Proficient Motorcycling

This best-selling book is also “#1 book in motorcycle safety” (Nielsen BookScan) and essential reading for all motorcyclists regardless of their years of experience. Author David L. Hough, a revered motorcycle author, columnist, and riding-safety consultant, lays out a clear course for all riders who want to sharpen their handling skills and improve their rides. This second edition, expanded and now in full color, offers new riders and road warriors the exact kind of advice they need to be prepared for anything when on the road, how to avoid accidents, and how to handle the unexpected. Hough, who began motorcycling in the 1960s, tackles every imaginable topic—from the mechanics of the bike, selection of the right-sized bike, and basic riding skills to night riding, group outings, and advanced survival tactics. In the chapter called “Motorcycle Dynamics,” Hough spells out the equipment needed and basic skills required to control a bike, and specifically keeping the rider’s safety and ability to avoid potentially injurious or fatal crashes. The author is outspoken and direct when it comes to safety, and he emphasizes the importance of the rider’s braking abilities and spells out how to improve them. The chapter offers six tried-and-true techniques for quick-stop tactics, critical for every rider to understand and master. He also addresses other vital skills that riders need to evaluate and improve, such as turning, maintaining balance and stability, and steering. He defines, compares, and analyzes the ins and outs of steering and control: direct steering, countersteering, push steering, out-tracking, coning, u-turns, and directional control. The chapter called “Cornering Habits” is a virtual master class in acceleration, deceleration, use of weight, throttle, leaning, and handling challenging terrain. Hough’s skill as a photographer and illustrator adds a graphic element to his books that leads to immediate understanding of the concepts he explains. The detail offered in each section of the book can only come from decades on the road, and the author is the consummate instructor, assigning homework to the readers in the form of exercises to practice and improve specific techniques that he outlines and illustrates in the text. Any rider who would venture out on the road without David Hough’s voice in his head takes an unnecessary risk with his own life. Proficient Motorcycling takes riders from long, snaking country roads right into the traffic of the big city, and Hough offers the best advice for riders dealing with the most challenging conditions, whether it’s road construction, snap-jawed intersections, skateboarders, or suddenly slippery road surfaces. A critical section of the book offers riders advice on how to deal with automobiles, including aggressive car drivers, oblivious SUV drivers, or “blind” truck drivers. The book offers the kind of first-hand experience that can literally save riders’ lives, as illustrated in the chapters “Booby Traps” and “Special Situations,” which offer evasive tactics and advice to avoid and handle everything from slick surfaces, curbs, and construction plates to ferocious dogs, hazardous wildlife, and difficult weather conditions. The final chapter of the book, “Sharing the Ride,” is geared toward experienced riders who travel together in groups or who travel with a second passenger on the bike. Topics covered are formation, packing for trips, communication between riders, sidecars, trikes, and more. The book concludes with a resources section of organizations, training schools, educational tools, and websites; a glossary of 80+ terms; and a complete index.

Written as a stand-alone or follow-up to David L. Hough's wildly successful duo, "Proficient Motorcycling" and "Street Strategies," this book contains invaluable lessons for avoiding nasty accidents. Presenting new tips and topics geared toward protecting riders from road dangers with a special focus on mental and physical preparedness. Diagrams, examples, plain talk, and Hough's practical attitude make this one of the most accessible guides available.

Learn motorcycle riding and maintenance essential from Cycle World Magazine’s resident expert in this comprehensive, fully illustrated guide. In Total Motorcycle Manual, industry insider Mark Lindemann shares his considerable firsthand knowledge gained from riding more than 750 different bikes over more than 30 years. Packed practical tips and tricks, this is the perfect guide for anyone who wants to get the most out of their motorcycle. Whether you are starting as a new daily commuter, track fiend or budding off-roader, Mark will teach you how to get the right gear for you, tackle test rides, avoid lemons, maintain and tune your ride and master fundamental bike skills.

Following the success of "Proficient Motorcycling" in 2000, Hough released a second book of motorcycling topics and lessons called "More Proficient Motorcycling." Now, a decade later, the author overhauls the book for a new generation of riders with new lessons, safety tips, illustrations, and full-color photos.

A completely revised version of one of the best-selling motorcycle riding skills books of all time. Today's super high-performance bikes are the most potent vehicles ever sold to the public and they demand advanced riding skills. Get it right, and a modern motorcycle will provide you with the thrill of a lifetime; get it wrong and you'll be carted off in a meat wagon. The line between ecstasy and agony is so thin that there is absolutely no margin for error.Total Control provides you with the information you need to stay on the healthy side of that line, providing a training course developed and perfected through decades of professional training in Lee Parks' Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic. This is the perfect book for riders who want to take their street riding skills to a higher level. Total Control explains the ins and outs of high-performance street riding. Lee Parks, one of the most accomplished riders, racers, authors and instructors in the world, helps riders master the awe-inspiring performance potential of modern motorcycles. This book gives riders everything they need to develop the techniques and survival skills necessary to become a proficient, accomplished, and safer street rider. High quality photos, detailed instructions, and professional diagrams highlight the intricacies and proper techniques of street riding and the knowledge gained will apply to all brands of bikes from Harley-Davidson and Suzuki to Ducati and Kawaski to Honda and BMW and more! Readers will come away with a better understanding of everything from braking and cornering to proper throttle control, resulting in a more exhilarating yet safer ride.

Today’s super high-performance bikes are the most potent vehicles ever sold to the public and they demand advanced riding skills. This is the perfect book for riders who want to take their street riding skills to a higher level. Total Control explains the ins and outs of high-performance street riding. Lee Parks, one of the most accomplished riders, racers, authors and instructors in the world, helps riders master the awe-inspiring performance potential of modern motorcycles.This book gives riders everything they need to develop the techniques and survival skills necessary to become a proficient, accomplished, and safer street rider. High quality photos, detailed instructions, and professional diagrams highlight the intricacies and proper techniques of street riding. Readers will come away with a better understanding of everything from braking and cornering to proper throttle control, resulting in a more exciting yet safer ride.

Why would anyone want to do something as dangerous as motorcycling? For those who love to ride, no explanation is necessary. For everyone else, there’s Why We Ride. Designed as both an explanation for outsiders and an anthem for those within the fold, this new book presents the insights of Mark Barnes, PhD, a motorcycling clinical psychologist. As a popular columnist at Motorcycle Consumer News for more than 20 years, Dr. Barnes articulates the elusive physical, emotional, and interpersonal elements that make the world of the motorcyclist such a rich and exciting place. His wide-ranging text covers both sports psychology and the psychoanalysis of common riding experiences, including the results of Dr. Barnes’ own empirical research. Heartfelt and thought provoking, here is a straightforward account of what makes real motorcyclists tick. Inside Why We Ride: What makes all the hazards and hardships of riding a motorcycle worthwhile to perfectly sane, intelligent, and responsible individuals Insights from clinical psychologist and moto-journalist Dr. Mark Barnes Examination of the complex gratifications, relentlessly compelling passions, and deeply personal experiences that motivate motorcyclists Sports psychology, psychoanalysis of common riding experiences, and reflections on the author’s personal journey as a rider Results of the author’s own empirical research on the motives of motorcyclists Thought-provoking exploration of the human dimension of motorcycling Special section on how riders achieve the quasi-mystical state of “Flow,” a concept currently at the center of modern sports psychology

Expert motorcyclist and author Ken Condon knows there is a right way to hit the road and track when you're behind the handlebars. In this new book Motorcycling the Right Way, Condon lays out a basic riding course for motorcyclists who are smart enough to acknowledge that "you don't know what you don't know." In setting forth the keys to riding safely and well, Condon's method capitalizes on reducing risks and potential crashes and increasing the rider's ever-improving skills and situational awareness. Filled with readable, useful advice and anecdotes from the road, Motorcycling the Right Way will be welcomed by beginners and returning riders, as well as experienced riders who are interested in learning more on the journey.-Adding new tools to the rider's bag: multitasking, sensory intelligence, self and situational awareness, risk smarts, visibility, and attitude adjustment-Improving the rider's ability to perceive danger, size up risks, and mentally prepare for the road-Expert advice on handling the bike, cornering, traction, braking, and turning-A sobering look at crashing and handling the aftermath of an accident-Special sections on dirt riding, group rides, highway riding, nighttime riding, passengers-The right way to avoid hazards and deal with perilous obstacles and road conditions