KH Coaching

Dunlop 2012

OK California riders…we all know the turmoil Dunlop has hadon the West Coast this last year. . rest assured, Dunlop hasn’t beensitting idle and they have a plan to move forward….On the distributor side,Steve Brubaker from RTS will be handling all the AFM race tire service. It willtake him a bit to get to up to speed with our market, finding out who is whoand what inventory levels to stock, but he is ready to kick ass and wants toearn your business. Dunlop is serious about being #1 and as you’ll read in abit, there is some incredible product with great pricing headed our way. Let’s face it, we all want to be on Dunlopsand in the past, pricing or availability has been a problem. Dunlop is out tofix both those issues.

For 2012, Dunlop has a huge release of US tires coming ourway. On the DOT side, there is a new GPA front, a 190/60 rear (soft and med) alongwith an updated 190/55 GPA rear. I rode on the GPA front all last yearand it is a great tire, fast and wears great. The new GPA front is a step upfrom that.

Slicks-Dunlop has new US made NTEC slicks, front and rear.The rear is a 200/55/17 and that tire has already proven to be just as fast asthe UK versions in WERA Endurance and will soon be introduced in AMA racing. Alsoin the works is a 190/55 which will be even lower cost. Rears are available in a Soft, Med, and a Med+(similar to a 6680) is coming shortly for more durability. The front is a125/80 and same as the rears, a fast tire. The front will be available in asoft, medium and medium+.

There will be a big supply of UK tires this year, same rearcompounds, updated front compounds. Therumors are totally false that they are discontinuing these tires. They have1000’s of these in the USwarehouse ready to ship.

Pricing-OK, here’s where it gets good. Pricing is going tobe very competitive. The USAslicks or DOTs are $399 per set, the190/55 USAslick and DOTs are only $339 per set. For racers, they have full contingency, theyare not backing out like others we have seen recently.

In the next 4-6 weeks, I’ll be testing ALL of these tires atall the tracks, so we’ll know what tires/compounds work at each track and I’llreport with how testing is going. Since mid-late last year, there has been aton of testing on the East Coast and all of these tires are showing they canrun the pace.

Interested? If you want to get exact pricing and see whatSteve at Race Tire Services can do for you, contact him so he knows who you areand what product you’ll need. You can getinfo or order online at www.dunlopracing.com or email steve@dunlopracing.comfor questions or he can call you back if you give your number. He was really helpful when I spoke with himand he genuinely wants to help us and fix the problems of the past. Plus his first racing license 25 years agowas with the AFM, so I think he has a soft spot for us

Ken

Happy New Year! 2012 looks to be busier than ever. The Yamaha Champions Riding School continues to stay strong with added dates and those dates have put a pretty big dent in the amount of 1-1 coaching days I’ll have available. The dates below reflect working around the YCRS dates and my waitlist.


AFM Program-In order to try and fit in as many riders as I can, I added an AFM racer program for 2012. This program will have me coaching at the AFM races on Saturday practice days and at selected Friday practice days. If you are signed up for that program, there will be a separate email that goes out, giving more details.

Fastersafer.com-Thank You to all the people that have already signed up for Fastersafer.com. Nick Ienatsch and I have put together some great information through videos and articles that will keep you informed and reminded of how to ride Faster and Safer.  If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out: www.fastersafer.com

2012 Available dates- Below is a list of the dates I have available. If you know of a riding date that is not listed and my calendar shows that I’m available, send me an email to see if I can make it. Also, if you aren’t on my waitlist and want to be, send me an email to placed on it. My full 2012 schedule is posted at www.khcoaching.com


All dates sold out….


Scott Russell to KH Coaching!-World Champion Scott Russell, also an instructor at YCRS, will be at Keigwins-Thunderhill May 7-8^th and will be available for 1-1 coaching. Scott will be running his program similarly to mine, email me for pricing on this incredible opportunity.

Riding Tip-I’ve talked about scanning with your eyes before, but the off-season is the perfect time to send out a reminder of how important using your eyes is. Whether you are street riding, dirt tracking or driving in your car, getting your eyes up and scanning, opens the door for getting your thought process on, what’s next. You’ve heard me talk about eyes up and looking for reference points, which is great, but let’s not get your eyes locked into one place too long. So, what to look for and when?

-As you sit up on the brakes, look for your entry apex, this allows you to judge your brake pressure and turn-in point.

-As you approach your entry apex, scan towards your exit apex, this allows you to line up the straightest trajectory for maximum drive. If the exit apex is not in your line of sight, look for an object further in the distance that lines up with it. For example-Turn 9 at Thunderhill, scan for the water tower, Turn 2 at Infineon, look for the corner worker station in Turn 3…This gets your sight of vision where you want to go  and slows your thought process down because your intake of information isn’t coming at you so fast.

-If you pass your entry apex and you still are looking at it…you’re too late getting your eyes up for the exit. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still be able to pick up the entry apex with your peripheral version though, having the ability to use your peripheral vision to scan, allows for adjustability for whatever the conditions call for, line change, rider down in front of you, part in the track, etc.

Training your eyes to scan in the off season, will pay huge dividends during the riding season. Call your car a 4-wheel practice bike…when driving and taking an off-ramp, scan ahead, then back again, see how far you can look ahead, without losing focus on the road ahead of you. Can you see the road in front of you and also see the speedometer in your peripheral vision? Scan for an object in the distance, that lines up with your exit apex.

Your eyes are the source of information of information for your actions. The more information you can intake and the sooner you can source that information, the better you can plan and adjust. So, plan to scan!

Ken

KH Coaching Update Nov-Dec 2011

Finally, I’m getting a chance to do a much-needed update to finish out 2011 and to get things rolling for 2012. This year continued to be busy with the Yamaha School close to sold out all summer and my 1-1 coaching booked solid. I appreciated spending time with everyone I worked with, as I think I learned just as much, or more than you did. I saw many personal bests, podiums, wins and championships. I also saw some amazing personal accomplishments. People sticking with their plan and overcoming their own doubts, whether this sport was for them, only to have them “get it” and ride beyond their dreams. Of course, it was great to see rider’s speed pick up, but it was it was even better to see their understanding go up, as that’s what makes us faster and safer. Congratulations and thanks to all of you and for enabling me to coach you in this incredible sport.

Lots of updates to catch up on-

2012 Schedule-My 2012 schedule should be out in late December. If you are not already on my waitlist, email me ASAP to get on it, as the spots are filling up quickly. This year I introduced some half-day coaching sessions and they worked out really well, I’ll continue to do those if people request them, or if the schedule gets too packed.

AFM racers-I am looking at putting together a package where I’ll be at every 2012 AFM event coaching a number of riders throughout the weekend. I only have room for 4-5 riders for this program, so email me if you are interested and for the details.

YCRS-The Yamaha School is going great and we had a great summer, especially with the addition of World Champion Scott Russell joining us. Scott has been a blast to work with and will be with us again in 2012. The school is just starting its Fall/Winter Vegas schedule and by request, we were able to get a few Sunday-Monday schools going. We plan on having some great special guests and the Yamaha team will also be testing with us after the New Year. The school keeps getting better and better, with each of the instructors using all their years of racing and coaching experience, to make sure you meet your goals….street, trackday or racing, it doesn’t matter, we can help. Our 2012 schedule is up on our newly updated website: www.mmpschools.com

Product Reviews-I already have some new product reviews on my website, along with a few new ones coming out very soon. I’m going to post these up in video format and hope to have them up soon. I’ll have a review for:

Leo Vince’s FAST fuel management system

Tech Spec Gripster Tank Pads newest product

Dunlop Tire’s newest compounds and USA made tires

Away From The Track Seminars- I had a full class for my seminar last month at Addiction Motors in Emeryville. The class kept me on my toes with great questions and I plan on a few more over the winter with some cool extras, video review, a suspension clinic, plus maybe even a special guest…when I get the dates confirmed, I’ll send out an email.

I’ve hosted a few Away From the Track Seminars for some private groups that wanted a smaller class with a more in depth video review session, if you have a group that wants to do something like that, send me an email.

Riding Tip-We all want to get better and get better, faster. What I find is that we try to do too many things all at once, then get frustrated when none of it works. It’s fine to have a plan, we need to have a plan for every time we ride, but let’s make that plan reasonable. You aren’t going to get everything…every turn….every lap….If that were the case, Stoner, would never need to practice. What if we practiced one thing at a time, one turn at a time? Then as you make what you were working on muscle memory, bring in the next thing that is holding you back. There are times where you can work on two things during a session, but if you do, try to make them far apart. I.E. work on your trailbraking into turns 3-4, and work on sitting up on the brakes in turns 10-11..as these become more and more muscle memory, then you can incorporate them into every turn as needed. By working on one thing at a time, instead of everything all the time, you’ll be surprised how much quicker that one thing becomes muscle memory.

Riding Tip 2-Since the riding season is pretty much over, use the off-season to work on your riding a different way. While driving your car, riding your dirt bike, pedalling your bicycle…practice how you go to the brakes, practice how you let off the brakes. Unfamiliar road? Get your eyes up scanning, can you figure out entry and exit turns? Where’s your apexes? Spend 5 minutes a day working on, “What’s next”. Get your brain on being in the moment and you’ll see how well that pays off on the track.

Ken

http://www.millermotorsportspark.com/riding-school/related-information/testimonials.html

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2011/Jun/110615y-y-y-y.htm

KH Coaching Update June-July 2011
The last few months have kept me very busy with the Yamaha Champions School traveling back east last month and the last schools at Miller Motorsports Park being full. We had a great weekend at Miller WSBK, giving 2-up rides (in the rain too!) and having World Champion Scott Russell ride with us, giving some passengers the ride of a lifetime from the champ. Having Scott at the school has been a blast and it’s been great listening to his stories and how he approaches riding. Picture attached is Scott giving a very fun 2 up ride, notice anything in the picture?

Videos: Joe and Kevin from 4theriders did a very cool video for TechSpec that has some great info on body position. Check it out here: http://youtu.be/97VqRix1CGI

YCRS: The last schools have been full and we’ve had Scott Russell guest instructing with us, which has made the fun factor even higher. We received our FZ8s last month and the instructors won’t stay off of them, they are a rip! Also, we still have some spots for our all women’s school in August still open. More info available at www.mmpschools.com

Dainese: I am proud to announce Dainese as a new sponsor for KH Coaching. I’ve known Shelli and Mike and The D-Store in San Francisco for awhile now, having held a few away from the track seminars there and am very happy to be wearing their product. The product is first class and the D-Store is first class. I was a bit worried about getting a suit off the rack from them, as usually all my suits have to be custom fit, but my suit fits perfectly as do my boots and gloves. I am very impressed with the quality and fit, and was even more surprised at how good the pricing is. Stop in and see their great store and they checkout their cool facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dainese-D-Store-San-Francisco/237087445399
Schedule: My 2011 schedule still remains full, but if you find a day that is not on my calendar that I have free, contact me to see if I can make it.

Waitlist: I want to keep my waitlist up to date, so email me if you still want to be on my waitlist for any cancellations.

Riding Tips: Passing…Passing still remains a big problem at trackdays and trackday providers will tell you, is their #1 issue. Trackdays are not racing, there is no money, no points and we are there to ride for fun and enjoyment. I have ridden with and been passed by World Champions and not once did I feel like they had to make an aggressive pass that was full of risk. The very simple rule I use for passing is, pass for the other riders comfort, not yours. Yep, you may be superfastracer guy, but passing around the outside at the exit of a turn may be in your comfort zone, but I doubt it is to the person who you are passing. If you make a bad pass, give the person an “I’m sorry” wave, as to not get punched in the nose back in the pits.

Overheard in the pits: When we were at New Jersey Motorsports Park for the Yamaha School, I heard a great comment from a newer rider. He had just bought a set of 3k wheels for his bike because he couldn’t get his bike to transition quickly and when he told his buddy about it, his buddy said wheels were the issue. Did the wheels help? Uhhh, No… Did using his brakes and body help..Yes. What is the biggest variable on our bikes that makes the biggest difference? You.

See you at the track!

Ken

Scott Russell riding with the Yamaha Champions Riding School at NJMP Lightning course.

I’ll be hosting an informal evening seminar at the D-Store in San Francisco, Thursday, April 14th. Come by and visit and check out the store.

Date/Time: Thursday, April 14 · 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Location: D-Store San Francisco
131 South Van Ness
San Francisco, CA

Created By: Dainese D-Store San Francisco

More Info: So, you’ve done a few track days, now what? You can only go so far on your own. There comes a point where getting some private instruction or schooling will be necessary to get faster, yet safer.
To take your track days to the next level, join us Thursday evening, April 14th for our in-store seminar with Ken Hill of KH Coaching. Whether you are new to the track or an AMA Pro, Ken’s experience and teaching techniques will give you the ability and understanding to fulfil your riding goals. Having raced for over 15 years and instructed professionally for the last 6 years, he knows how to help you! This is a great opportunity to meet an awesome guy and help you decide what’s next for you.
RSVP: d-store.sanfrancisco@dainese.com