Two Book Reviews, Including 365 Motorcycles You Should Ride

365 Motorcycles You Must Ride

From Motorbooks we get 365 Motorcycles You Must Ride. Sign me up! Is there going to be a booth at Daytona in a few months? Imagine getting in line and riding one after the other-from the AJS E-90 Porcupine to the Yankee 500Z. I don’t even know what these bikes are, but I want to ride them. I want to ride them and the other 363 bikes between the covers of this book. OK, you can probably tell by my frenzied prose that cabin fever has struck, it’s between Christmas and New Years and it is 25 degrees today.

I just realized there are 155 days until spring while leafing through these 320 pages and 418 photos. There has been snow on the ground since the first of December, and it has been so cold I just sent the college son out in the garage to fog cylinders and bring in the batteries. I guess this is the time to hunker down and be an armchair motorcyclist for another northern winter.

Author: Dain Gingerelli
Author: James Manning Michels
Author: Charles Everitt
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
Item: 144605
ISBN: 9780760334744
Publisher: Motorbooks
Specs
Illustrations: 259 color & 155 b/w photos
Size: 6.5 x 8.25
Edition: First
Published: January 10th 2011
Price: $21.99

Motorcycle Touring Bible by Fred Rau

Iconic motorcycle journalist Fred Rau authors Motorcycle Touring Bible. At 224 pages it’s packed with tips, advice and shaggy dog stories about his almost forty years in the saddle. By his own count Fred has ridden at least 350 motorcycles and has appreciated the differences between each one.

“Obviously I am exceptionally fortunate: I’ve had the opportunity to ride almost anything and everything manufacturers can dream up. Maybe that’s why I find the nit-picking snobbery among aficionados of a particular brand, marque, or even type of motorcycle, so ludicrous, especially when it comes from riders who’ve never experienced any type of bike other than the one they own.”

Rau recommends what bike to use in each circumstance a rider might find themselves: such as a lighter weight bike instead of a heavy touring machine for riding one up in the mountains with a chase van hauling your gear: or a smaller bike with less ground clearance but better handling characteristics versus a full on adventure tourer on a desert trail. One of the points I found eye opening was the cost of owning a bike versus renting one. For those of us in the northern snowbelt it does make economic sense to rent rather than own.

He also covers gear selection and fitment, accessories and how and what to pack. All in all this is an enjoyable look into the philosophy of one of the giants in the motorcycle industry.

Author: Fred Rau
Format: Flexibound, 224 Pages
Item: 149550
ISBN: 9780760337417

Publisher: Motorbooks

Specs
Illustrations: 238 color and 4 b/w images
Size: 7.875 x 9

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