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Kevin
Schwantz Suzuki School
John's version
 I
have wanted to take the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School
for over two years now. I ‘d seen a segment about it
on Motorcyclist Magazine’s show on Speed TV (or maybe
it was Bike Week) and read about it in Motorcycle Consumer
News, as well as some where else that I can’t recall.
I went to the school website and perused that for a while
on several occasions, and finally came to the conclusion that
despite the cost, this was the best school in the country.
It didn’t hurt either that one of the bikes the school
instructed their students on was Suzuki’s SV 650S, a
bike with which Lesley and I are very familiar, or that Lesley
and I have been to multiple AMA races at Road Atlanta where
the school is taught, and we just love the facility.
Our
plan had been to take the school in the summer of 2002,
but that had to be put on hold for a year because of the deer
incident. We finally signed up in the spring of 2003 to
take the class the weekend of June 21st and 22nd. It occurred
to me more than once that I’d better not hurt myself
this spring, either at work or on the bike, since the tuition
was nonrefundable after a certain point. To say that as late
June approached I became even more excited would be an understatement.
As
we drove to the track on the morning of June 21, I
was a little apprehensive since I’d never been on a
race track before, I didn’t know quite what to expect,
and I could tell that Lesley was nervous. After a near miss
in the car (I had a back seat driver giving me instructions:))
turning into the parking lot at Road Atlanta, my apprehension
was increased. It shouldn’t have been though, because
from the very first moment, everyone we met was so nice and
accommodating that I felt right at home. In retrospect, our
very first encounter with track personnel was funny because
the security guard was quite surprised that Lesley was taking
the school, too.
 After
checking in with Joyce Mizner, we met the wonderful
Marnie Lincoln, who seems to be the oil that keeps the fine
machine known as the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School running
so smoothly. Marnie set us up with our Joe Rocket Speedmaster
suits and an Arai helmet for me since I had broken the face
shield attachment on mine that morning.
With
gear in place and anticipation at hand, the school
began with Chief Instructor Lance Holst explaining the ins
and outs of the track, course curriculum, and school rules.
All of the school instructors were introduced as well as Kevin
Schwantz. I can’t say enough good things about all of
these people. Instructors Lee Acree, Opie Caylor, Michael
Martin, Ted Cobb, Jamie James, and Harry Vanderlinden (Lesley’s
bud), were the most helpful, approachable, fastest riders
I’ve ever seen. Just sitting here now as I write this,
thinking back about the school, I realized that I felt just
as comfortable with these guys as I do any of my riding buddies
from home. And what could I possibly say about Kevin that
would do him justice? He was genuinely nice, and it was obvious
that he wanted to make sure all of his students got the most
out of the school as possible. I thought it might be intimidating
talking motorcycles and riding with someone who has probably
forgotten more about this particular subject than I can ever
hope to know, but it wasn’t. He was straightforward
and gave a reasoned answer for every question that was asked
of him, even if it was a silly question to begin with. Kevin’s
a class act, and any rider he works with is bound to reap
huge rewards. I know I did. I also can’t say enough
about Lance. He obviously has put a tremendous amount of time
and effort into his lectures, and it really shows. Time spent
in the classroom was very valuable to me, and I think I learned
at least as much about
becoming a better rider there as I did on the track. Video
critiquing was very helpful, and it just re-affirmed what
I already knew to be true: my form sucks and I look stupid
hanging off, but man, did I have fun doing it.
The
quality of the track time was unbelievably good. Over
the course of two days, I got in well over one hundred laps,
maybe even as many as one hundred and fifty. I wasn’t
counting though; this is just my estimate. I rode in the intermediate
group both days and the great thing about that was I got to
ride a lot of laps where I felt as though I was on the track
all by myself. Once I got around the slower riders, it was
open track ahead until I caught up with another slower group.
This would sometimes be three or four laps of clear sailing,
and with the whole school divided into two groups of approximately
fifteen students each, there were never many riders on the
track at any one time anyway. It wasn’t like this was
just open track time. All of the riding was done under the
watchful eyes of our capable instructors. Harry once slowed
me down when he noticed that I was missing the racing line
because of my speed. It really is true that to go faster,
sometimes you need to go slower first.
The
school’s bikes were awesome as well. A whole
fleet of new Suzuki SV 650Ss and GSXR 600s. Some bikes were
outfitted with Yoshimura exhausts, Wave Braking rotors, and
Ohlin’s suspension, although none of the bikes I saw
had all of these mods on one bike. All bikes came equipped
with Michelin Pilot Sport tires, most of which were brand
new, and were meticulously maintained. I rode the SV 650S
the first day since this is the bike Lesley rides at home,
and I have quite a bit of seat time on hers. I didn’t
want to dive in head first without taking time to get my feet
wet. There’s about a thirty horsepower difference in
the two bikes, and crashing somebody else’s bike was
not in the game plan for the weekend. (Plus one of the school’s
rules is that if you crash, you can’t ride anymore nor
can you go home with one of the coveted “graduation”
caps and diplomas!) After spending all day Saturday on the
SV getting aquainted with the track environment, I moved up
to the GSXR 600 on Sunday. I scoped out the bikes that hadn’t
already been claimed by other students and chose one outfitted
with an Ohlin’s shock. I figured this would help me
far more on the track than the Yoshimura exhaust, and since
all of the bikes with the fancy Wave Braking rotors had been
claimed, I wanted handling over increased power. Boy, was
I impressed! I had so much fun on that little 600 that now
I’m seriously thinking of buying one as a track bike.
Notice how easy it was for me to throw those two words out:
track bike. The reason it was so easy is because not only
am I going to start doing track days, but Lesley and I are
definitely going back to Kevin’s school next summer,
and if I buy a Suzuki GSXR 600 as a track bike, I can take
it along. Definitely an incentive to buy the Suzook! This
is personally funny to me, and maybe to those who know me,
because I’ve always been a Honda man.
After
signing up for the school I had friends telling me
that I could do a lot of track days for the money that Kevin’s
school cost. You know what? They’re right, but I wouldn’t
have gained all of the knowledge in ten track days that I
gained from taking just one of the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School’s.
(There was one student there who’d been racing for twelve
years. He said this school taught him more than his twelve
years of race experience. He seemed genuinely pleased with
all the “bad habits” he had unlearned while at
this school.) It really was that good, and after experiencing
it, I’m amazed that they can offer it as cheaply as
they do. No doubt that without all of the help from great
sponsors like Suzuki Motorcycles, Joe Rocket, Yoshimura, Arai
helmets, Michelin tires, Ohlins suspension, Road Atlanta and
all of the rest, the cost would be much, much higher. Based
on my experience and what some of the other students (who
had taken multiple schools) told me, this is definitely the
five star hotel of track schools. Everything from the classroom
to the bikes to the quality gear and even to the food and
refreshments was top notch.
The
weekend we spent on the track at Road Atlanta, being
taught by some of the most accomplished road racers in the
world, was by far the most fun I’ve ever had on two
wheels. Lesley and I were treated with friendliness, courtesy,
and the same quality of instruction that even the road racers
in our class got. No preferential treatment was shown to any
one group, and although the skill of the riders in the class
varied greatly, the attentiveness of the instructors did not.
If you love motorcycles, there’s no better way to spend
a couple of days, and if you have always wanted to ride on
a track but didn’t want to do an open track day, this
is your golden opportunity.
Check
out the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School at www.schwantzschool.com
Sponsors of the
Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School
Suzuki
www.suzukicycles.com
Kevin
Schwantz and Brand 34 www.kevinschwantz.com
Michlen
www.michelin.com
Joe
Rocket www.joerocket.com
Arai
helmets www.araiamericas.com
Yoshimura
www.yoshimura-rd.com
Motul
www.motul.com
Braking
www.brakingusa.com
Autocom
www.autocomamerica.com
Ohlins
www.ohlins.com
Alpinestars
www.alpinestars.com
Motion
Pro
www.motionpro.com
Pit-bull
www.pit-bul.com
Clif
Bar www.clifbar.com
Cyto
Sport www.cytosport.com
Road
Atlanta www.roadatlanta.com
Georgia
Motorcycle Safety Program
www.dmvs.ga.gov
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