[BouncingRadical]

Ever since I mentioned getting the ol lady a bike she won’t stop talking about it. I was wondering if y’all know of any good motorcycle literature I can give her for Christmas so she can start reading, hopefully to abate her excitement for a while. Any suggestions?

[eon]

Well if you want to curb her enthusiasm then Face Plant over at advrider ought to do it. If you want her to learn all the thing she needs to know then it’s the obligatory reading of Proficient Motorcycling. If you have not seen it yet then I heartily recommend the DVD of Long Way Round but that will just fire up the enthusiasm.

[eternal05]

If she wants to learn more advanced riding (not track riding mind you, but more advanced control of a cycle), I also recommend Ienatsch’s Sport Riding Techniques and Code’s Twist of the Wrist II (the though latter is a bit of work to read).

[eon]

So what does she want?

[BouncingRadical]

She wants a Honda Rebel, and it fits her perfectly.

I’ve been trying to get her interested in a TW200 so she can ride the trails with me, but alas, her heart is set.

[eon]

Ah well, I had my money on her wanting an F650GS. If you haven’t watched LWR yet then it’s not too late. Even better, on Long Way Down Ewan’s wife comes out and joins them for part of the journey and you can see how much fun they had riding together. Don’t give up hope!

[JackTrade]

Also check out the MSF’s “Motorcycling Excellence”.

It’s a decent all-around intro to motorcycles and motorcycling. It covers pretty much everything she’ll get in the BRC course, but with much more detail (the course can get rushed). It’s great for someone who’s never ridden before, as it starts from the absolute beginning, but does eventually get into some moderately advanced stuff.

The chapter on countersteer is really good, and explains it nicely. Also, the book is full of little vingnettes written by racers, engineers, etc. on various topics…from frame geometry (courtesy of Erik Buell) to an intro to trail braking (I kid you not!).

It’s not for advanced riders of course, but for its intended audience, it’s a good bet. I’ve been very happy with mine.

[BouncingRadical]

The F650GS would be badass, but I don’t know if she could throw her leg over, lol!

[BouncingRadical]

She is starting from scratch so this one sounds like a good read, too. I’m going to the bookstore tonight to see what is available.

[Rab]

Another vote for Idiot’s Guide and Proficient motorcycling although the latter might scare her away as some of it is a little disturbing. I know that I was a LOT more wary riding just after I’d read that book as I then realized all the things that could go wrong.

I also found this video useful at the beginning and it’s basically what you’d learn in MSF BRC plus some other stuff like hill starts, etc.

http://www.ridelikeapro.com/store?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=19

It has Jerry Paladino (a former Police motor officer and instructor) and his Wife taking the beginner motorcyclist through all the basics. Triumph Bonneville and Harley Cruiser are the bikes they demonstrate on.

[BouncingRadical]

They had all three there (Idiot’s GUide, Proficient, Excellence). Thumbed through them all and ended up picking up Proficient Motorcycling. It seemed interesting, I’ll probably crack the cover as well.

[owlie]

You might also look into the “Ride Like a Pro” video. Once we got out on the course, having seen similar exercises on the video made some of the riding easier.

[Author]

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