The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Guide to Motorcycling Excellence: Skills, Knowledge, and Strategies for Riding Right (2nd Edition)

Let me start off by saying that this book does not bypass taking the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) riding class in anyway for a budding motorcycle rider. If you want to ride a motorcycle then the MSF course is a must period. The MSF class teaches you so much while allowing you to practice in a safe and calm riding environment with trained instructors at your side to ask questions and get help from. Not to mention that some insurance companies will give you a policy discount on your monthly insurance payments for taking and passing the MSF course. You also don't have to do the DMV riding test if you pass the MSF course. So in the end the MSF course is more then worth what you paid to take the course for on top of the safety and riding training you get.Outside of the MSF course this book is a good primer to mentally prepare you for the key ideas on how to ride a motorcycle and what forces are at work while riding. Ideas like counter steering, smooth control inputs, avoiding target fixation, and a light over view of potential road hazards you might face and many more other topics are all discussed in this book. It also goes on to talk about other areas some people might not think about such as how to select a proper helmet and what to look for in riding gear. It also talks about the effects of lack of sleep, drugs and alcohol all have on a rider. I would recommend this book to anyone who has signed up for the MSF course but has not taken it or who is just interested in the idea of riding a motorcycle. In the end this is a very good primer book if not a refresher for those who have just finished the MSF course and need to brush up a little on some key concepts.

When I purchased this book I was hoping for lots of details about the technical side of riding and they do cover that well later into the book, but the first several chapters are really very basic, covering information that I would hope that most people would already know and understand. Speed can kill you, drinking impairs your ability to think and ride safely, other road users do not see motorcyclists so you have to practice self preservation, bad surfaces can cause an accident. I can understand providing bike details for a person who knows nothing about them, but there is a load of really vague info, about clothing for example, that really does not push the knowledge envelope very far. I would have liked to see more detailed info.There is a lot about how dangerous motorcycles can be and fatal motorcycle accidents in the early chapters and I guess the idea was to get the message across before the reader got too bored, but I didn't find it really very helpful. I would have liked to see some early chapters capture the joy and fun that can be had on a motorcycle, and then build into how to ride safely and well. I had the feeling that the early chapters may scare off some potential riders before they took their first lessons.A lot of the first forty or so pages could probably be skipped by many beginners if they are already into motorcycling in any way. I would probably have run them later in the book, but that's just my opinion of course. If you keep going into the rest of the book is does pick up and deliver the important stuff; how to ride safely and technically well.I rate it as a good beginner's book which is what it is intended to be and I cut them some slack in the method of presentation, as they probably know at more about what was needed that I do. It is a very good book, and it is certainly worth the money, especially if you can pick up a second-hand copy.

Book breaks down motorcycle controls and the process of learning to be a safe rider. Excellent Guide for someone looking for a starting place to get into motorcycles.

This book is aimed at teaching safe motorcycle handling for the street. There is a wide range of topics about how a motorcycle works and what the operator can do to make it safer and more fun. Some of the handling tips will answer questions about the things that are of constant concern to all motorcyclists. In case you didn't know it there are two super common screw ups riders get hurt over: Cars turning head on into your lane causing you to run into them and bad cornering technique on the part of the rider causing the bike to crash without any help from anybody else but himself!There are of course many other things to know but learning more about how to avoid accidents and learning more about how to drive the bike should be pretty self evident as a part of your self protection. You want to keep enjoying your bike and not get banged up if you can help it---right?There is stuff that doesn't get treated in this book like how to road race or how to plan a cross country trip but for the basic knowledge of how to safely operate a bike on the street this book is the best I have seen. If you don't have any other book yet this is the right one to start with.I have been riding for half a century and still found things to ponder in this great book. Learning is a blast!Have fun out there!

As a novice motorcycle rider, I found this instruction manual to be very useful. I read it cover to cover before I even started riding, and there was a lot of good information in it I'm glad I knew before hitting the road. the chapter on traction dynamics is particularly helpful. Definitely worth reading.Would rate it higher, but some of the writing seemed a little too sterile and official-sounding, and some of it is kind of dated. particularly the chapter on the effects of illegal drugs sounds like it was written in the 70s, so modern audiences might not relate to it well (though the bottom line that you should always ride sober is pretty clear). Also there are in fact better books on the subject. "Proficient Motorcycling" by David L. Hough covers almost everything in this, but at a higher level of detail and in a tone that is a little warmer and interesting to read. I'd choose that one if you had to pick, but I found it was still worthwhile to read both.

I'm happy with all aspects of purchase. Top seller! A *****

great buy.totally satisfied with this purchase.

You will find evrything in it, but still in the impression I didn't learn something.It's not a modern presentation.. so it's like boring to readI prefer DVDs, but it's me ...Recommended for bikers at the very first year of driving.. not more