Rickdiculous track school: is it worth it?

[DirtyD]

I was reading a very positive review of Rickdiculous racing and thought "that might me fun". Then I went to their website and realized that my pockets don't run that deep. Not even close. To quote from Pulp Fiction "ain't the same fucking ballpark, it ain't the same league, it ain't even the same fucking sport".

 

[stangmx13]

It's still worth it

Ken can lead u for a lap and notice so much that you need to work. Ya he has mirrors, but cmon. His knowledge and teaching ability are insane.

 

[FXCLM5]

? wasnt the price the same for YCRS

? same price for Keith code CLASS right......

you get what you pay for

been talking to khill this year, hes definitely got me hording $$$ in my rainy day fund to go out for a ricks day.

any other time you get a "personal coach" your STILL going to share the trackday with like 100+ other riders.

ricks days are with allot smaller groups

im a fukn believer

have you done a keigwins day w khill.....

yuuuuuuuuuup, you have no idea wtf your missing

 

[scotinexcile]

Best money you will EVER spend on your motorcycling (heated grips come close)

Their knowledge is fantastic and Ken Hill has a fantastic ability to fix what YOU need to fix. It is not a "cookie cutter" operation all the information is "tailored" for YOU and how YOU can get faster and safer.

The YCRS school gave me the confidence to race on the Isle of Man. Flying out again Aug 17th for my 4th time, ZERO crashes so far and very Few OH SHIT moments

Honestly the course will change you as a rider forever

 

[Project 2501]

It's the cost of say 8-9 trackdays. I'd wager you could go do 8-9 trackdays, then a rick day, and compare the laptimes and you'll find out there is value in their price.

not to mention you kind of own the track (except for Scott Russel might be there, and Shane Turpin and Cameron Gish but you can always pick through the slower traffic...)

My math was different though, I found it cost on average about what one good crash costs in bike repair and about 1/150th of what it cost when I was heli'ed out of THill so not wrecking since 2 Rick days, I'm Money Ahead!

 

[Bassem]

Thread title edited.

 

[phocup]

So if you are a new rider and could do both financially .. would it be better for you to do 8-9 days first, perhaps move out of C into B, THEN go to a Rick day .. or Rick first ?

 

[Bassem]

So if you are a new rider and could do both financially .. would it be better for you to do 8-9 days first, perhaps move out of C into B, THEN go to a Rick day .. or Rick first ?

Rick. some trackdays to practice what you learned. Then go back when you need more.

Unlearning bad habits is a lot harder than learning good ones.

 

[thedub]

I was reading a very positive review of Rickdiculous racing and thought "that might me fun". Then I went to their website and realized that my pockets don't run that deep. Not even close. To quote from Pulp Fiction "ain't the same fucking ballpark, it ain't the same league, it ain't even the same fucking sport".

YCRS is $2k for the two day schools and CSS is about $2.5k. Those schools have a formula; everyone hears the same classroom lecture, everyone does the same drills on track, and student to coach is 4:1, maybe 5:1.

Rick days are infinitely more valuable. You work 2:1 or sometimes even 1:1 with a coach who just follows you around all day and works with you on exactly what's holding you back. No classroom and no drills with 35 other people. Just riding quality laps with basically no traffic to improve your riding.

I remember you used to say something to the effect of the only person that loses money at my trackdays is me. You know as well as anybody how much it costs to rent the track. Now keep in mind that they are also paying the ancillary costs associated with running a riding school (for instance the salary of a handful of world class coaches) AND the fact that there are only going to be about 10 paying customers, a third of those other schools. The only person that loses money at a Rickdiculous day is Adam Bronfman. (but he comes from a family of multi-billionaires, so he'll probably be ok)

 

[rob linders]

Seems to be summed up well here. You really need to do it. After my son did a YCRS weekend with Ken Hill and the gang, he said he learned so much he felt like he didn't even know how to ride before that.

To answer the other question, I think you will get more value out of the school vs. doing 8-9 trackdays. So go to Rick first.

 

[afm199]

Go. You won't regret it. Do one Coaching day and then the next day a track only day. You'll still get some help then.

 

[shouldnthave]

Worth every penny. I learned more in two days with Ken than I learned in $2,450+2,450+$1,850 (CR) 6 total days with Keith Code's cookie factory. Granted, I was far along enough after CSS that I could absorb Ken fully, but it was extremely helpful to get over the hump I was having in positive lap times after CCS.

 

[DirtyD]

Thanks for all of the replies. I agree that after eight track days I'm really not a better rider than I was before those days, so realistically the money might be better spent if my goal was to be faster and safer. I guess I was just suffering from sticker shock. I also agree that if the school could eliminate even one crash then it would be money well spent.

 

[thedub]

I guess I was just suffering from sticker shock.

Understandable.

 

[elliomax]

Rick school looks great, im just not sure if I am at that level yet. Only done one track day ever!

 

[afm199]

Thanks for all of the replies. I agree that after eight track days I'm really not a better rider than I was before those days, so realistically the money might be better spent if my goal was to be faster and safer. I guess I was just suffering from sticker shock. I also agree that if the school could eliminate even one crash then it would be money well spent.

You'll probably end up with far more info to digest than you can. Take notes...

And remember, Ken Hill gives three classes a day at some Keigwin events, the same Ken Hill who is teaching the same stuff at Rickdiculous, only it costs nothing.

In your case, Dan, you'll be nodding your head a lot and going: "O, right, right, right".

 

[fatcircles]

I'm a big Ken Hill fan and will second everything that everyone said so far.

One thing I do want to comment on is that you said "after 8 or 9 track days I don't feel like I've learned a ton."

I've definitely found that trackdays are what you make them. I've wasted an entire trackday or three by just riding without having a plan in place. Or without having an instructor follow me and me follow them and then meet in the pits afterwards.

I do think that in order to better absorb Ken's school, a new rider should first do a day with Z2's novice class and then really be focused and have a plan for another few track days before doing Ken's school (if they have the money to do this).

You can also learn a lot from all of Ken + Nick's faster safer videos and listening to Ken's podcast as well.

At the end of the day though, 2 days with Rickdiculous will make you a better rider than 100 regular track days.

 

[Gawernator]

Rick. some trackdays to practice what you learned. Then go back when you need more.

Unlearning bad habits is a lot harder than learning good ones.

+1 training scars suck, working off a clean slate is amazing

 

[Dan Halen]

Thanks for all of the replies. I agree that after eight track days I'm really not a better rider than I was before those days, so realistically the money might be better spent if my goal was to be faster and safer. I guess I was just suffering from sticker shock. I also agree that if the school could eliminate even one crash then it would be money well spent.

If i'm not mistaken in that I rode and talked with you at Sears recently, you are already a damn fast rider, but since you mentioned you had already been that fast for the past 8 or so years I suppose you have to want to learn more? If you do, I would wager he can get you faster, and make your current times easier to achieve with less risk. And since you have so much experience it would seem some of the nuances of whats happening will be much easier for you to see/understand than most.

I think riders have to also keep in mind to be good students, and want to really listen and improve. As adults, I see many people in different occupations/endeavors that act like they listen but are unable to let their ego go and really become a student again, at a later stage in life. You can see this at every trackday- people not riding well and not interested in getting help from instructors or getting some feedback but not really listening.


Maybe I'll see you there.:thumbup

 

[KazMan]

another suggestion may be to slow a bit to do the new technique correctly, than try to show Ken, Scott, Cam, or any other Instructor how fast you are. I see this often, where a 15 minute classroom session is thrown to the wayside by the student trying to show how fast they are, all while completing the same bad habits they just understood were not helpful to their program. :laughing

As I will be doing a Jake Zemke day sometime in the near future, I have been talking to and preparing myself on how to be a student of the game and not bring in my habits to this instruction day. Lots of laps and seat time I have to somewhat wipe from my mind so that i can fully embrace the opportunity.

And this would be the same whether it was Jake, Ken, Keith, Jason, etc.