Opinions on riding schools?

[Commander_Chaos]

I'm a big believer in riding schools. My experience has been that I see drastically improved lap times from doing them. The ones I've done are ART with Team Pro-Motion and California Superbike Cornering School. I liked both for different reasons.

Anyone else here have one to recommend?

[kiki231]

i will be taking the Schwantz School in the spring-- i will pass along my opinions!

[Commander_Chaos]

i will be taking the Schwantz School in the spring-- i will pass along my opinions!

Is Kevin Schwantz really going to be there?

[yamaha_george]

Any race day with half decent staff will teach you some thing, the fact it is some well know racer who put his name to the company does NOT mean you get better tuition.

If you are a track day virgin admit it and go that school first it will instill confidence if you go to a track where everyone is actually a racer looking to improve you are a liability to yourself and everyone else.

Everyone there is out to prove how fast they can go and that amount of hormones unleashed is not always good,
I turn up to ride and listen, the fast bit will come once I know the technique being taught and then mastered then I can gradually turn up the wick until I frighten myself stupid yet again.

[kiki231]

i will be taking the Schwantz School in the spring-- i will pass along my opinions!

Is Kevin Schwantz really going to be there?

Yup.
He is there, does not only the classroom sessions, but also the track sessions with the group too. Mitch Boehm is there too.

[Commander_Chaos]

I know that a famous name doesn't guarantee good instruction. Last year I passed on taking a 1-day class with Freddie Spencer. I thought the 600 dollars they were asking was ridiculous. I didn't think I'd be 600 dollars faster afterward. Dollars spent vs. return is a big deal to me.

I am curious, though to see whether Schwantz's involvement adds anything to the school. It all comes down to how well thought-out the curriculum is and whether the people involved are good teachers.

I like Cali Superbike for how logical the drills and instruction were. TPM was good because the guy who taught it was personable, knowledgeable and really loved riding.

[cad600]

I've heard nothing but good things about the Schwantz school. He usually has some guest instructors there at some of the events. I know that Collin Edwards was scheduled for 2 guest instructors segments a few years ago. I've wanted to go to this for a long time, I just wish the home track was still Road Atlanta but Barber is only 2 hours away so its not too bad. But it is expensive even if it is 2 days. At the same time, I think the type of instruction you get at the Schwantz school is different as well. It is not a racing school. It is suppose to be a riding school.

I had heard good things about the Freddie Spencer school to though. I'm curious as to why you thought $600 for one day was not a good deal. Had you heard bad reviews of it?

Honda now sponsors the Schwantz school and if you have a new CBR600RR, and I think still the GSXR600, they will let you use your bike on the track instead of using the schools bikes (at a cost of $600). Only thing I am not sure about is if they offer any insurance on the bikes they have. Reason is that if you bend it, you just bought it. Could be very expensive weekend if something goes wrong.

[China_Racer_1]

Its racing what could go wrong?