Customer Reviews

Riding in the Zone

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I received this book earlier in the week and breezed through the content pretty quickly in a couple of evenings. Let me just say that I've been voraciously reading all the motorcycle technique books I can get my hands on including both of David Hough's books and Lee Parks' Total Control.

Ken spends over half the pages of Riding in the Zone on very basic concepts that are already well covered in every other text, including the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) workbook. This was the biggest disappointment to me as the subtitle of the book is "advanced techniques for skillful motorcycling." The second half of the book covers some intermediate topics that are generally covered well in existing books. When getting to the advanced topics, such as suspension setup, Ken simply refers you to other texts.

So why did I give this four stars despite being disappointed with the book? Well, the book has two great things going for it. First, unlike the David Hough books, Ken provides clear exercises for practicing the techniques. That's something I haven't found elsewhere and was the real reason I was excited to get this book. The second and most important reason is that the book comes with a well produced, clear, and relevant DVD that covers the topics. In fact your time would be better spent simply watching the video and practicing the exercises.

In summary, this book should really be subtitled "Basic and Intermediate Techniques." Without the high quality DVD I would give this title three stars. If you're looking for one book that really does cover advanced techniques I'd highly recommend Lee Parks' Total Control. People happiest with this book are likely to be those that just completed the MSF course or those that have never taken it.

Pros:
* Clearly described exercises for learning the techniques
* Very well produced video that covers the key information and exercises from the book

Cons:
* Deceptive subtitle. This is not a book of advanced techniques. For that read Lee Parks' Total Control
* Lack of depth on many topics
* Most of the book focused on basic information already available through beginner books, including the MSF workbook

One of the best motorcycles riding skills book's to come out in years. In fact the best I've come across and I have read/used them all.

The accompanying DVD starts out with the fundamentals then slowly builds to all the advanced skills. Explains various techniques via realistic examples in a clear and concise manner.

There's a great amount of information in this book/DVD for everyone - from beginner riders to the most advanced.

It showed me in simple terms various riding techniques I knew how to do but had difficulty in communicating to others.

The book/DVD is also available direct from the author - Google, "riding in the zone".
MC racer & Instructor

Ken has either successfully trained himself to be a master communicator or he just has a gift... maybe some of both. This book is a must read for any new rider and really should be "worth the time" for any rider. I ride quite a bit on the street and on the track and found several new ways of thinking about things in the book enlightening. Even without the super DVD this is about as good as you can get for bang for the buck in motorcycling except maybe red stickers as those make my bike much faster. ;).

Ken Condon has made an exceptional contribution to the motorcycle literature. In clear, concise, and easy to read text, " Riding in the Zone" will improve the safety and skills of riders at all levels. The text is economical and efficacious. The DVD with the book nicely compliments the information and wisdom of this extraordinary book. Highly recommended.
Samuel L. kalush, M.D.

Riding in the Zone is a must read.Well writen and super informative.It will improve your riding skills greatly.

Great book for a foundation and what I think the Ken intended. If you are beginning or just above that this book would fit you. I like the methodical progression of skills and the practice drills at the end of every skills chapter. The DVD that comes with the book is not that useful and seems to be more a marketing item than in depth training but it does give a good visual of the practice drills.

Riding in the Zone

Most of the beginning chapters involve the soft skills and science with motorcycle riding. Once the reader progresses to about the 50% point, skills and exercises are introduced which greatly helped with passing the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Basic RiderCourse. Ken's exercises also help evolve beyond the BRC's instructions with topics like body positioning and trail braking (which will get you scolded by the MSF instructors if they saw you doing it during the cornering exercises). I found the book to be a good supplement with other books like Proficient Motorcycling, Total Control, and Twist of the Wrist 2.

The DVD that comes with this book is a useful supplement as it demonstrates a lot of the techniques covered in the book. Ken also shows off his lovely daughter Jeannine during the body positioning demonstration. I wasn't sure why he did this, but it didn't detract from the lesson so it's all good.

I didn't feel this book was as mandatory as some of the other riding books, but it did cover body positioning and trail braking which isn't as widely discussed in other texts.

Overall: 4/5 stars

Riding in the Zone really didn't tell me anything new - however, I got great pleasure out of reading and doing the practice excercises. I have not practiced a lot of these because I didn't think I had a place (there is always a school parking lot available after work). When I started practicing I realized how rusty I was (I have been riding over 45 years and even did a bit of GP racing when I thought my body was indestructable). I enjoyed the descriptions and the layout of the excercises. Practice does not make you perfect. It takes perfect practice to make you perfect. These excercises are set up so you can practice perfectly.
I also liked the discussions about mental attitiude and dealing with street traffic.
Don't just read it - be it and practice it.

My impression was this would be a zen in the art of motorcycle riding techniques book. It was a recapitulation of the MSF advanced riding course. Too much on common safety techniques to avoid unsafe actions, not enough on how really to get in the "zone." Not surprising from a MSF instructor, but disappointing. I wanted something closer to the promise.

This book has a lot of information about those things you think of while riding and wonder, "do other riders think of these things?". Yes, we do, and so does Ken Condon. Mr. Condon goes into detail on every aspect of riding attentively, and safely.

My only gripe(s) with this book is that there is a lot of abstract rambling and a lack of point form details. For instance, when giving advice it is done in paragraph form, rather than a 'Problem: -Solution1 -Solution2' technique. I would have preferred to see the points he makes, broken down and highlighted, in a manner that takes them out of his flowing dialogue.

The content was easy to read. The grammar and vocabulary are impeccable. This is definitely a thinking man's book.