No comments about Norton Dominator.

2 comments about The Manx Norton.

1. I really enjoyed this book. It's an in-depth history of the Norton Manx racing motorcycles from their inception, through their racing successes, famous tuners, and all the way to the current vintage scene.

   There is reasonable technical information, but more enjoyable are the narratives of racing successes, the development of the bike, etc. There are lovely period photographs of the bikes in action, the engines as they evolved, period memorabilia, etc.

   There are even sections on the use of the Manx engine in car racing, etc.

   I truly enjoyed this book. As I am a fan of the Norton Manx bikes, I liked this book more than many of the other Norton books which describe all the single cylinder bikes, or the twins, etc.

   Highly recommended.




2. Excessive focus on personalities and too little technical detail on the tuning and mechanical development of the motor. Little information of such essentials as specfic horsepower/torque figures of engines showing the increases and dates of important engineering milestones from early to late.

2 comments about Norton.

1. I enjoyed the book. However, I did find that the impressive coverage of Norton's illustrious racing history came at the expense of the technical and corporate history. Some may not find this a fault, but I was looking for more information on production models. And there simply wasn't enough mention of the twins with which us Yanks are most familiar (I can't afford a Manx but a Commando is a possibility...) If you are a fan of the singles that made Norton a great name in motorsports, you will like this book. It is well written and informative.



2. This provides a good history of Norton motorcycles and their racing history with a fantastic collection of photographs.

No comments about Norton 500, 600, 650 and 750 Twins Owners Workshop Manual, No. 187: '57-'70 (Owners Workshop Manual).

No comments about NORTON MOTORCYCLES FACTORY WORKSHOP MANUAL 1957-1970.

No comments about Norton Commando Owners Workshop Manual: 745cc, 828cc, Thru 68-77 (Owners Workshop Manual).

No comments about Norton Commando (Haynes Great Bikes).

2 comments about Clymer Bsa 500 & 650Cc Unit Twins 1963-1972, Norton 750 & 850Cc Commandos 1969-1975, Triumph 500-750Cc Twins 1963-1979 (Clymer Motorcycle Repair Series) (Clymer Motorcycle Repair Series).

1. I'm glad i bought this book for the resto of a bsa. For 18 bucks the book is huge and as an extra, it covers three diff bikes. the haynes manual is tiny and i probably wont even open that one again as this bsa section alone is more than triple the size of the haynes.



2. This manual is a good start when working on one of these older bikes. However it covers many different brands and models, and diagrams and instructions are very vague. If you are working on multiple bikes it may be good, or if you are not sure what year your bike is it is useful. However, if you know exactly what model and year you own you will be better off finding an original factory repair manual (and parts manual), they are all over E-Bay.

5 comments about Riding with Rilke: Reflections on Motorcycles and Books.

1. Although there were portions of this book that were good, many of them seemed uninteresting to me. I had hoped it would be a story that provided interesting details of both a bike journey and book collecting. In the end I feel like a got less than I hoped for either. He seems to gloss over many of his actual riding journey but spends a lot of time on details that added nothing to the story for me. Perhaps I am spoiled by Peter Egan.



2. As a reader and rider, I enjoyed this book as a motorcycle travelogue with all its arcane bits of literary data strewn throughout.
   If I have a small complaint it is that Bishop spends too much time in Austin and not exploring more of the places he is terrific at writing about. When we were traveling with him, he made some of those stops come alive and gave the book some fun and substance. When he halted (as he had to in order to do the archive research), so did the cycle action.
   However, with that being said, some of the book's best and most poignant passages are his ruminations on reading and riding - his description on p. 112 about the "readiness of books" has been accurate in my reading life. And the couple of pages (p. 124-6) about silence and listening were memorable.
   So is the line: "I wrote on the bike and I rode in the reading room. I'm sure it's the same in offices everywhere." He's right, of course, as I work while I ride and ride while I work in the form of a quick daydream. Nice to know others have the same feelings.



3. Not a mere travelogue or another bike adventure...Bishop escorts the reader through the very essense of riding in the most spiritual, thoughtful and surprisingly, visceral treat of a book...yes, this little book travels well: I took a ride to New Mexico and there it sat patiently on my nightstands in all the different hotels, motels and inns along the way...then, upon opening the book's pages, it (the book) merrily displayed its well-crafted prose to bring together this joy of riding a motorcycle and the sheer bliss at reading the power and majesty of word after word, woven together into images and concepts of both of these Life-sustaining activities...OK, so it is not for everyone, it is for me and that's what we're talking about here...if you Love either, read it, if you Love both, devour it...if you Love neither, God help you, 'cause you are missing out on Life at its finest and the "Now," the moments...love of riding, love of words, love of Life...another tapestry to bring form and content to our Loves...live on that edge and slip back to write about it...darn, I'm going for a ride now: "four wheel move the body, two wheels move the soul" and I feel the call of the wind...



4. When reading RIDING WITH RILKE it is easy to see that Ted Bishop, a good writer, loves books and Ducati motorcycles but for me this book felt a little flat. There are too many pages about minor characters and minor events that add nothing to the story. The book would be helped if the 261 pages were cut back by a quarter. I too love books and ride a motorcycle, a Harley Road Glide, so it gives me no joy not to rave about the book but still, I would recommend it even if you feel like skipping a few pages.



5. Disclaimer: I have been a librarian for 35 years, and a motorcycle rider for 46 years, so I can hardly claim to be a typical or neutral reviewer of this book. If Amazon permitted 6 stars, I would award them. It is a rare event indeed to find a work that so lovingly deals with both motorcycle riding and books.
   
   Ted Bishop captures vividly the essence of long distance motorcycle riding, including writing in one's head while riding, and the distraction to a writer to riding in one's head while attempting to write (a considerably less dangerous activity). His words took me back to an 11,000-mile ride that I made two years ago, along many of the same roads.
   
   Equally vivid are his characterizations of librarians and archivists who work in special collections, and of the process by which a scholar mines the books and papers in such collections for insights and publications.
   
   Bishop has a keen eye for irony, and I found myself laughing so hard while reading Riding with Rilke on a plane flight that I fear I was creating a disturbance for my fellow passengers.
   
   Riders who aren't especially interested in books may find too little motorcycle content in this book. Scholars and librarians with little interest in motorcycles may find too little about books and literature (and very little, indeed, about Rilke). For those few who are passionate about both motorcycles and books, Riding with Rilke is a rare treat.

5 comments about The Perfect Vehicle: What It is about Motorcycles.

1. The pages from the book to view on Amazon misrepresent the book, as well as the title. It is a disorganized collection of pieces without any common point. I am sorry I bought it and spent time on it.



2. I really enjoyed this book. I'm not a motorcyle rider and I read it all in a couple of days -- I just couldn't put it down. I like Ms. Pierson's memoir of her personal journey in motorcycling. This is an absolute must for anyone contemplating a motorcycle or knows someone who loves them. Its a great story of personal struggle, and passion for living and riding. I recommend it highly.
   If you like this, you may also like "Rebuilding the Indian" by Fred Haefele.



3. The first writing in this book (the Forward) is worth the price of admission. If it stayed at that level, it'd be "off the charts great" ... up there with "Eat, Pray, Love".
   
   Unfortunately, this is not the case.
   
   In the Forward (and the Postscript, for that matter), her writing is concise, poetic, wonderous ... it is art. And it's about the motorcycle - exactly what the title promises it will be. It is simply awesome.
   
   But from there on, she takes more twists and turns than her favorite ride. And they don't really live up to the title or its subtitle. Instead of addressing "the Perfect Vehicle" or "What it is about Motorcycles", it addresses Melissa's own journey.
   
   And in this, I feel like she cheated us. She might have more aptly entitled it "Motorcycles, Men, and Me". And - even with that - it could be a good story. But that tight, crisp, clean writing in the Forward is not present throughout much of the rest of the book. It is more flowery, rambling, unfocused, and off-point from the title. This is where it dips to 2 Stars.
   
   She also tends to spend a lot of time grinding an axe about her experience of being a FEMALE rider in what she perceives to be a Man's realm. But then again, maybe that points out to a dated book (she's relating experiences from the mid 90s). This is maybe 3-star writing.
   
   I've been motorcycling for only 4 years. I got started in Thailand when a woman from German talked me into motorcycling with her through the Golden Triangle area along the Burma-Thai border. Now, when I bike in Idaho, often as not at least 1/3 of the riders I'm with are women. They are on Beemers, Harleys, Yamahas, Suzukis ... and this is IDAHO. Not exactly what you'd call a liberal state.
   
   The history section is relatively interesting. But and that's where it stays at a relatively modest "3 Stars".
   
   Ultimately, I found this book to be a major disappointment - mostly because it started off GREAT. If you want to get the best this book has to offer, simply read the Forward and the Postscript.



4. Good book. As a seasoned rider who generally only reads technical moto books, I'm learly of the "this is what I think about the motorcycle" type books. Melissa did not just write about it, she lived it and you can tell by the way she writes about it. She took a personal journey that more and more women are taking these days and I hope they read her to see how she did it. New riders shoudl take a look and you seasonsed riders might get a kick out of seeing her develope into a real rider. I did but it was a long plane ride. The book and the plane ride were over before I knew it. Good job Melissa.



5. I recently finished The Perfect Vehicle, and I am extremely impressed. Not only is it very well written; the author isn't afraid to talk about things that many people don't mention, such as fear, and the special problems that motorcycling women still face. She is equally lyrical about the joys of riding. I recommend it wholeheartedly, and I've already lent out my copy. After reading this book, I'm looking harder at Moto Guzzis, too (the author's bike).