It’s What We Do

This entry is part 1 of 20 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #21

Tuning a bike is tricky and something I enjoy.

When I say ‘tuning’, I mean taking a bike and trying to get the best out of it. It’s not just searching for horsepower. There’s a great deal to be gained from looking at all factors affecting a bike’s performance.

For racers there’s an easy way to measure success: lap times. For recreational riders it’s far more difficult, and I used to get really frustrated with some of the things I saw people doing. Usually I’d see a rider adding several kilos of dead weight to a bike and looking smug because they’d fitted some-thing they didn’t understand, and probably wasn’t going to help them ride faster, smoother or with greater safety. These days there’s a lot stuff called ‘bling’ that falls into that category, and I think if it makes those people feel good about their bikes and riding, it’s a great idea.

The rider is still the main limitation on any bike from a moped to an exotic, Dakar-ready race special. It’s a good rider who can feel where the bike’s strengths lie and capitalise on those strengths, and, at the same time,understand a bike’s specific weaknesses and compensate for them. Is there any-one among us who hasn’t had their arse whipped by a rider on a much smaller-capacity, clearly far less-capable bike? It’s because the other rider has the ability to understand what the bike can and can’t do, and make the most of what’s available.

I haven’t been gifted with the kind of talent that naturally lets me make those assessments, but over many years I’ve had a great deal of excellent attitude pounded into my unresponsive noggin by very knowledgeable people. I now consciously look for the assets and shortfalls of bikes, and of course, with bike-testing being a big part of my work, that’s a good thing. It also helps me set up a bike to work well with the way I ride.

One of the aspects of performance tuning I’ve learned is that there’s a considerable overlap between bike hardware and the rider’s mental state.

There’s a strong psychological factor in any rider’s performance. If a rider believes he has an advantage, he does. So if bolting on equipment a rider doesn’t understand or can’t use makes him feel more confident, there is, within reason, some benefit there.

The best demonstration I’ve ever seen of the principle was a race team testing pipes. Both riders were world class, but the team tech was a wily fox. The riders tried a few different pipes and couldn’t agree on which one was ‘best’. After a long day with no consensus everyone headed for a shower and a good night’s sleep.

Overnight the tech took the stock pipes, blasted the paint off them, welded some fake seams, and the next morning told the riders he had something very special and secret for them to try. Both riders rode the bikes with the stock pipes, turned in their fastest lap times, and demanded to be allowed to use the ‘secret’ equipment, no matter what the sponsorship deals were.

It still makes me smile, but there’s a valuable lesson in the story. Sometimes a mental tune-up can far outweigh the advantages of any amount of mechanical or electronic performance gear, and sometimes that mental tune-up can be a result of a solid belief in equipment which in fact makes no difference to the bike.

So these days I barrack for anyone who fits anything to their bike, no matter how heavy or loud that bike ends up, if they believe it makes them a better rider. It may not suit me, but if it works for them, it’s a good move.

You want to lug that ear-shattering, extra 15 kilos through the deep sand?

Go right ahead.

I’ll just fit these billet-alloy, aero-dynamically sculpted mudguard protectors and I’ll bet I catch you before you’re halfway through.

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