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STAR Motorcycle School by Jason Pridmore


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They're going to be in town next week and I'm seriously considering filling one of their open slots. Before I sign up, I fiured I would seek out anyone who has experience with this school.

 

Any opinions - good or bad? Comparisons to Code, CLASS or other programs?

 

TIA

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I've not yet done it, though I plan to. Based solely on what I"ve heard:

 

--More work on braking, especially in a turn, than any other school.

 

--Quality of the instruction is spotty.

 

--Jason's involvement is hit or miss.

 

--More race oriented. In other words, it's not necessarily a good place to dive in. Better to use it to supplement more basic training.

 

Having been through most of the rest of the offerings out there, Code might be your best choice.

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I have heard really good things from the STAR school from folks who have gone. I plan on going simply to get a new perspective on my riding (I really got a lot out of Code).

I believe it is a lot less expensive than Code is.

Here is my buddy's write up:

 

DAY 1:

 

Class starts with Jason Pridmore introducing the team of instructors/riders and support crew. After a brief chat, the Advanced school folks take off for a warm up lap. The ‘streets’ group remains to begin the first of many 20-minute sessions with Jason Pridmore. The course of the day progresses as such, 20 minutes in class, 20 minutes on the track with only a break for lunch. On our first track session we were led in groups of four by one of the instructors for a spotting lap where we rotated positions behind the instructor. During the morning we were given tasks by Jason to work on. One of the first was throttlecontrol/rpm management. We were asked to keep it between 2nd and 3rd and not to surpass 100mph. This somehow forced us to think about our lines and get accustomed to the rpm management. Each time we went out on the track there were instructors to either follow or have follow us and share their expertise/advice. Pridmore taught the morning session with the help of James Lickwar. It was to my amazement that Jason actually taught the class. Not to mention, taught the class very well. Even Rob, being a teacher by profession, did not have any negatives to say about Jason’s teaching style. Jason used so much clarity and verve, and made it easy to relate to his instructions. One of the coolest things we did was load up in trucks and go out to different corners of the track and observe the instructors rail through lines and corners and discuss them. It allowed us to see the real live version of what we were discussing in class. After lunch, we were offered 2-up rides from Pridmore, I decided to take to opportunity. We talked about a lot of subjects, and were asked to add a technique each time we went out on the track. For the first day, things like the rpm management, entrance and exit strategy, choosing reference points, breathing, etc…were addressed. We were so jam packed with information my brain began to hurt, even if I was taking notes.

 

2-UP:

I’ve never ridden 2-up before, so I didn’t know what to expect. Jason just tells me to put my hands on the tank when he’s braking and hold on to him if needed during acceleration. So, I jump on and we begin to rail through turn one and then turn two. I start to panic, because we’re throttling up to turn 3, one of the sharper turns on the track. This was one of the turns, I was asked by one of the instructors to not take as fast as I was, because it’s not a turn to where I can make up time. Seemingly Pridmore didn't adhere to this knowledge. Anyway, as we proceed to take the turn hot, I notice we’re still sticking, but wait a minute, we’re braking too? So, on through the course, Jason slows a bit on turn 7 into the long straight away where he gives me a thumbs up. So, I nod with agreement, not knowing what I had just accepted. Now, the throttle kicks up and we’re rockin down the straight (approx .5mi). I see a bike beginning turn eight as I look down and see the spedo hit 160, then I notice we’re actually taking the guy in turn 8 and approaching 9 and 10 ultra hot. We then make our way at a very fast pace down the front straight and into turn 1 at an even hotter pace. Looking at the controls and how much Jason moves around on the bike, which is very minimal since I had a gauge (he moved in the circle I made with my arms and my hands on the tank). Suprising, it felt like most of the track was braking/trail braking because I was pushing on that tank more than anything, or at least, that’s what I thought. I remember thinking that I was good after the first lap. So now were looking back into turn 3 and on to turn 4 where Jason brings the bike t lean so much I thought I was gonna drag my pucks. Not to mention, this whole time we are passing people on the track. Nevertheless, it was a good look at what racers are doing, what their lines look like etc. To even further break the ego, Pridmore mentions that he like passing up the advanced dudes to give them a humbling account of the track and he rides 40% when he’s 2-up, yikes! I think he was faster than me in more than 75% of the track with me on the back, double yikes!!! My arms felt pumped like I just did a thousand pushups,wierd...

 

 

DAY 2:

 

So after a good nights rest (asleep by 9pm), in a different room at Saddle West, we were allowed to sleep in a bit and meetup at 8am. My legs were pretty well pumped from the day before, because they stress on using your legs and stomach muscles to turn the bike more than using your arms. This day we begin a talk on riding position, lean angle, balance, etc… Luckily, this didn’t change much of my riding style since I made the big change from my crash a few months ago at WS. Hanging off is only kewl in pictures, most time you don’t need to be that far off the bike. I’m victim of this during my pre-crash era, I think I have it fixed now and I took those pictures down from the walls at home. Our first session of the day is similar to the day before, a warm up ride, but at a much faster pace, but it feels more comfortable. During the course of the day and the sessions, we talk intently on a whole gamut of topics; trail braking which I only tried on 3 of the 10 turns), downshifting(blipping the throttle/rpm matching – slipper clutches, etc), clutchlless upshifting (I had this talk separately with one of the on track instructors, I guess I’m doing that okay), etc.. From my sessions and instruction, the reoccurring comment was entrance speeds, especially turn 3. I had in depth dialogs about corner strategy, choosing where to be fast, exit strategies… After lunch was another ontrack demo of how the racers downshift and enter and exit turns, being right there, 10 feet from them in a turn and watching them trail brake, downshift, etc is such an awesome application to what is being taught in the class. Our final sessions talked about tyres, and suspension. The tyre talk was interesting, seemingly the 2-up bike was on Dunlop Qualifiers (a street tyre). But, for us 'novice types', it all routed to comfort, if you want to spend some loot on expensive tyres then do so, so that you are comfortable when riding. But note that there’ll be someone on the track passing you on street tyres, at least in the novice sessions. The suspension demonstration was awesome, and easy in thought. Your bike sag alone is suppose to be around 10mm and an additional 25-35mm with rider weight. I just think just knowing what those nobs did, was satisfaction enough (preload, rebound/compression settings). To think, I was elated after racetech did my adjustment for $20 at the track… We ended the day with good runs, great instruction, I made sure to thank each of the instructors that made an impact (which, was all of them). We got our certificates and goodies and loaded up for our haul back to reality.

 

 

OVERVIEW:

 

The Star Motorcycle School was worth every penny. I highly recommend attending, no matter what level and years of riding experience you’ve had. I can guarantee you will learn something new. The surprising thing was that many of the riders were return students. There were also first time track people, whom, at the end of the school, have a new found ‘itch’ to run the flat-tracks. The caliber of professionalism and enthusiasm of each instructor is top quality. My real objective was to find out if I have, or can attain the tools to be a ‘racer-type’. After having several of the riders follow me, I got my answer, so now it’s up to me to take the next step. I would definitely attend the school again…

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I've done it twice... once with a modified SV650S and once with my RT.

 

The first time no one said boo to me until the very last session of the day. Near the very end, one of the instructors passed me then signaled me to follow him for a lap. After the lap was complete he gave me the thumbs up sign. I'm not sure what that was supposed to mean.

 

The second time no one said anything to me all day, other than poking fun at me for bringing an RT to the track.

 

You'll find lots of hardcore sportbike types and lots of club racers and some are very good and some just think they're good.

 

The classroom instruction is decent but geared toward racing which make sense as that's what Jason does. Overall, I think it's worth attending if only for a chance to ride on the back of Jason's bike for two laps. Those two laps literally changed the way I viewed riding a motorcycle more than anything I'd done, seen, or read about before that.

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I've done it twice... once with a modified SV650S and once with my RT.

 

The first time no one said boo to me until the very last session of the day. Near the very end, one of the instructors passed me then signaled me to follow him for a lap. After the lap was complete he gave me the thumbs up sign. I'm not sure what that was supposed to mean.

 

The second time no one said anything to me all day, other than poking fun at me for bringing an RT to the track.

 

You'll find lots of hardcore sportbike types and lots of club racers and some are very good and some just think they're good.

 

The classroom instruction is decent but geared toward racing which make sense as that's what Jason does. Overall, I think it's worth attending if only for a chance to ride on the back of Jason's bike for two laps. Those two laps literally changed the way I viewed riding a motorcycle more than anything I'd done, seen, or read about before that.

 

Went last year. Thought it was excellent. Had frequent one-on-one time.

 

Would totally concur with the last statement above. Two laps as a passenger with Jason opened the eyes to what these bikes can do in capable hands. Also vividly demonstrated the bike can turn, lean, accelerate, stop more than I'm willing to let it.

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