No comments about Touching Stone.

No comments about Harley-Davidson Fxd Evolution 1991-1998 (Motorcycle) (Motorcycle).

1 comments about Mick Walker's European Racing Motorcycles (Redline Motorcycles).

1. While there's no shortage of books chronicling the contributions that the motorcycle industries of Britain, Italy, Germany and Japan made to Grand Prix racing, the smaller European nations seem to have been overlooked.

   With this book, Mick Walker goes a long way to righting that wrong and reminds us that without the likes of Jawa and Bultaco, the racing landscape of the 50s and 60s would have been much poorer. Mick combines just the right amount of technical information with interesting biographical information on those who designed them and those who rode them. The photographs are excellent and the layout is easy on the eye. If you felt your racing library was incomplete, this could be the one that fills an important void.

4 comments about Honda Owners Workshop Manual: CB750 & CB900 dohc Fours 1978 to 1984 (Owners Workshop Manual).

1. I don't think that this book delivers.

   I have purchased many Repair manuals in the past from Haynes. They have been all car manuals though. These manuals always seemed to have plenty of instructional information, and a great troubleshooting section. This book had neither. Some of the good things in the manual are some of the specifications that it has for the bike, Tire pressure, Spark Plug gap and type, things of that nature. But I Imagine if you had the owners manual you would already have that info. However I think that the book is too technical for the regular owners.




2. I have been riding motorcycles for almost ten years. Since I never managed to get that really high paying job nor did I ever win the lottery, I usually tend to own old, relatively inexpensive Japanese bikes. I have grown to prefer them over the years. They are simple machines and, if one possesses basic understanding of motorcycles, the whole service experience can be very rewarding for both human and vehicle. So how does one obtain that basic understanding? - Well, there are two major publishers of workshop manuals - Haynes and Clymer and I am currently reviewing the former. For any given motorcycle that I have owned, the Haynes manual has been noticeably inferior. Here are some of the reasons why I do not particularly like the Haynes publications:

   1. The manuals tend to cover too many models, which results in lots of confusion. For example the Honda CB manual will cover the following models CB750C, CB750K, CB750F, CB750LTD, CB900F, (but not CB900C) between 1978 and 1982. I consider it a big inconvenience to try to hold on to my own branch of relevant information in the sea of numbers, measures, and settings, which relate to each of the above listed vehicles.
   2. The service instructions are not compiled as carefully as the ones offered in the Clymer manuals. Clymer will provide a detail photo of every step of every procedure and the images will be running side by side with the text. The Haynes manual on the other side will group all images on the same page, which results in lots of flipping between the text section and the image section. Also, the Haynes manual does not provide a clear explanation of how a particular image relates to any particular section of the described service/repair procedure. Simply put, I find myself looking at a chaos of black-and-white close-ups of machine parts and use the Clymer manual to interpret the Haynes manual.
   3. Since the publisher is British, most of the information is related to models released in Europe, which too often differ from their American counterparts. (This last point is mostly relevant to the American reader)

   Unfortunately, or probably exactly because of point 1 above, Haynes tends to cover more motorcycles still available on the market. Eventually you will buy a motorcycle, which is no longer covered by Clymer (for example Suzuki GS 250) and you will have to resort to the services of Haynes. I wish you good luck with the interpretation of the text, let alone the actual procedure that you intend to perform on your vehicle.




3. i'll never buy another haynes book simply on the merit of this rather useless one ... someone else suggested it covers too many models, & i concur! where clymer makes the effort to detail difficult procedures with pictures & in-depth descriptions, haynes simply assumes we all know more than the average joe about just about everything from batteries to camshaft ... if that were the case, WHY would i need this darn book!?!

   i say, save your money & buy a helpful & essential clymer!
   bjr




4. Even though I did read the comments about this book covering too many models, I decided to buy it anyway thinking that this would not a big deal. How wrong was my assumption! Now that I've had it for 10 months and having done several repairs on my 1983 Honda CB750SC, I have found this book utterly useless. Every time I refer to it, it tries to include too many models and thus, it does not cover any of them sufficiently and at times it doesn't even mention the model I own. Please, please, do yourself a favor and DO NOT purchase this book. It will be a waste of money and a big waste of my time every time you look up anything in it. Please also spread the word to others who may be naive enough to want to get this book.

1 comments about Ducati Desmoquattro Superbikes (Motorcycle Color History).

1. Informative, and even more so to US readers, who are not really getting the true Ducati Exotica available,albeit in very small numbers, to World Ducatisti.At least through this book, some of the not so available info on the 916 family bikes is explained. What could be improved? more info on the 998 . All in all, still a great reference book for Desmoquattro fans.

No comments about Bmw M/Cycle (Classic Motorcycles).

2 comments about Ducati Twins Restoration.

1. The fact that it may be the one and only is beside the point! Anyone attempting to maintain or restore one of these Ducati models would be well served to buy Walker's book. The price is steep, but the money will be very well spent.

   The author, Mick Walker, is unusual in that he is a well respected expert, yet he avoids the slavish PR blather common to many Ducati writers. He paid his dues as a long time dealer and rider, and his approach to the bikes is respectful but pragmatic. Walker writes in a clear, easily readable style. He comes across as someone to spend a few hours drinking beers with in the garage while wrenching on that old Ducati.

   The book is also full of excellent photographs, exploded diagrams, and a comprehensive technical specifications section. The text includes exhaustive detail on and the strengths and weaknesses of everything from paint colors to the various electrical systems. More important, it includes useful insights and practical recommendations derived from years of hard work, trial and error. Based on the age and increasing rarity of these machines, Walker's book is an invaluable resource.

   One of the most appealing aspects of the book is that it depicts a dollarwise approach to restoring or owning a Ducati. Most motorcyclists may find that laughable, but, if so, they haven't read Walker's book. This is gem.




2. If you are going to get a book to help you restore your Ducati twin,you better pass on this one and get a good shop manual .There is litle material of use and the content is mostly a repeat of is other Ducati books .You would expect a step by step knowhow aproach with usefull imputs like the Dave Richardson Guzzilogy book for Moto-Guzzi .A good restoration book is about guiding the reader with how to hints,tips and tricks from pros that have done it many times .There are lots of photos that will show you a Ducati part with a typo description an no more ,like for example (this is what a Ducati clutch looks like +PHOTO.

No comments about Kawasaki Kx60, 1983-2002 and Kx80, 1983-1990.

2 comments about The Triumph Tiger Cub Bible.

1. mike estall has put together the ultimate reference guide as well as an indepth history of this unique machine.great photos and invaluable information!



2. This is a thorough, comprehensive, and well illustrated history of this motorcycle, from the initial design philosophy, through the engineering development, to the marketing and competition exploits, both in Britain and the USA, its primary export market. There is insight into some of the key personalities involved, and interesting photographs and descriptions of one or two experimental prototypes of machines that were never put into production. The appendices give both detailed photographs and amazingly complete technical specifications of the many models and variations of this motorcycle, from Bonneville streamliners to French Army bikes. Anyone proposing to restore one of these machines will find this book invaluable. It is fair to say that there is nothing that anyone could wish to know about the Tiger Cub that is not in this book. The only caveat I have is that the amount of technical information may be overkill for the casual reader, this is an enthusiast's book.

No comments about Honda XL600/650V Transalp & XRV750 Africa Twin '87 to '07 (Haynes Service & Repair Manual).