I was constantly scaring myself at a fast right turn because my front tire was losing grip a little there every time I pushed the pace and I feared a front end washout. I was asked how hard I was gripping the handlebars, and this made me realize I WAS death-gripping the bike that day. I worked on relaxing my grip and it was like MAGIC. Turns out I was forcing the bike to lose grip by not allowing it to settle into the turn properly. When pushing harder, it's important not to "tense up" on the bike.

You keep people alive and living the dream by providing these vids!!!! Thank you. On my 4th super sport, with 25 years of riding. Still learning and loving it all!!!! When my friends and family say I’m good, I say I still have a lot to learn. That’s not me being humble, that’s me being real and wanting to continue growing.

@Ridelikeachampionycrs

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@soujrnr

9 ай бұрын

And THAT attitude is why you will continue to grow more and more!! Best wishes to you!

So grateful you are still keeping us safe out there Nick. Back in the 90's when you were a motorcycle editor/contributer your series of articles on street safety kept me alive in the urban jungle. Still remember you teaching us about the 'moth syndrome' when riding in a group, proper defensive street riding and cornering made me a better rider for sure. Back then i was on a modded 82 CB900F and now at 52 i have my dream bike, Vmax 1200 (bone stock) and i find myself glued to your channel for your LIFE SAVING advice and demo's. Trail braking a Vmax is ummm kinda fun LOL. Do you remember the hopped up lime green VMax around 94ish? You were a 'hired gun' to pilot that beast! Anyway i'm thankful for all your years of hard work you put into this.

0:23 I had a moment like this recently on a corner that i ride every day, but this particular day I really gunned it and felt the "holy crap I almost lost it" feeling. Like you said my bike was shaking around. I felt lucky to make it out of that turn and learned a nice lesson about restraint.

Champ school was some of the best motorcycle money I’ve spent in 50 plus years of riding.

@Ridelikeachampionycrs

2 жыл бұрын

You are awesome Mike. Just used a pic of you on Facebook.

Great explanation of what a rider can feel when is too fast in front of us thanks for the advice !

This hit hard. Crashed out of P2 in a race I qualified P7 in just last weekend after getting a holeshot at Phillip Island. I was overriding the bike trying to hold off those behind me, a front end loss at T8 was the result. Ride the bike to the position you and it are capable of. Cheers

Nice Job Nick! Totally makes sense.

Awesome stuff, thanks!!

Great video on what to expect while you are trying to develop "feel"!

This is amazing!

Brilliant, thanks.

Thank you for the great reminders. I know I have ignored this sound advice in the past and had it bite me.

Amazing.

Great video

Love your videos, consistency is the key! It took me about 5 years to get my eyes to go where they should, once I did, i got so much better riding the track!

@Ridelikeachampionycrs

2 жыл бұрын

Awesome!

We street riders are in a life long battle for our own personal championships. We win when we ride our entire lives and our riding does not Our riding career

That and if you know you can take a few Corners a little faster than you normally do it sets you up for your next corners and you might blow them or more likely to blow those Corners that come after those Corners because you're not used to being at that speed so you have to readjust all over again

Ahh man 😍 You have a spondon TZ750. They used to make them a few miles from my house.... and I thought I couldn’t like this channel much more 👍🏻

@Ridelikeachampionycrs

4 жыл бұрын

It's Nick's favorite...

I have both "A Twist of the Wrist" and "A Twist of the Wrist 2" by Keith Code, and in the second one, one of the actors said that he must need to work out more since his arms are too tired, and of course, Code intervened in the film as the narrator by saying that this thinking is a sign of being "tight on the bars," suggesting that if you think it's your lack of strength, it's because you have bad technique. Ok, so always rely on your legs and core? What if those aren't strong? I feel like every time I watch one of these racing instruction videos, nowhere do I hear the suggestion of weightlifting/fitness as being an obvious regiment to keep up on. I did the Tail of the Dragon on my R6 a couple of weeks ago, and I can tell you that my weak legs and core were nowhere near explosive enough to keep shifting my body over the bike while wholly relying on my legs instead of the bars for leverage, and come the halfway point of that 11-mile stretch, I was so exhausted that my riding suffered, either hanging on the bars and creating wiggle, or having to slow the bike down due to my lack of agility on the bike and ability to maneuver myself quickly enough. On one occasion, I came into the steepest corner of the stretch on the way BACK from my initial run up, and after feeling that I was lazy getting my body over the bike due to fatigue and feeling the bike take more lean angle, I panicked and ditched the bike into the embankment on the opposite side of the road. Luckily, I didn't go down and there was no damage to the bike. Bottom line is that my legs and core are way out of shape. Now imagine if I started a weightlifting routine that emphasizes squats, deadlifts and core work and in 6 months to a year, became significantly stronger in those areas. I would be much more athletic on the bike. In my opinion, these riding schools NEED to encourage fitness as a crucial element of great riding. To be more leggy and less army on a motorcycle requires a great deal of athleticism in the lower body.

@Ridelikeachampionycrs

3 жыл бұрын

We have a entire program called ChampBody. :-)

@NYGiantsDiEhArD

3 жыл бұрын

@@Ridelikeachampionycrs Oh wow, I wasn't aware of that! I'll have to check that out. I can't wait to do ChampSchool someday.

@patrickmba7638

Жыл бұрын

How's it going one year down d line? Any significant improvement in core strength? Any noticeable effect on ur riding?

👌🤙👍

When I rush corner entries I miss my apex by about 1 to 2 feet, when I hit my apex right I feel I'm going way to slow. I figure the actual difference in speed is only about 5mph but feels like so much more. Still learning to trust my eyes although I thought I had vision figured out about 100 times but find my self still learning. Maybe I'll see you guys this winter and you can help sort out my issues LOL.

Sorry for the treatise, but injuries and costly bike repairs are at stake here. You said, "Your bike is at the limit when it's moving around." Of the three solutions you offer, I'd put changes in suspension setup first on the list because, in my experience, suspension setup is the number one cause of a bike moving around (number 2 is incorrect tire pressure). The biggest setup culprit, and luckily the easiest to diagnose & fix? Fork pogo. Most motorcycles pogo brand new on the showroom floor. What's more, the consequent handling issues are exacerbated by trail braking, the foundational skill of your school. The second culprit is the shock jumping. What is rear traction like during trail braking when the shock is trying to punt you over the wind screen? Then fork pogo reacts and punches you in the mouth with the triple clamp. Back and forth, back and forth. That's a bull ride, not a motorcycle ride. Fork and shock oil ONLY get thinner over time. The Moto Gods gave us adjustable suspension for a reason. I've no idea how a student could learn the valuable skills you have for them while trying (subconsciously) to wrestle a bike that's trying to spit them at every turn. They will learn them to some degree regardless and... ride faster... on a bike incapable of supporting their new pace. Boom, down they go with no clue why. If you check all the bikes the morning of your next school, I guarantee you'll find 90% of them have fork pogo. The remainder will develop it by the end of the second or third session when the fork oil is hot. None of your instructors ever raced a bike with fork pogo. Since trail braking is the core principle you teach, the third culprit is particularly salient. Bottoming the forks. When the forks bottom out, the only suspension you have left is tire flex. We humans just keep getting heavier. What are the chances that a 200 lb / 90 kg rider is going to bottom out the forks on an R3, MT-07, or R7? Do you require cable ties on the bikes to monitor that possibility, to see when riders are getting close?

Hey Nick, love your content. Thanks and keep it up Sir. I've been riding for 45 years. I live in Monterey and I just bought a new 2023 MT-09-SP and I'm looking forward to a track day at Laguna Seca. I see that Yamaha has the track calendar blocked for a few days in July. Any chance that is your Champ School crew? Does my new Yamaha purchase qualify me for any opportunity to ride anywhere local with your Champ School;....perhaps Laguna Seca or Sanoma, or anywhere in Northern California??

So it's more advantageous to ride your best ride. And hope the other guys push their ride a little too hard:-)

Ooooo, what track is that at 3:22?

What does "rushing corner entries" mean?

@nickbuchananracing

3 жыл бұрын

It means trying to be faster in that corner by the method of bringing way too much speed into the corner. We want to carry in speed but only what we can handle for our skill level and what the corner/bike can handle. If you carry too much speed into the corner, you will likely be sloppy and miss your apex( usually apex too early because your in too fast to set up for a good late apex) or it will spoil your exit drive because you spend all your focus just getting the thing to make the turn and not getting the bike lined up for the exit. So you may be quicker in the begining of that corner, but other riders will be faster on the exit and pull away like your standing still.

I get the wobble and the "woah, woah" and anxiety when I go to pass someone on the highway at 70-75 mph and hitting the middle stripe or line separating the lanes. Scares me to death! Does that mean my bike (Honda Shadow 750) cannot handle 70-75 mph?

@tobijahreid5315

2 жыл бұрын

Assuming you're front tire isn't badly cupped and your steering tube bearings are in good condition there shouldn't be a handling problem at 75mph on a Shadow 750. What matters more is if that scenario is uncomfortable to you then it is too fast. I ride a Suzuki S40 650 cruiser and as a light bike that buffets easily some days I just stay in the right lane or take the back roads. 147,000 2 wheel miles later I may not be the fastest rider but I'm alive and always got to where I was going. Be safe out there friend.

@spartanx169x

11 ай бұрын

How does it feel with brand new tires with the recommended air pressure? Tires that have been worn unevenly can make the bike pretty unstable. Your bike should be able to handle 75mph no problem even as much as 100. I know I have friends that have them. Highway lines often have built in reflectors so you have to be cautious in how aggressive you change lanes. A hard change in direction over a reflector could be dangerous. Best of luck.