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Teacher - Student
By David Podolsky
 Teachers can also be students. There are so many facets to setting up suspension and riding a motorcycle skillfully that teaching people how to do those things can literally become your life’s work. But even then you can still be a student.
When I’m teaching I often liken motorcycle riding to playing musical instruments. Some people can play multiple instruments whereas others just one. The same holds true for some riders as they can perhaps only ride street bikes while others have the ability to road race, ride trials, moto-cross, flat track and more.
The idea of comparing riding to being a musician isn’t too farfetched as so much about riding is really about finesse; just like playing an instrument. Very minute movements that, when executed quickly & smoothly, make the difference between mediocre riders and the very best. To accomplish this some sense of “feel” is required just as having a sense of timing or being able to an off-key note is important to a musician.
 I’ve been club racing with WERA, CCS and AMA Sports for years and won a dozen National Championships, and for the last 3 seasons I’ve also been the Eastern Director for Sportbike Track Time and running track days. I’ve watched our customers (who are mostly street riders) circulate the track, not really improving their riding. Too often we see a poor decision on passing or some type of riding error lead to a crash. Our idea was to create a simple, accessible and affordable school that would give riders the tools to continue developing their current skills and even take them to the next level.
 Creating a strong foundation of basic techniques and some understanding of how and why things work is important before anything complex or difficult can be attempted. To incorporate new styles or techniques it’s often easier to have someone introduce you to the concept and show you how it is done before attempting it yourself. This is why a teacher is key; these small movements which require finesse and feel are hard to invent or perfect on your own especially when riding since you are basically in your helmet all on your own.
Enter the Performance Riding Option or PRO School. We run some of our track days at Monticello Motorclub in NY and this is where we’ve based the school. This all day school has 5 classroom sessions and 5 on-track drills to go with the lessons. The last 2 sessions are there to try and put it all together.
What we’ve targeted are some of the most important skills which we see least understood by the average track day rider:
- Finding your line in any corner – what type of corner is it?
- How to steer the bike beyond simple counter steering
- Braking techniques – smooth transitions and trail braking
- Body Position expanded – feet, legs and upper body help get you positioned on the bike properly so you can corner faster
- Passing – where and how to set up a clean pass
 So far we’ve run two schools and they have been awesome. Travis and Kyle Wyman who are currently racing AMA Supersport and the new Harley class have come out to assist us and their AMA Racing experience and viewpoint has been really beneficial and interesting to the students. A video of Kyle dicing it up with Danny Eslick and Jake Holden was a great way to show some real life passing. After each school the positive feedback has been boosting our confidence that not only do we know what we are doing on a motorcycle but are breaking it down into digestible information that the students can use.
When we surveyed the students about which drill was their favorite, we were pleasantly surprised to see that at least one student picked each of the drills. Seeing that all the drills were successful and enjoyable really made us feel good that all our hard work was going somewhere positive.
 Now on a recent track day we had the PRO School as part of the program. We also had a Ducati Fast Track Day which brought out multi-time World Champion Doug Polen. Doug was running his One on One School where he rides with a single student and, utilizing helmet to helmet communication, gives them advice about what they’re doing right or wrong. Of course this was very cool and I wanted to jump in a session and ride with Doug too, so I made arrangements with them. Can a former World Superbike and World Endurance Champion give me a few pointers? Without a doubt. Doug has been touted as one of the best tire testers on the planet and can see and explain things that are really insightful and do it in such a way that anyone can understand.
So I finished the classroom drill I was teaching our PRO School class and went over to Doug’s pit area and had the Chatter-box radio installed in my helmet. We went out for a ride and it began raining. No big issue, we just rode smooth and I tried to be as on line and with good technique as I could at the slower speed. It was very cool to get the chance to ride with Doug and have his input about how I could improve. I’d love to do it in the dry where I could push a bit harder. I got off the bike and ran back over to the class where the students had just returned from the on-track drill.
 As I stood at the front of the class, the irony didn’t escape me. I was both Teacher and Student literally back to back. Should I even tell the class that their exalted leader was just a student too? Just as a good musician is never done perfecting his craft, an avid rider is never finished perfecting his riding. I remember Mick Doohan (5 time Grand Prix champion) said he still enjoyed riding and racing since he was still working on his technique and getting better all the time.
As racers we all want to go 1 second faster tomorrow than we did today. It gets harder as you go just like losing weight on a diet (the really fat guy knocks off the first 10 pounds easy, right?).
Even equipped with the Wyman brothers, we as STT staff members are not World Champions or ex-AMA Factory Pro racers. There are several really good schools available that have instructors that are those things; Doug Polen’s One on One or The Yamaha Champions School for example. Aside from the cool factor of having a celebrity instructor, I know these programs have a lot to offer since I’ve tried them myself and have been strongly influenced by their techniques. These guys have raced at a higher level and have yards more experience. Our fledgling PRO Schoolis not to trying to rival these schools. Our goal is to create a school that is affordable and accessible since it is available at a local track day.
 Regardless of how well someone explains what they are doing on a motorcycle, there is only so much a student can absorb and attempt in one day. It is just not possible for a rider to change 4 or 5 things about their skill set all at once.
So far it has been a really positive experience and I’ve enjoyed the instructing at this level more than the Novice program since we can really get into the nitty-gritty of what we are doing on the motorcycle and how to go faster.
Moral of the story – Next time the opportunity arises to be the teacher, do it! It feels good to give someone who wants to learn a helping hand (just please be sure you know what you are doing before you try to tell someone else what they should be doing – Ed). And the next time the opportunity comes along for you to learn from someone else don’t be too proud to become a student again and keep learning.
Oh yeah, a big thanks to fellow instructor Kevin Link who has been invaluable in making the school get off the ground.
See you at the track!!
Editors note – the last PRO School being offered by Sportbike Track Time Eastern is on 8-23 at Monticello Motorclub for $100 above the normal cost of the track day.
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