RIDER SKILLS: Mastering Ride Modes
Adventure Rider Radio
Canoe West Media
4.9 • 915 Ratings
🗓️ 25 September 2025
⏱️ 75 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Modern motorcycles aren’t just machines anymore—they’re equipped with advanced technology. Ride-by-wire means your throttle hand communicates with a processor instead of a cable, and that computer considers wheel speed, lean angle, traction, braking, and more before deciding how your bike responds. With ride modes, you can adjust your bike’s personality for pavement, gravel, mud, or rain—varying power delivery, traction control, ABS, and even suspension. In this Rider Skills episode, Clinton Smout of SMART Riding Adventures explains how understanding ride modes can enhance your safety, control, and enjoyment on every ride.
🔗 Show Notes & Links:
Find photos, links, and resources related to this episode on our website at Adventure Rider Radio.
🎧 Subscribe & Never Miss an Episode:
We release new episodes of ARR every week on Thursday and of RAW on the 21st of every month—full of inspiring stories, expert advice, and insight from the world of adventure motorcycling. Hit subscribe so you never miss out!
💡 Got an Idea?
Have a guest suggestion or topic you’d love us to cover? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email through our website.
⭐️ Leave a Review:
Enjoying the show? A 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app goes a long way in helping others discover the show.
📱 Follow Us:
Join our growing community on Facebook and Instagram. Let’s stay connected!
🙌 Support the Show:
Love what we do? Help keep the adventure alive by supporting us. Your contribution allows us to keep bringing you great content week after week.
📤 Share the Show:
Know someone who would enjoy this episode? Share it with them! Word of mouth helps us grow and reach more riders around the world.
📬 Join Our Newsletter:
Be the first to hear about new episodes, bonus content, and more! Sign up for our newsletter at Adventure Rider Radio.
🙏 Thanks for Listening!
We truly appreciate you being part of our adventure community. Until next time—ride safe and keep exploring!
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | If you took our rider skills class five or six years ago, the first things you'd learn |
| 0:05.1 | would be the basics. Pre-ride inspection, where the controls are, the start and stop for the |
| 0:09.8 | engine, where the brakes were and how to use them, the clutch the throttle, and then finding |
| 0:14.3 | the friction zone. But today, before you get to any of that, before the bike moves an inch, |
| 0:19.4 | you've got to learn about ride modes. Ride modes are |
| 0:23.2 | electronic interventions built into modern motorcycles, a computer's way of adjusting how your |
| 0:28.8 | bike responds. And this isn't a passing trend. You can't just ignore it and hope it'll go away. |
| 0:34.4 | It's already there and it's coming on strong and there's a lot more to come. |
| 0:39.1 | If your bike has ride modes and you don't use them, you're not only selling yourself short, |
| 0:43.6 | you're missing out on a lot of safety and a lot of opportunity and frankly, a lot of fun. |
| 0:48.8 | And that's what rider skills is about today. |
| 0:51.6 | Understanding the modern motorcycle in the context of the computers that |
| 0:55.5 | now sit between the rider and the machine. I'm Jim Martin. This is Adventure Rider Radio. Stay with us. |
| 1:03.8 | We got a good one for you. I'm Sam Manick. |
| 1:26.3 | Simon, Simon Pavey |
| 1:28.1 | Algeferdos, |
| 1:28.8 | Jason Snell |
| 1:29.4 | Charlie Bowman, |
| 1:30.1 | Simon Thomas, |
| 1:30.8 | Lisa Jarvis, |
| 1:31.3 | Graham Jarvis, |
| 1:33.7 | Presbyte, Nick Sanders, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Canoe West Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Canoe West Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.