Opinion: This is the best bike mod

Today’s bikes are so capable that rider improvement is the biggest modification they deserve.

A big part of the joy of motorcycle ownership is dreaming up all the modifications and accessories you want to make to your bike. And, predictably, we motorcyclists tend to have strong opinions on what mods are best. My experience with bikes has led to a slightly left-field answer.

First and foremost, do what makes you happy. As long as the mods you make are safe and legal, by all means do what puts a smile on your face – that’s the whole point of motorcycles. I like my mods to be functional, so my bikes get things like crash protection and performance/comfort upgrades as and where I think they’re needed.

But what I consistently come back to is that the best upgrade is to upgrade yourself – being a better rider just makes the whole experience that much more rewarding. The ability to ride with complete ease and confidence, no matter the bike or the terrain is a tremendously gratifying and liberating thing. And this can only come when you invest in yourself.

There is a tiny group of people who are naturally gifted enough to reach an advanced skill level on their own. For the rest of us, riding schools are the answer. I have had the good fortune of attending plenty over the years and it’s a never-ending learning process.

The common mistake is the assumption that since most of these riding schools happen on racetracks, they have no relevance to the average road rider. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Almost every lesson you learn at a track-based riding school, including how to see, how to steer, how to stop and how to use the right line, will pay rich dividends on the road. And none of these theories care about the shape, size or speed of your motorcycle.

What I also love about attending a good riding school, or even a track day is that they give you a much needed shot of humility. Unless you are a professional racer, you will almost always encounter a rider who is astonishingly fast and often on an inferior motorcycle to your own.

This has two very beneficial effects. The first is that it motivates you to understand that the sky’s the limit and that you can never stop learning. The second is that it tends to curb one’s tendencies to ride dangerously on the road. When you’ve had your fill of speed at the race track while simultaneously being shown that you aren’t the rockstar rider you once imagined, you tend to take it a bit easier on the road.

The other aspect of self-improvement is your fitness. The fitter you are, the more you will enjoy your riding, especially if you like fast bikes or challenging off-road riding. My affinity for lazing around almost matches my love for food and that’s a dangerous combination for one’s well being. It’s only the bikes that give me a rude wake-up call after a tough day’s riding, which motivates me to get into shape.

Finally, it’s vastly cheaper to shed some weight yourself rather than try to do so by throwing a bunch of exotic materials like carbon fibre and fancy metals at your bike. Talk about a win-win.

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