Ride Like a Pro West Coast Review

[MarkG]

SUMMARY

The Ride Like a Pro, West Coast is a course worth taking. Ride Like a Pro West Coast This is a five hour class that teaches friction zone, rear braking, and the proper use of the head and eyes. Exercises such as slow cone weave, circle, offset cone weave, U-Turns, four way intersection, and figure 8's will keep everyone busy for the day. The class is limited to six riders and all skill levels were represented in my class. Mark Paz is an excellent instructor. It was obvious that he believes in teaching students to ride the motorcycle rather than the motorcycle riding them. My recommendation is to rent one of their bikes, it takes away the fear of bending your own.

Even though I have practiced with the DVD there were a number of exercises that I could not perform by just watching a tape. Mark was able to correct those errors almost immediately. Primarily I learned how to keep my head up, look where I wanted to go, and trust the bike to take me there. Moving the bike around is not nearly as difficult as I was making it.

Back home, I took the Nomad out for a light workout. I do have some minor aching muscles from doing things I haven't been doing for a while. The Nomad is every bit as nimble as the rented bike. I did a U-Turn in less space than I would have believed possible just a couple of days ago. Did a few of the other exercises and found I was relaxed and not panicky.

The Ride Like a Pro course is highly recommended for anyone that wants to learn how to handle their motorcycle more effectively.

DETAILED LONG VERSION

Nico mentioned a while back that there was a Ride Like a Pro West Coast. Having tried several of the exercises on the DVD, I have wanted to take the course for some time. I registered for the course in Los Angeles. Mark Paz, the instructor, was quite informative and sent me a packet via email. To save money, I took his advice and sent him a personal check for $300 to cover the course and using one of their bikes.

I opted to use one of the beater KZ1000 bikes rather than my Nomad. Says right on the website and in the packet that using one of their bikes reduces your fear of laying yours down. I didn't feel like taping up the crash bars, removing bags, etc., to prevent possible damage either. Rode the clutch and brakes in the friction zone for 4.5 hours during the course. The clutch was getting pretty jerky by the end, not too sure I would want to do that to my Nomad.

Went out to LA, in the car, a day early so I would be rested before the course. There are tire treads, amongst other debris, on both sides of the interstate from Phoenix to LA and back. A reminder about following trucks too closely. Just west of Indio there is a section of interstate from hell. All of a sudden you have tire separation, flat tires, car shake to rattle your teeth fillings, and the associated noise to go with it. I wasn't the only out of stater to suddenly let off the gas wondering what happened. Coming back to Phoenix the other side of the interstate was worse in the same area. If I had been on the bike it probably would have scared me to death wondering if I had blown a tire.

Showed up for class bright and early Saturday morning. The class is taught in a high school parking lot on the Northwest end of LAX. The parking lot is not flat, it is sloped going up a slight rise toward the school. Adds a bit of the real world versus textbook ideal flat. As we got into the various exercises it didn't bother any of us.

Mark Paz is an excellent instructor. As he was warming up the beater KZ1000 bikes we got a glimpse of his skill level. In less than a 20ft circle, stopped the bike for a couple of seconds, start up, stop, start up, stop, all without putting his feet down. Went around the circle a couple of times doing this, never left the circle, never touched a cone. All of us agreed that Mark definitely knew what he doing. Mark's normal ride is an HD Electra Glide.

Class is limited to six riders. Three of the riders were on HD touring bikes of one flavor or another. The fourth rider came in on a V-Rod. Wouldn't have one of those if you gave it to me. He burned his leg on the pipes or the motor, part way through the course. That limited his participation. He also had a terrible time doing the exercises. While I suppose the bike looks cool to some, it is difficult to ride. The other two of us rode the KZ1000 beater bikes. These have a lot of dents and have been obviously dropped numerous times over the years.

Class was started with introductions and the safety rules. First thing Mark showed us was dropping the bike and getting off it safely. Reminding all us not to get trapped underneath it. He didn't lay it down, he dropped the KZ with the noise and crash to go with it. The KZ almost wound up completely upside down. Now you know why I called them beater bikes. After Mark walked back to the bike, he demonstrated the proper way to pick it up. Proper posture and riding position was next. Then a discussion as to why our heads would be up, eyes up, and rotating all the time. A reminder that the knuckles are up and the wrist is down for throttle control. Finally that we would not need the front brake, so don't use it, for the course.

We mounted up and started the first exercise. It should be noted that about 4.5 hours out of the 5.0 hour class will be riding. The other half hour is spent walking the various exercises and listening to Mark as to what is going to be done next. There were several follow the leader type games to let the bikes cool down throughout the course, too. I especially liked the one later in the afternoon when we rode the full length of the narrow speed bump. The ones of us riding the Kawas were able to stay on top, quite a few of the other guys slipped off to one side or the other. If your eyes go down, you go down, quite a challenge to look up, straight ahead, and stay on top of the bump.

The first exercise starts in the friction zone with the clutch and throttle just starting to move the bike. Adding the rear brake for control. Using your head and eyes is the tougher battle for many of us. Never look down; look down, go down. We were always to look out and away. This is a good time to mention what becomes obvious later in the course. The left hand is going to get tired from riding the clutch for 4.5 hours. The right ankle is going to get tired from riding the brake for 4.5 hours. The neck will be twisted from right to left as close to 360 degrees as possible for 4.5 hours. The inner thighs will be sore from gripping the bike for 4.5 hours. See an interesting pattern? You came to learn and Mark will see to it that you get your money's worth.

Next we started the slow cone weave. Initially the cones were 16ft apart, shorted to 14ft, and then set at 12ft. All of us were riding straight up, no lean, and working harder than we needed, to keep from hitting the cones. Look at the cone, hit the cone. Later in the course we took these same cones a lot faster, leaning and going lock to lock without even thinking about it too much.

On to the circle exercise. The diameter was initially set at 24ft. After the initial weave to get inside the circle the head has to be up and looking across the circle rather than looking in front of the bike. This is where the guys using their own bikes started developing problems. They were afraid they were going to drop it. Several looked down or ahead of the bikes and wound up putting their foot down or stopping to keep from dropping them. Anybody looking forward drove out of the circle. Making three or four loops of the circle then exit without hitting any of the cones. Go down the parking lot and go through the cone weave, then come back up the other side and wait to go through the circle the opposite direction. Several repetitions all with Mark positively critiquing. The circle was reduced to 22ft and we did it all again. The marks were on the payment for 20ft and 18ft and by the end of the day most of us could stay inside those marks with no problems.

Offset cone weave was next. This was interesting because the parking lot drainage was going down the middle, sloping on both sides. We were all concentrating on the cones so hard none of us realized it right away. The first time through was just a single cone on each side. After that Mark added a second cone about three feet from the first one so we had to go through the gates so to speak. Again as we finished the offset weave, go through the slow cone weave at the 12ft setting, go back up the parking lot and do the circle exercise then swing back down to go through the offset weave. How else do you keep six riders doing something and keep them from getting bored with an idling engine.

We were starting to get more comfortable by this point so Mark changed the rules and had us go through the offset weave without the brake, clutch and throttle only. I am so happy that I have practiced without the brake on the Nomad. Trickier, however I was able to do it and a few of the others had to practice it a few times.

Two hours gone, time flies when you are having fun, and it is time for lunch. Everyone was at ease for the most part by then and a lot of questions were asked. A couple of the guys had been in accidents and lost quite a bit of their confidence. Mark took the time to explain what had happened to the one rider who did not know about counter steering and why he had gone into the guard rail. It became apparent that there are a lot of misconceptions among riders and the Ride Like a Pro course was clearing many of them up.

Now that lunch was over it was time to get back on the bikes. Only we discovered something different. Without knowing when it started all of us were leaning into the turns. We were leaning over into the 18 ft circle just to prove we could do it. The simple weave from the morning run was done considerably faster with lock to lock steering. The guys with their own bikes were still having more problems than the rest of us, though.

While we were playing follow the leader with such things as six bikes in a circle, riding the top of a speed bump, threading the sidewalk entry points, and doing gentle extended figure eights it was just a sign of what was to come.

Next was the U-Turn. The oh crap it takes three lanes to turn around. The pylons are set at 24ft and the luck of the draw made me first up. By this time, thanks to Mark, I have learned to get my head around to where I want to go. So he walked us through it, then demonstrated it, and said go. I went up to the pylons, dipped the bike (not nearly enough the first time), turned my head all the way around to look at the fence behind me and turned the bars to the lock. I Made IT! I even remembered to turn my head the other way and look behind me to see if anything was coming. Even better, I missed the pylons. Back up to the top of the parking lot through the cone weave to the circle exercise. A couple of times through circle exercise actually helped the U-Turns. Then back down to do the U-Turn the opposite direction. After several times through the U-Turn it was time to do the turn from the stop.

Only Mark has a different twist on the turn from a stop. The DVD shows a right or left turn, anybody can do that. Pulled up to the U-Turn pylons about three feet away. Do a U-Turn from a stop. Put the handlebars all the way to the lock, foot on the brake, friction zone the clutch, add throttle, bring left foot off the ground and go. Once again, somehow I was first, and I did it! Remember to look behind you after the turn to check for traffic. Go back up to the other exercises to keep busy while waiting to do it again. The HD riders had a tough time with this one. After all these were nice looking bikes, the ones of us driving the beaters got through it easier.

Making the left hand U-Turn is relatively easy. Left foot can be put back down if absolutely necessary. Doing the right hand U-Turn from a stop is a little more difficult. After all, the right foot is on the brake and it isn't going to be easily put down to catch yourself. I succeeded in both sides. During one of the subsequent practice runs myself and another rider pulled up to opposite sides of the U-Turn pylons at the same time. I did the U-Turn from a stop with several feet to spare between our bikes.

The four way intersection is just another set of U-Turns. By this time all of us are leaning the bikes fairly well and things were becoming much smoother. Mark pointed out that people often go through too slow so each of us were going to follow him the first time. Try to keep up. The standard setting of 24ft and once again I led off the pack. The awareness level of what is going on around you was much better at this point. You are dipping the bike into the outside before turning with another bike in the same box. A little bit crowded, however it is amazing how much room is available. Followed Mark through the box and did a complete U-Turn at the end to go back through the opposite direction. Then going back to the other exercises while waiting for another try.

The figure 8 isn't really that difficult at this point. Primarily it is looking behind you and picking the line that is needed while letting the bike complete the circle. A more continuous circle while doing right and left at the same time. As tight as some of the circle practice had become I did not find this one too difficult.

One interesting variation was to start in the figure 8 then move on to the four way intersection. We were aware enough of each other by this time that there were four of us in the various intersection boxes at the same time. Each of us paying real close attention to our own riding and making sure we had enough separation to make things safe. The formation riding done on the DVD is a lot closer than we were, however we were doing the same stuff by the end of the course.

The final section was braking. After five hours we got to use the front brake. Mandatory rule, always use all four fingers on the front brake. No exceptions. The brake lever can be squeezed to the handle in a fast stop. If your fingers are in the way they will be pinched. We practiced this a couple of times getting the front brake, rear brake, and down shifting in the correct order.

This finished a five hour class and most of us were surprised we were done. There is so much going on that nobody pays much attention to the time. My left hand has recovered fairly quickly. My right ankle is still a little sore from being propped up on the brake pedal all day. My inner thighs muscles are still stiff from holding myself in various positions while doing the turning exercises.

For the naysayers that will insist on taking their own bike. Shouldn't you learn on the bike you are riding? It doesn't make any difference what bike is used, the principles are the same. There is a fear of dropping a new bike that outweighs what you are learning. The HDs often missed the completion of the circle or the U-Turns because the riders were unsure if it was going to bend the bike. They put their feet down quite often because of it. The ones of us driving the beater bikes were not worried about bending them. They weren't new and another scratch wasn't going to hurt them.

The other consideration is the abuse the clutch and brake are taking during the course. We did not do the cooling off sequence nearly as frequently as it probably should have been done. The clutch was in the friction zone for the better part of 4.5 hours. Even doing the follow the leader exercises everyone of us rode the brake. By the end of the course my clutch was getting pretty shaky with quite a bit of jerkiness. The engine was pretty warm too, even though the temperature was only 65 degrees. So imagine, for a moment, the Nomad with the radiator fan running and the heat being generated by our engines. I would much rather abuse a beater bike than my own.

Minor soreness not withstanding I took the Nomad out for a spin today. It handles every bit as good as the KZ1000. Leaned into my turns and was quite a bit more relaxed. Found that I handled the Nomad quite a bit smoother. I did a couple of things like a U-Turn on a street that would have been way to narrow a couple of days ago. Dipped it, turned my head all the way around (something I just couldn't have considered before) and turned the handlebars. Spun the Nomad around without so much as a bobble. Actually somewhat easier than the KZ. I had more than enough room to spare.

Obviously I highly recommend taking the Ride Like a Pro course regardless of which coast might be closer to attend. There is a plus side to taking the class. Space available, anytime within the next year, I can go back and take it all over again for free. I'll have to pay for using one of their bikes, still it is better than abusing mine. I had a great time. Definitely a lot of fun and my confidence level and handling ability is considerably better.