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Lemonchili_x1
| Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 08:01 am: |
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I'm starting to ride more and more again so I figure it's time to brush up my skills. I'm looking to do a riding course soon, but saw Total Control mentioned in another thread, so thought I might buy a book or two (I like reading ).Anybody have any thoughts/opinions of the following books? Total Control: High Performance Street Riding Techniques by Lee Parks Sport Riding Techniques: How To Develop Real World Skills for... by Nick Ienatsch A Twist of the Wrist 2: The Basics of High-Performance Motorcy... by Keith Code (I have the original Twist of the Wrist, and though I haven't read it for a while I found it useful but mainly related to track/racing, and I haven't done a track day in a *long* time). Or any others that you can recommend? In particular I'm looking for stuff like cornering technique for street riding, eg Sunday morning rides up my favourite twisties chasing Ducati's and Fireblades cheers, chili |
Mikef5000
| Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 09:26 am: |
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TOTAL CONTROL! Buy it NOW! I didn't like ATOTW at all because it seemed entirely gear for the track. But total control was all about improving street riding. |
Seanp
| Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 09:41 am: |
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David Hough's Proficient Motorcycling and More Proficient Motorcycling are both great books and explain a lot of the physics and background things going on while you ride. |
Buellgator
| Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 10:46 am: |
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I am in the middle of Sport Riding Techniques, and honestly am fairly impressed by the amount of info in the book. Not only that , but he gives you some good ideas about how to actually practice and apply these techniques to your street riding. I highly recommend this book. |
Azxb9r
| Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 05:13 pm: |
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+1 for total control. Very helpful book. |
Borrowedbike
| Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 06:23 pm: |
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Twist of the Wrist II is a LOT more about the street. |
Lemonchili_x1
| Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 10:19 pm: |
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Cool, thanks all. I think I'll get Total Control, and maybe one other, not sure which yet. |
Sanchez
| Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 03:54 pm: |
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I learned a great deal from Total Control. |
Edgydrifter
| Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 04:20 pm: |
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+1 for David Hough's books. Clearly written with good diagrams. |
Cityxslicker
| Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 05:58 pm: |
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"More Saddle Time" by I. Rydalot Books are nice, but its like learning sex from Playboy magazine. At some point ya just gotta ride. I read the book by Nick, dont remember chapter and verse, getting my A$$ handed to me by him on a Blast... I will carry that lesson for a lifetime. |
Josh_
| Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 06:07 pm: |
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+1 Total Control. Take the class also if you get the chance. |
Lemonchili_x1
| Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 08:24 pm: |
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"More Saddle Time" by I. Rydalot Books are nice, but its like learning sex from Playboy magazine. At some point ya just gotta ride. Nice analogy! I've managed to sort out things at work so I can ride to work more often, including a few jobs up the coast and I leave early so I can take the back roads instead of the motorway, and I'm starting to get back in the groove. I'm getting on the bike at least once a week now, whereas before the bike could sit there for 2 or 3 weeks at a time. To be honest, the main thing that bugs me about my riding is a "fear of lean angle". I know the bike can lean further and it can corner faster, but I have a tendency to back off for fear of scraping pegs or running out of traction, when I know that I'm well within the limits of the bike and the tires. My wife recently did her open license course (she got it , she rides a 550 Zephyr now) and some of the things she told me that they taught her have helped me think more about body positioning etc, and refreshed my memory on things I was taught many years ago. So riding more and an advanced riding course would be the best things I think, but I'll get the books too, just 'cause I like to analyse things too much I read the book by Nick, dont remember chapter and verse, getting my A$$ handed to me by him on a Blast... I will carry that lesson for a lifetime. ??? Where? When? I always liked his writing style in Motorcyclist and then Sport Rider, and was impressed when he started racing - he went out and did it. He's mainly an instructor these days? Josh - I'm in Brisbane, Australia, not too many choices of courses here, but I've heard good things about one advanced riding course in particular, so will be booking that soon. cheers, chili |
Hexangler
| Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 08:35 pm: |
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I have Sport Riding Techniques by Nick Ienatsch. More than a great trainer, it has cool pix, diagrams, and the best philosophy: Riding the Pace. |
Chopped58
| Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 09:57 pm: |
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+1 for Total Control....learned quite a bit. |
Cityxslicker
| Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 10:27 pm: |
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It was Buell Back to the Track 1, Vegas Feb 2006. We were all there to ride and learn the Buells (mainly the XB's) There was a Blast there, we all pretty much ignored it. Last evolution Nick gets on the bike and walks past all 10 of us on that lil bike like we are standing still. Doesnt matter if you can do 110 down the bike straight if you cant manage to loose all your gains in the corners. Biggest lesson was that there is no perfect apex to a corner. Depending on your speed, lane position, and your body angle attacking the curve, your line changes. That killed everything I had always heard on Tv about racing. I put a deposit on the Buell the week I got home. Damn impressive event for the Brand I must say. (I had to wait a bit for the CityX to show) |
Speedfreaks101
| Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 10:33 pm: |
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Another vote for Total Control. I have also read Sport Riding Techniques and it is good but Total control is about as good as you will get without personal instruction. Lee Parks (the author) also outlines drills that you can work on with a buddy. IMO everyone can benefit from this book in some way. This book does not just show you haw to do it right but also what is wrong and what it looks like. There is a handy sag chart that you can print out when setting sag and lastly a flow chart for diagnosing handling & cornering issues. |
Lemonchili_x1
| Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 - 03:26 am: |
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Cool, they all sound good in there own ways. I figured if I'm going to pay postage from the U.S. I may as well order all three - Total Control, Sport Riding Techniques and Twist 2, ordered today. ...walks past all 10 of us on that lil bike like we are standing still Hehehe Ok, time for me to get on the phone tomorrow and book a course. |
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