my name is mwd

As motorbikes go, 1994's Ducati 916 is something of an icon. A design that revitalised Ducati, and set the lineage for the bikes its still making today. So revered by the world is the 916, that even now, thirty years on, as Ducati revealed its new designs for 2025, they were quick to point out how they drew on the design cues from the 916.

I've never driven a 916, but in 2006 I was lucky enough to drive my Dad's Ducati 996, a bike that was essential a minor update to the 916 and near identical in looks. For a few days, I had the keys to the 996 as my plaything and the gateway to the Scottish Highlands as my playground.

Truth be told, the 916 was a much better motorbike than I was (and probably still am) a motorcyclist. This was before I did my advanced motorcycling training, and so didn't really know how to use a machine of that capability. But it was still a lot of fun, and probably cemented my lifelong commitment to V-twin motorbikes. V-twin engined bikes pack a punch at low speed thanks to lots of torque, so I find more fun to ride at speeds that let me keep both my license and my life. Over the years I've been fortunate enough to have had a number of bikes, and they've all been V-twins bar one: that one exception is my Brammo Empulse R electric motorbike which I got after my test-ride revealed it had a very familiar power delivery, so fits my style well.

The memory of that time being a flash of red in the twisty lochside roads was brought back thanks to playing Ride 5, which seems to pull of the rare job of being a motorcycling game that is both challenging and fun. Over the years I've tried many different motorcycling games, and they end up either trying too hard to be accurate which makes them frustrating to play casually, or to arcade-like and thus don't really feel like motorcycling.

In the video game realm I mostly play car games instead - being an Xbox owner that means Forza games for the most part. Cars just translate better to the video game world: car controls are simpler, so translate to the controller well. On a motorbike not only do you have more controls, e.g., independent front and rear breaks that can be used for different reasons, but also the rider's body is an important control, as you lean or shift your entire body around. It's also a very analogue experience, and controllers have a limited number of analogue inputs.

Having been burned on motorcycle games many times in the past, I picked up Ride 5 in the Xbox xmas sale without high expectations, but I've been pleasantly surprised. It doesn't try to be a perfect recreation, but it does a reasonable job, and has assists that let you slowly get used to the fact that you can't throw a bike around like a car, making it a bit more accessible. It's still far from as immediately fun as most car games, but for me it rides the line between technical and enjoyable well enough.

The other thing it does well, which modern car games do well, and I'd not realised I'd enjoy so much, is offer a wide range of iconic bikes, opening up a world of exploration of different machinery. I was delighted that I could get an old Ducati 916 and take it along some mountain roads, or I could pick up an original gixxer and hear its iconic soundtrack. Yes, I have actual motorbikes, but I can never own or ride all motorbikes, so it's fun in games like Ride 5 (and Forza for cars) to explore such things, as it's as close to the real thing as I'm likely to get for many of these machines.

It's a fun but of escapism. I have to confess, whilst the racing in the game is okay, I never really play games like Forza or Ride for racing, as I'm not motivated by beating others in that way. I enjoy the exploration of the different bikes and tracks, and I like the technical challenge of trying to beat my last lap time.

It's also fun playing with the bike controls in ways that you'd not normally be able to safely explore in real life, at least for mortals like me. Like modern car games, it apples simulated electronic aids to keep you on track, like ABS, anti-wheelie, and traction-control. I've watched many a Daily Rider with Zach Courts, where towards the end of his reviews he'll disable the electronic aids on a bike and pop a wheelie or slide the rear, which makes for entertaining viewing, but is never something I'd risk doing on my own bikes. But Ride 5 realistic enough that you can play with these, and so if you find a long straight you can shift your riders weight to the back of the bike, disable the anti-wheelie control, and pull away in a low gear for your photo op:

The photo mode is also quite a lot of fun, and I find I'm spending a lot of time in that. Whilst visually Ride 5 feels a generation behind Forza, it's still a pretty game, and setting up fun photos of famous bikes on iconic tracks has held my attention as much as the rest of the game has. Again, the range of iconic bikes, locations, and the ability to play with the lighting and weather makes this a fun game in itself for someone who has photography as a hobby.

Obviously now I want more. In the last decade Forza has gone from being a track focused game first, which then added an open world sibling that was seen as a lesser thing, to being a game that is mostly popular in its open world version, letting you take cars through a wide range of terrain types without the need to race as the only objective.

Games are great for escapism, and now that I live in a part of the world that lacks elevation changes, and I don't have access to my Dad's old Ducati (nor now does he alas) I look forward to when a game like Ride can truly let me just lose an hour or two taking an iconic bike along twisty mountain roads once again, mixing that technical challenge with the sense of wonder that to me is the ideal motorcycling experience in the real world, but not always available.