Very possible, and also possible that riding a motorcycle freaked the snake out a little & it tightened up. I've had a snake panic & nip when all I did was walk in front
of a mirror when I was holding it...the sudden appearance (to the snake) of movement from the side caused its fear, so imagine the stress that a motorcycle ride might
cause, with things (visually) "flying past" on all sides simultaneously. The guy made some big mistakes, either way: that's NOT the safe way to transport a snake, ever!
(And for all we know, he might have hit a bump or swerved to avoid something & crashed, & THAT'S what caused the snake to tighten? We'll never know.)