Adventure Riding Techniques: The Essential Guide to All the Skills You Need for Off-road Adventure Riding Hardcover – November 1, 2009

I just finished reading Adventure Riding Techniques by Robert Wicks and Greg Baker (forward and tips by Simon Pavey). I am relatively new to the big adventure bikes so I'm always curious about adventure-bike-specific riding tips and tricks relative to these big, heavy machines. Since I'm a motorcycle riding book anorak (and a sucker for cool motorcycle pics this book has in spades) I have read a lot of "how to" books on riding over the years - most of which for me didn't do a very good job of getting the idea/point across. I've found it difficult to envision riding techniques by way of some pictures and detailed descriptions from a book relative to how it is actually done in the field; like an actual riding class conducted on various terrain and obstacles would do. This is one of the better books in my opinion. It would be a great classroom text book to use as a basis for a comprehensive adventure bike riding course. Chapters address choosing a bike and gear for the type of riding you want to do and basic riding positions, bike CofG etc. There's a chapter on riding different terrain like gravel, sand, mud, rocks, rivers etc and essential skills like clutch/throttle/brake control, slow speed riding and balance, line choice, getting out of trouble and more. Also a chapter dedicated to specialist techniques; brake and power sliding, jumps, speed and more. Although the book's main focus is on riding techniques, in the final chapter it touches on some salient points about long distance riding prep, fitness, navigation, safety, group vs. solo riding etc. All in all, an interesting read. A lot of it I found helpful and the stuff I already knew (and am figuring out) reinforced. The majority of the pictures in the book were taken in Iceland - spectacular and worth the price of the book in my humble opinion.

Adventure Riding TechniquesAs someone who is only interested in riding motorcycles on tarmac, I purchased Adventure Riding Techniques (ART) to get a better perspective of how to handle different types of terrain and to learn more about riding on dirt. The old adage, "learn by riding on dirt" seems to have a lot of truth in its foundation. Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, and Troy Bayliss are just some of the world's top motorcycle racers with roots grounded in dirt bikes and motorcrossing. I also watched both documentaries, Long Way Round and Long Way Down, and have learned a great deal about motorcycles. I don't have the opportunity to hit dirt trails on a whim, and I never liked dirt bikes, dual sports, adventure touring bikes, or offroad motorcycles but in my quest to improve my riding technique, this was a great start in my opinion.Adventure Riding Techniques is mostly about technique. There are some chapters concerning proper safety equipment and tips on selecting a proper motorcycle for the journey. As a rider that is more interested in learning more about motorcycles, I found a great deal of value in this book - much more so than Carl Adams' Dual Sport Motorcycling.The biggest take-away from Adventure Riding Techniques is to stay loose and relaxed on the bike, and to utilize body movement and positioning to maintain balance. Valentino Rossi utilizes his height (albeit, not very tall by absolute standards at around 5'10") to shift the weight around on the motorcycle. In ART, this concept is reinforced at almost every corner. There are diagrams showing the basic positions for each type of scenario which is very helpful. I was apprehensive about standing up on the bike and used to think that it was for showing off (like Rossi's victory lap shenanigans) but increasing sight distance and to handle rough terrain are two legitimate reasons for standing up on the footpegs!I was pleasantly surprised by the coverage on brake sliding in turns and power sliding. These are generally very dangerous to practice with on tarmac, but being able to read about the procedures and what happens in these situations was a treat. Nicky Hayden's motorcycles were always shown as examples of how each MotoGP rider operates differently. His bikes always had a larger rear disc since he is used to riding on dirt, while other riders like John Hopkins avoid using the rear brake. Doing a clutch dump or sliding the rear tire are essentially two ways of initiating a drift in a 4-wheeled car, so again I like how ART covers riding techniques that aren't quite covered in the MSF courses.There are some exercises or concepts that are tightly integrated with those taught for road motorcycles. One of them is how to steer and ride very slowly. In Riding like a Pro, the Motorman teaches how to use the friction zone and to drag the rear brake in order to ride at 1-3 MPH. Hahn's Maximum Control also teaches a similar routine. In ART, that concept is very important for certain terrain as well as to limit wheelspin. ART also mentions the need to turn off ABS to get closer to the threshold of locking up the brakes to obtain maximum braking. A lot of new riders are eager to purchase bikes with combined, linked, and/or ABS brakes due to the safety factor.Placing weight on the outside footpeg in a turn is something that Hough teaches in Proficient Motorcycling, as well as Keith Code in his Twist of the Wrist series (albeit Code calls it pivot steering).Some of the other concepts come in handy with driving cars on loose terrain. Braking early before hitting loose terrain (like snow, ice, or mud) is important whether you have 2 wheels or 4 wheels as traction becomes the name of the game.There are lots of great photographs, which seem to complement the lack of text. This is in stark contrast to Dual Sport Motorcycling where I felt there was a great deal of text and information, but it was presented in a way that was lost in translation. I did not like how ART demonstrates lifting a fallen motorcycle. With that method it is easy to hurt one's back, groin muscles, and/or shoulders. In Riding like a Pro, Motorman's method is a time tested method where petite women are able to lift 600+ lb fallen heavy weight motorcycles by themselves. In ART, that method looks very similar to what Ewan and Charley tried to do in the myriad of times they dropped their bike, as well as how MotoGP and World Superbike riders/track marshalls use to lift the bike and it rarely works the first time.Overall: 4/5 stars, if you have to buy one book for learning about riding techniques on different terrain (non-tarmac) - this is it.

Best I've read on the subject of big bike dual sport riding. Certainly better than the video's I've purchased in the past. Wicks, the author, covers it all. From selecting the bike that includes comparisons among different brands to riding gear to different luggage cases. Photography is excellent, makes one want to go to Iceland to ride. Covers rocks, sand, mud, water, hills, all aspects. Includes tips on getting out of trouble. If you only buy one book, this is the one. If you are constantly searching out new information, add this to your library.

Great value