If you are a born-again, or just starting out on a motorcycle, this book will go far toward putting everything into a natural perspective. For the cost of about four issues of Motorcycle Consumer News, I have decade's worth of words that help me intimately understand exactly what I'm doing on two wheels.


Very helpful for a newbie rider like me.   November 8, 2003
 91 out of 94 found this review helpful

Until recently, I've never had the desire to ride a motorcycle, mainly because I was afraid of becoming an organ donor. However, that suddenly changed a couple of months back, probably due to turning 37 and sitting through a marathon viewing session of "American Chopper" episodes. So, I began to shop around for a bike that would fit me, and at the same time I tapped into all the informational sources I could find about motorcycling (friends, the Web, etc.). "Proficient Motorcycling" was one of the first books I read, and I bought it based on the good reviews I saw on Amazon.com.

It was my desire to arm myself with as much knowledge and hands-on riding skills as possible before swinging a leg over the motorcycle I finally settled upon (a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy). I signed up at a local Harley-Davidson dealer for a "Rider's Edge" class, and "Proficient Motorcycling" was an excellent supplement to the MSF course materials. Indeed, Mr. Hough recommends taking an MSF course, and frankly I can't imagine a novice trying to ride without formal instruction.

The techniques that Mr. Hough advocates in "Proficient Motorcycling" have made me a better AND safer rider. I feel more confident riding my new H-D, and therefore I'm able to enjoy my road-time that much more. I've already started reading the book's sequel "More Proficient Motorcycling: Mastering the Ride" to build upon what I've learned so far. If you want to be a good motorcyclist (and not a "donor-cyclist"), then by all means dive into "Proficient Motorcycling."


Survival Manual for Beginner or Expert   May 31, 2001
 67 out of 69 found this review helpful

For a moment let's assume you've been told tomorrow you'll have to jump out of an airplane. Would you be interested in a book on skydiving?

I'm not a skydiver, but I am a motorcyclist. I'm willing to bet that staying alive on a motorcycle is considerably more challenging than surviving a parachute jump. Yet for some reason many people think of skydiving as serious, dangerous stuff but motorcycling as bicycling without having to peddle.

Funny thing, you can die just as dead from a misadventure motorcycling as one skydiving.

So here is your survival manual. Want to read it?

"Proficient Motorcycling" is written from the viewpoint of a veteran motorcyclist who has seen most of it, and heard about the rest from fellow survivors. It is a thoughtful treatise on how you can get off your motorcycle with the same number of arms and legs as when you got on it.

It isn't just "do this -- don't do that". The book gets into the meat of what makes a motorcycle work, and how you can make it do what you want - and need - to do. The advice is clearly stated, but also explained.

Simply understanding how a motorcycle steers and goes around a corner is vitally important. It is not at all a simple subject, but the key points are explored here, and that knowledge is tied back to the practicalities of keeping the rubber side down.

Brakes - what's to understand about brakes? You put on the brakes - you stop!

Nope, not that easy. If a half-second is the difference between living and dying, you need to know a LOT more about brakes.

Maneuvering in traffic, highway strategies, riding in the rain, traveling in groups, contending with kamikaze dogs - there is a lot of ground to cover, and "Proficient Motorcycling" manages to do it and do it well.

This is more than a beginners' book. Understand, it is a GREAT beginners' book. It should come with every new motorcycle sold. But the veteran rider will find it even more fascinating than the beginner. Having been in the war zone, the experienced rider will relate to the story being told here. Few riders will come away without new insight.

As with any complex topic, there are areas where experts disagree. The author points out where there are disagreements, and why, and then gives his take on the issue. You may or may not agree with his reasoning, but you will definitely think about it, and come away better informed.

Good book. Could save your life. Buy it.

Ed Bianchi


Information Is Power   June 9, 2000
 40 out of 43 found this review helpful

This is one book that needs to be on the shelf of every motorcyclist. Over a period of more than 25 years, David Hough has written the column "Proficient Motorcycling," first for Road Rider magazine and then for its successor, Motorcycle Consumer News. During that time, he has covered hundreds of topics relating to the skills needed for riding motorcycles safely on the streets.

Generations of motorcyclists have grown up with the benefit of Hough's wisdom, some owing their lives to advice dispensed in his columns. Here, for the first time is the distillation of Hough's work, packaged in a coherent, well-organized book. If reading Motorcycling Excellence can be likened to getting your Bachelor's degree in motorcycle riding, reading Proficient Motorcycling will earn you a Master's degree.


If you ride, you should own it.   February 4, 2001
 35 out of 35 found this review helpful

This is the best general introduction to safe street riding techniques on the market -- even better than the MSF's "Motorcycling Excellence," though new riders should read that too. Based on the long running "Proficient Motorcycling" column that appeared first in "Road Rider" and then in its spinoff "Motorcycle Consumer News," the book covers everything from the physics to the gear to the protocols of group riding. The author is a much better writer than the typical bike scribe. The information is sound throughout. It should be on every biker's bookshelf, and I strongly recommend reviewing it at the beginning of each riding season. This man's advice has undoubtedly saved lives. Make one of them yours.