Customer Reviews

Ride Hard, Ride Smart: Ultimate Street Strategies for Advanced Motorcyclists

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I think "Ride Hard Ride Smart" gets too caught up in the dangers of riding. It seems to be more of a warning book than a guide book as evidenced by its focus on the Hurt Report. Admirably, Hahn set out to alert his readers how to identify, avoid and manage the dangers of motorcycling. But mastering the sport takes much more than that, such as understanding the machine's physics and good riding techniques so that actual dangers can be handled in real time. Hahn, in my opinion, seems to feel that scaring a motorcyclist somehow motivates the motorcyclist to ride skillfully, yet fails to discuss all relevant skills.

I think "Ride Hard Ride Smart" has a fundamental flaw; it skips some important topics such as countersteering. I found myself questioning how a rider is going to understand how to swerve to avoid a danger that Hahn points out without understanding (or even being aware of) countersteering. Yet I find no reference to countersteering in Hahn's book. However Hahn does spend a good deal of time on braking techniques, for example. But I do not believe that braking should be discussed without also discussing countersteering - both skills are relevant in real-world riding. So it seems that "Ride Hard Ride Smart" leaves out aspects of riding that are just as important as those that were included. For this reason I think that "Ride Hard Ride Smart" should be a supplement to other books about motorcycle proficiency.

While every motorcyclist needs to be reminded that drinking and riding is dangerous, I was left wondering why Hahn felt it necessary to devote so much time to this subject when his book was promoted as being for "advanced" motorcyclists, as the book's subtitle states. Wouldn't an advanced motorcyclist have already moved beyond taking the risk of drinking and riding? Any motorcyclist who mounts a motorcycle who is impaired is certainly not advanced by any definition of the word. This left me wondering if Hahn knows what an advanced motorcyclist is. Of course, it could be that the publisher added that subtitle to sell more books. At any rate, be prepared to wade through material that is more applicable to inexperienced motorcyclists, or perhaps motorcyclists who have forgotten some fundamental basics. Still, a good dose of such reminders can't hurt if that works for the reader.

But with all that said, Hahn's book is a must read for anyone who takes motorcycling seriously be they advanced or beginner. Hahn does convey many important safety pointers and street strategies. But be prepared for a good dose of motorcycling fear. But while reading Hahn's book I periodically paused to remind myself that it is better to imagine the worst while reading a book than experiencing the worst while hurtling down the road atop an 800 lb machine.

All in all, "Ride Hard Ride Smart" is an important book to read. However, because it skips important yet relevant subjects, it must be supplemented with other books about motorcycle proficiency. I've given this book a mid-range rating because I feel that "Ride Hard Ride Smart" should not be relied upon entirely. Better yet, take the appropriate Motorcycle Safety Foundation course/s where one actually learns motorcycling skills rather than just reading about them. Ride right.

If I had to recommend a resource to someone looking to improve their skills on the street, this would be it.
People on this board have complained about organization and repetitiveness, but I strongly disagree. It follows a very logical learning path, and does so with humor, appealing design, and intelligent nuggets of wisdom. The graphs, diagrams, and statistics help illustrate many ideas, and debunk a lot of myths about motorcycling. And, yeah, there may be lessons in here that are old news to the seasoned rider, but the point of the book is that every rider, no matter how long they've been at it, can use a refresher course in safety. This book will save some lives, I'm sure of it.

A fantastic leap forward in the world of motorcycle safety. As an instructor and enthusiast, I thought I'd reached the point in which there was nothing left to learn. There is more to learn--and a lot of it.

While beginners could benefit from this book, experienced riders will relish the advanced and detailed information far more. Anyone who rides a motorcycle on the street should read this. It's no safety "snoozefest." It's really fun and interesting.

It covers the Hurt Study, basic motorcycle safety strategies, choosing the safest route, when to ride and when not to ride, visibility, positioning, techniques for high-risk situations, risk heirarchy and categorization, visualization for practice and experience, big-picture theories about traffic flow and conflict, and how to deal with distractions. Plus, it's funny as heck and written in an easy-to-read, engaging format. The photographs and diagrams are really beautifully done.

A more apt title would be, "Motorcycling for the Risk Averse." If you want to learn 101 new ways to ride safer and smarter, this is the book for you.

This book contains brilliant insights on safe street riding, and is written in an extremely readable and downright hilarious way. I read it cover to cover the night I brought it home. Not only did I enjoy it, I laughed out loud. Never before has a book about motorcycle safety cracked me up.

But most importantly, I learned things that may save my life. I have been riding motorcycle for 30 years, am a licensed racer, and have ridden close to 1,000,000 miles on the street. What I learned in this book changed the way I ride. This book will make my next 1,000,000 miles far more safe than the last. Great work!

A great book with new ways to look at riding. Instead of "do this, don't do that" it's more "think about it this way" and "how can you put this information to work for you?"

Most of the stuff in this book I've never found in any other book, and I own them all.

I enjoyed the writing style, and while it seemed a little repetitive at times, I needed the reinforcement. It's funny and the graphics are terrific. How often do you laugh at a safety book?

I decided to buy after I found the author's Web page with a good description of what's inside the book. Go to debaucheryball dot com and at the bottom of the home page, there's a picture of the book and a link to more information.

Best money I've spent yet on a motorcycle book.

This has to be one of the worst books on motorcycling I have ever read. It is billed as "Street Strategies for ADVANCED motorcyclists" ... hilarious. The first 70 pages are mainly citations of the statistics of the HURT report from the 80's ...20 year old data. The book goes into great detail about how you can get killed and maimed riding a motorcycle. As an ADVANCED motorcyclist, I am well aware of the risks. The doomsayer nature of the author's presentation makes me wonder if he likes motorcycling ... AT ALL!
The advice given for street strategies is sparse and poorly organized. There are hardly any mention of control techniques. The chapter on night riding gives you a feel for the attitude of the whole book. A single page: Night Riding.... here's the advice "DON'T RIDE AT NIGHT" ... wow buddy thanks for the advanced tip there.

If you want a good book ... Buy "Proficient Motorcycling".

Save this one for bird cage liner

I bought this book looking for specific techniques that I could practice to improve my street-riding skills. ALthough there is some of that kind of information, safety is the main message of this book. If you have a kid who is a hotshot on their new bike, reading this will humble them. It did me. I have slowed down considerably.

I read this book about a year ago, and couldn't believe how entertaining it was. It was also very informative--I'd go as far as to say it's the most useful book on street riding that I've ever read, and I think I've read them all--but what struck me was how interesting and fun it was to read. I was somewhat shocked when I logged on to Amazon and read the reviews for this book. I find the negative reviews below very confusing, particularly concerning the editing. The content is well organized, the grammar is correct, and the humor is outstanding. Perhaps if someone could point out an actual example of poor editing from the book I might better understand, but as it is, this just struck me as strange.

I certainly hope these odd reviews don't deter anyone from buying what is without a doubt the best book on motorcycle riding yet published.

The author goes into great depth on his subject, but his focus is rather narrow. He discusses accident types, and their causes, making references to the Hurt Study. There are numerous photograph's to illustrate points, and these really do help. His message is really quite simple, but he goes over it in a lengthy process, which can bore you, if you get the message in the first paragraph of each chapter. As has been said previously, his chapter on riding at night is succinct: Don't! He gives ample reasons for this, in all other chapters, but in this chapter, he is very short, directing the reader to read two previous chapters on why you should not ride at night. I was a little surprised at his frank statement that nearly all (and he does mean, very nearly, as in, abolutely all) accidents are the rider's fault. After I kept reading, I finally got over my pride (I've had two falls, with two ambulance rides as a result), and I had to admit, there were things I could have done differently, in both cases, to avoid the falls.

The quality of the book is superb, with heavy paper, and quality printing. The binding is good, but the layout and color choices are sometimes annoying, as he has color graphics in the background of many pages, in colors which sometimes clash with the text colors, but it is still readable. I would have preferred less artistic styling on the pages, to make the text easier to read.

If you are looking for technical techniques for use on the bike, such as counter-steering, or other fancy moves, this book is empty. The author's approach is more esoteric, as he describes, for the most part, how heightened awareness skills are most needed. He discusses the layers of protection for the rider, with awareness, and distance, being the primaries, and the riding suits, and other crash-useful items, like engine guard bars, riding jackets with armor, and over-the-ankle boots, as the last layer of defense. This may insult, or even anger, some readers, but his basic premise of the rider being at fault in around 98%+ of all accidents, is sobering truth, if you can drop your wall of pride, and look at his point of view, objectively, detached from your prideful emotions. I recommend it to all interested riders. Cheers!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Hahn has an excellent wit and shares a wealth of knowledge about riding safely. I read the entire book the first night I had it. The book begins by illustrating some of the major hazards that motorcyclists face on the road, and then gives great advice for avoiding those hazards and for overall safe and enjoyable riding. If you want to learn about smart and safe riding in a fun and informative way, then this book is for you. It is well worth reading and re-reading.