It turned out that four English blokes from the UK staff of California Superbike School (will be addressed as CSS henceforth) were to be our Gurus for the 2 two day camps. Amongst those four blokes was Andy Ibbott, the guy who coached Thomas Luethi at MotoGP 250cc class and saw him through as the winner.

“Discover the art of cornering” that is the motto for CSS. Hell yeah…many of you readers would agree that the true essence of motorcycling lies in cornering. Your right wrist bravado will not save your bacon for long; not on the streets or on at the track. The way I see it the roads are full of corners; sure there are a few straights but they only lead you to the next corner.  All braced then at 7am on the 16th of February I was excited to discover the art of cornering from none other than

1. Andy Ibbott
2. Gary Bailey
3. Jet
4. Adam
5. Glenn

The customary Kit check was conducted by Glenn. The leathers, boots, helmets and just about the entire riding gear was checked for to make sure that the gear as a whole was fit to be used at the track. I’ve heard you can learn a lot about traction management by training in rain with the CSS, but I had no desire to do so! The Ninja 250R was my ride back home to Pune and at no cost did I want to total it. Thankfully…it doesn’t rain in Chennai in February..to be honest it didn’t look like Chennai had any changes in weather anytime during the year. It looked as if the only thing that happened in Chennai was that the Sun shone every single day and turned the entire city into a big ass Sauna Bath, for free.

Breakfast was consumed, indemnity forms were signed and we head towards the classroom.  24 riders were divided into two colour coded groups: the white group and the green group. Flags and their significance was explained to us and with these basic things out of the way we were ready to actually start discovering the art of cornering. True motorcycling discussion began with Andy asking us what we thought was our job for the day.

‘To keep the bike stable’ Your job is to keep the bike stable at all costs and with all means. Your job for all the 4 days is to keep the bike stable. Mind you many of the attendees were racers…by keeping it stable he didn’t mean learning to balance. Keeping the bike stable in a corner at lean angles and at high speeds is what we are talking of here. There are four levels of training and everyone starts at level one. Through a series of interactive discussions with the class the foundation was laid and we were prepared for our very first lesson: throttle control.

That was our first lesson, our very first drill. And I can safely conclude today that it was the most important drill. The thing about the lessons at CSS is that each lesson builds on the one before. So if you haven’t got the very first lesson right your chances of even understanding the second lesson are meek. Nevertheless the coaches hound you on the track and make sure you get this drill right.

Throttle control started us off in a single file using 4th gear only, with no brakes to get a feel for the amount of engine braking and control available and develop our sense of speed. Prior to the class I was concerned about having riders passing and riding next to me. But the coaches and the course conductor Mr Gary Bailey made sure every that everybody had understood that the track was a learning environment for the 4 days to come and that if anyone were found close passing or racing they would have to forfeit their place at CSS. It was a threat…and it worked wonderfully well.

I learnt an important aspect about speed that day. Speed is relative.  You may think you’re riding fast until someone smokes past you.  It was common to have a coach pull in front of you and motion for you to follow his/her lead. (You’re doing your best while the coach is glancing back over his/her shoulder at you while cornering. Rather humbling!)

The coach also communicated with you on the track with live hand signals when on the motorcycle. These hand signals were discussed at length in the classroom sessions before so all knew what it meant  when the coach was pantomiming with his hands. Occasionally the coaches even pull you back into the pits or onto the side of the track to discuss something which they see you doing wrong. The track session lasts for about 20-30 mins and once done with the session every student had to get back to his Coach for a detailed discussion of what you thought you were doing wrong and what the coach observed you to be doing wrong. This was the best part of CSS. It was like having personalized coaching.  Here is a pic of one of such discussions with Andy.  This is also perhaps the most interactive part of CSS with a lot of questions being shot at you and a lot of feedback flowing to the coach. If your feedback to the drills and lessons and its execution on the track is good, the coach can really help you analyse your riding.

After the session with your coach it was back into the classroom to talk about “Turn Points”.  This time, when we went onto the track the coaches had placed a large X where they wanted us to turn in for a given turn.  They were “spoon feeding” us, but the idea was to experience turn points which might be placed at a spot differently than you would normally use.  We were allowed to use 3rd & 4th gears, but still no brakes.

The first day was Level 1 and included other drills dealing with turning quickly, minimizing negative rider input and their “two-step turn” process, an introduction to Level 2.  As the exercises progressed, we were allowed to use more gears and braking.  Generally by the end of the day there were no restrictions.  It was as fast or slow as you dared to go, but under control.  If observed riding unsafely, you could be “black-flagged” and pulled from the track.

With second day we were all at level 2. The drills got harder and the sun got merciless. I have never drunk so much water in my life without having to piss even once ! I was sweating profoundly and was trying to make sense of whatever was being taught to me. I was keeping up with riders at the track and it demanded sheer focus and concentration. Executing everything that you have learnt in the classrooms while not forgetting the lessons of day 1 was quite a considerable task, I tell you. By the end of the day..I had a fever. They called it track fever. It was normal and its mainly due to exhaustion. At the end of the day I had fever for all the 4 days. Mornings were fresh and I was always raring to learn more. Riding at the track is really a lot about endurance.  It simply isn’t an easy thing to do to be doing from 0700 hrs to 1800 hrs. I think the only reason I survived it was the euphoria and the adrenaline in me.

How to describe a lap?  Accelerate out of the pits, slow, down shift, listen and look for other bikes approaching.  Snap it to the right for turns 2  the one which is a 90 degree right hander and has no space, hanging off to the left (a good place to drag a knee) and roll on the throttle to take the next left hander.

Shift body left and right quickly for the follow through, engine beginning to snarl. Gas it up on the straight, Brake, snap it over for a quick left hook, then fast, shift the body right for the immediately following long never ending right turn. Tuck in the knees, start pouring on the coal, onto a short straight where you pin the throttle, engine starting to scream, for just a few moments to get past that rider in your way.

Shift body left, knee out for turn 6, scrub off some speed, turn right quickly, tracks second never ending right hander…keep rolling on the gas here, keep tight on the apex here as u wanna get a good drive out of this onto a long straight. Approach a dreaded corner, C8 body way right, knee out, brake, snap it tight for the right, relax arms and body for bumps in the pavement, quick, shift body left for the soon to come left.  Straight again..pin that gas..approach the slowest part of the track the c10 and c11 ‘S’ which ends in an uphill gradient, don’t miss ur apex at c10 or u r screwed..take the c11 and downhill towards a ling fast right hander. The last corner of the track,accelerating,sweeping right. The straight at start finish line in sight, gun the throttle..approach c1 at speeds in excess of 200 kmph, suspension being compressed, stay relaxed, ripples in pavement, don’t want to upset bike.

All this in just over 2 mins. Ok I could never do it in 2 mins but there were racers doing all the above 3.17 kms in 1.46 mins. Amazing..if u ask me. Was it worth the cost? You bet!  It was several weeks before the perpetual smile started to wear off.  Any time I reflect on the class a big grin spreads across my face. Did I learn anything that I can use on the street?  Most definitely and the classes revealed weaknesses I need to work on. I also noticed on the way home a reduced need to twist the throttle up.  It seemed the “Need for Speed” had been quenched, at least for the time being.

California Superbike School is a first class operation with top notch personnel.  Everyone was great and it was obvious they really enjoy what they do, but at the same time are serious about it.  They run a tight operation, yet in an un-stressful way.  I can’t say enough good things about them.  You will come away an improved rider.

At the end of it all I was level 4 certified from CSS and there was a small but splendid certificate distribution ceremony kinda thing in the late evening of 4th day. With the certificate safely tucked in my tank-bag I got up the next day and started riding towards Pune. To this date…the level4 certificate from CSS is my most prized possession!

Compiled by: Saad Khan
Wordings & Rider: Rohan Albal

This is an article from from: BikeAdvice.in - The Indian Bike Blog

California Superbike School – My 4 Days of Pure Bliss

Related posts:

1. BikeAdvice Weekly Newsletter No.3
2. Yamaha RD 350 – History of an Indian Superbike
3. Royal Enfield Machismo 500 (Limited Edition) Ownership Review by Akash
4. GQ Run – Three Bikers & 5846 kms, Spreading The Message of Safe Riding
5. Tips for Improving Your Bike’s Mileage