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Yamaha Champions Riding School

Discussion in 'General' started by Chip, Sep 19, 2016.

  1. Chip

    Chip Registered

    Riding Schools have been brought up quite a bit lately so I thought I would post my experiences at YCRS this past week.

    I attended YCRS on September the 12th and 13th at New Jersey Motorsports Park the day after the MotoAmerica National.

    First thing you need understand straight away is that YCRS is NOT a racing school. The focus of the school is teach you how a motorcycle works (motorcycle chassis dynamics) and how to control the motorcycle. They do not cover race starts, race craft, or lap times.....in fact, I didn't do a complete lap at "speed" until half way through the second day!

    Bikes:
    I would highly recommend taking the school on the YCRS school bikes or at the very least a good street bike. I would not recommend taking the school on your race bike. There is a lot of stopping on the race track (yes, I know it sounds strange) and a lot of parking lot work. Street bikes work much better in these conditions. Kick stands and street tires work better as well. Its also easier for the instructors to help you if you have a brake light. I did the school on a 2015 CBR1000SP street bike with a 1040cc big bore motor making 190hp. It was good that the CBR was a street bike, but it would have been better on one of the school R6's. The school bikes are well prepared and they have a full staff to support the bikes. If did it again, it would be on the school R6's.

    Instructors:
    The instructors are amazing. Nick Ienatsch and Co. have assembled an incredibly diverse and experienced staff. Our school was special with guest instructors JD Beech, Garrett Gerloff, and Cameron Boobietittie....but their regular staff are all very special riders and human beings. Fast guys like Kyle Wyman and Chris Peris....and bad asses like N2 owner Rob Cichielo and Marine Lieutenant General Robert Schmidle. Everybody there is super experienced, helpful and worth listing too.

    The instructors worked with us as an entire group, small groups (3 or 4) and individually. Any time you had a question or needed something, the instructors would bend over backwards to help. Great group of people.

    Curriculum:
    I have been doing this for a long time and I have done a few other schools. The hardest part about doing things like this, is making the school interesting. The YCRS curriculum is well thought out, logical in its approach, effective, and entertaining. The information is presented in manner that builds on itself and the track time allows you to experiment and test each skill. At no point did I wish I was somewhere else and more than a few times I thought...."holy shit, I can't believe I was doing it "the other way" all these years."

    Who was in the class?:
    We had current racers, former racers, MotoAmerica crew guys, street guys, car guys, and a 10 year old kid (Ty Scott) that was insanely fast on a Moriwaki 250. A lot of guys were there for their second and third time (which says a lot) and out of 35 guys, over two day.......nobody fell down......nobody. Bike control....

    What will you learn?:
    The biggest take away for me was in bike control. I am sure other students picked up other things, but for me it was all about how to use the controls to make the bike do different things. Brakes, tires, body position, controls, vision, weight distribution, down shifting, lines, acceleration, preparation, fitness, etc....its all covered and reinforced with well thought out exercises.

    At the end of the day, I would recommend YCRS to any rider at any level. It is expensive, but it is truly a first class program run by super experienced people, with a well thought out curriculum.

    I can't tell you that I am a faster rider after taking YCRS, but I can tell you that I am a BETTER rider who has more understanding and more control over the motorcycle which will ultimately make me a faster and SAFER rider.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. fastfreddie

    fastfreddie Midnight Oil Garage

    A welcomed report...

    I had wanted to go but a prior traveling commitment woulda put me out of it, mentally, for all the driving. I coulda barely made it on time, with no sleep. No bueno.

    Had you ridden NJMP before?

    What was the biggest bit of bike control info you took away from this?
     
  3. StanTheMan

    StanTheMan Well-Known Member

    Chip, you didn't crash and lose another finger did you?
     
  4. Banditracer

    Banditracer Dogs - because people suck

    You're not even close to dragging your elbow, WTF ? :p :Poke: :crackup:
     
  5. Chip

    Chip Registered

    Still got all 9 fingers....
     
  6. Chip

    Chip Registered

    First time riding NJMP. We did Lighting the first day (didn't really like the track) and Thunderbolt (liked it a lot) the second day.

    I don't think it was any one thing, but more of a combination of things. We did a drill in the paddock using a loop of two double apex corners. We were supposed to load the tire, brake to maximum and trail to the slowest part of the corner and then accelerate to the next combination. By the end of the drill I was dragging knee in the middle of the corner.....on a liter bike.........in first gear......the amount of front end feel when its done right is amazing. Dragging knee in first gear in a parking lot on a liter bike dumb....but nobody fell down....

    Lots of stuff like that..
     
  7. fastfreddie

    fastfreddie Midnight Oil Garage

    That sounds awesome...sorry I missed it. Did you run the loop both left and right?
     
  8. Wheel Bearing

    Wheel Bearing Professional low sider

    Glad you liked it! I was wondering when "that person from the beeb" was going to report back after they went through the class.
     
    cajun636 likes this.
  9. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    Looking at that picture, I can't help but ask.....are you Pedrosa sized?
     
    bleacht likes this.
  10. metricdevilmoto

    metricdevilmoto Just forking around

    The picture is deceptive. Chip is like 6'5".
     
    TurboBlew likes this.
  11. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    Well in that case he must be riding the new WSBK spec Honda 2150cc V4 with KWS porting and a ballistic lightweight battery.
     
  12. TurboBlew

    TurboBlew Registers Abusers

    that suit looks like its never touched the ground!!! :D
     
  13. ekraft84

    ekraft84 Registered User

    Good stuff. I'd like to do that school at some point in the near future. Always good learning new techniques to improve.
     
  14. Chip

    Chip Registered

    Yes! We ran it both left and right. Very helpful. Take a look at their schedule and go before they head out to Inde Motorsports Ranch for the winter.....

    Lol! I tower over Pedrosa by like 4 inches! Seriously, Pedrobot is a tiny human. If you ever meet him in person, check out his feet. They are baby sized.....its really weird.

    Nice to meet you Mike! Thanks for your help on Monday evening!

    On that side.......

    I believe that even somebody as fast as you could learn from their school. Lets do one of the winter schools....this place looks cool!

    http://www.indemotorsports.com/
     
    metricdevilmoto likes this.
  15. ekraft84

    ekraft84 Registered User

    I'm in.
     
  16. neckbrace

    neckbrace Well-Known Member

    I'm planning to attend one of these next season. I know Tyler Scott and his dad, good people.
     
  17. BigBird

    BigBird blah

    Damn it. I'm going to have to save my fantasy football winnings and do the school. Too many good people and riders saying this is a great school.
     
    beac83 likes this.
  18. SpeedWerks Racing

    SpeedWerks Racing Well-Known Member

    That kid is the 'real deal' and you will hear his name a lot in the future.
    Amazing speed and incredible bike control for someone his age/size.
    Mike is a cool dad too.
     
    neckbrace likes this.
  19. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    You won't be sorry.
     
    BigBird likes this.
  20. neckbrace

    neckbrace Well-Known Member

    No doubt.
     

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