Training doesn't make people safer is because it doesn't train the human motor/balance mechanism that is used to operate a motorcycle.  That system works in the subconsious.  It doesn't read books or listen to lectures.  It is a slow learner, forgets easily, and needs endless repetions over hours, weeks, months, and years.  

Online searchs on the terms kinesiology and motorcycle turn up pages on protective gear and rehibilitation from accidents.  Has there ever been a kinesiology study of motorcycle riding?  It would be hard to study the safety impact of practice because nobody does it (except me and about 9 other guys in North America).  Search youtube for the terms motorcycle parking lot practice.  There are 108 videos, most of them put up by a few people, including me.

Here is me doing my favorite exercise about a month ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5b3-Gk0kQE  The goals are to increase speed and accuracy while making fewer control inputs.  The exercise looks smooth in the video but it feels like a rollercoaster with a steering wheel.

When I get the chance to advise someone who thinks they want to ride I don't recommend a 3 day seminar designed to create a false sense of security.  I say, start on a small bike suitable for practice, 200cc and 280 pounds maximum (half that size might be even better).  It should be able to do turning exercises in 2nd gear without requiring clutch or brake so it's practical to do lots of repetitions.  It should be quiet so practice sessions don't annoy people nearby.  Protect hands, feet, ankles, face and skull.  Expect that your nervous system will need a minimum of 200 hours of moving time to accept the motion of the bike IF half that time is parking lot practice.  One of the most important  things you have to figure out is how your upper body interacts with the mass and motion of the bike.   Manage the addiction by craving skill instead of experience.   Pushing skills in practice and riding below your skill the rest of the time is your margin of safety.  If practice isn't as enjoyable as riding around then sell the bike and get something fun witih 4 wheels instead of 2.

Have you taken the MSF Basic RiderCourse? Did it give you a false sense of security? From reading about the experiences of newbies over the years, I don't get the impression that most come away with that feeling. Some do, of course; but then they probably went in with a false sense of security. You know, "What can a riding-god-to-be like me possibly learn in a parking lot on a 250 Rebel?" But most come away with a sense that riding well isn't as easy as they might have expected. And that what they need is practice.

Which brings me to your topic. Your description of how motor skills and balance are developed is excellent, and I agree completely. When the (nearly) inevitable occurs and a rider must swerve hard or apply brakes to avoid a crash, there's no time to reason out what's needed or to mentally tick off a memorized procedure. You have to just do it. And building the circuitry to achieve that capability takes hours of practice.

An AMA Superbike competitor on a factory team who lives in my county once described how he practiced when he was a kid. His dad had bulldozed a dirt oval on their property in a rural area, and he would spend hours going round and round and round, day after day, year after year. Some might attribute his current success to extraordinary natural ability or just plain fearlessness. But I know different. Any situation he might encounter on the race track is something he's experienced and dealt with before countless times while practicing.

The ability you demonstrate on the video is impressive. But I hope you also practice other skills. In particular, braking and swerving. The technique of matching front brake force to forward weight transfer takes just as much practice as turning. Likewise the ability to make violent steering inputs when you have to change direction in a hurry.

In addition, if you haven't taken the MSF class, I would encourage you to do so to learn about riding strategies to keep yourself out of situations that require emergency maneuvers. Way too many motorcycle crashes arise from scenarios that are utterly predictable and avoidable. A good rider must be able to anticipate and distance himself from them, so he doesn't have to rely on emergency avoidance skills.

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A superior rider uses superior judgment to avoid problems that would demand his superior skill.

DataDan,

Thanks for responding.

I have not taken the MSF course and have no plans to do that.  I'd love to get some instruction on technique from a riding master, if there is any such thing in motorcycles.

I'm older than your racer friend, 59, and most everybody in my life thought it was a lapse in judgement to start riding a motorcycle.  I was looking for a 100cc bike when I found a 2004 KLX300r (off road) in mint condition for $2200.  I assumed I'd learn to ride it, similar to a car, then just do my riding after that.  I was wrong about that.  It became obvious in the first couple days that the only safe approach to the bike is to practice and never stop practicing.  I vowed that if practicing couldn't be as enjoyable as riding around I'd stop riding.  So half my riding time is practice.  This is not a burden because I ENJOY practicing.  It's possible to be addicted to skill instead of miles whichc is probably the situation with your friend the racer.

I'm learning to ride on a farm where I can virtually eliminate traffic issues.  I ride on paved roads that go through the farm because they can't be avoided but there is no traffic per se, I deal with one car at a time.  If I lived in an urban envirnment I'd find several nearby parking lots where practice is feasible and get to those in the safest way possible and practice the same as I do now.   

I have previous experience that helps--30 years with horses and 10 years of inline road skating.  Both of those challenge the motor/balance system comparable to a motorcycle.  75% of my enjoyment came from having skill, no different from being a good golfer, tennis player, or pianist.   Now it is exactly the same with the motorcycle.

Nobody practices.  That's the 800 pound gorilla in the motorcycle safety discussion.

Thanks again.

There is research that seems to show riders who take MSF style courses are just as likely to be involved in a serious crash, for practical purposes, as riders who don't.  http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/muarc165.pdf    Are students advised about this?  They should be.  If they ask what more they need to do there should be good answers.

My answer is to practice and practice and practice.  That makes me an eccentric loner reletive to the motorcycle community.  The number of youtube videos that come up on searches of the words motorcycle parking lot practice is tiny and most of them are put up by a few people.  The fine points of skill and practice are not discussed online for lack of interest.  I asked a sherriff's deputy who patrols the local community if he has ever seen a biker practicing in a parking lot.  He could not recall that.  In all my years of driving I cannot recall seeing that either.

Any training course that doesn't motivate the student to start on a small bike and practice a lot failed him.  If most students are not doing that then the course itself is a failure.