Learning to ride a motorcycle is a process. From deciding that you want to ride, selecting your first motorcycle, learning how to ride — and then ultimately — to improving your riding skills.
A key part of this learning process is studying — book knowledge of sorts.
Don’t get me wrong, book knowledge by itself does not make you a good rider. But, not having good book knowledge of riding fundamentals can severely limit your riding proficiency.
My motorcycle mentor recommended these 2 books by David L. Hough:
Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well
More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride
David writes skills based articles for Motorcycle Consumer News [a great magazine, by the way]. The articles vary in nature and topic. David addresses many aspects of riding, from the mental aspect to the physical.
UPDATE: David no longer writes for MCN. Ken Condon [author of Riding in the Zone] is now the sole author of the Proficient Motorcycling and Street Strategies columns for MCN]. I have been in touch with Ken via email. He has agreed to an interview soon.
Be forewarned: Don’t expect to read either of his books from cover-to-cover at blazing speeds. There’s too much information to speed read them. And, you won’t get the full benefit unless you process what he says, and then implement these principles on a consistent basis.
Only then, are we truly becoming ‘proficient’ riders.
PS. I just checked at Amazon, each book is about $18. [Note: the links to buy the books are affiliate links].
David
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20. December 2010 at 6:14 pm
Also a great read, (Riding in the Zone), by my friend Ken Condon, he is David Hough’s understudy.
Follow the link below:
http://www.amazon.com/Riding-Zone-Ken-Condon/dp/1884313760/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292889706&sr=1-1
Even comes with a great video !!
Sorry, I can’t make it as fancy as David above.
Ride Safe – Ride Often
Dave.
20. December 2010 at 7:21 pm
@Dave: Thanks for the recommendation. I’ve put Ken’s book/dvd in my shopping cart at Amazon. I’d love to interview Ken for the site — in a full article about his book. Let me know if you talk to him about it… and I will work up some questions [and study his book so I can ask intelligent questions];-)
20. December 2010 at 8:44 pm
Will do Dave.. I’ll pass it along to him.
22. December 2010 at 9:49 am
Thanks Dave for contacting Ken Condon.
Ken and I have been in touch via email. He has graciously agreed to an interview. I didn’t realize this, but Ken is now the sole author of the Proficient Motorcycling and Street Strategies columns at MCN. My motorcycle mentor gave me a stack of his old MCN magazines — good stuff.
22. December 2010 at 4:39 pm
Have fun with him, you’ll soon learn he is a wealth of knowledge..