Maximum Control - Mastering Your Heavyweight Bike

[Cruzen]

I purchased this book over the weekend and found it of some interest.  As the reviewer notes, many of the demonstrations are being done in the rain on wet surfaces and most are done with a Goldwing.  I believe this may be of some use to riders who are moving up to a Valk.  It’s also a good review for those who have been on heavy bikes for a while.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/books/maximum-control.htm

Every so often when I am out on the Valk and have time, usually late in the evenings, I stop by one of our deserted shopping center parking lots ( we have many now) and do a few exercises similar to those presented in this book.  On a recent group ride due to leader error and road construction we had to do two tight u-turns and it was interesting to see who in our group had trouble with these turns and who made them look effortless.  I made a mental note to stay away from those who had difficulty with these turns.

[Hellcat]

I bought this book based on this post.    Hadn't spent money on a motorcycle book in a while.

It is very nice and very well written and the pics are great. I will definitely view it as a supplemental book though.

If I was giving a friend advice on what to buy, I would suggest the Ride Like a Pro DVD for low speed maneuvers - it's just a great product, and seeing it happen rather than looking at pictures is miles better IMHO.

And then I'd say get one of the Keith Code or Nick Latchey books about Street Riding - even though they are Sport Bike oriented, they really cover the ride-in-the-curves stuff well.

That said, there are little details in this book that I will take to heart.

And there is a picture of a Valk in the book. On p 155 they have a picture of a guy wiping out on his Harley on the Dragon, and there's an IS in front of him that navigated the curve just fine.   

Anybody else have some feedback on good learning sources? I'd like a good DVD on riding in the twisties, one that really "works"  like the Ride like a Pro does for low-speed stuff. I bought the Ride Like a Pro "Ride the Dragon"  DVD and it was a waste of $$.

[Scanner]

#1 for me is "Proficient Motorcycling" and #2 is "More Proficient Motorcycling".  Great books with some real insight into both the how and why.

Ride like a Pro was also very good for low speed handling.

"Total Control" by Lee Parks is a good one, though most the info can be found in the "Proficient" books it is presented from a different viewpoint - that of a racer. I'm reading it now because I'm taking the Total Control class next week. Should be fun.

For high speed cornering, the DVD "Twist of the Wrist" has gotten very good reviews,

IMHO, Motorcycling is a thinking mans game and the more you learn, the more options you will have available, and the better chance you have of riding home each day.

[Cruzen]

I had always had problems doing tight U-Turns on my Magna.  I could actually turn the Valk in a tighter circle than the Magna.  The reason is that in first gear the throttle on my Magna is quite sensitive.  I have bought all the Ride Like a Pro DVD's and read the "Proficient" series but no where did I get an idea of how to handle a touchy throttle.  In this book "Maximun Control" they mentioned the flat grip with your wrist rolled down.  This negates the tendency to roll on the throttle while doing the turn.  I tried this technique and it worked much better.  The same info may have been presented in the other materials and I just did not pick up on it.  Sometimes it's how the material is presented.  If I got nothing else from this book it was this one tip.  Now when I do a tight U-Turn on the Magna I regrip the throttle with my wrist rolled down before starting the turn.

I also liked that unlike the Ride Like Pro series, all their demonstrations were done on large non Hardley bikes on wet surfaces.  Also, in the Ride Like a Pro series Jerry indicates that it's OK to scrape the floorboards, in fact in many of his demonstrations he is doing this.  In Maximum Control they caution about overdoing this which can result in one tire actually loosing contact with the road surface.  In fact in one of the crash scenes with the rider scraping hard parts you can see that the front tire is up off the ground and it has stopped turning as he probably is clamped down on the front brake.

In Maximum Control they also talk about setting up the bikes front and rear suspension and how it relates to our big bikes.  This is also material that I do not believe the other books have covered adequately.

I find at least one good tip in each of the riding materials I purchased.

[gabby]

I also bought a copy of the book and found it very educational in handling the heavyweights. I got to see my Valk tore down today and was really surprised at what was inside. The mechanic told me what caused the starter to tear twenty two teeth off the gears. I should have added some oil in each of the cylinders and turned the motor over manually to get them slicked up before starting. I guess you should pay closer attention when someone tells you what N O T to do on Valks starting.
I hope to have Bruenhilde under me sometime next week and I can then learn what has been stressed about the greatest bike ever made in America. Safe Riding All !!!!
Gabby

[Dirty Dave]

Your gonna love the Total Control Lee Parks course. Best thing I ever did and shoould have done
30 years ago. Enjoy!