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22-03-2011, 01:57pm
G'day all. I went and did this Stay Upright course at Broadford (The state motorcycle complex?) this March and thought Id pass on my impressions for any who might be considering it. This is called the advanced course but it seems to be just the next step up from their license course. Ive had my license for a few years now and the Busa since January and not having done any training since my license I'd decided to bite the bullet.
The course covers elements such as low speed manouvering, braking, cornering with a couple of exercises dedicated to each element. All of the exercises are carried out on track with a few siting laps of the track itself as the first order of the day so everyone is familiar with place and comfortable with their bike in that environment. The feel of the course is pretty relaxed, theres no pass or fail element to it and if you stuff up an exercise theres merely encouragement about what you did well and pointers for how to do it better. (Low speed manouvering on a long wheel base heavy Busa is a challenge!)
The instructors were, friendly, easy going, knowledgeable guys, approachable for questions and throughout the course I feel like I got good, useful feedback from all of them.
As all the exercises take place on the track your basically doing laps the whole time which was great for getting familiar with the corners and getting your entry/exit points right and when you can get on the gas. This became even more useful as the day wore on and there were sections where you would follow your instructor around the track and watch their lines and work on the elements you had been learning. Then you would lead your group for a couple of laps followed by your instructor at the time whio would then give you immediate feedback about your lines and so on. I should say that at all times the instructors made clear that you do the exercises at whatever speed you were comfortable with which made for a pretty inclusive environment for the differing skill levels of the attending riders. Having said that I was at no time told to slow down and felt I was able to explore my limits and develop my skills and frankly I dont think the instructors minded one bit keeping up with me while I tried. Indeed, I didnt feel like I was going particularly hard (despite trying) although my confidence grew with my familiarity with the bike and the track after I concluded one exercise and a few of us were standing around talking a fellow rider observed to me "mate your gonna need a new tire after this" and to my surprise ( and frankly delight) when I checked out my rear tire it was balled up and scuffed to buggery! Well, after that there was no stopping me and I really threw myself into every lap loving every minute of it. Because of the power on a busa you can comfortably ride Broadford in second and third and keep up with people but by the end of the day I was winding out third and snicking fourth on the main straight just to hear those couple of seconds of glorous engine noise before reefing on the anchors and down into second for the climb into turn 1.
I guess because we were all motorcyclists it was a friendly atmosphere and we all talked pretty easily no matter what bikes we were on. There was another Busa there along with mine, cbr600s, ducati monsters, 250cc suzuki, gs1200 and a Victory cruiser and many others just to give you an idea of the diversity of riders and machines. While there was no overtaking allowed I did not feel like this was an imposition and certainly made sense given the type of course it is and frankly the riders were so spread out that at times I felt like I had the track to myself which was great. I wanted to practise my corner entry and exits, changing lines and so on, and not having to concern myself with where other riders were so for my purposes it was great. Im not particularly competitive but I was keen to try out myself and this bike on a track and I have to say this course was a great opportunity for it. There are plenty of breaks throughout the day and plenty to eat and drink, nothing gourmet, just sandwiches, tea coffe, water juice etc. There was no shortage of enjoyable chatting with fellow riders and instructors which is what you would expect from people with our shared interest. It didnt matter what you were riding or what your skill level everyone was there to improve and it was a good vibe. Having said that, of the 20 riders there I doubt whether any of the people there were under 30 and certainly the majority were over 40. There is a certificate of attendance at the end and a photographer snaps you on your bike throughout the day although Im yet to see her handiwork.
In summing up, a good day. I dont think you could come away from it without learning something about yourself and your bike and you certainly will come away from it buggered as its a pretty long day 8:30 to 4:30. Its probably a bit of a long review but hopefully useful to anyone considering this course.
Cheers MGBUSA.
The course covers elements such as low speed manouvering, braking, cornering with a couple of exercises dedicated to each element. All of the exercises are carried out on track with a few siting laps of the track itself as the first order of the day so everyone is familiar with place and comfortable with their bike in that environment. The feel of the course is pretty relaxed, theres no pass or fail element to it and if you stuff up an exercise theres merely encouragement about what you did well and pointers for how to do it better. (Low speed manouvering on a long wheel base heavy Busa is a challenge!)
The instructors were, friendly, easy going, knowledgeable guys, approachable for questions and throughout the course I feel like I got good, useful feedback from all of them.
As all the exercises take place on the track your basically doing laps the whole time which was great for getting familiar with the corners and getting your entry/exit points right and when you can get on the gas. This became even more useful as the day wore on and there were sections where you would follow your instructor around the track and watch their lines and work on the elements you had been learning. Then you would lead your group for a couple of laps followed by your instructor at the time whio would then give you immediate feedback about your lines and so on. I should say that at all times the instructors made clear that you do the exercises at whatever speed you were comfortable with which made for a pretty inclusive environment for the differing skill levels of the attending riders. Having said that I was at no time told to slow down and felt I was able to explore my limits and develop my skills and frankly I dont think the instructors minded one bit keeping up with me while I tried. Indeed, I didnt feel like I was going particularly hard (despite trying) although my confidence grew with my familiarity with the bike and the track after I concluded one exercise and a few of us were standing around talking a fellow rider observed to me "mate your gonna need a new tire after this" and to my surprise ( and frankly delight) when I checked out my rear tire it was balled up and scuffed to buggery! Well, after that there was no stopping me and I really threw myself into every lap loving every minute of it. Because of the power on a busa you can comfortably ride Broadford in second and third and keep up with people but by the end of the day I was winding out third and snicking fourth on the main straight just to hear those couple of seconds of glorous engine noise before reefing on the anchors and down into second for the climb into turn 1.
I guess because we were all motorcyclists it was a friendly atmosphere and we all talked pretty easily no matter what bikes we were on. There was another Busa there along with mine, cbr600s, ducati monsters, 250cc suzuki, gs1200 and a Victory cruiser and many others just to give you an idea of the diversity of riders and machines. While there was no overtaking allowed I did not feel like this was an imposition and certainly made sense given the type of course it is and frankly the riders were so spread out that at times I felt like I had the track to myself which was great. I wanted to practise my corner entry and exits, changing lines and so on, and not having to concern myself with where other riders were so for my purposes it was great. Im not particularly competitive but I was keen to try out myself and this bike on a track and I have to say this course was a great opportunity for it. There are plenty of breaks throughout the day and plenty to eat and drink, nothing gourmet, just sandwiches, tea coffe, water juice etc. There was no shortage of enjoyable chatting with fellow riders and instructors which is what you would expect from people with our shared interest. It didnt matter what you were riding or what your skill level everyone was there to improve and it was a good vibe. Having said that, of the 20 riders there I doubt whether any of the people there were under 30 and certainly the majority were over 40. There is a certificate of attendance at the end and a photographer snaps you on your bike throughout the day although Im yet to see her handiwork.
In summing up, a good day. I dont think you could come away from it without learning something about yourself and your bike and you certainly will come away from it buggered as its a pretty long day 8:30 to 4:30. Its probably a bit of a long review but hopefully useful to anyone considering this course.
Cheers MGBUSA.
