Motorcycles are great, but for many of us—especially sport bike riders—the riding season is cut short by cold weather and slick roads. If you’ve spent the whole winter itching to get back out on track, then what you need is a MotoTrainer module which allows you to train your weight transfer and cornering in the heated comfort of your luxurious garage. Yeah, it’s not cheap, but how awesome would it be to go for a rip in near 100 percent safety while the temperature outside is still below the freeze point?
I’ve currently got four motorcycles in the garage, but my favorite riding roads are well above 6,000 feet above sea level and coated in snow and ice. It’ll be a couple of months yet before I can really feel comfortable getting any kind of lean through the corners. I’m sure I would feel a lot more comfortable practicing putting a knee down if it didn’t have to happen the first time at speed. Plus, it would be extra cool if I could get some riding experience in the depths of a dark and chilly winter.
The newest product from Moto Trainer is a collaboration with Dorna Sports, the company which operates MotoGP, and it’s a proper two-wheel racing simulator trainer like those used by the pros. Not only does this system come pre-loaded with all of the tracks on the MotoGP circuit, but once you get done with your training, you can hook it up to your XBox or PC and use the massive contraption as a controller for the MotoGP video game. Dorna is looking to embrace eSports racing, and this is one step it has taken to make that happen.
This rig analyzes “the rider’s performance by monitoring the accelerator, front and rear brakes, gearbox and trajectories” and provides proper telemetry readouts to help you learn where you can improve. The Moto Trainer allows you to lean your bike over at angles up to 50 degrees, helping simulate weight transfer and grip through the corners.
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Whether you want to be the next Rossi or you just want to extend your riding season through the winter doldrums, this could be just the way to do it. Apparently there is an entry-level model running just around $6,000, but it doesn’t include any of the lean or fork feedback motors you need to make it feel really real. The top of the line MotoGP model will run you the full boat 18 grand.
The system is said to be adjustable for any motorcycle, so I think I’d like to load up an I-80 simulator and put a Honda Gold Wing on this bad boy to just let the miles click on by for a few days. I’ll even get shitty gas station food to make the ride feel more realistic. I’m nothing if not dedicated to authenticity, after all.
