It's about developing an understanding of how a bike works, and why. Riders are much closer to the machine than a car driver can ever really hope to be. We hear noises, recognize them, and over time come to understand what they mean. In time, we also recognize when things change. Even a basic grasp of how components work helps develop a better awareness of how they work together, what the limits are, etc.
I'm not saying that changing your own oil will turn you into a MotoGP rider.
A small example .... Some years ago I got stuck when my throttle cable snapped. It was buried so deep in the bike that fixing it at the side of an Interstate was not going to happen. The emergency lane of an Interstate is one of the most dangerous places you can get stranded.
However, I had a trick, in part because I knew that bike and its limits. I could start the bike and use the clutch ... as I let out the clutch it would roll .... I could then use the choke lever to increase the revs, and the speed just enough to engage the cruise control ... from there I had a rudimentary throttle, easily enough to get somewhere safer.
None of that would have happened had I not known how those things work.
I'm sure there are better examples, but that one sprung to mind.
