Ride CT & Ride New England Serving New England, NYC and The Hudson Valley!
By Steve Smith of RIDE-CT.com
Learning is a life-long process. We are never too old or have been riding too long to work on improving our riding skills. While waiting out the winter PMS (parked motorcycle 
syndrome) until being able to participate in an on-cycle skills improvement course consider doing some armchair exercises. There are great publications out there that provide tips and techniques to allow riders of all abilities to self improve. Here is a list the spans the gamut from basic to performance oriented riding:
“Motorcycling Excellence, Second Edition” by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation covers rider attitude, protective riding gear, pre-ride inspection, maintenance and troubleshooting as well as basic and advanced street skills.
The legendary rider training guru David L. Hough is the author of the famous series of books “Proficient Motorcycling,” “More Proficient Motorcycling” and “Street Strategies.” In this plain talk series, David offers readers insights, training exercises and riding tips not found in any other publication in the world.
“Riding in the Zone” by Ken Condon is geared towards the intermediate riders to develop the physical and mental skills that are necessary to ride with more confidence and joy. An instructional DVD is included with demonstrations that will assist to learn and practice the lessons.
“Sport Riding Techniques” by Nick Ienatsch is loaded with excellent tips and techniques that can help make you a better rider on the street and track. Nick presents the information in an easy to understand format. The book starts out with the basics and continues through performance track and street riding techniques that can make your ride more fun and safer at the same time. Much of the MSF ARC-ST Rider Course was based on the content of this book (a course offered for only $50 in Connecticut). Nick also authored “The Pace,” which I will cover in a future column.
The “A Twist of the Wrist” series of books and DVDs are from ex-racer Keith Code, who proclaims to be the most successful on-track motorcycle instructor in the world. Keith presents the information to be entertaining, easy to understand, and fun to watch.
“Total Control” by Lee Parks Total Control is also geared toward high-performance riding skills. Lee says “it actually delivers on what others can only promise: To significantly improve your ability to control any motorcycle.” Based on the proven techniques of national champion Lee Parks critically acclaimed Advanced Riding Clinics, this book is the fastest and safest way to gain mastery over your machine.
