Streetmasters Riding School......

[Redbrick]

Anybody taken the Streetmasters course at Willow Springs this year?....Have read the reports in "Archives"....Be interested in lastest reports...Kathy and I are thinking of taking it in November.....

Fernando, you indicacted last year he was going to do this school....Commments please......

Thanks......

 

Phil..........Redbrick

[taters]

i took the streetmasters course last year. was it worth it. yes and no. it was worth it for me since i was a new rider and it allowed me to know how far over i could lean the bike in a turn and that was worth the price of the course. but if i was an expierienced rider the answerwould be a definate no!!!!the instruction was little if not nil. all the instructer told me and the four other guys after 4 times around the ftrack was" on a lefthanded turn start more from the outside" and vece versa for a right handed turn. thats about it.no shift your weight and move your buns over to the side you are going to turn into etc. i learned more from lee parks book and nick ianatch's book. for dthe price they could have supplied a better lunch and given some handouts or a book. they did neither. an expierienced rider will be dissapointed

[sideways]

My report is also from taking Streetmasters last year, so not terribly recent.

 

However, my feelings are far more positive. I felt the course was extremely well-organized and presented. The instructors were very fine, and included Walt Fulton (racing legend and all-around good guy) and Dennis Pegelow, for example. I felt like the course was a nice step up from the ERC. The attention my riding received was, at a minimum, quite helpful and about the same in quantity as I've received in other training situations.

 

Sandwiches and chips were served for lunch. Water and Gatorade-ish stuff was available constantly. They could have served cheese-whiz for all I cared, because I was learning, riding a great track, and enjoying good company.

As it turns out, I ran into staff (wonderful folks) and students at the hotel later and gobbled pizza and swilled brewskis for free, because it happened to be Walt's birthday.

 

Note that Streetmasters is somewhat oriented toward big touring machine riders. There were quite a few IBA Gold Wing types there on my particular day, along with some GSs, a couple of Hawrleys (including me on a rented Sportster) and various other machines,

 

What's not to like?

Well, if you're a very experienced rider who won't gain from going over some relatively basic skills, or if you're expecting a race school like CSS, then you should go to CSS,.

 

Otherwise, IMHO, especially since you're fairly close by, I think you might find it a valuable experience, and worth the reasonable fee.

 

Either way, hope you enjoy riding out there in two-wheel paradise!

[Maggie]

My husband and I just attended Streetmasters this past June and had a great time. Yes, much of the instruction is basic, but IMHO it is good to go over basics whenever you can. The instructors were excellent, very helpful and fun. The track is a blast and you spend a great deal of time on it getting your turns down better and better. I had a Honda ST1300, same as my husband at the time. He scraped pegs, I did not. I was right in there and taking the corners as fast as the rest. It was really fun and good to know you were doing it right. The head turn is a big focus and the line, apex, etc. of turning is also emphasized. They do not get into shifting your weight or center of gravity stuff. The bikes as has been mentioned are all big, Wings, FJRs, BMWs, one or two HDs and they struggled to keep up. I look at the Harleys now and think, boy am I glad those days are over for me! Sport touring is so much more fun. Anyway, I highly recommend the class. BTW most of the instructors had Beemers, can't be all bad! Just bought my RT a week ago and am loving it. Big decision for me to move, but the weight and heat on the ST had gotten to me. The character of the RT is great. No heat and about 100 lbs. less weight. (also looks good with the bags off)

 

Maggie

[GelStra]

Phil, I keep procrastinating on that course. 316 deg summer heat 42 feet from the center of the sun definitely stopped me from the June course. But, PM me if you think you're going to. Having committed to going to it with someone else might be just the thing to push me over the edge. I even got a great sense of confidence from the ERC.