The Upper Half of the Motorcycle: On the Unity of Rider and Machine Paperback – August 13, 2019

This is a great book that deals with the mental side of motorcycling - all the things that no one told you, and you need to know.First of all, I need to mention that this is a fairly heavy read. It's not a book that you can expect to read through and understand, I found that I needed to re-read certain portions numerous times until I understood it completely. This could be due to the fact it is a translation from a German language original, or maybe Mr Speigel has written it as he thought best. I have been recommending this book to alot of people, but always with that caution - which seems well justified now that I read other reviews here and find that there is even a medical doctor who has failed to comprend the great points to be found in this book...To anyone who is skeptical that Upper Half could actually contain any valuable information that you haven't heard before, just stop to think - how many times have you heard a motorcycle racer say that racing is 10% physical and 90% mental? There's a reason for that. For anyone who takes the time to really think about motorcycling - indeed performance motorcycling - it's obvious that there is a very large mental component involved. What I find very surprising is that there are not many books or instruction that deals with the mental side. Upper Half is a valuable resource that practically fulfils that entire void and answers questions that you hadn't even thought about.If you have ever struggled with being 'afraid' to use greater lean angle, or being unsure about the limits of traction - this is the book that can answer your questions. Rather than just telling you what to do, or what not to do, Upper Half actually explains the reasons behind why we are afraid to use extreme lean angles, and why we can have such trouble coming to terms with the traction provided by modern sports tyres. This is a great approach. Personally I found it to be much more powerful and effective once I know the reason why, rather than just doing something without knowing the reason for it. I spent some time thinking about the points in this book, and once I 'got my head right' it was amazing that it had an instant effect on my riding, and every aspect of my riding - road, track, and everything in between.For anyone who is thinking that they are interested in learning more about the mental side of motorcycling, but aren't sure you can make it through some heavy reading - I would recommend starting with Total Control by Lee Parks, which touches on some points in a much easier to read manner. For people who want more - Upper Half is comprehensive and sure to inform.

It is very telling that the two people who have given this book one star openly admit to not giving it a full read. The lesson is that if you are looking for a silver bullet, or an easy answer, don't buy this book. The author tackles the concept of metacognition....how we learn about the process of thinking. And he doesn't hand you fish, instead he hands you a fishing pole. Maybe that frustrates some types, but I think its great.If you ever decide to become a pilot, you go through a lot of effort, study and practice in order to one day convince a certified examiner that you have learned how to fly. You sweat your way through your final flight test, and if you are lucky enough to pass, the examiner unceremoniously informs you that you have earned your license to learn. It dawns on you that something like flying can never be mastered, and you need to approach such an unnatural enterprise with a constant and focused spirit of self-review and reanalysis.Spiegel examines the academic study of how people learn and process sensory-motor information and then makes it relevant to your riding. Instead of handing you one-off tips and pointers, he builds a framework from which you can identify, analyze and improve any weakness in your riding. The toolkit is universal.We all know when something 'feels' right and things just click, whether that be a good run in the twistys or that one sweet shot on the back nine. For years, people have tried to write about that feeling but the results are often frustratingly vague or irritatingly new-agey. Spiegel writes about the science behind getting in the zone and staying there, and the real reasons for why trying too hard always backfires. In that respect, this book is a game changer. If you have ever done any kind of physical skill instruction, this book will crystallize all the advice and methodology you have heard about over the years. If you have ever hit a plateau or a mental block trying to learn a new sport, this book will help you get past it.Its a translation of a book by a German academic, people. Have some patience and sally forth, its worth it. You can't order every solution in life off the dollar menu. Sometimes you've got to sit down with your Chinglish assembly manual and fire off some neurons in order to build yourself something good.

The mos scarry book ive read. Factual but terrifing

This book is for the type of people who read books about their interests; that might seem obvious, but every complaint about this book seems to originate from either difficulty reading, or lack of interest in reading. If you want quick and to-the-point riding tips like you would find in a 7-minute countdown video on YouTube, this is not for you.I bought "Proficient Motorcycling" by David Hough based on the reviews and quickly relegated it to a shelf of disappointing publications. Hough writes for a 6th grade reading level and uses a tone that assumes the reader is naive and unintelligent. I haven't purchased Keith Code's "A Twist of the Wrist", but I have heard similar reviews. Bernt Spiegel, by contrast, shares information like an academic who is writing to an audience of knowledgeable and interested adults. While Hough focuses on what he perceives as character flaws of the rider and other road users, Spiegel focuses on the characteristics of human beings that are enabling or limiting in the operation of a motorcycle, and which of those characteristics are flexible enough to be improved. This book carefully details the mechanisms by which human vision, perception, cognition, and motor function all work in concert to make safe and skillful motorcycling possible.

This book is a brilliant attempt on behalf of motorcyclists to pull together all current scientific thinking on how man's brain and physical co-ordination works to help us understand and therefore improve what we do. It is a foundation stone on which others will build in the future. However the translation of this book from German into American contains a number of typing errors and phrases that are difficult to follow. These can make it even more difficult to understand concepts that the author is trying to get accross. I don't find that it goes far enough to explain how this knowledge can be used in practice. But persevere and, even if you don't reach full enlightenment, there are at least a dozen excellent learning points along the way.

A great book for anyone interested in advanced motorcycle riding but definitely not an easy read. Stick with it though and you will take some thing from it.

The book came as advised , while it is not the typical book on biking it looks at the way the rider can make changes to the stability of the bike .Its not the bike that crashes , in more situations than not it is the imput by the rider which causes the problem .for those who want to look into the factors which riders introduce without knowing it .

Suprisingly informative for a motorcylist of over 50 years, full of explanations that determine the difference between the average rider and the expert. Well recommended

Well worth a read if you ride a motorcycle.