Munich to Mugello with YCRS!

Munich to Mugello with YCRS!

Touring, Tasting, and Tracking in Europe. By Keith Culver Once in a lifetime you get an opportunity to do something out of the norm.  Maybe even out of your comfort zone.  This is where I could go on about how leaving the US on my own to ride motorcycle in the middle...
Dunlop Q5 Review

Dunlop Q5 Review

Replacing an industry giant is never easy. Dunlop did it right. by Keith Culver   I should be working on contracts and reconciling accounts among my 100 other items from my to-do list right now, but I need to take a break and talk about the Dunlop Q5 and Q5s...
Inside ChampU: The Debut of an Online Riding School

Inside ChampU: The Debut of an Online Riding School

The process and challenge of creating a new rider teaching format. By Nick Ienatsch August 24, 2021   Yamaha Champions Riding School now has an online instructional component called ChampU. Yamaha Champions Riding School    Fourteen months ago we began a...
Racing Vintage Motorcycles at 60

Racing Vintage Motorcycles at 60

Racing, traveling, and racing a departed friend’s bike.   By Nick Ienatsch August 17, 2021 Laguna’s epic Corkscrew aboard Chris Carr’s 1981 Kawasaki GPz550 built by HyperCycle. Could there be a better birthday party? Etech   During the third week of July 2021 I...
Safe and Repeatable Passing for Trackday Riders

Safe and Repeatable Passing for Trackday Riders

Mandatory Riders’ Meeting, Part 6. By Nick Ienatsch August 10, 2021 Even pros like Cycle World’s Road Test Editor Michael Gilbert and 19-time TT winner Michael Dunlop give each other room at a trackday.Jeff Allen    Last week’s mandatory riders’ meeting discussed...
Rider Responsibilities for Safe Trackday Passing

Rider Responsibilities for Safe Trackday Passing

Mandatory Riders’ Meeting, Part 5 By Nick Ienatsch July 27, 2021 Whether you are passing or being passed during a trackday, as a rider you have a responsibility to be predictable and polite.Jeff Allen    Passing at a trackday is the subject of the next two Mandatory...
Track Entry and Exit, and Advice for Fast Riders

Track Entry and Exit, and Advice for Fast Riders

Mandatory Riders’ Meeting, Part 4 By Nick Ienatsch July 6, 2021 How you enter and exit the racetrack can have huge consequences on the quality of your trackday—as well as others’. Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd.     This quick article comes in the middle of a series...
Why Body Position Matters at the Track

Why Body Position Matters at the Track

Mandatory Riders’ Meeting, Part 1   By Nick Ienatsch June 15, 2021 How, where, and when a motorcycle rider places their body while on the track makes a huge difference in handling, speed, tire life, and lap times. MotoGP    This series is aimed at...
Motorcycling Consistency, Part 4

Motorcycling Consistency, Part 4

A corner entry mantra By Nick Ienatsch May 11, 2021 The corner’s entry is to get the bike ready to exit. Read and repeat, and repeat—and repeat. Jeff Allen   We began this series with a look at the consistently quick lap times of a roadracing champion,...
Motorcycling Consistency, Part 3

Motorcycling Consistency, Part 3

Tying your eyes to your brake lever.   By Nick Ienatsch May 4, 2021 ”Get your eyes up.” Great motorcycling advice because vision feeds our brain to make future decisions. The earlier we see our future, the better we can plan for it. All of us will struggle with low...
Cold-Tire Crashes – Part 2

Cold-Tire Crashes – Part 2

Tips on warming tires. By Nick Ienatsch, February 9, 2021   “Everyone knows we crash on cold tires, but riders continue to crash on cold tires.” That started last week’s study of how we’re falling off on cold tires; the underlying mistake in every scenario was our...
Cold-Tire Crashes – Part 1

Cold-Tire Crashes – Part 1

Avoiding red flags at every track day.   By Nick Ienatsch, February 2, 2021 Everyone knows we crash on cold tires, but riders continue to crash on cold tires. My last crash (2013) was a cold tire—if you don’t count a stuck float coating the rear tire in Yamalube...
2021: The Year of the Motorcycle Brakelight, Part 3

2021: The Year of the Motorcycle Brakelight, Part 3

Just a Touch. By Nick Ienatsch, January 19, 2021 In Part 1 of this “The Year of the Motorcycle Brakelight” series we discussed speed, but perhaps in a surprising way. It’s easy to believe that running a faster lap time necessitates riding faster everywhere, and that...
2021: The Year of the Motorcycle Brakelight, Part 2

2021: The Year of the Motorcycle Brakelight, Part 2

Faster and safer.     By Nick Ienatsch, January 12, 2021   Last week’s examination of changing your bike’s direction in less time and distance by using your brakes defines Champ School’s slogan of “faster, safer.” We discussed that every curve has a maximum...
2021: The Year of the Motorcycle Brake Light, Part 1

2021: The Year of the Motorcycle Brake Light, Part 1

Speed and safety await—let’s examine consistent speed first.   By Nick Ienatsch.  January 5, 2021   Welcome to 2021, the year of the brake light. Lighting the red light at the back of your bike is much more than a sign of braking; the more I ride, race, and...
Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 7

Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 7

Best practices are not always. By Nick Ienatsch.  December 8, 2020   “It’s the Wild West out there,” the gentleman commented. His assignment was to establish a rider-training direction for a group of riders, and his comment referred to what he had seen and heard...
Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 6

Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 6

Struggling after a crash. By Nick Ienatsch This week’s Beyond the Classroom article focuses on a common issue: A rider with a passion for motorcycles eventually quits riding due to crashes. They walk out of our industry because of the cost and pain of big mistakes. A...
Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 5

Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 5

Lean angle, By Nick Ienatsch November 24, 2020 When a new rider tells the YCRS instructor crew, “I want to carry more lean angle but I’m scared.” We answer, “Us too!”   At YCRS we equate lean angle with risk and use the two words interchangeably. A core school...
Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 4

Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 4

Garage time is crucial to motorcycling success.  By Nick Ienatsch.  November 17, 2020 This Lessons Beyond the Classroom series has a simple goal: Improve the riding life of low-hour riders. The first three installments look at riding-technique approaches that help...
Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 3

Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 3

City cover and headlight weave.  By Nick Ienatsch  November 10, 2020 In an ongoing effort to bring all riders to “expert” status as quickly as possible, we continue our Beyond the Classroom articles aimed at filling in the details surrounding riding’s main priorities....
Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 2

Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 2

Less than fancy footwork. By Nick Ienatsch. November 3, 2020 This series aims to add breadth and depth to the riding experience of all riders. Each week I will introduce a few concepts that are not necessarily covered in most riding schools, but as I often note in...
Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom

Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom

Part 1: Don’t look away at the wrong time. By Nick Ienatsch, October 27, 2020 Over the next few weeks this column will attempt to impart motorcycling expertise designed to backstop the basics many riders learn in a riding class. What’s the goal? It’s to bring newer...
“She Races”

“She Races”

Fictional motorcycle poetry from Nick Ienatsch By Nick Ienatsch,  October 20, 2020 Her husband left her last year because “you ride too much,” She missed him occasionally but preferred her Yamaha’s touch. Addiction to the R6 ended her time as a wife… Becoming a racer...
The Ride-Better Drug For Motorcyclists

The Ride-Better Drug For Motorcyclists

Riding’s silver bullet: Tryactin – By Nick Ienatsch October 13, 2020 We search for the instant answer to safer riding—that silver bullet that will make us great riders. Reading books, studying videos, taking classes, asking questions: all in search of the...
Developing Critical Braking Feel  – Pre-Ride Drill, Part 3

Developing Critical Braking Feel – Pre-Ride Drill, Part 3

Nick Ienatsch, September 22, 2020 These pre-ride drills aim to jump-start your mind and body before you fire the bike. How big of a deal is that? Perhaps fairly minor in the grand scheme of rider safety, but as we all know, minor details become major issues when we...
Warm Up Your Body Before Your Motorcycle Pre-Ride Drill, Part 2

Warm Up Your Body Before Your Motorcycle Pre-Ride Drill, Part 2

By Nick Ienatsch September 15, 2020   The theme of these Pre-Ride Drill columns chases mental preparation to ride via physical actions. As your body goes through some of these suggestions, your mind realizes the actions are leading to a ride, a lapping session,...
Scan With Your Eyes – Pre-Ride Drill, Part 1

Scan With Your Eyes – Pre-Ride Drill, Part 1

By Nick Ienatsch September 8, 2020 In the next few weeks, this column will give you some pre-ride ideas to experiment with in the hope that the ensuing ride is better than the one before. That means safer, more consistent, and more pleasurable if you’re a street...

Nick Ienatsch on Arai Helmet NEWS LIVE

  Allentown, PA (September 7, 2020) Arai Helmet Americas is proud to launch its first live program with the debut of Arai News Live. This new live broadcast will feature Arai technical staff providing key technical information about Arai helmets, Arai athlete...
Slow Your Motorcycle Longer In Corners

Slow Your Motorcycle Longer In Corners

Next Ride Drill, Part 3 by Nick Ienatsch, July 21, 2020 Slowing longer (waiting to open the throttle) will keep you from running wide in a corner by allowing the bike to turn. Too much throttle too soon will unload the tire—not a good situation while adding lean...
Close The Throttle To The Brake Lever

Close The Throttle To The Brake Lever

Next Ride Drill, Part 2 by Nick Ienatsch, July 14, 2020 When closing the throttle you should be moving to the brake lever—even if you don’t plan to apply the brakes.- Triumph Started last week, this new series gives you a specific drill for your next ride. At...
Motorcycle Steering And Hand Pressure

Motorcycle Steering And Hand Pressure

Next Ride Drill, Part 1 – Nick Ienatsch July 7, 2020 Are you aware of how much pressure you input into your motorcycle’s steering while riding?- Jeff Allen In the next few weeks, this column will give you a specific drill for your next ride. At ChampSchool we do...
NCBike COVID Mitigation Policy

NCBike COVID Mitigation Policy

Criteria Requirements to be followed   NCCAR buildings are limited access. Only lobby, restrooms and classroom are open for use. All other spaces are off limits for our tenant’s safety. Violation will result in the building being closed again.Pits to be...
There Are No Definitive Answers To Riding Technique

There Are No Definitive Answers To Riding Technique

It depends… By Nick Ienatsch June 9, 2020 Answers to ride better and faster are not absolute and instant. Riding instructors often reply to questions with, “It depends…” – Nick Ienatsch We want instant, precise answers to our questions. What time is the...
Army of Darkness wins on the Yamaha Champions Riding School R1

Army of Darkness wins on the Yamaha Champions Riding School R1

Army Of Darkness Debuts Their 2020 Yamaha R1 in First Place at Summit Point WERA/N2 National Endurance Race June 6, 2020 Army Of Darkness, from Left, Ben Walters, Chris Manfrin, Tim Gooding, Sam Fleming, Melissa Berkoff, Anthony Consorte, YT Lechner, Bobby  Jones....
Excellent Motorcycle Riding: Faith In Processes

Excellent Motorcycle Riding: Faith In Processes

Part 1: A word for the curious, the disheartened, and the coaches. By Nick Ienatsch These ChampSchool instructors share an important trait: 100-percent faith in the students’ ability to become an excellent rider—if they have the desire and the coaches put in the...
Motorcyclist’s Effect On Radius And Risk

Motorcyclist’s Effect On Radius And Risk

Fear and Lean Angle, Part 4. By Nick Ienatsch April 14, 2020 Welcome to Part 4 of our Fear and Lean Angle study. This week: The on-board engineer’s role in lean-angle-reduction. – At the Apex Photos In Part 1 of this series, we discussed my habit...
Linear Progression And Practice Is Key To Speed And Safety

Linear Progression And Practice Is Key To Speed And Safety

Fear and Lean Angle: Part 3 by Nick Ienatsch. March 31, 2020 Chris Peris (pictured) and teammate Ben Walters have won five WERA Heavyweight endurance titles in a row, and Chris is often the fastest rider in the race. How do these riders find and live at the limits of...
Freddie Spencer’s Discipline Made Him A Champion

Freddie Spencer’s Discipline Made Him A Champion

Fear and Lean Angle, Part 2 by Nick Ienatsch, March 24, 2020 A decade ago I was invited to participate in a Cycle World 600cc comparison test at the Streets of Willow Springs. I was 48 years old, teaching at YCRS but not racing very...
Trail-Braking’s True Purpose

Trail-Braking’s True Purpose

Fear and Lean Angle: Part 1 By Nick Ienatsch After lapping with YCRS instructors Kyle Wyman or Chris Peris, my question is always the same, “Where am I slow?” These two fleet-footed racers bite back their immediate answer (“everywhere”) and simply give me the top flaw...
Breaking Trail On Trail-Braking

Breaking Trail On Trail-Braking

by ben younger Wednesday, June 22, 2011 Ben Younger. Writer, Director, Motorcycle Rider.- ben younger collection Article was originally written for SuperBikePlanet in 2011. Some names, prices and locations have changed but the school still remains the same. Being 38,...
Motorcycle Track Therapy For A Combat Marine

Motorcycle Track Therapy For A Combat Marine

Mark Thompson’s track-riding journey continues. – February 25, 2020 Nick’s Introduction: Last week retired Marine Mark Thompson described the therapeutic positives of track riding for warriors suffering with PTSD. Within that description, he noted that without...
KYLE WYMAN RETURNS FOR DAYTONA 200 DEFENSE WITH N2 RACING TEAM

KYLE WYMAN RETURNS FOR DAYTONA 200 DEFENSE WITH N2 RACING TEAM

Media, PA (Feb. 24) – N2 Track Days, the premier track day provider on the East Coast, is proud to announce their participation in the 79th Running of the Daytona 200 with rider Kyle Wyman. The N2 Racing Team will be returning to Daytona International Speedway with...
PTSD Track Therapy

PTSD Track Therapy

Marines riding quickly to stand still. – Mark Thompson February 18, 2020 Nick’s introduction: A strong argument can be made that a member of the United States military and a roadracing champion are similar. Both accept high risk, both must be fit, benefit...
Yamaha Champions Riding School At Sepang

Yamaha Champions Riding School At Sepang

Nick Ienatsch and crew go international. By Nick Ienatsch Can you imagine starting 2020 any better than this? Early January lapping Sepang International. – BHH Collection We hopped out of the vans in the Petronas gas station and stared across the highway at the...
Correct Motorcycle Training Provides More Joy

Correct Motorcycle Training Provides More Joy

The sharp blade of helmet therapy and improper inputs. By Nick Ienatsch, January 21, 2020 There are two reasons this new rider will not become a lifelong rider: 1. She falls and scares herself into quitting. 2. Riding is not fun; she can’t keep up with the group, the...
YCRS Demo Truck and Trailer FOR SALE

YCRS Demo Truck and Trailer FOR SALE

It took us a while to find a suitable replacement for this but the new one is here so our beloved R-World Truck and Trailer is officially for sale. Separately or combined. The truck is a 2012 Dodge RAM Cummins Turbo Diesel 4wd (badass) with about 118k on it. The...
A True Motorcycle Enthusiast’s Lessons For Us All

A True Motorcycle Enthusiast’s Lessons For Us All

Remember Chris Carr’s outlook on life. By Nick Ienatsch January 7, 2020 Chris Carr at the COTA 2019 Grand Prix. – Nick Ienatsch Our dear friend Chris Carr died last week. Nearly everyone involved in AHRMA and MSF know Chris because Chris was a joy to know. He...
5 Ways ChampSchool Taught Me How To Ride Like A Pro

5 Ways ChampSchool Taught Me How To Ride Like A Pro

The inside line about Yamaha Champions Riding School’s methods. By Seth Richards December 27, 2019 2019 Yamaha YZF-R6 at New Jersey Motorsports park. – Ray Bradlau (theSBImage) “There are few people who can sort everything out while they are actually on the...
Of Course Santa Rides A Motorcycle

Of Course Santa Rides A Motorcycle

Nick Ienatsch waxes poetic about Kris Kringle’s off-time. December 24, 2019 What would Christmas be without the traditional bad moto-poetry on Ienatsch Tuesday? Here’s the truth about Santa. Of course Santa rides; what other reason could there be for his...
Do You Really Need Stiffer Suspension?

Do You Really Need Stiffer Suspension?

Ride smoother to save money and turn faster lap times. By Nick Ienatsch December 17, 2019 A motorcycle chassis (TZ250 seen here) offers a variety of ways to spend Christmas money. Should fork and shock springs be on that list? – Darryl Meyers Understanding...
Get Your Bike Ready For Summer In The Winter

Get Your Bike Ready For Summer In The Winter

If you can’t ride all winter, shop therapy is advised. By Nick IenatschDecember 10, 2019 I enjoyed this 1988 BMW R100RS tremendously this summer… – Nick Ienatsch …because I took it all apart last winter! It came into my life on Thanksgiving weekend of 2018...

Necessity Is The Mother Of Motorcycle Wiring

Just ask Ryan Burke, masterpiece harness builder. By Nick Ienatsch December 3, 2019 If you want the kind of success Ryan Burke (above) is having on a modern superbike, you better get comfy with electronics. For the 2019 Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA) season,...

Go Motorcycle Endurance Racing!

Joining or assembling a team could be the best way to get into motorcycle roadracing. By Nick IenatschNovember 26, 2019 Endurance racing can make getting into motorcycle roadracing easier for a first-timer. You may not be Chris Peris on the Army of Darkness BMW, but...

Long-Term Tracer GT Performance, Part 2

Let’s go roadracing! By Nick IenatschNovember 19, 2019 Click to watch the video One significant reason I love roadracing: It provides measurement. A stopwatch and finishing positions determine value, as opposed to a dyno chart, parts budget, or who can flap their lips...

Long-Term Yamaha Tracer 900 GT Update, Performance Part 1

Our long-term Tracer hits the strip and racetrack. By Nick IenatschNovember 13, 2019 CW’s long-term Tracer 900 GT parked next to its predecessor, the Yamaha FJ-09. The FZ-09, FJ-09, MT-09, and Tracers share the same unbreakable and rev-happy 847cc,...

ChampSchool brings in Chip Spalding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Millville, NJ – August 2019 Chip Spalding speaking with students at a recent ChampSchool event at NJMP – TheSBImage Yamaha Champions Riding School Hires Industry Veteran Chip Spalding                    Yamaha Champions Riding...
Huge Fun And Low Risks Describe Mini Roadracing

Huge Fun And Low Risks Describe Mini Roadracing

A microcosm of the real deal with ChampMini School. By Nick Ienatsch July 30, 2019 Nobody has to say “smile for the camera” at ChampMini. Instructors Michael Henao in the floppy hat with Sean Dylan Kelly to his right. They teach by example, a fast and smooth example....
Replace Distracted Drivers To Grow Motorcycling!

Replace Distracted Drivers To Grow Motorcycling!

Bring on the automated car. – By Nick Ienatsch . July 9, 2019 There might be someone texting inside these cars, but it’s not the drivers. Manufacturers like Bosch are working hard toward self-driving vehicles, which could mean safer roads for motorcyclists....
USMCA Teams Up With Yamaha Champions Riding School

USMCA Teams Up With Yamaha Champions Riding School

Keith Culver, the Chief Operating Officer of Yamaha Champions Riding School and USMCA Coach Leader. – theSBImage U.S. Motorcycle Coaching Association Partners With ChampSchool Temecula, CA: With a shared vision for growing the sport of motorcycling through great...
Motorcycling Best Practices: Avoiding The Emergency Room

Motorcycling Best Practices: Avoiding The Emergency Room

A six-second video about preparedness and reaction time. – Nick Ienatsch July 2, 2019 In Mark’s own words: “I am a semi-retired 50 year old Grandpa. I love to ride motorcycles and fly airplanes. I worked as a certified flight instructor and competed in...
Nick Ienatsch’s Braking Top 5

Nick Ienatsch’s Braking Top 5

To go fast you must be able to slow. By Nick Ienatsch June 18, 2019 Trail-braking is reducing brake pressure as you add lean angle. – Cycle World Archiveswww.cycleworld.com Trail-braking defined: Reducing brake pressure as you add lean angle. If you...

ChampSchool is Hiring!

The Yamaha Champions Riding School (YCRS) aims to change students’ lives on and off the motorcycle by introducing them to Champions Habits: The techniques, approaches, skills, and the mindsets of the best riders in the world. These Champions Habits are the foundation...
Riding A Yamaha Tracer 900 GT Across The American West

Riding A Yamaha Tracer 900 GT Across The American West

Part 2 of Nick’s COTA MotoGP Adventure By Nick Ienatsch May 1, 2019 Last week Nick chronicled the preparation of his long-term Yamaha Tracer 900 GT before he set out on a ride to the Circuit of The Americas for MotoGP. This week, he shares tales...
Nick Ienatsch – Long term Yamaha TracerGT

Nick Ienatsch – Long term Yamaha TracerGT

Preparation to ride across the American West to COTA – By Nick Ienatsch April 23, 20196 The Tracer GT enjoyed the back roads of New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas…after sneaking out of a snowy and cold Colorado. It’s been in mothballs all winter and began the...
The Acceleration Motto, Part 2

The Acceleration Motto, Part 2

A plan to increase the enjoyment for all hesitant riders who have lost the joy of riding By Nick Ienatsch We all know riders who have quit riding due to crashes. The loss of health, money, and confidence figure into the equation that leads to walking away from...

ChampSchool Partners with Tuned Racing

For Immediate Release March 18, 2019 San Diego, CA. – The Yamaha Champions Riding School, aka CHAMPSCHOOL, and Tuned Racing have entered into a partnership for the 2019 MotoAmerica racing season. ChampSchool will provide bikes, support, on- and...
How To Tackle Long-Radius, Double-Apex Corners

How To Tackle Long-Radius, Double-Apex Corners

Double-apex corners can be tricky By Nick Ienatsch  March 5, 2019 The Champ School just finished our first-ever Florida school at Palm Beach International Raceway, aka PBIR. Terrific layout with three double-apex, huge-radius corners that have a...

YCRS Happenings – What President Rode a Motorcycle

Happy Presidents Day! Which, if any, US Presidents Rode Motorcycles? We haven’t found too many that have been enthusiasts but current VP Mike Pence is a rider.  Teddy Roosevelt, when he was police commissioner of NYC in 1895, started using bicycle cops to chase...
Track Focused Riding Tips

Track Focused Riding Tips

How to get the most out of your day at the track—Expert Eyes, Part 5By Nick Ienatsch Yesterday at 2:44pm 2 Comments Last week our advice came from a pair of new-rider instructors; this week we go all-track with Bill Sink and Scott Rybarik. In each...
Professional Motorcycle Instructors Have Seen It All

Professional Motorcycle Instructors Have Seen It All

Expert Eyes, Part 4—Why riders crash By Nick Ienatsch January 29, 2019 This week we tap into two new-rider instructors, Chris Carr and Trevor Dech, for their take on the frequent mistakes and possible fixes they see in their world. Both these gentlemen are...
PR – ChampSchool Invades Florida

PR – ChampSchool Invades Florida

YCRS Invades Florida For immediate releaseMILLVILLE, N.J. (January 30, 2019) – The Yamaha Champions Riding School (YCRS) will host its first ever school in Jupiter, Fla., February 26 -27 at Palm Beach International Raceway with support from MotoCorse...
More Riding Tips For the New Year From Professional Instructors

More Riding Tips For the New Year From Professional Instructors

Expert Eye, Part 3 By Nick Ienatsch We continue our January theme of asking expert-level riding coaches to improve our 2019 riding by sighting their most-seen riding mistakes and fixes. This week we go all-street with two high-mileage, highly enthusiastic coaches....
A New Year Riding Plan from Professional Instructors

A New Year Riding Plan from Professional Instructors

At the Champ school I work with a group of riders who ride constantly in the dirt and on the pavement, for pleasure and in competition. These guys are insanely focused on being consistent at expert-level speeds. As 2019 begins, I asked a few of my coaches to write...
Make 2019 A Great Year For Motorcycling

Make 2019 A Great Year For Motorcycling

I want to leave you with three thoughts as 2018 ends and 2019 begins: This saying speaks to financial balance certainly, but it has meaning to riders too. In the past year this column has encouraged you to go racing through the eyes of 65-and-older racers, Ralph...

ChampSchool Partners With VETMotorsports

For Immediate Release ChampSchool Partners With VETMotorsports To Provide Motorcycle Training To Military Veterans Millville, NJ, December 21, 2018 — The Yamaha Champions Riding School (YCRS) has entered into an agreement with VETMotorsports to provide...
There Is No Silver Bullet For Motorcycle Riding Technique

There Is No Silver Bullet For Motorcycle Riding Technique

Getting hung-up on one style leaves time on the table By Nick Ienatsch December 11, 2018 0 Comments Every veteran trackday rider or roadracer eventually realizes there is no single silver bullet to riding consistently fast. There are single tips that...

2019 Schedule Released

CHAMPIONS HABITS The techniques, approaches, skills and mindsets of the best riders in the world. RIDING TIPS We hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  We spent the following week in the mountains of southern California. Chris, Keith and I joined three of our...

Cars Can Make Us Better Riders, Here’s How

Your winter of riding improvement is waiting in the garage.   Winter hit southern Colorado early and hard this week. Rain, then snow and overnight temperatures of 16 degrees so far, and it’s only early October! What makes this slightly humorous: When this is...

Press Release: MotoSchoolooza Success causes schedule/format Change

For Immediate Release September 18, 2018.  Litchfield Park, AZ – Based on the success of the combined formats of MotoSchoolooza, YCRS will offer the same format and schedule at Arizona Motorsports Park (AMP) on November 10, 2018. On Labor Day, YCRS hosted the...

YCRS announces MotoSchoolooza

Millville, NJ – Civilians, Club Members, Active & Retired Military Riders, Street Riders, Track Riders, Mini Riders, Cruiser Riders, Adventure Riders, and Café Racers are all invited to the first inaugural MotoSchoolooza, a rider training expo on September 3, 2018...

Accelerate With A Plan To Brake

Increased speed approaching a corner necessitates use of the brakes, at which point motorcycles begin to work as they were designed. Whew! I just flew home after a whirlwind week of instruction: two days of Yamaha Champions Riding School at Inde Motorsports Ranch in...

Everyday Practice For Increased Motorcycling Excellence

There are times each day when increased mental focus and fine-tuned physical movements are crucial: clearing your grandmother’s fine china and crystal from the dinner table; sipping a cola and eating a hot dog slathered in condiments while examining the rolling...

How Difficult Is Racing A MotoAmerica Superbike In The Rain?

The MotoAmerica Superbike races this past weekend at Road Atlanta were crazy, especially on Sunday—all wet, all day. Kyle Wyman and his Kyle Wyman Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 not only survived but thrived, leaving Georgia fourth in the championship point chase courtesy of...

3 Reasons Expert Motorcycle Riders Crash

What catches us out as our skills and experience improve? By Nick Ienatsch April 3, 2018 Many riding-technique articles are aimed at new motorcyclists with the goal of short-cutting their learning curves. Expert riders have learned many lessons over the years, one way...

YCRS Renews with Mazziotto for 2018 MotoAmerica Season

For immediate release  March 12, 2018  Millville, NJ – The Yamaha Champions Riding School proudly announces continued support of racer Anthony Mazziotto III in 2018.   In 2017 YCRS and its sponsors teamed with our prized pupil Anthony “Mazz” Mazziotto to get...

Police Officer Training At Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Yamaha Champions Riding School teams with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department This past spring, the Yamaha Champions Riding School hosted a cruiser clinic, and Steve Ritchey stopped in to say hello. Ritchey is a 26-year veteran of the Las Vegas Metropolitan...

The Ridge Motorsports Park, Police Cruisers, and SuperMoto?

What could a 1,000-pound police cruiser and a 240-pound Supermoto racebike have in common? Would you believe the answer is: How they should be ridden?  Yep. Now, it’s crazy to tell you that everything is “exactly the same”, but the truth is that the...

Freeway On-Ramps And Long-Radius Sweepers—Getting Direction

Playing with speed to adjust radius, respecting the “red circle of direction” By Nick Ienatsch here’s an important secret to enjoying long-radius corners: realizing there is a direction change 60­‑75 percent of the way through the corner. For this direction change the...

How To Ride Back Roads Better On Your Motorcycle

LETS TAKE A RIDE TOGETHER Here are nine corners on an imaginary road. We are riding at a brisk pace, whatever that means to you. Grip is great, camber is positive, no surprises. The first two turns are open and flowing so we just roll the throttle shut for turn 1 and...

Press Release: YCRS To Return to High Plains Raceway in 2018

San Diego, CA  February 1, 2018 – For the third year in a row, the Yamaha Champions Riding School returns to High Plains Raceway near Denver, CO.   In 2018, YCRS will bring ChampDay to HPR on two different dates:  May 28 is Memorial Day and last year was a...

Look At The “Big Picture” Scenario While Riding Your Motorcycle

“It’s like cheating,” said Dave, a student at last week’s Champ School. Dave is a racer on a track-prepped 1000 and had just rolled into the pits after a mini-drill centered around vision. Of all the basics you will hear from any riding instructor or mentor, “Get your...