A Twist Wrist of the Ii
A TWIST WRIST OF THE II
CW BOOK REVIEW
Available from: California Superbike School P.O. Box 3107Hollywood, CA 90078; phone 800/530-3350 115 pages, softcover $17.95
LEARNING THE FINE ART OF MODERN sport riding can be a long and difficult task if you should decide to go it alone. Heck, something as pedestrian as programing a VCR is a perplexing problem for those who don’t consult the technical manual, so why would mastering a sportbike be any different?
Twist of the Wrist II is the third and latest volume in a trilogy of rider-instruction manuals written by Keith Code, ex-roadracer and founder of the recently disbanded California Superbike School. Twist II is the author’s most comprehensive study aid to date and should appeal to sportriders and roadracers of all ability levels.
The 115-page book is compiled in a similar format to its predecessors, A Twist of the Wrist and The Soft Science of Motorcycle Road Racing, with numerous photos, diagrams and informative captions. There are 26 chapters covering various aspects of riding, including throttle control, rider input, steering, vision, braking, traction, and what Code refers to as “The EnemySurvival Reactions.”
It is these so-called Survival Reactions (“SRs” in Code-speak) that form a theme and a cornerstone from which Code has built his latest teachings. Code defines SRs as involuntary reactions riders commit when suddenly faced with a adverse or unexpected situation. SRs, Code writes, are the cause of 100 percent of all rider errors. Code states, “Speed is the force that lights up our SRs quicker than anything: Throttle control is the way to tame them.” Fortunately the SR list is short, only numbering seven, and Twist II thoroughly covers them all.
At first glance, this book may seem redundant to Code’s two previous rider-instruction manuals, but in fact it covers a great deal of new material along with a different, and often more comprehensive, slant on the content than found in his other books. In Twist II, Code once again probes into the psychology of sportriding and racing, but does so to a lesser degree, and in much simpler terms, than in The Soft Science of Motorcycle Road Racing, a book that at best, was just too obscure for the average rider to readily apply, particularly to riding on the street. This time around, Code’s information comes across as being much more tangible as he discusses real-world riding techniques and explains how various rider inputs-good and bad-effect a bike’s handling and stability.
As a bonus, sidenotes written by AMA National Superbike Champion Doug Chandler are liberally sprinkled throughout the book, and multi-time AMA 250 Champion Donny Greene sums up each chapter in a paragraph.
In short, Keith Code has rolled out of the throttle a bit this time around with Twist of the Wrist II, resulting in a better book that delivers a good dose of solutions to the riding problems we all face-whether on backroads or the high banks of Daytona.
