Twist of the Wrist: The Motorcycle Roadracers Handbook (Vol 1) [Paperback]

Keith Code (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 1983

<DIV>Here's everything you need to successfully improve your riding, novice or veteran, cruiser to sportbike rider. This book contains the very foundation skills for any rider looking for more confidence when cornering a motorcycle. Notes and comments by Eddie Lawson. Foreword by Wayne Rainey. </DIV>

Editorial Reviews

Review

Can you improve yer motorcycle riding skills by reading a book? No doubt about it. Keith Code is founder and director of California Superbike Cornering Schools and has published a number of books on the subject of racing motorcycles on speed tracks. Although most of this book's focus is on handling race bikes, only the last two of its sixteen chapters are exclusively dedicated to racing. The book concentrates mostly on better controlling your speed while maneuvering your bike over varying racetrack conditions. As you'd expect, there is a major emphasis on turning: getting through the turn with increased mph and decreased time spent in [the turn] and [maintaining] adequate control of the bike. Code's overall approach to improving riding skills is to define the basics, and then to investigate the decisions you must make to ride well. He uses a great analogy: Each person has a fixed amount of attention while riding a motorcycle. This is represented as a $10 bill worth of attention. If you spend five dollars of it on one aspect of riding, you have only five dollars left for all the other aspects. Spend nine and you have only one dollar left, and so on. The aspects of riding he talks about are things like: Road characteristics: Constant-, increasing-, and. decreasing-radius turns, crested turns, series turns, positive- and negative-camber turns, and road surfaces. What you do: Riding is one thing; riding plus being aware of what you are doing is quite another. Making an effort to look at what you are doing while you are doing it. Your own evaluation of what you just did and what just happened: Things that can be thought over and changed if necessary. I like his teaching strategy. After isolating several specific principles, concepts, and techniques, each subsequent chapter effectively builds on what was previously presented to the point that if you didn't understand the concept and haven't yet experienced it, you'll want to get back on the road and try it out, read the book some more, then evaluate what you understand. The books's worth buying. --Gary Hayes

Keith Code teaches you to read the road. He explains camber, radius, series of turns, elevation (uphill, downhill, crested track) and straight sections. Observe your products (measureable events) such as speed, lean angle, gear and RPM. Understand you controls: brakes, throttle, handle bar movement and where your body exerts force on the motorcycle. His explanation of Reference Points is invaluable, even if you are a car enthusiast. At speed, location is a moment in time. You have to use the correct control and the correct place. He explains counter steering (push right to go right) in straight forward and easy to understand detail. For the adventurous he explains sliding, hanging off and (you may need this) falling off. My riding improved considerable after reading this book. [e-mail]

It seems like some reviewers have missed the point. It's the simple, fundamental things that a lot of seasoned riders get wrong. I know-I was one. Take the information and think about what you are reading. Analyse your own riding- see how much better you can do. I had been riding for 20 years when I came to this book. It made me a better rider for the price of 3 tanks of gas. It's that simple. --JohnnyGQ

About the Author

Keith Code Keith started riding in the dark ages of motorcycling, the 1950's. He first raced in the 60's at age 16, again in the 70's, 80's and 90's. He went to design school; was a photographer; designed and manufactured shoes for the stars; sold pretzels on the street; was a full on drug addict in the 60's; cleaned up with Dianetics; became a writer, inventor and dedicated himself to understanding and teaching the art of riding motorcycles. He was the first person to put words to roadracing and riding, and his research continues today. Keith lives in Glendale, California with his soul mate of 40 years, Judy. He has one son, Dylan.

Product Details

• Paperback: 117 pages
• Publisher: Code Break; Revised edition (July 8, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965045013
• ISBN-13: 978-0965045018
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > Motorcycle Racing
  • #4 in Books > Professional & Technical > Automotive > Motorcycles
  • #5 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > Motor Sports

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great teaching strategy, December 12, 2003

By 

Gary Hayes (Lafayette, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twist of the Wrist: The Motorcycle Roadracers Handbook (Vol 1) (Paperback)

Can you improve yer motorcycle riding skills by reading a book? No doubt about it.

Keith Code is founder and director of California Superbike Cornering Schools and has published a number of books on the subject of racing motorcycles on speed tracks. Although most of this book's focus is on handling race bikes, only the last two of its sixteen chapters are exclusively dedicated to racing.

The book concentrates mostly on better controlling your speed while maneuvering your bike over varying racetrack conditions.

As you'd expect, there is a major emphasis on turning: getting through the turn with increased mph and decreased time spent in [the turn] and [maintaining] adequate control of the bike.
Code's overall approach to improving riding skills is to define the basics, and then to investigate the decisions you must make to ride well.

He uses a great analogy: Each person has a fixed amount of attention while riding a motorcycle. This is represented as a $10 bill worth of attention. If you spend five dollars of it on one aspect of riding, you have only five dollars left for all the other aspects. Spend nine and you have only one dollar left, and so on.

The aspects of riding he talks about are things like:
Road characteristics: Constant-, increasing-, and. decreasing-radius turns, crested turns, series turns, positive- and negative-camber turns, and road surfaces.

What you do: Riding is one thing; riding plus being aware of what you are doing is quite another. Making an effort to look at what you are doing while you are doing it.
Your own evaluation of what you just did and what just happened: Things that can be thought over and changed if necessary.

I like his teaching strategy. After isolating several specific principles, concepts, and techniques, each subsequent chapter effectively builds on what was previously presented to the point that if you didn't understand the concept and haven't yet experienced it,
you'll want to get back on the road and try it out, read the book some more, then evaluate what you understand.

The books's worth buying.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide to motorcycle riding technique., January 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twist of the Wrist: The Motorcycle Roadracers Handbook (Vol 1) (Paperback)

Keith Code teaches you to read the road. He explains camber, radius, series of turns, elevation (uphill, downhill, crested track) and straight sections. Observe your products (measureable events) such as speed, lean angle, gear and RPM. Understand you controls: brakes, throttle, handle bar movement and where your body exerts force on the motorcycle. His explanation of Reference Points is invaluable, even if you are a car enthusiast. At speed, location is a moment in time. You have to use the correct control and the correct place. He explains counter steering (push right to go right) in straight forward and easy to understand detail. For the adventurous he explains sliding, hanging off and (you may need this) falling off. My riding improved considerable after reading this book.

39 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For Novice and Intermediate Racers, July 13, 2000

By 

Phil Kelsey "PK" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twist of the Wrist: The Motorcycle Roadracers Handbook (Vol 1) (Paperback)

This race-oriented book focuses on providing a methodology to analyse any racetrack allowing you to select and ride the lines that best suit you and your bike. Very little here for streetriders ... Flick of the Wrist II has much more on actual riding technique. If you're new to racing, buy it. If you don't plan on racing, don't buy it unless you're curious about racing strategies.