| Author | Message | ||
     Captainkirk  |
Just finished "MORE Proficient Motorcycling" by David Hough, $24.95, Bowtie Press. Available at Border's Books. This is a companion to "Proficient Motorcycling", but it's not necessary to read that volume first to make sense of it. I'd give it 4 out of 5, only because it was a long book and took so long to get through it.  Well written, covers some subjects you wouldn't normally think of (See chapter 9, "Traveling Tactics"  It is a long book (250 pp.) so don't expect to read it in an evening. Great reading for us Midwest snow-locked riders. Highly recommended. Covers the following subjects: Chapter 1 Learning To Ride Chapter 2 The Professional Attitude Chapter 3 Road Rules Chapter 4 Risky Business Chapter 5 Tuning Up Your Skills Chapter 6 Riding In The Real World Chapter 7 Cornering Chapter 8 Getting Your Head Into The Ride Chapter 9 Traveling Tactics Chapter 10 The Bottom Line Highlights; Cornering, which covers the much-debated subjects (on this site) of countersteering, lines and delayed apexing. Also, the section on "Motorcycling As A Combat Mission" was great!(ch. 2) Rate It!....Anyone else who has read this book, please rate it (1 through 5, with five being the highest score) and give it a thumbs up/down, as this is just my opinion, and your opinion might be quite different. This way, other Badwebbers can read the various posts/ratings and draw their own conclusion. Please feel free to add any books/tech material to this thread for others to read  | ||
| M1combat  |
Good Call... The obligatory "Twist of the Wrist I & II" by Keith Code "Total Control" By Lee Parks Those are the only three I've read but well worth it. | ||
| Captainkirk |
M1, I'm reading "Total Control" now. I'll review it in a couple of days. So far it's knockin' my socks off! | ||
| Newxb9er  |
I'm almost done with volume 1 Proficient Motorcycling, and for a novice like myself, it's great reading. Sometimes I forget the simple things, and reading this has helped me remember. Good book. | ||
| Craigster |
I have Code's Twist of the wrist 1 and 2; I also have the Video Tape. Bought it at the school in something like 1986 or 87. Tape is kind of goofy but has good info. I love the books. I also recommend: Keith Code's - Soft Science of Road Racing Motorcycles ISBN 0-918226-11-2 Kenny Roberts' Techniques of Motorcycle Road Racing ISBN 0-905138-51-1 I have shite load of motor performance books Including A. Graham Bell's Two-stroke Performance Tuning and his Four-stroke Performance Tuning book Hugh Mac Innes - Turbochargers Corky Bell's Maximum Boost and Charles Fayette Taylor's Internal Combustion Engine In Theory and Practice Complete works of Joe Haile's Turbo Bike and Motorcycle Performance series and bunch of other stuff....too much to contemplate. Let me know if any one wants ISBN's for them and I'll dig them up. | ||
| Captainkirk |
"Total Control", by Lee Parks: Motorbooks International ISBN #0-7603-1403-9 $24.94, 160 pp. available from Border's among others. What can I say? I could not put this book down! I tried to, but kept returning to it all day until it was finished. Like the "Proficient Motorcycling" series, this book left me feeling, well, IGNORANT. It went a long way towards showing me how little I know about the dynamics of sport riding...and wanting to learn more. Definitely fuel for the fire! There are many practice exercises in the book that I can't wait to try, come spring. This is not a "track book", it was written for the present-day street sport rider. Virtually every facet of riding is covered, from suspension tuning to riding gear. The chapters are short, sweet, and direct to the point, which makes for quick, easy reading. Chapter material; 1)Chassis Dynamics 2)Mental Dynamics 3)Body Dynamics 4)Machine Setup 5)Rider Setup Highlights: the discussions on cornering and lines, and the topic of fear. Rate it!... 5 out of 5. I will go so far as to say, if you ride a Buell, this is required reading. | ||
| Captainkirk |
Blake/admin- Feel free to move this to an appropriate section of the KV if you want........  | ||
| Henrik  |
My personal favorites are; Sport Riding Techniques: How To Develop Real World Skills for Speed, Safety, and Confidence on the Street and Track by Nick Ienatsch & Sportbike Performance Handbook by Kevin Cameron. He describes a lot of the motor/chassis/handling issues we discuss here on a regular basis. And does a great job of explaining the concepts in an understandable manner. Both books are excellently written by authors with a solid background in their topics. I give both a 5 out of 5. I also recently received More Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough and am looking forward to reading it. Henrik | ||
| Craigster |
Henrik, I second the Sportbike Performance Handbook by Kevin Cameron. Have that one too. Kevin is real genius. But, I have to admit I am biased. He lives out this way and used to have a small shop in western Ma. Nice guy, very down to earth. If you walked by him at the track you probably wouldn't even realize he's the Technical Editor for Cycle World. | ||
| Captainkirk |
I've been eyeing the Cameron book as well as the Keith Code "Twist of the Wrist"...I'll have to flip a coin to see which one wins. In the mean time... Harley-Davidson Sportster Performance Handbook, by Buzz Buzzelli, Motorbooks International, ISBN # 0-7603-0307-X, $19.95 256pp. This book will probably only appeal to the motorheads in the bunch. There are no tips on riding or such, but it goes quite in depth as to how the Sportster motor is constructed, and how to make it howl. Most of us know the Evo Sportster motor is the heart of all the S/X/M series tube-frame Buells, and the XB motor is at least a distant cousin. While the info in this book is geared more towards, well, Sportsters, there are a lot of tidbits of info that I found interesting as well as useful. There is an entire chapter dedicated to Buells, but I found the material rather obsolete and more relevant to the pre-Thunderstorm Lightnings and Cyclones. Still, if you want to know what goes on inside your Tuber motor, this is the place to find out! Chapters include: 1)Sportster Performance Basics 2)Theory and Components 3)Building the Engine 4)Big Inch Sportsters 5)High Performance Ironheads 6)Gearbox and Drivetrain 7)Chassis and Suspension 8)Racing a Twins-Class Sportster 9)Managing a High-Performance Project 10)Sportster-Powered Buells 11)History of Early Sportsters 12)History of Modern Sportsters Highlights: Probably the Buells chapter,Building the Engine, and the apendices at the rear of the book, which are chock-full of names, addresses, phone numbers and tools.A very good read for techies. Rate it...5 out of 5 (within the tech subject) (Message edited by captainkirk on January 31, 2005) |
