Art Basic II - Sportbike Addicts

JimRBlue · 06-29-2007, 03:51 PM

Since I have only done a few track days and have only covered art basic, Would signing up for Basic II be worth the extra $$. From what I have read they seem to cover the same points as were covered in Art Basic.

Any feedback?

ronin_01r1 · 07-03-2007, 11:39 AM

i was wondering the same thing. what's the difference between ART BASIC II and asking a coach for help throughout the day.

JimRBlue · 07-03-2007, 12:09 PM

I guess I will find out on Aug 4th at beaver run.

RCM78 · 07-03-2007, 04:22 PM

Art Level II is more personal. Most of the basic classes have at least 10 or more students. Mark (The instructor) will identify what you need to work on and focus on that. The Basic class is more structured and follows a circuluum.

Level II has been designed for the white group rider thats having some trouble getting into red. But completion of the course does not automatically get you the bump...

JimRBlue · 07-03-2007, 04:34 PM

Thanks for the input. Is there a set count on how many students there are in a class or is there a better student/coach ratio? I chatted with Mark when I was at VIR a few months ago and he was giving me pointers in between rounds. He was extremely knowledgeable. I understood what he said and sounded useful, but still had difficulty in executing them. That being gas a little while coming down the back section of North, I know it lightens the load off the front but it was a little tough for me. I thought it was a good thing and I beleive you can never have enough education. I look forward to picking up some more pointers at Beaver

TheAngryTitty · 07-13-2007, 06:09 PM

Without a doubt its worth the extra money!!! I was in the same boat when I first took Level II, in the sense that I was looking for more training and but also new to riding... ART Basic was the first time I got onto the track and my bike.. While my experience in Basic was great I wanted to learn more... I asked about ART II and got great feedback.. Its almost like a PT class but with a group of people... Mark has a list of objectives and while covering those, he'll answer questions you have regarding them... Due to the size, he and the other coach are able to spend a lot of time in with each student.. The first time I took the class, it was only 2 people, the second, it was full with about 7 students, and two coaches.. Pretty sure they don't go beyond that size since they were "full" when I signed up. At my last track event, I took Level II and my times dropped 12 seconds a lap, and I also managed to get my laps consistant, within a half a second of each other.. My biggest issue with ridding was something that you mentioned, throttling out of the turns.. I explained to Mark that my exits didn't feel right... I felt like I was fighting with the bike to come up and we came to the conclusion that I probably wasn’t powering out of the turns enough.. We devised a plan, and he was right.. Not only did my times drop, but most importantly, my physical effort dropped.. Everything just felt so damm effortless, almost like the bike was doing all the work... And that right there is what Mark aims to get students to realize, is that riding is nearly effortless..

Hope that helps.. If you have any other Qs, feel free to ask..

JimRBlue · 07-13-2007, 08:48 PM

I'm glad to hear that. I only signed up for one day of artII. I did run into Mark while at VIR and he did spend some time trailing me and giving me pointers and whatnot. I really liked him and he was very helpful. My art Basic Course with Bill had a full 12 people and the coach to student ratio was about 1 to 4. I did not think that sounded bad but there were some who really needed more help than I and that took up a lot of the resources.

For this run coming up, much is different for me. Different bike, displacement and tons less weight :-) I don't have as much saddle time with this one and once in a while I feel more confident on the other bike, most likely to tenure.
A liter bike can be a real drag on a tight track which was what patriot was. It was kinda like a battleship in a pond. The north track however was a different story.

I have never really timed my laps, looked at speed as I was too busy looking at everything else. I am by no means fast, and I am looking to improve pretty much all around. For me all those years of street riding are at time working against me. I am really looking forward to this session with mark, and with luck I will hopefully have a few number of classmates.

TheAngryTitty · 07-14-2007, 05:21 PM

Don't worry, about not getting enough attention in ART Level II.. I really don't think the class is suppose to exceed 7 people.. And with 2 coaches, that a killer ratio.. Just be sure to ask lots of questions.. Talk with the coaches, and discuss your concerns.. When riding on the track try to take note where other people are faster and talk with the coaches about it.. When I took Level II, I told Mark that I was getting killed by other riders on the exit, BUT I was on their tail through the turn... I thought maybe I wasn’t getting on the throttle enough (problem I mentioned in my previous post) and he said it probably is and that I should give it some more... I tried grabbing some more gas while coming out of the turns the next session and the results were amazing..

As for the timer... Even if your not going for record times, I highly recommend it.. I wish I got mine earlier because of how helpful its been.. How do you know if a change in your riding is making an improvement? While it might FEEL faster, you don't know for sure if it is actually MAKING you faster... Do you remember when Bill Sink told that whole story about how he went out for a few laps to break his previous lap time record only to come back and find out that he was SLOWER!!! He thought because he was braking late, getting hard on the gas, and doing everything possible that his times would unquestionably be faster, but when he got back to the paddock to check his times, he found out how wrong he was.. With the timer, you loose that misconception and you can confirm if changes in your riding will make you faster.. As for being able to check your times while riding, I wouldn't suggest you take your eyes off the course to check the time.. Remember your runs.. I try to make mental notes as I ride and keep track of what I did on what lap, so when Im done with the session and I pull up my times I know what I did and when.. I can say.. Yeah, on lap 3 I made a took turn 3 wide, or lap 5 got caught up with traffic, etc.. And I can try new things.. On lap 2, 3, 4, I took turn 5 late, and on 5, 6, 7 I took that same turn early…

EvilSteve · 07-23-2007, 12:11 PM

Jim, I found the same thing with ART Basic, hardly got any time with the coaches because there were people in the class that needed help a lot more than me. I've been thinking about taking ART II as well, sounds like it could be handy.

JimRBlue · 07-23-2007, 02:16 PM

I'm Looking forward to it and will post up my experience when I get back. As for the timer, seems my r6 happens to have one built in so I will try to see if I can make some comparisons before and after.