From what I’ve seen over the years, the best way riders improve their performance from one race to the next is through extensive testing.

Most riders don’t do enough of it and in turn can beat themselves up (literally, with a poor handling machine) because they’re simply not progressing – despite training hard and cutting heaps of laps on a practice track.

There’s a wise old saying “the stop watch never lies”. Sometimes the only way to prove to yourself that a different suspension setting or a change in ignition curve has been beneficial, is to test it against the clock.

I’m not overly serious about stringing a whole race season together, but never the less, I’m still guilty of not doing enough testing when I actually do prepare for a race. Like a lot of riders, I tend to just pound away at the same tracks with the same setup and blame my own incompetence if I’m getting out of shape on the bike.

Geoff Ballard and Matt Phillips out on the track, talking setup.

However, getting to ride with and learn from the best riders in the country helps to fast track you towards the right set up. These guys can look at your riding style and how your bike is reacting, then offer a quick solution – be it suspension adjustment or whatever.

Just this weekend gone I spent a couple of days up at [Geoff] Ballard’s property riding with Matthew Phillips. As a go-hard motocrosser who’s now running at the top of the AORC, Matt’s aggressive style and no-fear attitude is governed by having the right set-up in the bush. If he’s confident in his bike, he can push it to the edge.

For Matt, the first round of the AORC last weekend was a disappointment because he simply didn’t have 100 percent confidence in his bike. His whole agenda up at Ballard’s ranch was to try and get his new 2012 WR450F handling more like the 2011 YZ450F he raced last year.

Again, Matt’s full-tilt motocross style was a perfect match for the brutal YZ, so he’s trying to make the transition more subtle by putting as many “YZ-traits” into the WR. Stiffer springs, stiffer valving, more overall power and harder-hitting power so he feels like there’s a sharper race machine beneath him.

The time in the workshop and on the test track is well worth the extra effort.

His dad Glenn and Geoff Ballard would have switched the suspension between Matt’s race bike and practice bike about 15-times in two-days, with different triple clamp combinations as well. Combine that with countless clicker adjustment on the front and rear shock, co2 diagnostics on the computer and about 100 laps of a rough track and you can start to appreciate what real testing is all about.

At one point we hit the trails for a while and eventually had a ride on each other’s bike. Within seconds, Matt noted the bars on my bike were rolled too far forward. To me it was comfortable and if I was to look at improving the bikes cornering ability, I don’t think I would have changed the handlebar position.

Well I wouldn’t have thought to do that anyway. So, I rolled them back as he suggested, and what a difference. The front stayed put in ruts, I felt more aggressively positioned on the bike and basically rode the wet conditions better too.

It’s funny how set in your ways you can get and easily overlook the simplest things. Testing is something you should take seriously if you’re serious about racing.