General Books

Proficient Motorcycling: The Ultimate Guide to Riding Well

David L. Hough

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 179 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great Information, Flawed Presentation 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I just bought a new motorcycle after about 18 years out of the saddle and decided I needed to brush up on some riding tactics. I bought "Proficient Motorcycle" by David Hough to give me the refresher I needed.

The book itself is solid stock, with nice thick high quality gloss paper. The cover is even thicker paper that folds inward at the edges to prevent wear as you thumb through the pages. The binding is glued and threaded with fourteen strong stiches... high quality all around.

But wait... do you like sticky gooey residue all over the back cover of your books? No, you say? Well, you may be a little disappointed then. The "Free 144 Bonus Pages" is actually a CD-ROM attached to a plastic holder on the back of the book. The CD has a huge yellow warning sticker on it, "If you break this seal you cannot return the book". Ok fine. The problems start when you go to "break the seal". You have to literally destroy the plastic sleeve to get the CD out, which requires you to pull it from the back paper cover. This will rip some of the back cover off with it. And now there is a sticky adhesive mess all over the back cover that will stick to the back page when you shut it. I had to put tape all over the back cover in order to "seal in" all the adhesive residue from the advertisement CD.

And that's what the "144 bonus pages" are... advertisement for the Motorcycle Consumer News magazine. You get three old issues with plenty of oppurtunities to subscribe. They should have left this out, no one want this CD and it destroys the book cover.

So, a little worse for the wear, I cracked open the book and read it from cover to cover.

The information contained was useful and enjoyable to read. But the "enjoyable to read" part actually has an expense to it. The motorcyle lingo and the off-the-cuff casual nature will put you at ease, but when this style sours into heavy sarcasm, it can be confusing.

For example, on page 38 shows a photograph of a couple on a motorcyle wearing the lid-style helmets. Perfectly legal and popular where I live. The caption says, "You don't really need a real helmet if you are clever enough to avoid crashes." Yes, pretty obvious sarcasm but possible misleading.

There is other questionable language in the text also. Sometimes Hough will refer to crash victims as "road stains". That's always tacky, regardless of context. On more than one occasion he refers to scruffy bikers that like to wear black leather with metal studs as "terrorists" and at other times as "biker trash". This is type of language is not funny and not necessary.

Those negatives aside, however, I really enjoyed the writing style. Hypothetical characters like "Interstate Al" and "Biker Bob" are not only enjoyable to read about, but made me think of their situations when I was out on the road. This is a very effective teaching tool that I found enjoyable and informative.

Overall, I think this book is worth the money. The information is very valuable and it is presented in a enjoyable way. I am without a doubt a better rider after reading "Proficient Motorcycling". I am even thinking about buying Hough's next installment, "More Proficient Motorcycling". I may have pointed out a few negatives about the presentation here, but I am happy I bought and read this book, and my overall impressions are positive.

Editorial Review:

This fresh update of the world's best introduction to safe street-riding techniques now marries color imagery and contemporary road scenes with expanded content and more real road hazard strategies written in clear, concise,easy-to follow instruction that has made the book #1.

Honor Few, Fear None: The Life and Times of a Mongol

Ruben Cavazos

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The stunning, never-before-told story of Ruben "Doc" Cavazos, international president of the Mongols Motorcycle Club

When Ruben "Doc" Cavazos changes his clothes at daybreak, he is no longer a CAT scan technician at the University of Southern California Medical Center. He becomes the man known—and, in a few special cases, feared—as Doc, international president of the Mongols, the fastest-growing and most closely watched organization of its kind in the United States.

In reality, the Mongols are a tightly knit band of brothers devoted in equal measure to the club, their fellow Mongols, and their freedom. They live to enjoy life, party, and travel the open road. Above all, they demand respect. When pushed too far, Mongols join together to push back. Just ask the Hells Angels, the Ukrainian mafia, the Mexican mafia, and the U.S. government. All have tested the Mongols' resolve.

In Honor Few, Fear None, Doc is ready, for the first time, to share the stories of the Mongols' battle to survive and thrive against incredible odds and sometimes terrible violence.

Doc takes you to the streets and into the bars, the secret meetings, the brawls, and the shoot-outs, all proof that if you live like a Mongol does, you must honor few, fear none.

Total Control: High Performance Street Riding Techniques

Lee Parks

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 63 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent book on the fundamentals and more. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book as part of an ongoing effort to improve my riding, starting with myself. Lee Parks puts the information into an easy-to-understand format, which makes this book accessible to almost any rider. That said, this is NOT a beginner book. I've been riding for 30,000+ miles/4 yrs - an intermediate sport rider. I am good at cornering, and can drag my knees while also riding smoothly/calmly. This book does not cover basic motorcycle riding, and assumes you already have the necessary skills to go from point A to B. It teaches you ways of getting there more efficiently and much faster, and explains suspension setup, line selection, apexes, various types of corners, traction concepts, throttle control, trail braking, track days, even mental/physical fitness. It approaches the reader with the expectation that you are trying to improve your skills in high-intensity street riding (and hopefully) moving onto a track, where you can make better use of the information. Take a local MSF course, get familiarized with your bike, and then read this book.

Editorial Review:

Today's super high-performance bikes are the most potent vehicles ever sold to the public and they demand advanced riding skills. This is the perfect book for riders who want to take their street riding skills to a higher level. Total Control explains the ins and outs of high-performance street riding. Lee Parks, one of the most accomplished riders, racers, authors and instructors in the world, helps riders master the awe-inspiring performance potential of modern motorcycles.This book gives riders everything they need to develop the techniques and survival skills necessary to become a proficient, accomplished, and safer street rider. High quality photos, detailed instructions, and professional diagrams highlight the intricacies and proper techniques of street riding. Readers will come away with a better understanding of everything from braking and cornering to proper throttle control, resulting in a more exciting yet safer ride.

The Harley-Davidson Motor Co. Archive Collection

Darwin Holmstrom

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Who knew, one hundred years ago, that the freedom-loving, speed-hungry, cutting-edge motorcycle fanatics who founded Harley-Davidson were making history along with bikes? The Harley-Davidson Collection, showcasing a century of bikes that shaped motorcycle history, brings that history to gleaming life in page after page of motorcycles beyond compare. On the eve of the opening of the historic Harley-Davidson Museum, this book gives motorcycle enthusiasts an opportunity to pore over the bikes in the collection, and to linger over every detail that made Harley-Davidson such an icon of American open-road power and performance. With exquisite, detailed photographs and histories of the hundred motorcycles in Harley’s collection, from serial number one built in 1903 to the latest low-slung Softail, high-revving VRSC, and touring models, the book captures the excitement of the best-known motorcycles in the world. All that’s missing is the patented roar, which readers are invited to supply.

Harley-Davidson 2009 Calendar

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Editorial Review:

Harley-Davidson® 2009, our best-selling calendar, features David Blattel's photos of beautifully restored or maintained classic Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, as well as the hot new models, shot in various locales This large formatl calendar also features historical photos from the Harley-Davidson® archives, each telling a piece of the motorcycle's story.

Campagnolo: 75 Years of Cycling Passion

Paolo Facchinetti, Guido Rubino

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

As Leica is to cameras and Ferrari to racing automobiles, Campagnolo is to cycling: designer of the finest parts for bicycles ever made. Campagnolo's jewel-like brakes, pedals, derailleurs, cranksets, and wheels have been ridden to more race victories than any other brand, yet the same components are available to cycling enthusiasts worldwide. "Campagnolo: 75 Years of Cycling Passion" is a celebration of this legacy that will be cherished by every cycling fan.Campagnolo's rich history began with the founder, Tullio Campagnolo, a racer who turned to creating better bicycle parts when he found the equipment of the day not adequate for the rigours of professional competition. Blending exotic alloys with sound engineering, Campagnolo created a series of patented designs that are still in use today as the fundamental standards upon which modern parts are based.With its deeply researched history (much of it from the company's private archives), spectacular colour photography, rich text and lavish presentation, "Campagnolo: 75 Years of Cycling Passion" is a book for every lover of the sport of cycling, as well as connoisseurs of the bicycle itself.This book features colour and black-and-white photos and illustrations throughout. It comes in a hardback with jacket.

Hell's Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club

Sonny Barger, Keith Zimmerman, Kent Zimmerman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 105 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

"The Sun Never sets on a Hell's Angel Patch." 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

The microcosm birth of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club evolved in the Fontana/ San Bernardino, California area on April 1957. Ralph Robert Barger,(Sonny) who was only 19 years old, was the founder and leader of the Hell's Angels San Bernardino motorcycle club.

Sonny Barger's book, "Hell's Angel" is the only authorized, genuine story about the, sometimes, but not always, controversial motorcycle club founded by the author himself.

In reading, "Hell's Angel," the reader might disagree, agree and perhaps even sympathize with the story and history of the Hell's Angels' motorcycle club. More often than not different law enforcement agencies classified the Hell's Angels as a `criminal organization' for usurping the American legal system.

It is up to the reader to make his or her own assessment whether those law enforcement agencies were correct in their judgment of the Hell's Angels; or if they were prejudiced in their appraisal of the motorcycle club (MC).

Many believe the original Angels were members of the U.S. Army's 11th Airborne Division; an elite group of paratroopers trained to rain death on the enemy from above, drifting in behind the lines of battle.
"They called themselves the Hells Angels because they flew on silk wings into hell itself, bringing a brutal hope for peace with 20 pounds of TNT strapped to each leg. The nickname was a badge of honor, a mark of invincibility, a wartime emblem pointing out the toughest of the tough. It was a totem to ward off the worst."

"A handful of those original Hells Angels, and many other returning soldiers who had awakened to the nightmare of war, found it difficult to settle into the half-sleep of the American Dream. After living on the edge so long, they found only a depressing fatalism and monotony in jobs, family, mortgages, and college, suburbia and cookie-cutter houses with white-picket fences." And so they joined the MC.

According to Sonny Barger, "The Hell's Angels is an organization; a group of people, who get together to ride motorcycles and have fun, and go to parties." "... Just because certain people in the Hell's Angels have committed crimes in the past does not make the organization a criminal organization."

Under Barger's guidance, the Hells Angels chapters came together, hammering out bylaws, codes of conduct, outlawing the practice of using drugs, choosing patches, colors, tattoos and clubhouses. The Hell's Angel's made sure that no one used their "Patch" who had not been accepted in the MC, or who were not worthy of their motorcycle club. The MC is a close-knit motorcycle club who not only fights to preserve the dignity of their "Patch," but take care, protect, and stand by one another to the fullest.

There were other motorcycle clubs, throughout the United States, who not only rivaled the Hell's Angels but tried to outdo them as well. However, law enforcement organizations did not excoriated those motorcycle clubs as they hammered the anvil of law enforcement against the Hell's Angels.

The Hell's Angel reputation crashed into the public consciousness in 1954 when Marlon Brando starred in "The Wild One," a Hollywood sensation inspired by the rumble at Hollister.

All the while, the Hell's Angels boldness more than irritated all types of law enforcement. And in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the government tried to pin an official organized crime label on the group, trying to prosecute the Hells Angels under laws originally designed to combat the Mafia. The alleged violations of racketeering, influence and corrupt organization (RICO) laws, however, were never proved, with two hung juries that were unable to decide on 38 of 44 separate charges.
There were many high-profile accusations, arrests and acquittals - suggesting either the Angels are slippery or that police like to arrest them despite flimsy evidence. Many believe the truth lies between both theories.

George Christie, longtime president of the Ventura, Calif., chapter, who is considered Barger's second-in-command and likely successor; admits the Hell's Angels are "not monks." Nevertheless, he insists that if they were as bad as police allege, they would've been jailed and disbanded years ago." George Christi adds, "...cops chase Angels because Angels are easy to chase. Finding real criminals is much tougher, and would require investigative initiative beyond pulling over every biker wearing the infamous winged death's-head."

For their part, the Angels continue to deny all criminal charges, and in 1998 happily celebrated their 50th anniversary.
The Angels have grown, in the past 50 years, to include many chapters in the United States, a presence in many countries and a worldwide membership estimated in the thousands.

I recommend, to the interested reader, Sonny Barger's book, "Hell's Angel" before reading any other books, or magazine articles on the subject of the famous motorcycle club; The Hell's Angels.

Editorial Review:

Narrated by the visionary founding member, Hell's Angel provides a fascinating all-access pass to the secret world of the notorious Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. Sonny Barger recounts the birth of the original Oakland Hell's Angels and the four turbulent decades that followed. Hell's Angel also chronicles the way the HAMC revolutionized the look of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle and built what has become a worldwide bike-riding fraternity, a beacon for freedom-seekers the world over.

Dozens of photos, including many from private collections and from noted photographers, provide visual documentation to this extraordinary tale. Never simply a story about motorcycles, colorful characters, and high-speed thrills, Hell's Angel is the ultimate outlaw's tale of loyalty and betrayal, subcultures and brotherhood, and the real price of freedom.

Riding on the Edge: A Motorcycle Outlaw's Tale

John Hall

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Ride with author John Hall into the turbulent world of 1960s bike club culture, from the time he joined an upstart motorcycle club from Dixie, and rose to become Long Island chapter president of the Pagans, a club that the FBI called "the most violent criminal organization in America." Follow him into the Pagan heartland of Pennsylvania where he fell in love, got in a roadhouse brawl over a honky-tonk angel, and eventually went to jail for "takin' care a club business." Now after a career as a journalist and college professor, he returns to the violent days of his youth and smashes up stereotypes like he once smashed up bars, resurrecting long-dead brothers, in a style reminiscent of Jack Kerouac and Mark Twain. Hall presents them as they really were: hard living, hard loving, hard drinking, hard fighting rebels, but also hardworking, patriotic, loyal, and lovable characters, and a band of brothers whose outlandish behavior forged an all-American outlaw legend in the tradition of Jesse James, Doc Holliday, John Dillinger, and Pretty Boy Floyd. Outlaws yes, but outlaws as American as apple pie.

Long Way Down: An Epic Journey by Motorcycle from Scotland to South Africa

Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Eighteen countries. Five shock absorbers.
Two bikers. One amazing adventure...

After their fantastic trip round the world in 2004, fellow actors and bike fanatics Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman couldn't shake the travel bug. Inspired by their UNICEF visits to Africa, they knew they had to go back and experience this extraordinary continent in more depth.

And so they set off on their 15,000-mile journey with two new BMWs loaded up for the trip. Their route took them from John O'Groats at the northernmost tip of Scotland to Cape Agulhas on the southernmost tip of South Africa.

Along the way they rode some of the toughest terrain in the world -- and met some of the friendliest people. They rode their bikes right up to the pyramids in Egypt and visited Luke Skywalker's house in Tunisia. They met people who had triumphed over terrifying experiences -- former childhood soldiers in Uganda and children living amidst the minefields of Ethiopia. They had a close encounter with a family of gorillas in Rwanda and were nearly trampled by a herd of elephants in Botswana.

Riding through spectacular scenery, often in extreme temperatures, Ewan and Charley faced their hardest challenges yet. With their trademark humor and honesty they tell their story -- the drama, the dangers and sheer exhilaration of riding together again, through a continent filled with magic and wonder.

The Essential Guide to Motorcycle Maintenance

Mark Zimmerman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A remarkably well-balanced book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Writing a book on a subject like this, with tens of makes and hundreds of models on the market, is a balancing task. Mr. Zimmermann has made it remarkably well.
His examples are very carefully chosen, he always explains the basic principles, and he writes in such a relaxed manner, that you feel "at home" regardless of the make and mode of your own bike.
A very good complement to the service manual of your own bike - this with this book you are not stuck even if the quality of your manual is only tolerable.

Editorial Review:

Popular motorcycle journalist and author Mark Zimmerman brings a comfortable, conversational tone to his easy-to-understand explanations of how motorcycles work and how to maintain them and fix them when they don't. This practical tutorial covers all brands and styles of bikes, making it a perfect companion to the owner's service manual whether you need to use the step-by-step instructions for basic maintenance techniques to wrench on your bike yourself or just want to learn enough to become an informed customer at your local motorcycle service department. This book includes more than 500 color photos and a thorough index to make it an especially user-friendly reference for home motorcycle mechanics of all skill levels.