Awesome motorcycling books
I'm a book guy. I love information, really, as much of it and from as wide a variety of sources as possible. That said, I've been ordering mc books on ebay and amazon (at the wonderfully ridiculous low prices they sell used books for,) and have found them all very useful and very interesting. So far, the ones I liked the best are:
1.) "Ride Hard, Ride Smart" by Pat Hahn. My current favorite. This looks like a road racing book by the cover and the name, but really, it's all about street driving strategies and how to lessen the risks. It covers the Hurt report, and addresses those real world dangers and specific ways to lessen them and their impact. I especially liked the strategies of "slow merging," "slow turning," and "shadowing." They're smart moves, and provide an increased safety margin while riding, but they're not necessarily what we might do instinctively.
2.) "Proficient Motorcycling" by David L. Hough (new 2nd edition.) This is considered, I think, the granddaddy of motorcycling skill and strategy books, and it is awesome. It is giant, and it has endless tips on everything, without preaching on anything. It has everything about skills, strategies, and safety, identifying and predicting danger, what to do and how to prepare for every imaginable circumstance while on a motorcycle. I've ordered "Proficient Motorcycling II (More Proficient Motorcycling) but it hasn't arrived yet.
Some of the other books I've read are "Street Strategies," by David L. Hough, which is a collection of tips from motorcycling magazine, and "How to Ride a Motorcycle" by Pat Hahn. Both are good books. I've also ordered "Total Control" by Lee Parks, and "A Twist of the Wrist II" by Keith Code, and I'm looking forward to both of them greatly, as well as "PM2."
In the real world, I took my first "street" ride to get the mail (about 2 1/2 miles of dirt and gravel road with pavement by the mailboxes.) I have to say:
1.) driving on dirt and gravel is ok, just a little squirrely at times,
2.) The GZ250 is a tiny bit slower than I was expecting, and
3.) the first time you see a pickup truck barreling towards you and you realize you're no longer in a parking lot surrounded by cones and riders and coaches and safety is, well, terrifying, but then you calm down and realize you have just as much right to be on the road as they do. I'm just not sure still if I look like I'm a motorcyclist on a motorcycle, or if I look like I'm a lunatic on some sort of toy. I have to get over that.
1.) "Ride Hard, Ride Smart" by Pat Hahn. My current favorite. This looks like a road racing book by the cover and the name, but really, it's all about street driving strategies and how to lessen the risks. It covers the Hurt report, and addresses those real world dangers and specific ways to lessen them and their impact. I especially liked the strategies of "slow merging," "slow turning," and "shadowing." They're smart moves, and provide an increased safety margin while riding, but they're not necessarily what we might do instinctively.
2.) "Proficient Motorcycling" by David L. Hough (new 2nd edition.) This is considered, I think, the granddaddy of motorcycling skill and strategy books, and it is awesome. It is giant, and it has endless tips on everything, without preaching on anything. It has everything about skills, strategies, and safety, identifying and predicting danger, what to do and how to prepare for every imaginable circumstance while on a motorcycle. I've ordered "Proficient Motorcycling II (More Proficient Motorcycling) but it hasn't arrived yet.
Some of the other books I've read are "Street Strategies," by David L. Hough, which is a collection of tips from motorcycling magazine, and "How to Ride a Motorcycle" by Pat Hahn. Both are good books. I've also ordered "Total Control" by Lee Parks, and "A Twist of the Wrist II" by Keith Code, and I'm looking forward to both of them greatly, as well as "PM2."
In the real world, I took my first "street" ride to get the mail (about 2 1/2 miles of dirt and gravel road with pavement by the mailboxes.) I have to say:
1.) driving on dirt and gravel is ok, just a little squirrely at times,
2.) The GZ250 is a tiny bit slower than I was expecting, and
3.) the first time you see a pickup truck barreling towards you and you realize you're no longer in a parking lot surrounded by cones and riders and coaches and safety is, well, terrifying, but then you calm down and realize you have just as much right to be on the road as they do. I'm just not sure still if I look like I'm a motorcyclist on a motorcycle, or if I look like I'm a lunatic on some sort of toy. I have to get over that.