Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well Paperback – November 12, 2013

Proficient Motorcycling 2nd EditionHough's Proficient Motorcycling is probably the best single book to read for beginners. Many reviewers have regarded Proficient Motorcycling as mandatory for all riders, and should be included with a motorcycle purchase. I agree completely, because Hough does an excellent job explaining the concepts. He doesn't just write, he includes basic physics diagrams, and lots of color photographs to drive the points home. He doesn't get lost in technical jargon, although you will notice some differences in his style compared to Keith Code simply because Code is writing to improve your road course racing skills more than traffic skills. That said, the physics apply in either case, and Hough's book is a excellent primer.Counter-steering, front braking, safety equipment, statistics, and road hazards are all covered in Proficient motorcycling. Hough doesn't focus on pivot steering or using just the front brakes as much as Code. Like I said before, Hough is more concerned about typical hazards one encounters on the road, and the skills needed to survive in that setting. However, pivot steering is hinted by Hough when he describes an exercise to improve U-turns or tight turns. Basically the outside peg is used as a pivot point during a turn, as described by Keith Code. Hough just mentions using the outside peg to position your body which is a similar idea. Hough does mention using the front brakes, but not to the extreme as Code.Many of the concepts covered in Proficient Motorcycling are covered in operator's manuals provided by the state when taking the written exam or road test. There are lots of good tips, and Hough doesn't skimp on covering typical road hazards. He talked about canines, soda cardboard boxes, crossing railroad tracks properly, rough roads, etc... Needless to say, it is a sobering look at riding. I came into motorcycles looking at the radical super sport and sport bikes (race replica stuff, such as the Suzuki GSX-R1000 or Yamaha YZR-F1) but the more I researched and read, the more dangerous it seemed. Hough doesn't let you forget that you only have 2 wheels with limited contact patch and traction compared to an automobile.Hough and Code both recommend using ear plugs for higher speed riding due to the wind noise that is known to cause hearing loss. Some states may have regulations against this, but it makes sense. I cannot stand the wind noise from driving a convertible on the highway, let alone riding a motorcycle with a limited windscreen and insulation!Overall: 5/5 stars

Proficient Motorcycling is a must have book for any motorcyclist. I know, you think you can read everything online and/or take an MSF course and you'll know it all. Unfortunately this simply isn't the case and this book fills in the gaps rather well. It gives you some great statistics upfront that help you understand the actual risks of motorcycling and how you can hopefully mitigate them. You can't be safer if you don't know what is risky. Then it goes on through various other scenarios and topics- generally starting with a short example of how someone who was otherwise a fairly competent and confident rider screwed up. It has a great section early on about turning and handling which really opened my eyes and made riding even more enjoyable and easy.For the low cost of just a book, you will have made yourself a much safer rider. Even if you just kept it around as a book that you page through occasionally, the one or two extra hints that you'll pick up could save your (or your passenger's) life easily. I should have bought this the day I got my bike.

I just bought a new motorcycle after about 18 years out of the saddle and decided I needed to brush up on some riding tactics. I bought "Proficient Motorcycle" by David Hough to give me the refresher I needed.The book itself is solid stock, with nice thick high quality gloss paper. The cover is even thicker paper that folds inward at the edges to prevent wear as you thumb through the pages. The binding is glued and threaded with fourteen strong stiches... high quality all around.But wait... do you like sticky gooey residue all over the back cover of your books? No, you say? Well, you may be a little disappointed then. The "Free 144 Bonus Pages" is actually a CD-ROM attached to a plastic holder on the back of the book. The CD has a huge yellow warning sticker on it, "If you break this seal you cannot return the book". Ok fine. The problems start when you go to "break the seal". You have to literally destroy the plastic sleeve to get the CD out, which requires you to pull it from the back paper cover. This will rip some of the back cover off with it. And now there is a sticky adhesive mess all over the back cover that will stick to the back page when you shut it. I had to put tape all over the back cover in order to "seal in" all the adhesive residue from the advertisement CD.And that's what the "144 bonus pages" are... advertisement for the Motorcycle Consumer News magazine. You get three old issues with plenty of oppurtunities to subscribe. They should have left this out, no one want this CD and it destroys the book cover.So, a little worse for the wear, I cracked open the book and read it from cover to cover.The information contained was useful and enjoyable to read. But the "enjoyable to read" part actually has an expense to it. The motorcyle lingo and the off-the-cuff casual nature will put you at ease, but when this style sours into heavy sarcasm, it can be confusing.For example, on page 38 shows a photograph of a couple on a motorcyle wearing the lid-style helmets. Perfectly legal and popular where I live. The caption says, "You don't really need a real helmet if you are clever enough to avoid crashes." Yes, pretty obvious sarcasm but possible misleading.There is other questionable language in the text also. Sometimes Hough will refer to crash victims as "road stains". That's always tacky, regardless of context. On more than one occasion he refers to scruffy bikers that like to wear black leather with metal studs as "terrorists" and at other times as "biker trash". This is type of language is not funny and not necessary.Those negatives aside, however, I really enjoyed the writing style. Hypothetical characters like "Interstate Al" and "Biker Bob" are not only enjoyable to read about, but made me think of their situations when I was out on the road. This is a very effective teaching tool that I found enjoyable and informative.Overall, I think this book is worth the money. The information is very valuable and it is presented in a enjoyable way. I am without a doubt a better rider after reading "Proficient Motorcycling". I am even thinking about buying Hough's next installment, "More Proficient Motorcycling". I may have pointed out a few negatives about the presentation here, but I am happy I bought and read this book, and my overall impressions are positive.