Motorcycle Smarts: Overcome Fear, Learn Control, Master Riding Well: Motorcycle Smarts Book Series, Book One (Unabridged‪)‬

The truth is this: Riding a motorcycle well is part skill, part willingness to learn, part understanding of basic physics, and part giving a damn about your safety and the safety of those around you. 

David Mixson, author of the Motorcycle Smarts book series and NASA engineer, debunks the myth that crashing is a matter of fate by explaining the most important topics that other motorcycle mega-books gloss over. 

You won't find extensive discussions about how to get the most out of your first Sturgis Rally or how to select riding gear. Instead, you'll find one of the most in-depth, simple-to-understand explanations of lowside and highside crashes that exists anywhere. Riders die every day in these rider-induced crashes - and it doesn't have to be this way.

Mastering the art of riding a motorcycle well is about understanding and overcoming rider fear. It's about having the head knowledge of how your motorcycle works so you can make it go where you want it to go. It's about understanding why riders crash so you can avoid making the same mistakes. It's about taking ownership of your riding safety.

In addition to in-depth discussions about rider fear and lowside and highside crashes, Motorcycle Smarts covers topics like countersteering, muscle memory, and braking. It also addresses some of the most important lessons from the Hurt Report and makes a case for only riding motorcycles equipped with anti-lock braking systems - that has nothing to do with stopping distances. 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studies show that nearly half of all motorcycle fatalities are caused by rider error - and the numbers aren't getting any better. The training isn't working. The current motorcycle skills books aren't working. We need a fresh approach to helping riders not crash. This book is that.

Skilled riders crash and die every day when there is nothing they could have done to avoid it. But it is also true that under-skilled riders crash and die every day when there is something they could have done to avoid it. 

Motorcycle safety is a choice. Anyone who tells you differently is a liar. 

My goal is simple - to help one rider. That's what my motorcycle mentors did for me when I first started riding.