Why Racing A Motorcycle Can Be A Life-Changing Experience

Summary

• Racing on a track hones cat-like reflexes, enhancing control and preparing you for emergency road situations.
• Motorcycle racing offers unmatched level of subconscious control, improving your understanding of motorcycle physics.
• Rewards and prizes can be a motivating factor, too.

Let’s face it, if you’re an avid motorcyclist, you must have participated in a race voluntarily or involuntarily. Whether it’s you trying to get to the end of the canyon ahead of your pack or trying to smoke a fancy supercar aboard your pocket rocket on the signal, there’s a little bit of racing spirit in every biker out there. Yes, even you, adventure and cruiser bike owners.

What’s not as common as this traffic light to traffic light racing spirit is the real deal: actual racing experience. You know, the one that happens on a racetrack where racers go multiple rounds trying to cross the finish line first. No matter how much of a street racer you are, actual motorcycle racing in a professional event is something not many of us get to take part in. It requires the right kinds of contacts, six-digit account balances, and thousands of hours of hard work.

But sometimes–like a snowball’s chance in hell–some bikemakers take matters into their own hands. They put efforts to let their owners experience racing on a closed track, get trained by national champions, and taste that winning prosecco they otherwise never would have. One such bikemaker is Indian giant TVS Motors. It leaves no stone unturned to let its owners feel like racers and I recently experienced this firsthand. It was a feeling nothing could top, and here’s why I’d recommend everyone to go racing at least once in their lives.

Cat-Like Reflexes

So you think you have good reflexes because you’ve filtered through some cars? That’s cute. Racing on a track is where the real reflex game comes into question. When you’re riding among 14-15 fellow riders in a stretch of tarmac half as wide as your street roads, that’s when you’ll need cat-like reflexes to avoid slower riders, retaliate, and, most importantly, keep the bike upright.

In the opening laps, a race can feel like a level-10 obstacle course. It’ll train you to think fast and control your inputs so the bike moves swiftly. More importantly, this trains your mind on how to deal with riding in close quarters and monitoring your senses calmly. If you come out of it unscathed, congratulations, you’ll tackle emergency road situations much better than before.

Marquez-Like Motorcycle Control

Yes, I’m exaggerating, but that’s how racing made me feel. When you’re riding a precise, race-ready bike, it means you have immense feedback all the time. This will help your mind garner a deeper understanding of motorcycle physics, which, in turn, translates to much better control than you can ever learn on the road.

You might say this is something even a normal trackday can teach you. And it’s correct. But a motorcycle race just elevates things because you’re in a heightened state of mind, trying to outrun who’s behind or catch who’s ahead. So your subconscious control on the motorcycle improves. After some getting used to, you’ll be catching front-end washouts and rear-end slides like they don’t matter anymore. Like Marc Marquez.

Bonus points if you’re on a kickass race bike like the race-ready TVS Apache RR 310 I had. It’s the most aggressive and communicative 300-400cc sports bike I’ve ever swung a leg over. Something that deserves its own mention. More on that in a bit.

You’re Not The Fastest

This is possibly the biggest eye-opener for most street riders who think they’re the Rossi of their local canyon. You’re not as fast as you think! Before your fragile ego makes you close the tab, allow me to clarify. You may be fast with your natural riding abilities, but you will certainly come across others who’ll be faster than you. Either in a section of the track or the entire lap. It’s something you might never experience in your favorite canyon you’ve been since you turned 18.

And You Don’t Have To Be

How many times have we seen a rider starting from 10th on the MotoGP grid and beating riders who start on the front row? A lot; the answer is a lot and world champion Pecco Bagnaia’s done it many times. This is another thing you’ll understand when you go racing. Yes, you have to be fast, but not the fastest all the time. What matters more (at times) is your strategic and analytical thinking.

For example, imagine you’re doing constant lap times but the rider ahead of you punches in one super fast lap time, then fluffs the other four. So in the entire five laps, there’s a high chance you’ll simply catch up and overtake him, even though he technically put in a faster lap time. Be smart and fast, not just fast.

Did Someone Say Rewards?

Let’s face it, every motorcyclist has dreamt of getting paid to ride. And in motorcycle racing, that’s exactly what you do. No, you winning an amateur class championship won’t get you a full-time role at the Ducati Lenovo MotoGP team, but many such events have interesting prizes for winners.

Again, this is a place where TVS Motor Company excels. Its latest racing experience championship came with the perfect reward for the winners: an all-expense paid trip to the MotoGP Sepang race. Meanwhile, many local/national events resort to cash prizes. The King Of The Baggers is a good example, as it recently had a winner-takes-all cash prize of $5,000 during the COTA round.

The Roads Will Never Be The Same

Finally, you’ll feel the domino effect of all these things on the road. The cat-like reflexes will ensure nothing feels surprising, and the improved motorcycle control will make sure you always have control of your steed. More importantly, once you start going fast in a close environment (with no trucks to bang into or ample run-off area in place of a cliff), you’ll just take it easy on the road instead of trying to be on the ragged edge to look cool. All in all, you’ll be your better self. In all aspects.

Special Mention: Racing Bikes Are Epic. Period.

Circling back to the RR 310 race bike I rode, this motorcycle deserves a special mention. Right from the fairings and wheels to the engine and suspension, everything was tuned to do one thing and one thing only: decimate lap times. The turn-in was faster than any other 300cc sports bike I’ve ever experienced, and it was the same story for the braking department.

No matter how late I dared to brake, it always felt I could try a few meters later. This, along with the reinforced trellis chassis and light wheels, ensured unmatched cornering prowess. I always knew what the bike was doing underneath, which helped me catch low sides and high sides well in advance before being launched. The only limiting factor was…the rider.

TVS Apache RR 310 Race Bike Key Details

• 313cc, single-cylinder (race exhaust)
• ~45 horsepower
• Six-speed transmission (race sprockets)
• Race clip-on handlebar
• Petal disc
• Custom wheels
• Fiberglass race fairings