How to become a Test Rider

Be really fast, live in California, be a good writer, grind for free for a long time.

If you are starting out from square one with no real connections the best thing you could do is review and test products on your own and try to build a following. Writing and video reviews, make a website. Once you get a little momentum you can ask companies for product to test and if your successful they’ll begin to approach you. 

Be a retired pro that was consistent top 10 and has experience in setting up/testing bikes and suspension 

Who you know, not what you know. 

Kris Keefer has spoken at length about it and he answers every email that rando dumbasses send him.  (He's responded to me multiple times.)

kris@keeferinctesting.com

I think it's one of those jobs that functionally doesn't exist as a full-time paying gig -- like travel blogger or nature photographer. I mean, yes, there are people who have carved out their niche doing those things for a living, and they have whatever path they took, but statistically their numbers are so insignificant amongst the broader populations in those persuasions that they essentially are a rounding error.

I would start with whatever you feel you have the best understanding of and could elaborate on. Could be suspension, tires, levers, gear, goggles, tools. 

Doing quick IG videos is a good way to build short form content but you’ll also need longer form videos and written reviews. Your going to have to grind be really passionate and be willing to make no money/lose money for awhile. 

Be willing to do certain after dark 'favours' for Swap and Queefer. 

Who you blow, not what you know. 

I’d reach out to keefer. Seems like he’s great at what he does and also very personable and would lend you a ear if your dead set on that. Make a instagram test/review every single thing you have in your possession and keep on poking at companies to look at you. 

I'm not a test rider per say, but I do design work for an E-bike company which inevitably leads to me testing said designs, so let me throw out a couple of things to consider.

Getting in with a well known company isn't likely, especially not from a cold email or random inquiry.  I would target a smaller company, especially one that is just starting out, and just offer to try some things for free and return the parts with feedback.  A company that is local to you will be much easier, go and visit, talk to the people there, and build a relationship with them to learn about their product and what they are trying to achieve as a company.  Starting small and niche will give you great experience and begin to build your resume of skills and products tested.

For the practical side of testing, first make sure that your mindset is right.  There is an unbelievable amount of BS on forums, social media, etc about "test riders" and "product testing".  Remember, anyone can be anybody on the internet, and people love to come on forums and brag about how they can feel a "night and day" difference in the handling of their bike by reducing the torque on a few key chassis bolts (which is provably not true).  Just read through the "Honda CRF Chassis harshness" thread for a prime example of this, the amount of absurd suggestions and exaggeration is incredible and does nothing but further confuse people who can't figure out why they're not feeling the massive bike feedback that others are claiming to.  At the end of the day the goal is to find the best setting possible or build the best product possible, so making things up just to pretend you're superhuman sensitive to an infinitesimally small change is not benefitting anybody, and people who are experienced and in the know will smell that BS from a mile away.  If you don't feel a change, that's not a failure, that may just mean that the change is so small that most riders would never notice it either!

You need to reach a certain level of riding skill to give your feedback credibility.  This isn't going to be a popular opinion, but if you can't put together consistent laps and hit a jump, bump, or turn repeatedly and consistently then it's impossible to give reliable feedback.  This doesn't mean you need to be pro speed, but reaching a level where you can put in respectable laps and handle any public track with ease will not only make your feedback more believable but also give you the skills necessary to push a product harder than the average recreational rider.  I don't agree with the concept that test riders of all skill levels are useful, in my opinion there is too much noise mixed in with the signal for feedback from a beginner rider to be useful aside from general feedback about quality, comfort, etc.  

The golden rule that is broken more times that you would believe is very simple, change only one thing at a time.  Do not change clicker settings on the fork and shock at the same time, do not change triple clamp offset and fork height at the same time, etc.  I'm guilty of this, everyone I know is guilty on this, and anyone who says they are not guilty of this on occasion is lying, but don't do it!  I have to remind myself of this simple rule every single time, because the temptation to change two things at once that you think are not related to save time can be incredibly powerful, but holding tight to this simple rule will put you ahead of the vast majority of riders out there.  Many preach it but few follow it religiously, be one of the few.

Hopefully that information is somewhat helpful.  I'm not an expert and wouldn't claim to be, but these are some things I've learned over the years from my own experience. 

Another option not yet mentioned that would be realistic, and I personally know a couple of Aussies that have done it. Is to move to Japan, learn to speak or already speak Japanese, do well in the Japanese national championship, and build a strong relationship with one of either Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Showa or KYB. There's jobs out there, but they are few and far between. I'd suggest pursuing a career outside the moto industry that pays extremely well so that you can create the time to ride as much as you want. It's more realistic.

What is your experience? How long have you ridden and at what level? Do you have enough knowledge to give back useful feedback? A lot of ex riders out there that would love to be a test rider.

Also once you get some socail media and post the tags on here and I’m sure you’d get a decent following to start. Guy above has some great advice. It’s easier now with the reach of the internet to do everything from home and not have to relocate etc. 

I’ve done testing for three different magazines (for free, of course), and that is truly who you know.  I also know several riders who have done testing for OEMs.  They are Southern California pros that were pretty fast, but not 450 main event fast.  As their professional racing dreams are sunsetting, they make it known to someone they know who already works for an OEM that they are willing to grind out long motos all day long for little money to endurance test parts.  If the OEM figures out that they are sensitive enough to notice changes and have mechanical aptitude, they might get a real job in testing for the OEM.  
Unfortunately, this is all predicated on living near whoever you want to test for and having a buddy who works there.

I find it funny that companies always go after the "ultra fast" bros for test riders. The way I see it, there are a lot more average Joes out there riding than fringe national riders. I think companies could benefit from an average B rider who has a good basic understanding of how to setup a bike. All these test I see are based off of an ex-pro riding in SoCal moon dirt. Completely irrelevant to an east coast jabroni. The east coast is so much different than the Cali tracks it is almost pointless to watch the bike shootouts anymore.

Having said that I am available. I can provide Vet A speed for one lap, and then cruise moderately for however long they want. Although I can confidently say I cannot feel the difference in torqued linkage bolts....Because it is a load of crap. 

Actually no, most all of the good tests and shootouts use riders from average vet guys to pro’s. 

The thing is, even though all us vets on Vital swear it isn’t true, you really need to be near the limits of a bike’s performance envelope to feel the differences.  For example, I used to do track days pretty frequently.  I was always one of the faster guys in the A group, but I was still 10 seconds off the track record set by Matt Mladin.  Road racing is really all about traction, and front end traction especially.  Even though I was normally in the top 3 lap times of the 100+ guys that were there for the track day, I never once felt my front end push or chatter because I wasn’t capable (or ballsy enough) of pushing my front end hard enough for that to happen.  This means that I’m not capable of testing chassis parts for street bikes.  That is why you need to be a fast guy to effectively test a motorcycle.

As far as the east vs west coast testing, that just comes down to time and money.  The majority of the industry is based in CA.  

Is this how Keefer did it? 

Anyone can ride a bike but how many can actually FEEL what the bike is doing enough to recognize changes for better or for worse ?

Quite a few ex pro’s are test riders for the teams based settings for the current pro’s

What kind of test rider?  Most factory test riders have significant pro racing experience.  Most of the test riders for magazines and publications have pro racing experience and quality writing skills and probably a university degree of some kind.  If you are just wanting to test products and review them, you are going to need to be an influencer and need a million followers. 

There is definitely an audience for ‘Average nobody testing parts’. Start a page, I’ll follow you. 

YouTube shorts/videos or Instagram clips, hell even Tik Tok. You would be amazed at how many views you can get in a short time. Can be short (for the ever decreasing attention spans) and write a caption in more detail. 

Bike shoot outs too. People are interested what the average Joe can notice between bikes. Legit bike shootouts are good when they include your average rider.