Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

er we have to do to teach you. Every time I ride, I'm still learning something new myself." American Supercamp held its first classes in January of 1997. Since then, it has grown to become respected as one of the premier riding instruction schools in the country, receiving official backing from a host of sponsors, including Honda through its Honda Riders Club of America and Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals, Dunlop, Fox and Tsubaki chains. The basic premise of American Supercamp is the same as many other instructional riding schools: to build better motorcycle riders. In most cases, riders and racers looking to improve their abilities will choose a riding school with a program tailored to hone skills in their preferred discipline. Motocross riders look to former top riders like Gary Bailey, Tony DiStefano, Donnie Hansen and the like; road racers can choose from schools run by such luminaries as Freddie Spencer, Jason Pridmore, Keith Code, and others; and there are schools for dirt track, trials, drag racing, and additional specialties. Walker claims that American Supercamp is unique, however, in that he has fashioned the curriculum so that it applies to a wide variety of disciplines. Over the course of a typical two-day Supercamp, that curriculum involves putting students on a variety of flat dirt layouts - not just a counterclockwise oval - and coaching them to grasp the basics of machine control and traction management. Before it's over, a student will have run clockwise, counterclockwise, on ovals, on TT courses with one opposite-lock turn, with multiple oppositelock turns, riding feet up, with one hand on the gas tank ... With a host of special drills thrown in to emphasize certain aspects of the technique. He or she need not worry about getting enough laps to learn, but instead will more likely be concerned with the location of the nearest hot tub. Mastering the art of sliding the small six-horsepower XRIOOs on a low-traction surface translates immediately and directly into more controlled riding on full-size machines, Walker says. Put into perspective another way, Remember that pipedream of sliding an XR750 into a curve at your favorite dirt track? Well, if you can get it right here. chances are good that you could do the same against Carr - with loads and loads of practice. It's harder than it looks if you want to do it right, though, and most students can expect to spend a lot of time on the ground while learning Walker's technique. Crashing sucks, but here it is raised to an art form the idea being that you crash a lot now on a little plastic dirtbike so as not to crash later on a most certainly higher-buck two-wheeler of your choosing. "If there is ever a time to get out of your comfort zone, than it's right here, right now," Walker tells his students. He also tells them that it's a lot of info for beginners to absorb in one day, hence the two-day format. "Most people don't get what we're tying to teach them until that second day," Walker says. "Then it clicks, and it's like, 'Oh, okay. I get it now.' We see a lot of improvement on day two. " And it helps to have good examples set by the two best flat trackers in the business, reigning AMA/Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Champion Chris Carr and AMA runner-up Johnny Murphree, who not only appear at most Supercamp sessions as guest instructors but, like Walker, spend most of that time riding right with the students. Carr has been partnered with Walker in American Supercamp since its inception in 1997. "I'm pleasantly surprised to see that it has continued to flourish," Carr said. "We're always running at near capacity, and we have seen a lot of repeat students come through. On a personal level, I have always wanted to spread the gospel of dirt-track racing, and this school does that. To see people go away with a smile on their faces makes it all worth it." And Carr is also pleased to see that the school itself has evolved nicely, incorporating new ideas into the same basic philosophy. "It's a little more detailed now, and we have tried to incorporate some new things to help students get a better understanding of what we are trying to teach them," Carr said. Murphree's career was just getting ready to really take off when he hooked up with Carr and Walker for a Supercamp session. He was hooked immediately, and has been one of the saw how much it helped me, I was sold." Murphree isn't the only one. The school has presented an all-star cast of top American talent as guest instructors. American Supercamp students have learned from such dirt and pavement greats as Nicky Hayden and Tommy Hayden, Ben and Eric Bostrom, Jake Zemke and Aaron Yates. It's a highly interactive process, with Walker and instructors Scott "Scooter" Larm and Eldred "Dred" Bristol either standing in the center of the track to bark out directions or climbing on a Supercamp motorcycle and barking out directions. You learn by example. According to the basic American Supercamp curriculum, sliding a motorcycle on dirt is a four-step process (see illustration below). It isn't just a matter of skidding the rear wheel and then slamming the throttle open. "We're trying to change that thinking," Walker said. "The only time that you should really try to slide a motorcycle on the exit of a corner is to change direction. If you're sliding on the exit otherwise, then you have made a mistake. The only time that the motorcycle should be sliding is to scrub speed for the corner entry - or for the street rider that could be necessary because a car pulled out in front of you. It's the same for motocross. Have you ever seen Ricky Carmichael sliding the rear wheel on the exit of a tum? No, you haven't." Carr agrees. "Nobody has ever won a race, be it a dirt tracker a road racer or a motocrosser, by spending the most time on the side of the tire," Carr says. "The object of one, two, three, four is to get in, get slowed down, get it turned and get back to the center of the tire." That's when you have the most amount of weight on the tire, the biggest traction patch, and can open the throttle all the way up. The key to executing one, two, three, four properly lies in assuming the correct body position as follows: • The upper body should stay perpendicular to the ground. Here, Walker and Supercamp Instructor Eldred Bristol demonstrate the proper body positioning for maximum cornering efficiency. It looks easy, but it takes practice at speed. more regular guest instructors ever since. "Chris has helped me out since I was young," Murphree said, "He always said that, if 1 really wanted to learn, I should take the course. So I did. After that, they figured it would be good to have me come to help them." After seeing the program, Murphree became an instant believer. "I thought 1 used to know how to ride a motorcycle before I came here," Murphree said. "What's neat is that it's the same program, whether you're teaching a beginner how to use the clutch or a guy like me how to deal with a front-end push. Once I • The shoulders should stay straight with the bike. • Sit up against the tank with your butt on the high side of the seat. 1. Drive Into Comer a. staying on the gas deeper into the comer 2. Reduce Speed a. squeezing the rear brake b. pushing the bike down into the comer 3. Change Direction a. maximum lean angle b. turning the front tire around the comer 4. Start Straightaway a. rolling on the throttle b. rolling the bike up to the center of the tire a U a I _ n _ _ 55 • OCTOBER 30, 2002 31

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