Back To School

Back to school

ROUNDUP

CAMRON E. BUSSARD

IF YOU’RE LIKE MOST MOTORCYCLISTS,

you want to become the best rider you can possibly be. But the question is, how do you do that?

One way is just to keep on riding a lot, and eventually you’ll get better simply by virtue of all the experience you’ll have accumulated. But there’s a way to get better more quickly by taking advantage of someone else’s wealth of riding experience rather than waiting until you accumulate your own: Go to riding school. There are quite a few motorcycle schools available around the country that cater to just about every rider, from beginner to expert, and that cover all types of riding, from roadracing to motocross.

Perhaps the best-known of the street schools are those under the auspices of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) for beginning and novice riders. These are set up and run all over the country as independent local schools, but use a curriculum devised by the MSF. The

independent schools may vary slightly, but they essentially consist of a 1 5-hour course, divided into seven hours in a classroom and eight hours of instructional riding.

MSF schools are ideal for beginning and novice riders because they emphasize basic skills and a fundamental understanding of the motorcycle. Most MSF schools also provide motorcycles for the riding segment of the courses, which is a godsend for people who want to learn how to ride before buying a bike. Tuition costs range from $35 for state-subsidized schools to $ 150 for rider-funded operations. An additional benefit of MSF schools is that, by successfully completing the course, you might be eligible for up to a 10-percent discount on your motorcycle insurance premium.

For more-advanced training, something like the Rider Advanced Training School (RATS) just might be the ticket. Taught by Reg Pridmore, former national-class

roadracer, and Robert Beach of Beach European tours, RATS schools are unlike MSF schools in that they are taught on racetracks with riders using their own machines. The emphasis is on building confidence for street riding, not on racing. Using a racetrack allows the instructors to control the conditions and variables so they can get a better focus on each student’s riding.

RATS began as a school for BMW riders, but Pridmore says that they have been conducting more and more marque-specific and all-brand schools. The goal of RATS is to teach a better understanding of motorcycle behavior, based on the notion that you are a better rider once you know how your bike responds in any given situation. Toward that end, RATS provides personal attention with a four-toone student-to-teacher ratio. Also, an average one-day school entails roughly 150 to 200 miles of track time, in addition to personal offtrack consultation and instruction.

RATS students range from firsttime riders to expert racers, with an ever-increasing female participation. The school travels around the country. so you'll probably want to wait until one is held in your area. But each class is limited to 45 riders, and you usually hav e to make reservations well in advance. The $ 1 75 to $ 1 85 fee includes insurance, a trackside ambulance and lunch.

Both the MSF and RATS schools emphasize street riding, but if your interest is in roadracing, or at least in riding a sportbike more competently. something such as Keith Code’s California Superbike School will be closer to what you need. This school is as much a philoso ph ical investigation into the fine art of fast riding as it is a practicum of racing. Code believes that you need to knowhow to think about going fast before

actually trying to go fast: he teaches the school accordingly, to help you explore your limitations without fear or undue danger.

Taught on a race course and with race-prepared bikes. Code's school is also a way for someone to get a taste of what racing is about for less than $200. He also runs advanced schools for more-experienced riders, featuring more individual attention and track time: but w ith a price of $325. this personal attention costs you more. Both schools are usuallytaught in conjunction with a major roadrace. which makes it fairly easy for pavement-racing fans to attend one in their area.

These three are among the most well-known street/roadrace riding schools, and Garv Bailee's Motocross School is the most famous for off-road tutoring. Bailey, father of former 500cc and Supercross champ

David Bailey, conducts two-day classes in Washington and Nevada, and extensive four-day clinics at his MX ranch in Axton. Virginia.

There are countless other good schools conducted in parking lots and at racetracks all over the country. in addition to many courses taught by high schools and universities. But all of them are like any other form of education: You get out of them only what you put into them. The point, though, is that they offer riders an opportunity to improve their skills without the danger of common road hazards.

Are they worth it? Well, look at it this way: The cost of any of these schools is less than the expense of repairing the effects of even a minor accident. Besides, if the skills you acquire prevent even one fall, you w ill have saved money. And become a better rider in the process.