Total Control: High Performance Street Riding Techniques, 2nd Edition

Lee Parks is so good at breaking down all the parts of the "how to ride" from so many directions. From the science and engineering behind the bike to the attitude to stay on the road, to the mechanics behind 2 up riding, he breaks it down in an easy to understand, step by step manner that has completely upgraded my riding. I went from slightly dangerous self taught, to fully confident excellent rider, quickly and without the trial and error that costs so many lives. This book literally saved my life and I feel is essential for people to understand if they ride on 2 wheels.

I’ve been riding different bikes for many years and thought I was a good and safe rider, but after reading this fantastic book I had no idea of all the things I was doing wrong and unsafe. The information in this book is indispensable if want to know the mechanics of how turning, suspension and tires make such a difference depending on your riding style. It’s an easy and most informative read, and all the armed forces use these techniques for their safety rider courses, as im a vet myself, I was very interested in reading this book. I promise you that if you follow the principles and techniques outlined in this book you’ll be a much safer rider and you’ll build your confidence in every way. I’m 60 years old and I highly recommend this book to all motorcycle riders

As a rider with under 40,000 miles ever ridden, I am still developing my technical skills. There are so many situations we encounter that can be challenging - I want to be in complete control in all of them. I bought this book to improve my cornering skills in tight-radius turns. Specifically, I occasionally go wide on 10-20 mile per hour, right-hand corners. The author has great insight and helpful suggestions based on his significant real world experience. He has found that many riders hold on too tight, causing hands to fight each other. He suggested using only one hand (the hand on the inside of a turn) to pull/push. I started consciously relaxing that left hand when in a sharp turn to the right. It works wonders! It is close to being a habit after a 2-week trip. I also started picking my lines through corners based on the author's descriptions. This has helped by providing a better line of sight, thus increasing my confidence and control. I highly recommend this book for novice and intermediate riders. Expert riders could also benefit as a refresher and may even pick up some new golden nuggets, like I did. We can always improve.

I have about a dozen books on riding technique which I got after returning to riding after decades of not riding. Of all the books I have, I consider Proficient Motorcycling (the first book, NOT More Proficient Motorcycling which is redundant) the best of all. I learned so much from it. But I consider Total Control to be the perfect companion book to Proficient Motorcycling. They do have overlap, of course, but Total Control deals more with the physics of riding, psychology, rider attitude, etc. The author has studied riding technique for decades and has clarified the most important things a rider should know. One of my grandsons (who is 25) mentioned that he's thinking of getting a motorcycle and, if he does, the first thing I'm going to do is order Proficient Motorcycling and Total Control for him. As I said, they make perfect companion books. I'm a street rider. My bike is a massive Triumph Rocket III Touring (2300 ccs) that makes a HD look small when they're parked side-by-side. (I've been thinking of getting an HD to keep in my saddle bag as a spare. They're nice little bikes! :-) Just kidding, of course but it does make HD's look tiny. I mention that because anyone considering this book should understand that it's primarly written for sportsbike riders and racers. I can't even count how many pictures there are of riders in full lean with their knee dragging on the ground. But, even so, the book has lots of good information for street riders so don't let the emphasis on high-performance sports bikes and professisonal racing discourage you from buying this excellent book. In fact, I may just give away all my other books except the two mentioned in this review. Some of them are downright silly like the one recommending that you practice at least an hour a day in a large parking lot with dozens of cones set up and stripping your bike down of tail lights, headlights, panniers, turn signals, etc. beefore you practice. Can you imagine removing all that stuff every single day and then reinstalling it? I'm not going to mention the name of that book but it's a popular one. If you are a new rider or returning to riding and don't have any books, just get the two mentioned in this review but don't bother with More Proficient Motorcycling. It's redundant and it's as if the author just wanted to squeeze out some more cash after the success of his first book.

Even if you’ve been riding motorcycles for decades, like I have, you’re probably doing it all wrong. I took the Total Control intermediate class. It was there that I realized my last statement. If there was a wrong way to do an exercise, I was doing it. Immediately after the class I bought this book and began page by page underlining the bad habits I had developed. I then began riding more frequently with a conscious effort to practice what I read. In two weeks time I was riding smoother, more effortlessly, and just plain enjoying the riding so much more. If you’re willing to admit you have room for improvement, this book is a game changer.

Excellent book on Motorcycle riding by an expert... I teach MSF rider course and I enjoy learning from the pros....

This should be the first book anyone buys after buying a motorcycle. Really solid riding fundamentals and in-depth equipment book that I definitely recommend. I have 3 years of street riding under my belt (15k miles) and am getting a ton out of it on braking, throttle, traction, etc. (also took their intermediate class). l would also buy "Sport Riding Techniques" if you're looking for another book and different perspective - they're both great and should be must-reads. This/ these plus some youtube vids and an intermediate class or two should be considered mandatory first year curriculum by new riders. Candidly, I should have read this and others shortly after my beginner class and would have not had nearly the amount of close calls. Can't recommend continued learning and this book as part of that regiment enough.

Hands down the BEST book for beginner and advanced riders alike.

Livro excelente. Bem didático e ilustrado. Um dos melhores.

It doesn't only explain how to do something, but also explains why. The forces and physics behind how the motorcycle behaves are written in an easy to understand way. As I'm a person who always wants to know why, this book helps me a lot. This theory is than translated in what you need to do on a motorcycle. Only thing that could be added it that it would refer to video's online.

Mycket fakta om fysiska faktorer. Men den täcker upp hela spannet av hur hantering av motorcykeln går till.

Il libro è una pietra miliare per i motociclisti che vogliono davvero capire come si guida una moto, come funziona e quali sono le sue reazioni ai nostri comandi (accelerazione, frenata, body-steering, counter steering, ecc). Affronta tutti i temi spiegando con estrema semplicità ma allo stesso tempo efficacia. Dopo averlo letto attentamente lo sto studiando per la seconda volta con ancora maggior attenzione. Ho imparato davvero molto dallo studio di quanto esposto e cerco di metterlo in pratica ad ogni uscita in motocicletta! Il libro è in inglese-americano e pertanto necessità della conoscenza della lingua.

Dieses Buch ist ein echtes Brett für jeden, der ernsthaft besser auf der Straße fahren will. Klar und praxisnah. Die Techniken werden verständlich erklärt und mit guten Illustrationen/Beispielen unterlegt. Kein „Speed Guru Geschwafel“, sondern echt nützliche Inputs, die man beim nächsten Ride tatsächlich anwenden kann. Was mir besonders aufgefallen ist: Fokus auf Blicktechnik, Kurvenline, Körperposition und Kontrolle ist genau das, woran viele von uns öfter mal feilen sollten, ohne es zu merken. Kapitel sind strukturiert, übersichtlich und man kann nachschlagen, ohne sich durch Romane zu kämpfen. Must Have als Motorradfahrer, egal ob Fahranfänger, oder Fortgeschrittener. Es ist für jeden was dabei.