Reading some of the various and contrasting opinions, I'm starting to wonder if there's a difference between the XB1 and PS4 versions. Maybe the controllers? I do know the biggest problems any bike game faces, the lack of feeling, and trying to put the control, which we use our whole bodies for IRL, into a controller with little fidelity. The game design sucks either way, though.
@RZ05 - I ride on track as well, not likely as much as you, but have, as mentioned, been riding for many years. Looking up the track, you're absolutely correct, does not fix a poor handling bike. What it does do, and I know I'm not explaining it very well but I'll do my best, is get people planning on how the bike is going to fall into a corner and stand back up on the way out. I believe many (not you), and this is just a hunch based on how I've seen others in multiplayer and on Youtube and such, aren't accounting for it enough, taking a bad entry, and really hurting themselves because once you commit to a turn, making corrections is really tough, much tougher than actual fact and certainly much tougher than in a car. And a bike does not do side to side transitions anywhere near as quickly as say, a GT3 car would, requiring considerably more planning to get through, not a simple side to side flick of the wheel. If you watch multiplayer and videos, it's often the second or third curve catching people out. I'm over-simplifying and doing a terrible job articulating my thoughts, but generally people don't look up far enough anyway and we're trying to teach a bunch of car guys how to ride a slightly rubbish motorcycle.
Other things I think we can agree on:
The braking is pretty bad here. I found it much better once I switched to aggressive though. The bike is far too dependent on engine braking, IRL the back wheel is barely touching the ground if you're braking right, engine braking and rear brakes are fairly ineffective at slowing the machine down. It's worth noting that bikes, due to their very high COG and short wheelbase, don't brake as well as cars do, though.
The handling is a bit wrong as well. IRL, bikes turn on throttle. You can carry the brakes deep into a turn, but you pivot the bike on throttle and drive out. You never, ever, coast. In Ride, the bike doesn't turn on throttle, they turn on brakes or neutral throttle. You can get them to brake to apex, get it pointed where you want it, and drive out, when it runs wide, You can let off the gas a little and drag the brake a little to tighten things back up. This is a workaround, not a fix. A motorcycle has a lot of complex and competing forces acting on it and with it, considering the struggles even MotoGP teams have with chassis and suspension development, it's no wonder the game designers can't quite get it right.
As for controllers, there's always this for the PC guys:
http://iasystems.tk/hs3-pro-he/
For us console guys, I guess the three of us who might buy one aren't enough of a market.