Motorcycles: general interest Books

Book SynopsisOur intrepid traveller sets off from London with next to no riding experience since gaining his biker's license, in the general direction of Greece, with Fiji, in the South Pacific, the ultimate aim and destination. Later he finds himself once again on a bike riding through the unfamiliar, this time sub-Saharan Africa. Bluestone Biker relates tales of these and other misadventures, and of a world both surprising and with not a little hope. The author tries to remember, within the pages of this book, that "No-one is interested in what you had for breakfast". Bluestone Biker can be read any day of the year - in the heat of a baking summer's day, or on a rainy day in February at the Laurel Inn at Robin Hood's Bay.

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Book SynopsisDesigned to provide how-to help for fabricators working at home and in small shops. This book documents the creation of numerous simple shapes, made mostly with hammer and dolly, hand-operated shirker-stretcher, and various mallets. It also includes a section on welding both aluminum and steel.

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Book SynopsisThere has been plenty said and written about scooters over the years, but until now there has been no definitive look at the culture surrounding our chosen way of life. Many authors have written about mods and the infamous and often over-hyped beach battles of the 1960s, but hardly any have tried to capture the atmosphere of the modern scene in print. We still owe the original mods for fuelling the imagination of past, present and future generations and for leaving a rich scooter heritage behind them. Although the mod way of life was the spark which lit the fuse for many of us, the majority of scooter riders have evolved into lifestyle scooterists. We may not dress in a particular style, our scooters may not be adorned with lights and mirrors, but we still burn with the same passion as our scooter riding ancestors. It's over sixty years since the first Italian scooters rolled off the production lines, but there is still a buzzing and vibrant lifestyle surrounding them. The small capacity machines have overtaken the lives of thousands of us, often to the detriment of everything else we hold dear. Careers, relationships and families have suffered for this overwhelming and expensive addiction. An addiction to which there is no cure. We live and breathe the sickly sweet smell of synthetic two-stroke oil and worship at the altar of our chosen gods, Lambretta and Vespa (or occasionally Gilera and Italjet). Our hands are permanently ingrained with the oily 'tattoo's' of a thousand engine rebuilds and our major organs have suffered the long term effects of our hedonistic lifestyle. Including interviews with well known scootering personalities, over 150 colour photographs of award-winning custom scooters, best-selling scooter models, and information on rallies and events, this book is a must-have for anyone interested in these fun machines.Trade ReviewIt's over sixty years since the first Italian scooters rolled off the production lines but there is still a buzzing and vibrant lifestyle with the humble scooter as its nucleus. The small capacity machines have overtaken the lives of thousands of devoted scooter enthusiasts, often to the detriment of everything else they might hold dear. Careers, relationships, and families have been known to suffer because of an overwhelming and expensive addiction to the scooter experience. An addiction to which there is no cure for needing the sickly sweet smell of synthetic two stroke oil and worship at the altar of our chosen gods, Lambretta and Vespa (or occasionally Gilera and Italjet). All too many devoted scooter enthusiasts are permanently ingrained with the oily tattoos of a thousand engine rebuilds and with major organs having suffered the long term effect of a scooter orientated and hedonistic lifestyle. Including interviews with well known Scootering personalities, over 150 colour photographs or award winning custom scooters, best selling scooter models, rallies and events, Scooter Lifestyle will have an extraordinary appeal for anyone interested in these fun and all-to-addictive machines! – Midwest Book Review.

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Book SynopsisNow in paperback! The BSA Bantam is one of the definitive postwar British bikes, perhaps THE definitive British lightweight built after World War II. It was certainly the most popular, with over 400,000 built over a 23-year production run - in the first four years, production broke all records. Yet it would die a lingering death, production fizzling out in the early 1970s as a neglected model of a manufacturer more concerned with building big, fast road-burning bikes. The Bantam might never have happened without World War II. The prewar DKW RT125 was offered to the Allies as reparations, taken up and produced in the USA, USSR, even Japan! In East Germany it was revived as the MZ, and in Britain it surfaced publicly in 1948 as the BSA Bantam, a very simple little 123cc two-stroke, with rudimentary electrics, no rear suspension and a lot of charm.The little bike became part of Britain's social history. Thousands of people learnt to ride on a Bantam, or had their first pillion experience on one, or rode one delivering telegrams for what was the GPO. Although many of those learners progressed to bigger, faster bikes, then gave up two wheels for family life, they won't have forgotten the Bantam, which explains why there's such a thriving Bantam community to this day - the club, the racing club, the spares specialists, and restorers, owners and riders all over the country. This might not be Britain's most glamorous motorcycle, its fastest or most flamboyant, but the Bantam is probably the most loved.Trade ReviewAuthor Peter Henshaw has written an excellent book with contributions from former Bantam development engineer Michael Martin and information from Mike Jackson and Peter Glover. - Jonathan Hill - freelanceTable of ContentsIntroduction & acknowledgements1 Origins2 D1: starting out3 D3: good morning, Major4 D5: Super Bantam5 D7: was bigger better?6 D10: high-compression, short-lived7 D14/4: brave face, troubled family8 B175: the final Bantam9 Make it fly!10 Adventure by Bantam11 Living with a BantamAppendices1 Model profiles2 Road test data3 Year-by-year changes4 Bantam contacts5 Engine/frame numbersIndex

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Book SynopsisIn June 1978, 11 years after he quit Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Mike Hailwood returned to the Isle of Man TT races, probably the most prestigious, and certainly the most demanding, road race in the world. On a privately entered V-twin Ducati he won the Formula One race, beating the works Hondas of Phil Read and the late John Williams, and breaking the lap and race records. It may have seemed a fluke; it was certainly a fairy tale that continued into 1979, when he was fifth in the Formula One race, despite losing top gear and his battery, first in the Senior, and second by only 3.4 seconds in the Classic - probably the finest and closest-fought race the Island has ever seen, Hailwood proved, if anyone doubted, that he was still the greatest motorcycle racer of all time. This book, written by his manager and friend, Ted Macauley, is the account of his dramatic comeback, from the original wild idea to his final race. More than this, though, it is a study of a remarkable man in a remarkable world, and of the races, the machines, and the men who ride them.Trade ReviewThis book I couldn't put down! Coinciding with this year's 40th anniversary celebrations at the IoM Classic TT of Mike Halewood's incredible win on the Ducati, Veloce has published this new edition of 'Mike the Bike - Again,' now in paperback and with some previously unpublished photos. If you were, or indeed still are, a fan of Mike, this is an ideal volume for you. An excellent read, a 'must have' for any sports fan, highly recommended. - Desmo. The full story is an interesting and enlightening read about the man many believe was the greatest rider of all time. The new publication is a soft-back A5 of 106 pages including quite a number of black and white and colour images. - Isle of Man Examiner. I could not put it down until I'd read the last page, and neither will you. - Nacelle. Impressively informative and nicely illustrated with both black and white and colour photo, this book is a must read for all dedicated motorcycle fans. - Midwest Book Review. With 40 glossy photographs to reflect the anniversary, virtually all of them about Mike's comeback, the book traces the build-up to the amazing event that drew record crowds to the TT when Mike had just ended an 11-year Formula 1 career. - Old Bike Mart.Table of Contents1. A spirit reborn 2. Disguised among the amateurs 3. The bandwagon begins to roll 4. The hard way back 5. A frightening dawn 6. A fairy tale come true 7. Senior drama 8. Here we go again 9. The unforgettable finale

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Book SynopsisSlow Burn tells how the superbike racing motorcycle developed out of the roadgoing sports-tourer to become one of the most successful competitions in all forms of motorcycle sport. As well as offering world championship class competition in its own right, superbike racing has been a highly competitive training ground for grand prix riders as well as helping manufacturers, distributors and dealers develop and improve their motorcycles. Superbike racing is to the motorcycle industry what touring car or NASCAR competition is to the car world - race on Sunday, sell on Monday. All the big names were drawn into the sport during its formative years and have been there ever since - Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Ducati and Aprilia have all used superbike racing to test their street bike designs. And some of the biggest riders in the sport - Wayne Gardner, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz and Eddie Lawson all started out on big, unruly superbikes, learning how to power slide their way around the world's toughest tracks. It's all in superbike - and it's all in Slow Burn.Trade ReviewA history of superbikes and superbike racing from 1970 to 1988 [covering] new engine technologies, the introduction of new frame designs, the biggest names and racing stars if the era and the tracks and the major events they competed in. - British Dealer News. You do not need to be a pure racing fan to get something from this book ... whatever your interest - be it road or race - it is well worth a read - Ian Kerr. Written most engagingly and enthusiastically, hardly a stone is left unturned of the Superbike racing era of the 1970s and 1980s, its glory years in almost every respect. - Iain P W Robertson - Freelance. a great read to pass your lockdown weeks away. - BSN (BikeSport News). "Slow Burn: The Growth of Superbikes and Superbike Racing 1970 to 1988" by Bob Guntrip is a unique and impressively informative sports history. - Midwest Book Review.a very good book about a dramatic period of racing - Mark Holman - Freelance. well worth a read - Heavy Duty Magazine. Guntrip covers the fascinating backstory, the uncommon technical details, the politics and maneuvering that happened off the track as well as on. - Ultimate MotorCyclingTable of ContentsIntroduction: this isn't the future but you can see it from here 1 Rising son As the 1970s dawned, the four-stroke seemed likely to disappear from international open-class racing altogether; but not before a final flourish - in a new class - led by Britain's last ailing giants 2 Green on blue Brazen, brash, irritating to the ear and very fast, the first big-bore two-strokes began to appear in 1972 and Paul Smart was right there when it mattered 3 Tomorrow, the world Yamaha's trim, purposeful motorcycles have formed the backbone of racing for half a century; but there was never a time that emphasised their potential quite like the mid-1970s 4 Kenny Back in the Florida sunshine for Daytona '76, Yamaha unveiled four new projectiles that got everyone talking and helped to define Kenny Roberts' career. And then there were those BMWs 5 Pushing on an open door Finally, F750 had its world championship for 1977 - but it came too late to be much more than a one-make, one-model competition. Little wonder the alternatives were gaining ground 6 Warriors for the working day If Honda's CB750 wasn't immediately the stuff racing careers were built on, Kawasaki's Z1 and the Suzuki GS1000 were a different proposition - and just the thing for harassing two-strokes 7 Long-distance confirmation While Yamaha did as it pleased in the dying years of F750, other marques began to see possibilities in the European zest for endurance racing, Honda prominent among them 8 Formula one Problem: the TT is stripped of its world championship status after 1976. Solution: the TT stages its own world championship, and offers one path to cheaper racing 9 Welcome to the jungle At Ontario in 1973, it was called Superbike Production. Soon it would become AMA Superbike and routinely offer some of the world's tightest racing - just ask Eddie, Freddie and Wes 10 All change Another decade, another recession: 1000cc motorcycles are too powerful and too thirsty, so Wayne Rainey and Joey Dunlop showed how to make the right impression with a 750 11 Honda enters, Honda... The progress of the world's biggest bike maker through the 1980s paralleled the evolution of Superbike racing itself: uncertain beginnings, growing strength - and a very grand finale 12 All together now As TT-F1 grew stronger, the Superbike World Championship assumed shape and substance; and there could only be one winner

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Book SynopsisThis new edition of Ian Falloon's classic book on the history of BMW Motorcycles brings the story right up to date, and now includes all models from 1923 right through to 2019. Over the past 80 years, BMW motorcycles have provided a unique alternative to those of other manufacturers. Some motorcycles may have been faster, certainly others were cheaper, but with their emphasis on quality and reliability, none have emulated the practicality of a BMW. With its commitment to ease of serviceability, the BMW motorcycle has become the preferred choice for hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists around the world. BMW motorcycles are made to be ridden, and if the journey includes a mixture of straight roads and corners, there is no better motorcycle. Factor in the best range of factory luggage and accessories available, and the success of BMW motorcycles isn't surprising. Ownership of a BMW is also generally a long-term affair. Because of long model runs, the designs are so well developed there seems little need to update on the whim of fashion. This is most definitely a refreshing change from the current trend towards instant obsolescence. Falloon is a prolific author and one of the world's foremost motorcycle historians with years of experience. His other BMW books include BMW Boxer Twin Bible, BMW R90S, and the Complete Book of BMW Motorcycles.Trade ReviewThis impressive book is a treasure trove of information and is a delight to the eye ... A great gift for any BMW enthusiast.The BMW Club Journal --- This is a treat for BMW fans but this is a book that also deserves to find a wider audience. Bike Rider Magazine --- Fans of the brand will love having such a comprehensive resource on company history. UltimateMotorcycling.com. --- The photography is first class, as you would expect in such a high quality book that will appeal to BMW owners and casual enthusiasts alike. - Old Bike Australasia. --- you won’t find a better book! ... A substantial volume in looks and content; although this is no coffee table book it is impressive enough to fulfil that role. - Norm Mort - FreelanceTable of ContentsChapter 1 Beginnings: from aircraft t motorcycles Chapter 2 Highs and lows: the 1930s, the Second World War and post-war reconstruction Chapter 3 Single cylinders Chapter 4 Post-war twins Chapter 5 A new generation of boxers Chapter 6 The K-series Chapter 7 The new boxer (updated) Chapter 8 2004-2009 Chapter 9 2010-2019 Appendices Index

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