Nick Ienatsch's "Sport Riding Techniques" has everything a motorcyclist should know — all in 127 pages.
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Nick Ienatsch's "Sport Riding Techniques" has everything a
motorcyclist should know — all in 127 pages.
By Warren Oshita
If you want to be a safe, skilled rider, there are two things you can never
get enough of: knowledge and practice. I would like to be one of those safe,
skilled riders, so I read Nick Ienatsch's "Sport Riding Techniques: How
to develop real world skills for speed, safety and confidence on the street
and track" this weekend.
For those of you who don't recognize Ienatsch's name, he is a former AMA #1 plate-holder in two roadracing classes, has been a motojournalist since 1984, and is currently a contributing editor to Cycle World magazine. His legendary 1987 article, "The Pace," has been reprinted many times and reposted all over the Internet. It highlights his no-nonsense approach to having fun on the street without resorting to horsepower-induced acts of stupidity. He is also an instructor at Freddie Spencer's High Performance Riding School in Las Vegas, NV.
I've read a few books on high-performance motorcycle riding and street survival skills and in my opinion, Nick Ienatsch combines the essence of Keith Code's "Twist of the Wrist, Vols. I and II" and David L. Hough's "Proficient Motorcycling" in one, succinct book. In addition to basics like countersteering, braking and throttle control, he adds sections on the finer points of motorcycling, such as visual skills, using the front and rear brakes to fine-tune steering, body positioning and peg-weighting. He also devotes a lot of pages to sharpening your thinking skills and attitude toward street riding, which can help you avoid accidents before you even cinch your helmet strap. The chapter on urban survival skills has been covered in other books, but bears repeating and occasional re-reading.
Rich, color photographs gleaned from the lenses of some of the world's finest action-sports photographers grace almost every page. What's more, these aren't just eye candy. Every illustration and photo is accompanied by a lengthy caption that helps explain the concepts the author is trying to convey. I probably spent as much time reading the text as I did studying the photos and reading the captions: they're that important to getting the most from this excellent book.
What's really nice is the chapter entitled, "Getting on Track." If you've never been to a Club Desmo track day because you're a little intimidated, confused, or simply think that race tracks are for racers, this chapter will help break down the misconceptions surrounding track riding. There's also plenty of helpful tips to make your track experience more enjoyable, such as what to bring and how to pass (and be passed) safely.
All in all, this book contains a little bit of everything short of the expert racer and does a good job of covering each topic. Remember, it's only 127 pages, so even the shortest attention spans will have no trouble finishing it. Don't mistake its brevity for lack of depth, though. It's the author's intention that you re-read it many times to squeeze every last bit of useful information from between its covers. As you master one technique, you can go back to the book, re-read another section, and practice a new skill, again and again. That makes it a worthy addition to any serious rider's bookshelf.
© 2003 Warren Oshita