A guy on a Goldwing, one of the Interstates, once took objection to my comment that his bike was not one of the especially well-handling motorcycles on the road. In quite a forceful manner he told me that he would consistently pass riders on sports bikes around the outside in mountain corners. I kept my skepticism to myself, recognizing that he was a victim of confirmation bias and that sufferers can easily become physical to support their opinion.

What is confirmation bias? We tend to seek out and believe information which supports what we already think. We reach a conclusion first, then apply it to evidence, rather than looking at evidence first and using it to come to a conclusion.

Confirmation bias is a type of cognitive bias similar to the bandwagon effect or the availability heuristic in which we avoid information that doesn’t support our views, and will actively discount or disregard evidence that’s contrary to our beliefs or preferences. It is not necessary to actively lie like my friend with the Goldwing to be a sufferer; there is usually enough contradictory evidence all around for us to feed our opinions.

A perfect example of induced bias is the veneration of old British motorcycles. No matter where you are, any Vincent will receive obsequious respect. The fact that these bikes need constant wrenching, do not go, do not handle — and don’t even think of trying to stop – cannot be allowed to penetrate the fog of approval because the owner has paid a lot of money for the bike and does not want it devalued by the truth.

The technologies that supply you with your daily doses of information come full of confirmation bias. Social media news feeds and online sources are filtered for information from people who think like you. The technologies that make information so accessible also heighten the likelihood of you being drawn into information loops which reinforce what you think you know. As Warren Buffett once said, “What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact”.

It is easy to fall prey to this, and very hard to avoid it entirely. To check your own level, look out for these three common failings: Paying biased attention is when you selectively focus on information that confirms your views while ignoring or discounting data that doesn’t. Biased interpretation is when you consciously interpret information in a way that confirms your beliefs. And biased memory is when you selectively remember information that supports your views while forgetting or discounting information that doesn’t.

I suspect that the predominant version confirmation bias in the US is for and against types of motorcycles: cruisers versus adventure bikes and such. I’m not sure about other countries, although I am sure that something similar exists everywhere. After all, we are all human.

Possibly the most egregious way in which this connects with motorcycles and motorcycling is the servile response to Italian motorcycles, especially Ducatis. I am not thinking of the current crop, which is essentially built like any other bike. Just remember that the credit for that goes to an American company, Texas Pacific Group, and a German one, Audi.

Under Italian ownership, the primary reason Ducatis were bought at all was Ing. Fabio Taglioni’s design skills. The bikes were consistent only in that they were consistently awful. The materials were the cheapest that the factory could find – remember when oil actually seeped through the cases? The workmanship was appallingly bad, and little attention was paid to assembly – I have heard of at least one case where a vital part (the key that holds the countershaft sprocket in place) was missing. The owner discovered that on the ride home. Spare parts were supplied on a peculiarly Italian schedule which involved sending a box of jumbled bits and hoping that some, at least, of the ordered parts were in there. The factory often did not pay its bills, and as a result parts were fitted if a supplier could be cajoled into delivering them.

Anyone with any sense took their new Ducati home to the garage and stripped it down before rebuilding it with all the necessary attention. Unfortunately it was difficult to do this with the electrics, and many bikes were never sorted out properly. Oh, and not just for electrics. I was relatively lucky with my 750GT, but I know people who spend more time wrenching on their Ducatis than riding them.

Despite all this, Ducatis carry with them an aura of specialness. Much of that, as I have indicated above, is due to the genius of Taglioni. The bikes handled superbly, went well and even braked well – the Lockheed two piston calipers on my bike surprised me. But motorcycles are meant to be ridden, and if you are constantly prevented from doing that, then you have a problem – unless you refuse to accept it and turn it into a perverse attraction instead. As Ducati owners do.

When it comes to confirmation bias, it can be subtle and difficult to spot but you can do it. Just for fun, seek out someone now who has a square case 750SS or another bike from the pre-Texas Pacific days. He’s probably working on it, so apply the following little test to them. Do they:

· Only seek out information that confirms their beliefs and ignore or discredit information that doesn’t support them?

· Look for evidence that confirms what they already think is true, rather than considering all of the evidence available?

· Rely on stereotypes or personal bias when assessing information?

· Selectively remember information that supports their views while forgetting or discounting information that doesn’t?

· Have a strong positive emotional reaction to information that confirms their beliefs, while either ignoring or reacting equally strongly, but with anger, to information that doesn’t?

Fun, right? That is, unless you’re also subject to the great Ducati confirmation bias, in which case it will annoy you. But that’s life.