[DaveM]

A recent thread has prompted me to post this up.

We have riders of all ages and all skill levels here and some are very new to the art of riding a motorcycle on the road safely.

I personally recommend the following books for any rider:

"Proficient Motorcycling" (USA) by David Hough

"The Bikers Bible" (NZ) by Graham Allardice

"A Twist of the Wrist 1" (USA) by Kieth Code (Superbike School)

"A Twist of The Wrist 2" (USA) by Kieth Code

There are undoubtedly many others but these are excellent books, the first two will show you everything you need to know about learning to ride and what sort of bike might suit you and why, through to some more advanced riding techniques and a little on racing. (Graham Allardice is an ex racer).

These two books also discuss maintenance and many other things like tyres etc, they are excelent all round helpful books.

The Keith Code "Twist of the Wrist books" (he has another one as well which I forget at the minute) are more advanced and explain racing techniques and road riding techniques and discuss the theory behind many things to do with motorcycle riding from a more scientific perspective.

Keith Code's second Twist book has been and still is of particular help to myself when I discovered it a few years ago.

If you enjoy reading or don't get some good stuff and read it you never know we might just learn something new............I know I did and still do.

cheers,
DaveM

 

[saphena]

Keith Code gave me my first real understanding of motorcycle steering - brilliant stuff.

Don't forget though Motorcycle Roadcraft - The Police Rider's Handbook which is the bible of advanced driving on the road.

 

[PeirreOBollox]

Shamelessly stolen from elsewhere

Add these to the list of books:
Chasing Che
The Road Gets Better From Here
Two Wheels To Terror
One Man Caravan
The Last Hurrah
Jupiter's Travels
Riding High
The 'Road To Gobblers Knob' and 'Way To Go', both by Geoff Hill. Very funny and well written
'Sorebums' - written by Simon McCarthy and Georgie Simmonds
"Obsessions Die Hard" by Ed Culberson
"The Longest Ride" by Emilio Scotto
'These are the days that must happen to you' - Dan Walsh, the bastard son of Hunter S Thompson and Bob Dylan. That book is shortly to be published in the US, under the less poetic title of 'Endless Horizons'

 

[HoyaXC07]

The Long Way Round. That was very enjoyable

 

[COBlue]

I would add Total Control by Lee Parks.Long Way Round will make you want to load up the bags....

 

[DaveM]

Thank you guys but the thrust of this thread was to give riders instruction resource books about how to ride not about trips around the world and such as interesting reading that may be.

Could we stick to books about how to ride please and the discussion about those rather than bike books in general?

Thanks,
DaveM

 

[LoVel]

"Proficient Motorcycling" (USA) by David Hough

"A Twist of the Wrist 1" (USA) by Kieth Code (Superbike School)

I have the two books listed above and have thumbed through them but as soon as I finish the current Stephen King book I am reading I am going to pick one of these up and read it. I think I will start with Proficient Motorcycling.

 

[danall]

more choices

A couple of others to add to the list of available books for improving your riding skills:
Sport Riding Techniques, by Nick Ienatsch
Smooth Riding the Pridmore way, by Reg Pridmore.

I also liked the aforementioned Total Control by Lee Parks, he has a chapter on suspension setup and some other basic stuff as well as specific riding drills/exercises to improve specific skills.

Which one is the best...depends, i still think there perhaps is more meat in the two keith Code books mentioned above, but his approach may not fit everyone. I think Lee Parks book is pretty good and perhaps would recommend it over the two i listed above (Ienatsch and Pridmore).

Any of these is a far better source of information for improving your riding skills than listening to some other riding dude...you know where you get advice like throwing a bike down to avoid a collision etc.

For Basic riding skills Proficient Motorcyling by David Hough is excellent, actually it should be required reading for granting any motorcycle license, and part of the written license testing. Integration of some/most of stuff in the book could save your life.

 

[DaveM]

They are both excellent books LoVel.

I keep re reading the Twist of the wrist books once a year or so, very helpful stuff.

cheers,
DaveM

 

[noobcorpse]

+ 1 for Proficient Motorcycling - great for real-world roadcraft and raising awareness. Very entertaining and the information stays with you.

I also enjoyed Lee Parks total control, and Keith Code's TOTW1 and 2.

 

[wannab]

Sport Riding Techniques, by Nick Ienatsch

I've got that one, not a bad book but it is becoming dated , and conflicts some with keith code on steering with the knees. Good thread though. I agree you can learn much more by reading from "in the know" instead of talking to other bikers. You would not believe how many people I come across at Deal's gap that believe "rear brake only" to stop/slow down. mostly harley riders though thank god. But could you imagine that getting passed on to some young kid just starting out. It has to spread somehow. I think the only way the harley/cruiser guys are getting away with it for so long without wiping out, is they usually have some fat cow for a passenger weighting the rear tire and avoiding lock up. I try to explain to them, why do you think the front tire has two massive rotors and calipers, and the rear has a small caliper/rotor ratio. Yet most still buck it, and continue to ride "rear only". because they learned wrong early in riding. Motorcyclist magazine (i think) has "Code break" with a small article from keith code each month also.

 

[Lino]

Sport Riding Technique

free download:beerchug: enjoy

http://www.pro-bike.ro/forums/index.php?autocom=downloads&showfile=605

Twist of the Wrist V2

http://www.pro-bike.ro/forums/index.php?autocom=downloads&showfile=603

 

[DaveM]

Sport Riding Techniques, by Nick Ienatsch

I've got that one, not a bad book but it is becoming dated , and conflicts some with keith code on steering with the knees. Good thread though. I agree you can learn much more by reading from "in the know" instead of talking to other bikers. You would not believe how many people I come across at Deal's gap that believe "rear brake only" to stop/slow down. mostly harley riders though thank god. But could you imagine that getting passed on to some young kid just starting out. It has to spread somehow. I think the only way the harley/cruiser guys are getting away with it for so long without wiping out, is they usually have some fat cow for a passenger weighting the rear tire and avoiding lock up. I try to explain to them, why do you think the front tire has two massive rotors and calipers, and the rear has a small caliper/rotor ratio. Yet most still buck it, and continue to ride "rear only". because they learned wrong early in riding. Motorcyclist magazine (i think) has "Code break" with a small article from keith code each month also.

Keith Code certainly does not teach that!

DaveM

 

[GizmoRider]

As far as braking goes, just point out to any biker that the cage they drive to work every day, with only one "stop" applicator, has bigger brakes on the front than on the rear, and since that has to do more with weight transfer than real stopping distance, should be a clue as to independent application of stoppage capability to the front of the bike. Use both front and rear brakes, but be a bit more judicious with the rear, for directional control.
Me.....I got ABS, and pray I don't exceed its capabilities.

 

[Medic09]

David Hough's books are two volumes now.

A good one for the novice/intermediate rider is Riding in the Zone. http://www.ridinginthezone.com/

 

[DaveM]

David Hough's books are two volumes now.

A good one for the novice/intermediate rider is Riding in the Zone. http://www.ridinginthezone.com/

Thanks Medic09 for that update, I have just one large volume and wasn't aware it was now two.

Cheers,
DaveM

 

[Ken C]

Thanks Medic09 for that update, I have just one large volume and wasn't aware it was now two.

Cheers,
DaveM

Hey all. I'm the author of "Riding in the Zone". Some of you may know me as the author of the Proficient Motorcycling and Street Strategies column for Motorcycle Consumer News. (I took over the columns from Dave Hough around 2001)

I just bought a Triumph RS last week, so here I am. (not my first Triumph, I had a 1971 Bonneville back in the day).

My favorite books include Lee Park's book and both of Dave Hough's books. The books by Nick I., Reg Pridmore, and Code are also on my library shelf. Each offer a different take on riding technique. I say check them all out and get what you can from each one.

As far as my book goes, it is different than the other books, because of the way the information is delivered. I deliberately kept the text brief to get to the point. My goal is to reach riders who might not otherwise pick up a book on riding skills.

There is a video included to further help get the information into the brains of riders so they can improve their riding ASAP.

Medic mentions that it is for the beginner and intermediate rider. Considering that I talk about trail braking and advanced body position techniques, it can be beneficial to many "advanced" riders as well.

You can check out some sample pages at Whitehorse Press website or at my web site and two video clips on my site.

 

[BudDaytonRat]

Great topic.

:goodpost:
Dave you did it again great topic and perfect timing. Our local RAT Pack is going to offer rider training to our Joe's RAT Pack members. We have a RAT who has instructed motorcyclist in the UK. Rick our pack leader has read a lot of the books mentioned. Why Rick wants me to help with the training is a mystery to me. I can tell the Dayton RATS how not to push a motorcycle off when on the center or side stand see (Bud's Big Misadventure of 08). I will be picking up the books you listed and some of the others mentioned. We have former flat track racers, certified instructors and a lot of riders with a number of years riding experience. What we are hoping to do is get more of the Dayton RATS taking part in our monthly rides.
Ken, please PM me with any advice concerning rider training.
__________________

 

[Ken C]

PM sent.

 

[hootieST]

Thanks for the Great topic Dave.
Recently checked out the Lee Parks website and thought I should get his book, but didn't really know anything about it. Recommendations from here have encouraged me to order it and also seek out some of the others.
Funny how we can neglect self-improvement just because we think we know how to ride!

Cheers all!