In the 1960s, Japanese motorcycle manufacturers were eating into the markets in Europe and the United States with genuinely new designs and modern technology. In 1968, Honda dropped its four-cylinder bombshell in the form of the CB750, complete with electric starter, five-speed gearbox and front disc brake. More than that, it offered speed, convenience, reliability and oiltightness, features that were normally mutually exclusive. The first ‘superbike’ had arrived. In this book, Rod Ker tel...

This comprehensive book provides the full background and history of the groundbreaking Kawasaki Z1. The author describes how ‘King Zed’ became a sensation after its launch in 1972, combining incredible performance with convenience, reliability and practicality. Although pipped to the post as the first four-cylinder ‘superbike’ by the 1969 Honda CB750, Kawasaki riposted with extra power and a top speed of 135mph, knocking the opposition into second place. The fastest production motorcycle o...

In the 60's, Carlos Caggiani traveled to 26 countries on an old motorcycle with hardly a penny to his name. He suffered famine, intense weather, was chased by the FBI, was shot at in Bolivia, and even survived a serious accident. The experiences in this book demonstrate a human being's tenacity and triumph in the face of adversity.

A story of how ordinary people can achieve the extraordinary, exemplified through a 23,000 mile, 48 Day motorcycle journey circumnavigating the United States and Canada

Take an exhilarating ride through the history of the American bike, biker, and the biker nation in this fascinating and comprehensive chronicle of the biker era and today's ever-expanding legion of motorcycle enthusiasts. Impassioned, idiosyncratic, and razor sharp, Born to Be Wild traces a century's worth of the culture, the bikers, and the bikes themselves.Who are these bikers? Are they those hard-living, leather-clad, tattooed guys often associated with images of the He...

“Pierson is an even better writer than she is a rider.”—Boston Globe“World’s Toughest Motorcycle Riders”—long-distance motorcycling is not a pastime but an obsession. In this candid, eloquent, sharply observed book, Melissa Holbrook Pierson introduces us to this strange endeavor and the men and women who live to ride impossibly long distances, eating up road, almost without cease. And who find it nothing but fun.Perhaps the most determined of them is John Ryan, a m...

As you travel Africa, you will find the way of ubuntu – the universal bond that connects all of humanity as one.At the age of twenty-eight, while sitting in a friend’s backyard in the remote mining township of Jabiru, Heather Ellis has a light-bulb moment: she is going to ride a motorcycle across Africa. The idea just feels right – no matter that she’s never done any long-distance motorcycle travelling before, and has never even set foot on the African continent. Twelve mo...

Donny is the Winner of the 2012 International Book Awards. Donny Petersen offers the real deal in performancing your Harley-Davidson Twin Cam. Graphics, pictures, and charts guide the reader on a sure-footed journey to a thorough H-D Twin Cam performance understanding. Petersen's insight makes technical issues understandable even for the novice. Donny simply explains what unfailingly works in performancing the Twin Cam. This is the second volume of Petersen's long-awaited Donny's Unauthori...

Ian Hutchinson – ‘Hutchy’ to his many thousands of fans – is a motorcycle racer like few others. A road racer to the core, he has enjoyed spectacular success, notably at the Isle of Man TT, but his own story goes far beyond even those triumphs.In the summer of 2010, Hutchy set the record for most wins in a single TT festival – five in all – having already won the Supersport class at the North West 200 in Northern Ireland. Then disaster struck. At a British Supersport round at Silver...

Kevin Baas begins the second edition of his How to Build an Old Skool Bobber book with a little history, the history of bike building at home, as seen through the eyes of a young man watching his Vietnam-Vet father build a chopper at home in 1970. In his fathers eyes, and Kevins as well, the engine and frame should to be old skool - and genuine Harley-Davidson if possible - but the rest can and should come from swap meets, or the sweat of your own two hands.

In 1982, at the age of just twenty-three and halfway through her architecture studies, Elspeth Beard left her family and friends in London and set off on a 35,000-mile solo adventure around the world on her 1974 BMW R60/6.Reeling from a recent breakup and with only limited savings from her pub job, a tent, a few clothes and some tools, all packed on the back of her bike, she was determined to prove herself. She had ridden bikes since her teens and was well travelle...

As anyone who’s been on one knows, big bikes--Harleys, dressers, tourers, cruisers--handle differently than smaller bikes. They have different centers of gravity; they steer more slowly; they put you in a different riding positions; and riding one--especially riding it well--requires different skills. This book is aimed at helping owners of such motorcycles--bikes with big engines, long wheelbases, and a lot of weight--get the best ride out of them. Maximum Control addresses every...