Customer Reviews

Total Control: High Performance Street Riding Techniques

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Well explained topics, full of graphics and photographs, this book is a perfect aid for those riders wanting to get the most of their bikes. It deals with technical subjects like suspension set-up and aerodynamics, as well as human topics like attitude, fear and fitness. Don't get misled by the title, since the techniques taught there apply to every bike type, not only to hi-performance superbikes. Written in a plain understandable language and including just the right and needed math formulae, Mr. Parks leads the reader through the entire book without much pain even for the complete novice rider. He even adds the right amount of subtle humour also.
Great book, highly recommendable.

From my website (http://www.rebelpacket.net)
I did manage to buy a book, "Total Control" by Lee Parks. This book, is (in my humble opinon), the greatest motorcycle instruction book since the start of motorcycle instruction books. Very clear, very precise anaologies to things that everyone deals with in real life, to help one better understand the art that is, motorcycling. One line that I read in the book struck me as something that I needed to do. "If you have not practiced riding with a bit of fear, you will panic when presented with the unexpected." For awhile, I was riding fast, but I wasnt really afraid of riding. I wasnt afraid of sharp corners or this and that, because I usually took them at speeds only slightly above average. I didnt have any fear. I need to work on riding with a bit of fear, so instead of letting the fear CONTROL me in a situation where I need my wits, not my reactions, I can let the fear flow through me, and use the wits.

I also learned about steering my motorcycle more efficently. The author talked about how most people try to steer with both hands around corners, and while they believe that their helping the motorcycle, in reality, their hands are actually fighting eachother sub-conciously. I know, I didnt believe it either. What Lee Parks suggested doing, was relaxing the outside hand in a corner, so its barely gripping the handlebar, and to push with the inside hand ONLY to steer/lean the bike over.

HOLY CRAP! He was completely right. I'm not talking just a little bit, makes a 1/10th of a difference. I mean he was COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY on the money. I came into a 25mph turn on a road I like to test/learn my skills on, and I did as he said. I relaxed my outside hand, and at the latest point in the turn, I pushed with ONLY the inside hand, and started to turn. Only problem is, that my turning was so much more efficent, that I actually turned too much, and almost ended up as a pretty ornament on the inside guard-rail. Insane! I came up to the next tight left turn, and went a quicker than I normally would have (fear + testing out this new found turning ability), and I ZOOMED through it, without a problem. A 25mph rated turn that I normally took at 50mph, I was able to take at 65-70mph, just based on a new turning technique. This sh*t works people. These guys know what their talking about. And while you need to practice, I can completely see how some of these books are manuals on how to get into the racing world.

Overall impression:

First, the book "Total Control" was an exceptionally well paced and visually pleasing read! It is immediately obvious that you have spent a great deal of time and thought on the material placed within its pages. It's technical enough to clearly present the necessary data within the defined concept, without going so deep that it becomes difficult to navigate. Nor is it so simplistic that the reader would feel slighted by being overly "hand-held" or "kid-gloved". If there were three bears and some porridge handy, I'm sure "it's just right" would be the theme of the day.


Details:

While the majority of these concepts are not new to me, it is still nice to have someone else positively reinforce said concepts, and at times, distill them down to more accurate truths. This happened several times throughout the book when I would find myself nodding along with a passage, a bubble of remembrance surfacing in my mind as I recalled the event(s) that first led to the discovery of these factoids, usually in a much less desirable way. Often I had to set the book aside, while I mentally re-examined an idea I thought I knew backwards and forwards, yet was being presented from a different perspective. This of course, leads to additional insight and greatly increased understanding of not only the outlined principle, but also how these principles are all connected to one another. It's one thing to know a bunch of individual concepts, it is quite another to see them as a contiguous whole.


Without doubt, the most enjoyable chapters in the book for me are Ch. 4, 5, and 6 titled "Fear", "Concentration", and "Right Attitude" respectively. The truths contained within these three chapters are so profound, so absolutely and undeniably essential in every aspect of life, that I am amazed that so few people actually address it! I have been saying the very same things, although not nearly as well, for years. Yet the response is almost always the same: Disinterest, Scorn or flat out Denial. No, it's much better to focus on "hard" data like horsepower, torque, weight and so forth. Until someone goes to a track, and has the ex-racer / instructor absolutely walk away from them at any point on the track, while on a machine that makes 50% less horsepower and weighs 150 lbs more than theirs, then clueless that someone shall remain. I should know, I was that someone. Believe me when I say that it is a humbling, and if you have the right mindset, incredibly enlightening experience. Thank you for brilliantly explaining how the brain is the most important item to bring on a motorcycle ride!


Second favorite is the chapter on low speed U-Turns. A beautiful and clearly photographed example of how it should be done! I've lost count of the number of riders I've seen employ the exact opposite form, as if they were somehow going to yank a several hundred pound bike around 180 degrees, and consequently end up falling quite flat on the pavement.


Truthfully, I cannot fault anything within this book, except maybe the fact that I didn't write it myself!!

I am recommending this as a mandatory read for anyone who wishes to improve their motorcycling skills.

This is simply an excellent book. The techiques it presents for turning, braking, U-turns, driving with pigeons and so on are really excellent and works perfectly.
The initial chapters explaining the physics involved in driving are explained in order to be understood for everyone but at the same time are very technical and deep. You actually understand how your bike works.
It has a lot of illustrations and photos that help a lot the examples. A lot of them show the Correct and Incorrect way to do some particular exercise, so you can check both easily.

The book shows a lot of Sport bikes on their pictures, but it's not written only for sport bikes. The techniques and explanations works with any kind of bike.

My only warning: I don't think this is a good book for total novices, it's better to have some mileage before you read it.
But it certainly is an EXCELLENT book for any rider with a couple of months of experience.

This book is among the best.

As background, I've been riding street/sport bikes for 18 years now, and have read nearly everything out there on the subject. Mr Park's book goes beyond Keith Code's (excellent) techniques list, exploring more diverse and usable territory like basic suspension tuning, body positioning, basic mental and physical conditioning, riding gear selection, and why racers do "X" as opposed to a street rider who should perhaps approach the same issue in a modified manner. He also does an excellent job covering more advanced matter, such as how to prep your bike for, and what to expect when you head for a day at a racetrack.

I got a lot out of this book. It's one of a select few I'll read again to brush up on my riding skills.

Total control is a very informative book. I've been riding motorcycles for 12 years and the tips that Lee gave me in this book really helped my riding. I've took the MSF ERC and they don't even mention some of the helpful ideas in the class that Lee gives in his book. Corners use to be a hurdle I had to overcome but after reading Total control they are so much easier and More FUN! Thanks Lee.

I've read Sport Riding techniques by Nick Ienatsch also and Total control is a little easier to read. Both are must reads for all motorcyclist.

To be frank when I saw the title "Total Control" my first thought was "what an ego this guy has." But as an avid reader of Motorcycle Consumer News and skills books in general I decided to taken the plunge.

Am I glad I did. The book is a very entertaining read filled with clear descriptions and advice on how to improve one's riding skills. "Total Control" covers all the aspects of machine and rider dynamics in a clear, concise style. Unique to this book are its drills the reader can try in an appropriate location.

For reference, I have read everything Code, Hough, Ienatsch and Roberts have published. All are very good texts with their own point of view. In my view "Total Control" is one of the better values for street riders.

If you are serious about your riding I would highly recommend adding this book to your library.

I got this book a couple years ago, and use it regularly a a reference and riding guide. As most of the previous reviewers, I have read most of the other books out there, and still rate this the best by far. The author also teaches a class, ARC, Advanced Riding Clinic, which I was able to take from Mr. Parks on 10/15/05. As much as I loved the book, the class was even better, and really helped me understand the concepts in the book at a much deeper level. Get the book, and if you can, take the class. Neither will disappoint you.

If you're thinking of a part for your bike to put on your Christmas list, think about suspension. But, if you really want control of your bike get Total Control.

Total Control is a book written by Lee Parks and published by Motorbooks International. I saw this book in the store and purchased it. I'd never heard of the book but I'd heard of Mr. Parks. Lee was the editor of Motorcycle Consumer News for five years. Prior to that he finished second in the 1994 AMA 125 Championship and after his stint with MCN he formed a team and won the 2001 WERA Lightweight Endurance Championship on an 1999 Suzuki SV 650. Lee still races a part time schedule.

Okay, maybe you want to be a racer and maybe not. This book is not written for just for racers but if you would like to become one the book will get you prepared to make the next step to track riding. Lee, after years of requests, decided to fill a niche. He designed a class for the riders that had gone through the MSF course and Experienced Rider Course of the MSF program but were not ready to get on a track. Parks put together a course called the Advanced Riding Clinic. Over years of running the clinic the author slowly honed a series of exercises, which have been compiled in this book. This book is much different from other books such as those by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation or some of the other nationally known riding instructors. The chapter with ten steps to cornering will give you the most complete understanding of how to turn possible, short of a physics class.

I recently spent three hours on the phone with the author. I wanted to get some more detail on a few things and, hopefully, have him provide insight on some items the book didn't cover. First, I wanted to know what topic was toughest to teach a rider or a racer. Lee said it depends on the individual, which is why it's important to have personalized instruction. You have to get people to change their mindset about how they approach riding and why they should or should not perform actions in one way or another. Anything done incorrectly causes multiple problems. Doing things correctly will resolve multiple problems. He went on to say that lots of people fight the bike and doing so causes fatigue, which leads to mental errors, which leads to more physical errors.

I went on to ask him if it was better to go through a racing school and go straight to racing or if it was better to do track days and, after spending a lot of time on the track, venture into racing at a later date. He insisted it's better to do track days long before racing. His reasoning was that racing doesn't allow riders to practice their techniques. Track days allow riders to focus on improving their riding skills without the pressure of trying to finish well in the race. He also said you generally get what you pay for in riding instruction. Most track days will offer instruction but provide little, if any. So, research the track organizations thoroughly. Parks added that you should plan which items you want to work on during your track day. Take someone with you who can watch you, all day, and help you with notes or feedback after each riding session.

As with anything, Lee emphasized that repetition helps to make an activity less taxing on your conscious mind. His example was walking. The author states that for most people walking is an unconscious activity, or, an activity that requires so little thought that the mind is free to concentrate on other things. Riding must be practiced extensively and you should only practice one item at the time until it becomes second nature. Once comfort is achieved with one area of riding another may be practiced. This allows the mind to be open to instantaneous events rather than being preoccupied with events that have not occurred. It allows the rider to be much more relaxed.

I wanted to know if he had any tips for cold weather riders like myself, because he's a native of Illinois. His tip? Lower tire pressures thee to five pounds below manufacturers' recommendation for street riding. Lower pressures cause the tires to flex more, the temperature to increase faster, and higher temperatures to be sustained during cooler weather. That is not to say tires will get hot in the winter or, that tire pressure should be allowed to stay low year round. Tire pressures must be monitored weekly and manufacturers' tire pressures should be followed during warmer months.

Lee is a funny guy, some stuff that was the funniest I wouldn't print. I did, however, want to know which motorcycle magazine editor was the fastest because he knows them all. In true diplomatic form he was honest enough to say that it would probably depend on the bike. Each editor has a favorite bike and has spent more time on some bikes than others resulting in a high degree of comfort on a particular bike or class of bike. Mr. Parks said he prefers small displacement bikes because he isn't worried about constantly breaking the tire loose in a turn or on acceleration.

One final item I'll pass on is the advice he would give fledgling racers. While he is working on an upcoming book, which will address racing as a separate topic, he gave the following pointers.
1. Buy a used racing bike. All the work has been done.
2. Make sure the bike is working correctly as far as the carburetion, transmission, and suspension settings. Even if you have to pay someone to help you, you'll be miles ahead.
3. Have realistic expectations. No matter how good you think you are on the street, it will all change at the track. Be consistent. Don't try to make monumental improvements at one time.
4. Don't skimp on riding gear. The inexpensive gear is going to destruct and you don't want to destruct with it. The most expensive gear is cheaper than the least expensive skin graft or bone pinning.

If you do well by reading and learning, This is a must read!!!
If you are considering a sports bike, buy this before you spend the thousands of dollars. I have read Park's, Total Control and Hough's More proficient motorcycle riding. Park's book is more geared to the proper mechanics of riding. Hough's book addresses the crap to look out for on the road.
The BIG difference is the examples he uses to further explain the process. They are with out a doubt some of the best examples I have seen for teaching a sports related process.
He goes into proper bike set up. He adresses saftey gear, Suspension set up, traction,steering, and probably the biggest gorilla Fear. Let's face it Motorcycling is about the thrill of carving a turn. Managing that so it remains a thrill and not down right scary is the goal for me. Mr Park's really hit a homerun with his Mental Dynamics section.
Enjoy your copy cause I'm not loaning mine out!