You don’t have to spend long in the paddock before someone mentions Keith Code.
If you hang around long enough, you’ll eventually see one of his books pulled out of a gear bag, hear someone quoting “the wrist,” or spot that California Superbike School logo on a set of leathers. There’s a reason for that: he’s been breaking this sport down into repeatable, coachable pieces for decades and has trained a ridiculous number of fast humans around the world.
I’m still early in my own track journey. I’m not a coach, I’m not a pro, and I’m definitely not trying to play “mini Keith” here. I’m a rider who reads, rides, messes things up, then goes back to the book to figure out what the heck just happened.
This piece is exactly that: what I’ve taken from Keith Code’s work so far—mainly A Twist of the Wrist II and his school philosophy—and how it’s actually helped me once I got past the pure-novice stage and into that awkward intermediate-to-early-advanced zone where the low-hanging fruit is gone and the mistakes get more expensive.
If you’re in that phase too—already comfortable on track, chasing seconds, but still occasionally scaring yourself—this is for you.
TrackDNA Safety Note
Riding motorcycles on track is inherently risky and can result in serious injury or death. The ideas in this article are shared for general information only — they’re not formal coaching, professional instruction, or a guarantee of safety or performance.
Always ride within your limits, use proper safety gear, and practice only in a controlled, closed-course environment that follows all rules and regulations. Before trying any new technique, talk with a qualified coach or instructor and use your own judgment about what’s right for your skill level, your bike, and your body.
The best place to explore and apply these ideas is with a qualified coach or at a dedicated motorcycle or racing school. Treat what you read here as background context and conversation fuel for your own training — not as a step-by-step guide or a substitute for in-person instruction.
By choosing to ride, you accept the risks that come with it.
1. Survival Reactions: The Fast Rider’s Hidden Handbrake
One of the biggest concepts Keith hammers on is what he calls “survival reactions,” or SRs: those instinctive, panic-driven things we do when the brain decides “this is bad” and steals control from our better riding habits.
For newer riders, SRs are obvious:
- Sitting bolt upright in the middle of a corner
- Grabbing a handful of brake while leaned over
- Staring straight at the thing they’re afraid of hitting
But the part that hit me as an intermediate rider is this: SRs don’t disappear. They just get smaller and harder to spot.
At intermediate or advanced pace, SRs look more like:
- A tiny mid-corner roll-off when you feel a little wide
- Turning in a beat early because you’re worried about “missing” the apex
- Adding a bit of extra bar pressure when the bike twitches instead of letting it settle
- Holding your breath and tightening your upper body when the lap “matters”
None of these might send you into the gravel by themselves. But add them up at speed and they quietly cap your confidence and your lap time.
How I’m applying it
Instead of pretending I’m “past” survival reactions, I assume they’re always there and try to catch them like a coach watching from the outside.
A couple of practical checks you can run on yourself:
- “Did I change my mind mid-corner?”
If the answer is yes, it’s usually an SR. I either rolled off, added extra steering, or tightened on the bars when the bike was already doing what I originally asked. - “Did I breathe?”
On my sketchiest laps, the GoPro audio is just intake… no exhale. When I deliberately breathe out as I hit my turn-in and again as I roll on throttle, everything loosens up. - “Am I creating the problem I’m afraid of?”
That little roll-off when I felt wide? Half the time it made the line worse, not better. The survival reaction becomes the cause, not the cure.
When you start spotting these micro-SRs, you’ve got something real to work on—not just “I need more courage.”
2. The Ten Dollars of Attention: Intermediate Riders Go Broke Differently
Another big idea from Keith is the concept that you only have a limited “budget” of attention—he calls it “ten dollars.” Every fear, confusion, or half-understood technique is quietly charging your mental credit card.
At novice pace, your ten dollars gets eaten by:
- “Where is the line?”
- “Which gear am I supposed to be in?”
- “Is this bump going to kill me?”
Once you’re comfortable on track, the expenses shift. As an intermediate or advanced rider, your ten dollars starts leaking out on things like:
- Lap timer fixation: “I’m up two tenths, don’t blow it…”
- Comparing yourself to faster riders: “Why is that guy on an old 600 walking away from me?”
- Conflicting inputs: “Should I trail brake more? Less? Gas earlier? Later?”
None of those are inherently bad questions—but if you’re thinking about all of them in one lap, you’re broke.
How I’m applying it
These days, I try to do two things:
- Give each session a single job.
One session might be “exit drives only.” Another might be “brake markers only.” That’s it. Everything else just runs in the background. My brain is calmer, and the progress is actually measurable. - Spend my ten dollars on what I can control.
I can’t control who’s in my group, if the track is greasy, or whether my lap timer is happy. I can control whether I hit my turn-in mark and whether my throttle roll-on is smooth. That’s where the budget goes.
When your attention is concentrated instead of scattered, you stop riding like three different people in the same day.
3. Throttle Control: The Lap Is in Your Right Hand
If there’s one drum Keith has been beating for decades, it’s throttle control—specifically, what happens once you start adding throttle in a turn. The way you roll on affects everything: grip, geometry, line, and stability.
Modern coaching talks a lot about trail braking and carrying the brake toward the apex. That can sound like it contradicts Code’s emphasis on getting back to a smooth, progressive roll-on early in the corner. In reality, the good schools and fast riders are saying the same thing in slightly different accents:
- Abrupt changes—sudden roll-offs, chops, or spikes in throttle—are what get you in trouble.
- The bike is happiest when weight transfers are smooth and predictable.
- Once the bike is pointed and committed to a line, your job is to add speed in a controlled way, not throw it away and then panic-accelerate.
For intermediate and advanced riders, this is where a lot of lap time hides. Not in braking “like a hero,” but in how cleanly you go from “slow enough to make the turn” to “max drive out.”
How I’m applying it
A few personal rules I stole and adapted:
- No mystery coasting.
I try to be either braking with intent, or rolling on with intent. That weird dead zone where I’m just waiting, not braking and not driving, is where hesitation and survival reactions creep in. - Earlier, gentler, longer.
Instead of “wait… wait… whack,” I aim to introduce throttle just a touch earlier, but more gently, and then keep it feeding in. That gives the rear tire a stable job instead of asking it to do everything at once. - Use the throttle to hold the line, not escape it.
When I used to panic and run wide, I’d roll off, which stood the bike up and pushed me wider. Letting the bike stay on a light, steady drive keeps it settled and steering. If I truly messed up my entry, I fix that next lap instead of thrashing this one.
Electronics—traction control, rider modes, all of it—are amazing. But good throttle habits still matter even with all the wizardry watching over you.
4. Vision: Turning the Corner Into a Plan, Not a Surprise
Keith’s visual work—drills like “two-step” and so on—boils down to this: your eyes should lead the bike, not chase what’s happening.
When you’re new, that just means “look where you want to go.” At intermediate pace, that advice is nowhere near enough.
How I’m applying it
Here’s how I’ve adapted that visual framework for my own riding:
- Step one: lock in the next reference.
On the straight, I find my braking marker early. As I’m coming off the brakes, I snap my eyes to my turn-in. At turn-in, I lock eyes on the apex. - Step two: widen the view.
Once I’ve “tagged” the apex visually, I widen my vision to see the exit, the curb, other riders, and any surface changes.
The key is that my eyes are always ahead of what the bike is doing. If I catch myself staring at the patch of pavement directly in front of me, I know I’m behind and my riding will feel reactive instead of deliberate.
That alone has made my intermediate laps feel calmer and more “on rails,” even when I’m going faster.
5. Rider Input: Letting the Bike Do Its Job
A big takeaway from A Twist of the Wrist II and the California Superbike School approach is how much trouble we create with our own body. Riders often cause more problems than the motorcycle was designed to have.
For me, that shows up in three places:
- Death grip on the bars at corner entry or over bumps
- Hanging on with my arms instead of my legs under braking
- Oversteering the bike—extra inputs mid-corner because I don’t trust the first one
How I’m applying it
- I consciously check in with my hands on the warm-up lap: “Can I wiggle my fingers on the straight?” If not, I’m too tight.
- Under braking, I try to feel my knees doing most of the work of holding me up. If my arms are loaded, my steering is about to get sketchy.
- Once I’ve committed to a steering input, I give the bike a second to respond before adding more. Modern bikes are incredibly capable if we stop arguing with them.
6. A Keith-Inspired Training Day for Intermediate and Advanced Riders
Here’s how you could build a day at your next track event inspired by these ideas. Adjust for your own pace and coaching, obviously—but this gives structure instead of “I’ll just ride and hope I get faster.”
Session 1 – Warm-Up and SR Hunt
- Pace: about 70 to 80 percent
- Goal: Notice where you flinch—tiny roll-offs, extra steering, breath-holding.
- Homework: After the session, write down two survival reactions you caught yourself doing.
Session 2 – Ten Dollars of Attention: Pick One Corner
- Pace: 80 to 85 percent
- Goal: Choose a single corner that bothers you. Spend the whole session focusing most of your attention on just that one section—brake marker, turn-in, and throttle pick-up.
- Homework: Capture one positive change you made there.
Session 3 – Throttle Discipline
- Pace: 80 to 90 percent
- Goal: No mystery coasting. Be either clearly on the brakes or purposefully rolling on from your chosen point in each corner.
- Homework: Which corners let you roll on earlier but more gently? Where did it feel calmer?
Session 4 – Vision Drill
- Pace: 80 to 90 percent
- Goal: Run the “two-step” style approach in every corner: mark the apex, then immediately expand your view to the exit and beyond.
- Homework: Did your lines feel more consistent? Did other riders surprise you less?
Session 5 and Beyond – Put It Together
- Pace: Whatever feels honest that day
- Goal: Let the day’s work settle in. Don’t chase a lap time; chase clean, repeatable laps that feel stable and intentional.
That’s a Keith-flavored day without pretending you’re literally in his school curriculum.
Why Keith Code’s Principles Still Work on Modern Bikes
Motorcycles have changed. Electronics are wild now. Tires are better than most of us deserve. But the core ideas still hold up: throttle control, attention management, vision, and rider input haven’t gone out of style.
For me, Keith Code’s work is less of a “how to be fast in ten easy steps” and more of a language for understanding what’s happening between me and the bike. Once you have that language, every other bit of coaching—from your local track coach to the big national schools—makes more sense.
And that’s where I think his voice is still incredibly valuable for intermediate and advanced track riders today.
Where to Take This Next
If this article resonated, go straight to the source. Start with Keith Code’s book A Twist of the Wrist II and then, when you’re ready, look at booking a day with California Superbike School. That’s where these ideas really come alive—on track, with proper coaching behind them.
Get the book here: A Twist of the Wrist II
