TVS Ronin Drift-R School: Flat Tracking Made Fun

We at ZigWheels recently had a chance to try out the new TVS Ronin Drift-R School. We got a chance to learn flat-track riding techniques on a modified TVS Ronin flat tracker. Here’s an overview of our experience and the lessons learnt.

Flat Tracking, The Flat Track & The Ronin

Flat tracking is one of the oldest motorsports in the world, tracing its origins all the way back to the 1920s and 1930s. Flat track racing was started by American farmers who wanted to have some fun with their friends and today it is one of the most popular motorsports in the US.

In America, flat track races are held on tracks that are usually a mile or 1.6 kilometers. At the Drift-R school, we rode over a 250m track, which is a bit small but big enough for beginners to perfect their techniques. 

For this session, we rode a specially modified TVS Ronin flat tracker. The bike features a new handlebar and repositioned footpegs, a front fork with suspension travel extended by 40mm, and a custom exhaust.

Along with these changes, the bike’s headlight, instrument console, and front brake have been removed. The rear now features a smaller tail section, giving the bike a sportier look and feel overall.

Riding On A Flat Track

As someone who is only used to riding on the road, getting a chance to ride on the flat track was quite an exciting prospect. The sport of flat tracking, something which is not that popular or even well-known outside America, also sparked my interest.

After we were done with our introduction and briefing sessions, we went down to the track. A quick warm-up session followed by a track walk later, the first batch began. I had to wait a bit as my name was with the 3rd batch. Once my turn came, it was time to put the theory I learned so far into practice.

After 5 laps, around the track I understood that there’s more to this than what meets the eye. Everything from where you look to how you position yourself on the bike makes a lot of difference, and riding on the flat track is something which requires a lot of finesse.

Lessons Learnt & Relearnt

The drift school session was really enlightening and reinforced a lot of basic riding guidelines that I had already learned. 

The first of which is the importance of vision, and you look where you go. One of the biggest mistakes beginner riders make when riding is not focusing on their vision, and this mistake makes it harder for them to hit the perfect corner. During my first laps, I made this mistake a few times focusing on the road instead of looking at the exit. However, after fixing this mistake, my performance on track improved significantly.

Another lesson I learnt is the importance of being relaxed. During the first few laps, I was all tensed up and my hands were gripping the handlebars a bit too hard. This stopped me from being able to control the bike the way it should have been, and after relaxing my hands from the handlebars I was able to see a considerable improvement in my performance in the later laps.

Lastly, one lesson which was made more apparent after this session was the importance of rolling the throttle in an even, smooth and constant pace. Sudden changes in the throttle input, either rolling it too quickly or cutting it off abruptly can result in the bike losing traction, especially on low traction surfaces. 

This is one lesson that translates pretty fast into on-road riding, where sudden changes in throttle input while cornering can have deadly consequences.

Should You Attend The TVS Ronin Drift-R School?

Attending the TVS Ronin Drift-R school was an interesting experience and one which was a learning experience. Back when I started out my riding journey, I read about track racers riding off-road to improve their track riding skills, and now after attending the drift school, I understood what that was really about.

Riding in an environment where there’s little traction, forces you to improve your skills to a point where you can control the bike better. This translates directly when riding on roads where there is enough traction.

Overall, the experience at Ronin Drift-R School has ignited my passion for flat-track riding and definitely made me look at motorcycling in a different way. If you were to ask me whether or not I would recommend attending the TVS Ronin Drift-R School, my answer is a resounding yes.