We know a majority of riders whose technique plateaued, though they’ve spent countless hours/years at it, just as we know of a few riders who’ve improved seemingly overnight. Talented, having beginner’s luck, being gifted, is what is said of these ‘few’. Let the myth be dispelled. Cellular growth, neural pathways, neuromuscular adaptation happens at virtually the same pace for everyone. It’s biological fact.
What distinguishes these two camps is learning. Not the intention nor the desire to learn, but the method applied. Just because we’ve all learned something at some point, doesn’t make us experts in learning. In fact, the vast majority really suck at it and find it incredibly hard, yet mysteriously convince themselves they can figure it out and be autodidacts. Like hoping to become a surgeon by slicing cheese and darning socks, with about the same success rate, so too, most riders’ methods involve little more than survival. Repeating the same crap technique until there’s comfort in the stench doesn’t make a lifetime worth of ‘saddle time’ any better. Repetition does not equate to learning or improving. “I’ve been riding a quarter century” means nothing – many kids who’ve ridden less than 6 years can ride circles around most (on-road track as well as motocross). Your years just mean the proverbial old dog has to work that much harder to learn the new/proper tricks. Otherwise, you’re doing the same thing, expecting different results. The more astute would turn to teachers, hoping through their understanding of learning methodology, can properly deliver the sought technique. Sadly, teachers and sports are like oil and radiator fluid, in that they rarely mix. Let’s be clear that coaches and teachers are not one and the same, and serve different purposes. Generally, coaches cheer and push for improving physical prowess and results, whereas teachers tend to focus more on the mind.
In the majority of sports, due to the importance of gross motor skill dominance (as opposed to fine motor skills), former experts/stars usually end up being coaches, imparting their experience by encouraging emulating the way they achieved their success. As motorcycling is unlike other sports in that it relies much more on fine motor skills and on a huge psychological component, employing the standard sporting coaching approach of learning and improving, becomes less applicable. What’s more is that most great riders aren’t actually good teachers, nor can they properly break down and explain the workings of their own learning method. A few try to reduce their abilities to bite-sized steps and insist on repetition, but that’s still quite a primitive, and only mildly functional, approach. It’s not a key as much as it is a hammer.
To further complicate things, as you ascend past basic levels, all instructions and techniques (even the sacred ones) enter a grey zone of exceptions. Hyperbole of ‘never’ and ‘always’ give way to ‘seldom’ and ‘most’, beyond which are where one finds the quintessential techniques of pros. The breakdown and transmission of these, without exponentially increasing risk, require an even greater type of analysis and methodology, quite far outside the reach of anyone not a teacher.
There’s simply no way around it. There are only two possible solutions, and seeking both is perfectly valid and will boost results. Find an actual teacher to teach motorcycling techniques or alternately teach you how to learn, or spend the time researching how to properly learn by yourself. Manage expectations, knowing watching a couple videos and reading another article won’t bestow upon you the pedagogical competence of a decade of post secondary studies, but any extra understanding will save you loads of frustration and indirectly increase your safety and enjoyment of riding.
Before giving up and surfing the web for a sale on something shiny, remember it’s said every penny invested in classes/courses yields minimum 10 times the return it would if spent on motorbike upgrades. Surely with your ‘quarter century’ worth of investing you’ll agree!
Writer:
Peter ‘Safety Bear’ Bokor