Motorcycle Lessons Beyond the Classroom, Part 8

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Determination is key to motorcycling happiness and success, just ask Kenny Roberts Sr. (Cycle World Archives/)

“A major part of what makes a champion is determination; it’s more important than natural talent because there is so much that you can learn and work on.”

This eighth Lesson Beyond the Classroom begins with a quote from Kenny Roberts Sr.’s Techniques of Motor Cycle Road Racing book, published in 1988. The three-time 500GP world champion refers to “determination” throughout the book, and it’s a word that many new riders may not have heard in relation to motorcycle riding.

“There are plenty of [riders] who obviously have a lot of natural ability but never make it, so determination has to be the biggest thing.” —KRSR

Kenny’s focus on determination and desire is familiar to Champ School graduates because we include it in our curriculum. Riding motorcycles well could be one of the most challenging endeavors civilians undertake, and the inclusion of Kenny’s quotes is meant to encourage the thoughts that got students to our door: “I’d like to ride a motorcycle. I think I’ll pay for a school with my precious money and time.” That is desire and determination, so now the pressure is on the instructors to make that desire come true.

The beginning of every Yamaha Champions Riding School begins with a quote from this book. (Amazon/)

As you can imagine, we have had an incredible variety of students through our door. We have never advised a student that they shouldn’t ride, though we hear that happens in our industry. Our decision to work flat out with every student who shows the desire to come to our school is based on what Kenny Roberts believes in: Determination to excel is the most important ingredient. Because of this determination, amazing things happen at the school because we never give up on someone who has it.

Determine to Do This

These articles are aimed at new riders or riders who have lost the love of riding through crashes or simply not having fun. This last rider is represented in your local classified ads when you see a low-mileage bike for sale with all the riding gear and extra oil filters. That rider is done. At one point they had determination to ride, but now the bike and gear are for sale. If you have someone like that in your life, let them know about Kenny’s outlook; send them this article.

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As we have discussed over these years of articles, the motorcycle is designed to work best (safest at the speeds you choose) with certain approaches and exacting inputs. When those approaches and inputs are significantly different from the approaches and inputs of the expert-level designers of the bikes, the bikes do not work as designed. That’s scary. The bike won’t turn into the corner. It won’t stay on line. It provides no feel. Traction is sketchy. Speed control is a crapshoot. The faster we ride, the worse it gets. Bike for sale.

Kenny recognized this and wrote, “Riders might get to a certain point because they have some natural talent, but every year they have to look objectively at their skills, where they can make them better and what they have to do to go faster.”

One of the most talented motorcycle riders in history shows us the way by example. He didn’t think, “Well, I’m getting beat so I’m just not good enough.” He asked, “Why am I getting beat and what can I do to get better?” That is his message to all riders who have a smoldering passion for two wheels but are struggling with safety and enjoyment.

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What is hurting your enjoyment? Follow Kenny’s lead and determine to find the answers. Something you’re doing on the bike is getting in the way of the riding joy you seek. Kenny has worked with more great riders than almost anyone in the world and prizes the determination to succeed over everything else. His opinion is based on watching riders succeed or fail.

Passion Meets Process

Loving to ride or even just wanting to ride is not the determination Kenny writes about. He is referring to the determination to improve your riding. If you think he’s referring to roadracers only, know that mistakes made on the track are often significantly less dramatic than mistakes made on the road.

Kenny’s approach with his roadracing proteges aimed them at repeatedly fast lap times and that took in everything from fitness to diet, bike setup, and line choice. The racers who succeed on the track must find the answers to a myriad of problems, and successful street riding has its own wide variety of challenges.

Look at the places you struggle: where your bike is not in the right place, where your eyes are late, your focus low, the times you coast “out of the controls,” the times you are surprised or lose traction, or are abrupt, or the bike runs wide. Determine the answers to these problems and stay determined to make the fixes.

There isn’t a world championship waiting at the end of a street riding season, but to quote my friend and YCRS instructor David Bober, “What is your podium? Running inch-perfect lines on the way to breakfast? Showing up at your first trackday and getting bumped to Intermediate right away? Finally mastering that new, fast bike? Riding an unknown road with smoothness and joy?”

Determine to study and you will find success. (Nick Ienatsch/)

Whatever your podium is, Kenny Roberts and I believe you can reach it—not because of the skills you were born with, but because of the skills you are determined to build and hone. We don’t care what your riding past contains; we care that you are determined to be a great rider through best-practices processes that can be learned.

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Let’s close with this with an insight from author Peter Clifford’s forward to Kenny’s book:

“It is quite obvious from listening to Roberts that the technical ability to ride fast round corners is only half the story. You have to be impressed with the guy’s determination, the irrepressible drive to be the best and always give 100 percent. I know that Kenny Roberts feels that giving everything is a prerequisite of success. If you are prepared to do that, then there are few limits to what you might achieve.”

More next Tuesday!

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[learningtofly]

Some good reads in this series, Stu - will be coming back to it for sure.