Top 10 Displays of Skill on a Motorcycle

When you’re around motorcycles as much as I am, it takes a lot to impress me. However, for this week’s Top 10, I bring to you 10 moments of supreme bike control that have done just that. More than just a saved highside or a 12 o’clock wheelie (both of which are no less impressive), each of these moments puts on full display the sheer talent these riders possess.

The clips span many different disciplines of motorcycling, but there’s one thing all of these events have in common: each clip left me breathless and with my jaw on the floor when I first saw it. Riding a motorcycle is pretty easy, but riding a motorcycle like seen in these videos is astonishing. These clips demonstrate the skills that separate the pros from the rest of us. As always, there are bound to be some I missed that deserve mention, so be sure to share your favorite moments in the comments section.

Ryan Dungey may have won the 450 Supercross race at Daytona this year, but Eli Tomac won major style points with the way he conquered the whoops. Lofting the front wheel to nearly vertical, he seemingly floated over the whoops section in an awesome display of bike control. In fact, this very clip was the inspiration for creating this list in the first place. And to show this wasn’t a fluke, Tomac wheelied over the whoops the following lap in a manner any stunt rider would be proud of.

Trials is about grace, accuracy, strength, precision and balance. Multiple world champ, Toni Bou, demonstrates all of those features here and makes it look easy in the process. Thing is, trials riding is anything but easy, and to control a motorcycle as accurately as Bou astounds me each time I watch him ride. Feel free to watch the nearly 11-minute video here, as it’s all impressive, but the beginning clip shows the ease with which he places each tiny contact patch of his tires onto an equally small surface of a train car edge. Were it me, I know I’d likely end up inside the train car each time – assuming I could even balance on the rear wheel.

The Cadwell Park round of the British Superbike series is a fan favorite for one particular section of the course: The Jump. Not many road race courses give racers a chance to launch both wheels of their superbikes off the ground, which makes The Jump a special sight. Combine that with a hard-charging, high-flying rider like Josh Brookes, and the results are incredible. Watch the clip and listen to the Italian commentators. Even if you don’t speak the language, you’ll be able to understand them clearly.

Two words are all you need: Bubba Scrub. There might be no greater recognition of skill than creating a new technique that everyone now follows. Kenny Roberts wowed the road racing world by putting his knee on the ground, and James “Bubba” Stewart did the same for motocross with the Scrub. Recognizing that in certain situations getting airborne was losing him time he could better use accelerating, Stewart invented the Scrub to minimize the hang time and maximize the amount of time power gets delivered to the ground. Say what you want about Stewart’s racing style or attitude, but there’s no denying his talent.

Be warned: the music in this video is terrible, so watch it with the sound turned off.

After watching this video, I learned never to underestimate the skill of a trained law enforcement officer on a large motorcycle. You’ve likely seen this video before, but it’s worth watching again, because the ease in which this officer hustles that Harley around the cones is seriously impressive. It’s a masterful display of body positioning, visual awareness, clutch manipulation, throttle input and rear brake. And you thought making a U-Turn was hard…

Another jaw-dropper when I first saw it, Ryuichi Kiyonari’s wet qualifying lap at the Donington Park round of World Superbike is a perfect display of bike control. Rarely during the lap will you see Kiyo’s wheels in a straight line. This is a relatively common sight to see at the end of a race when the tires are shagged, but to see someone this loose in the wet, on a qualifying lap, was truly mesmerizing. Kiyo’s career in World Superbike didn’t pan out as many had hoped, but he showed flashes of brilliance, occasionally. None quite as bright as this performance in 2008.

Hard Enduro takes all the qualities of trials and adds a huge amount of testicular fortitude to the mix, as some of the courses these competitors face are super gnar, bro. However, when it comes to Hard Enduro, perhaps none are more talented than Jonny Walker. To see why, jump to the 2:17 mark of this video. It’s the prologue, which determines the final grid for the rest of the Red Bull Romaniacs event. Walker makes the obstacles look easy, but it’s after finishing his first lap that we can truly appreciate his skill, as he makes the rest of the field look like total amateurs.

It’s one thing to slide a road racing motorcycle to show off for the fans, but it’s another thing entirely to do it on the final lap while leading a race, with four other guys hot on your heels. But that’s exactly what Jason O’Halloran did during the British Superstock 1000 race at Thruxton last year. Riding an underpowered Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade against a field of BMW S1000RRs and Kawasaki ZX-10Rs, O’Halloran destroyed his tires to stay with the pack. Once he found himself in the lead with two laps to go, he knew he had to get on the gas early and often to have any chance at staying in front. The entire race is a good one, but to see why I picked this clip for the top spot, watch from the 17-minute mark. O’Halloran’s skill taming that wild Honda will leave you on the edge of your seat.