To anyone thinking of doing CSS...

[northwind]

Originally Posted by bluefishman

no, but he sais don't crash

He does. But I don't think he's a suitable subject matter expert, since he never crashes himself- what does he know? He might love it.

I don't remember being taught braking skills on CSS1.

While I learned a lot on CSS1, I forgot it fairly quick. It's expensive at £400/day. I enjoyed it - but with the benefit of hindsight I'd find better ways for spending the £££. Maybe if I'd done the homework that Baph has done, I'd have got more out of it and it would have been better value. Who knows

Originally Posted by Ed

I don't remember being taught braking skills on CSS1.

You don't remember the laps in only one gear (say 4th), where you weren't supposed to use the brakes? Or did they not cover that when you were there?

That's about as close as the practical lessons for CSS1 get to braking. IIRC, the "slide bike" is used on CSS2, maybe 3, but I think it's CSS2.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by northwind

He does. But I don't think he's a suitable subject matter expert, since he never crashes himself- what does he know? He might love it.

I've never put my bits in a vice & tightened it as much as possible
Are you saying you never know 'til you try?

Originally Posted by ArtyLady

With regard to CSS - I would agree any technique learned that obviously helped you is good....but do you learn anything else related to the road there?

CSS is a cornering school. You get those on roads too right?

Saracasm aside, CSS does teach you a lot that can be applied to the road. Peeople get confused with "It's a track school" because they teach you at the track. That's just a controlled environment, where you can go over the same corners lap after lap to practice, learn and appreciate the things they are telling you. Things like throttle control, reference points, turn-in points etc. are all applicable on the road.

When I did the first level - there was about 3 race bikes and 20 road bikes including a BMW GS!

Yes, it is expensive, but I personally got more out of it with regards to my riding than saying spending 300 quid on shiny yoshiakarapovicarrow end can or some plastic sheets to cover the engine/back wheel etc. At the end of the day people are at liberty to spend their money on whatever they wish, but I wouldn't knock anyone who wants to pay for further training - IAM or CSS, as I believe them to teach different things, which the other does not cover

Can you watch these Video's on the Net? Be interesting to see what I can learn

Out of interest, did the front lock because you grabbed the brake and didn't allow the weight to move gradually or just because you were braking that hard?

Originally Posted by lukemillar

CSS is a cornering school. You get those on roads too right?

Saracasm aside, CSS does teach you a lot that can be applied to the road. Peeople get confused with "It's a track school" because they teach you at the track. That's just a controlled environment, where you can go over the same corners lap after lap to practice, learn and appreciate the things they are telling you. Things like throttle control, reference points, turn-in points etc. are all applicable on the road.

When I did the first level - there was about 3 race bikes and 20 road bikes including a BMW GS!

Yes, it is expensive, but I personally got more out of it with regards to my riding than saying spending 300 quid on shiny yoshiakarapovicarrow end can or some plastic sheets to cover the engine/back wheel etc. At the end of the day people are at liberty to spend their money on whatever they wish, but I wouldn't knock anyone who wants to pay for further training - IAM or CSS, as I believe them to teach different things, which the other does not cover

Good post, thanks for the backup. The areas that I don't think CSS overlaps with IAM/BikeSafe/RoSPA are things like RoadCraft, hazards, "road positioning" etc.

But as you said, CSS has a lot that can be used on the road.

Originally Posted by ThEGr33k

Can you watch these Video's on the Net? Be interesting to see what I can learn

Yes. They're available on a streaming site (not YouTube, I can't remember where - there's a thread somewhere on the .Org with them linked), or torrents. I've also still got them on my laptop, so if you have difficulty finding them, give me a shout & I'll stick 'em on a host of mine.

Originally Posted by ThEGr33k

Out of interest, did the front lock because you grabbed the brake and didn't allow the weight to move gradually or just because you were braking that hard?

If you're asking was it pressure on the lever, or the speed at which that pressure was applied, I'd say it was a bit of both, but more the pressure. Probably somewhere in the region of a 70/30 split.

Originally Posted by Baph

Yes. They're available on a streaming site (not YouTube, I can't remember where - there's a thread somewhere on the .Org with them linked), or torrents. I've also still got them on my laptop, so if you have difficulty finding them, give me a shout & I'll stick 'em on a host of mine.



If you're asking was it pressure on the lever, or the speed at which that pressure was applied, I'd say it was a bit of both, but more the pressure. Probably somewhere in the region of a 70/30 split.

Cheers, I remember seeing the thread when I was here at work and meant to look at them when I got home but missed it So Ill have a search and see what I can find, if not then ill see about your host thing.

What bike you got? what tyre's you running? Ive got some beefy brakes on mine and done some pretty heavy braking before but Ive never felt the front going. Maybe I been luck with surface...

Originally Posted by ThEGr33k

What bike you got? what tyre's you running?

Stock SV650K6S brakes & discs, with Pilot Road 2 tyres.

However, I hasten to add that this was just after leaving work at 11pm. Less than a mile from the office car park, so the tyres wouldn't of been as warm as I'd liked.

So probably too much braking force for the grip offered by the tyre (mainly due to lack of heat in the tyre).

Still, it was good fun.

Ah fair enough. Sounds about right. I always try to leave out any intense riding to start with... I guess it dont always work.