Excellence Article: 146419 of rec.motorcycles Xref: dmssyd.syd.dms.CSIRO.AU rec.motorcycles:146419 Path: dmssyd.syd.dms.CSIRO.AU!metro!munnari.oz.au!yarrina.connect.com.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!msunews!caen!math.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!news.sprintlink.net!nwnexus!news1.halcyon.com!coho!gunnerso From: gunnerso@coho.halcyon.com (Eric Gunnerson) Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles Subject: BOOK REVIEW: MSF's "Motorcycling Excellence" Date: 3 Feb 1995 02:07:55 GMT Organization: NW NEXUS, Inc. -- Internet Made Easy (206) 455-3505 Lines: 175 Message-ID: <3gs35r$51b@news1.halcyon.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: coho.halcyon.com >From ericgu@microsoft.comThu Feb 2 18:02:29 1995 Date: Thu, 2 Feb 95 09:27:20 TZ From: Eric Gunnerson To: gunnerso@halcyon.com REVIEW: Motorcycling Excellence The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Guide to Skills, Knowledge, and Strategies for riding right Soft cover, 176 pages ISBN 1-884313-01-9 $24.95 Whitehorse Press 154 West Brookline Street Boston, Massachusetts 02118-1901 800-531-1133 (USA, Canada) 617-241-5241 617-241-5247 FAX Overview This long-awaited books fills an important need for the motorcycling community - the need for a solid reference guide for the beginning through intermediate rider. While many of the topics contained in the book are covered in the MSF curriculum, information imparted through classes tends to be a bit fragmentary in presentation, and few students are able to absorb it all - especially if they're excited to get out on the range. A good reference book will answer many questions. Structure Not surprisingly for an MSF publication, most of the information comes directly from the MRC:RSS (Motorcycle RiderCourse:Riding and Street Strategies (I think)) and ERC (Experienced RiderCourse) courses, and is structured somewhat like those classes are. If you've taken one of these courses, you will probably be familiar with some of the material in the book, though your memory is likely a bit hazy ("traction-pie analogy - yeah, I remember *something* about that"). If you're an instructor, you should know this material by heart, though you will be happy to note that this book does not use most of the visual aids used in the class - the pictures and diagrams have been redone, though there are still a few old favorites present. The book is broken into 4 parts, plus appendices I. On Your Mark: Preparing Yourself and Your Bike II. Get Set: Street Strategies for Smart Riders III. Go: Advanced Theory for Experienced Riders IV. You're on Your Way Part I - On Your Mark: Preparing Yourself and Your Bike 1. The Challenge of Motorcycling 2. Basic Riding Skills 3. Mental Preparation 4. Riding Straight 5. Protective Riding Gear 6. Motorcycle Inspection, Care, and Troubleshooting The first section of the book covers the same material as the first classroom session of the MRC:RSS, with an Inspection and Care chapter thrown in at the end. This is the basic information that gets a beginner onto the bike - Bike selection, gear selection, mental preparation, basic controls, etc.) The book format provides a little more depth than the course does, though many training sites provide handouts or workbooks that contain much of this information. Part II - Get Set: Street Strategies for Smart Riders 7. Street Strategies and the Visual Edge 8. Applying Street Strategies 9. Special Situations 10. Group Riding This sections covers the second classroom section of the MRC:RSS. It introduces the SIPDE system and applies it to many situations, and discusses special situations, such as loading, passengers, road surfaces, how to deal with mechanical problems, etc. All good stuff that will be new to many riders. The group riding section contains useful information, but it seems to be a bit diffuse - it gives lots of ideas, but never really puts forth a `philosophy' for group riding. Granted, a group riding guide will differ for different types of riders, but I still feel this section could have been handled a bit better. A list of suggested rules would have been helpful, for use as a `contract' between riders in a group. Part III - Go: Advanced Theory for Experienced Riders 11. Traction 12. The Traction-Pie Analogy 13. Countersteering 14. Cornering 15. Low- and High-Speed Turning This section was the main reason I was interested in the book - a well- written, scientifically grounded discussion of motorcycle riding and dynamics would be very helpful to the average rider (not to mention those of us who read rec.motorcycles often). While this section is a noticeable improvement over the way this information is available in MSF courses (primarily the ERC), no real new ground is broken - the information was already available as supplementary information in the courses, though there is rarely time to cover it thoroughly in the average course. For an average rider, the writing level and amount of technical detail is about right. But for the experienced rider, there is a lack of thoroughness and completeness, and the hoped-for new information (or detailed discussion of existing topics) is noticeably lacking. For a section titled `Advanced Theory for Experienced Riders' in a book titled `Motorcycling Excellence', I expected more. There is *some* advanced theory, with discussions on camber thrust and other topics, but I think that most riders who read this section wouldn't expect it to contain *introductory* information on countersteering and cornering. This section is also missing sections on solutions to common problems ("I go wide in turns", "I lock the rear brake"), and on an overall cornering philosophy. Part IV - You're on Your Way 16. Off-Highway Riding 17. The Road Ahead This section contains off-road riding information, a conclusion, and information on the MSF courses. My off-road experience is quite limited, so I'll let someone else cover this section. Appendices T-CLOCK Inspection State Motorcycle Operator Licensing Information State Motorcycle Equipment Requirements Motorcycle Organizations Photo/Illustration/Sidebar Credits Glossary Index Answers To Self-Tests Conclusion All things considered, this is a good book. It's well organized, and contains lots of useful information for beginning riders. I hope that they won't be discouraged by the scholarly title - something like "So you want to buy a motorcycle" or, following the popular trend, "Motorcycling for Dummies" might generate a more widespread appeal. If you're an intermediate rider (you've taken an MRC or a single ERC), some of the information should be familiar, and the advanced sections will be quite useful. If, however, you're a fairly advanced rider (you already own books on riding techniques and can present good explanations of motorcycle dynamics (countersteering, traction, braking)), then there's not a lot of new info here. You may still want the book to loan to your less- experienced friends ("Read this, and then come talk to me"), but I'd suggest a book like "Twist of the Wrist II" by Keith Code instead. Like the rest of the MSF curriculum, this book is written by committee, and suffers from it - it lacks the personal touch. There really isn't any central thrust of the book - the authors aren't trying to convert you to a certain way of thinking, and are content to merely present facts and suggestions, without trying to integrate them into an organic whole. The book is more encyclopedic than engaging, because it's trying to be applicable to all riders. But you don't encourage `Excellence' by presenting a lot of facts, you encourage `Excellence' by giving riders the tools to analyze their current riding styles and providing a framework that challenges the rider's assumptions. You have to make them *think* about what you're saying. Sometimes you may not agree with all the things the author has to say - I certainly don't agree with everything that Keith Code or Reg Pridmore says. But I listen and think about *everything* they say. Eric Gunnerson gunnerso@halcyon.com January 1995 -- Eric Gunnerson (gunnerso@halcyon.com) Grub first, then ethics - Bertolt Brecht