- Ultimate Motorcycling

The Craft & Art of Motorcycling Book Review [Riders Library]

Gary Ilminen — Sat, 02 Sep 2023 07:44:08 +0000

Steve Krugman’s new book, The Craft & Art of Motorcycling from First Ride to the Road Ahead, is an amazingly comprehensive textbook in content. It is also a disarmingly imaginative book in presentation, so it doesn’t come across as a dry textbook. It deals with the serious subject of how to ride well-equipped motorcycles and […]

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Ride Free – A Memoir by Willie G. Davidson Book Review

Gary Ilminen — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 08:06:29 +0000

The word “iconic” is a word I tend to try to avoid because it is so overused in current journalism that it has lost much of its meaning. This, however, is an exception. Now in his 90th year, Willie G. Davidson is a truly iconic figure in the motorcycle world. He has done a lot […]

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Ultimate Collector Motorcycles Book Review [Riders Library]

Gary Ilminen — Sun, 21 May 2023 05:46:30 +0000

Masterpiece. Stunning. Superb. Roll out the superlatives; they all apply to Ultimate Collector Motorcycles by Charlotte & Peter Fiell, as it is the ne plus ultra of classic motorcycle literature. There is little this magnificent two-volume set does not offer the serious motorcyclist, collector, aficionado, broker, trader, builder, designer, restorer, historian, or expert. Of the […]

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From Chemo to Throttle Book Review [Riders Library]

Gary Ilminen — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 01:43:50 +0000

Learning to ride a motorcycle can be a real challenge for anyone. Even those with full use of both hands. For Angie Sandow, it was far more daunting because she didn’t have the use of both hands. Her left hand has full function, but her right hand was incomplete from birth. Let’s let that sink […]

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Classic Motorcycles Book Review [32 Bikes Road Tested]

Gary Ilminen — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 06:08:53 +0000

Over the years, author Lester Morris has ridden some of the world’s rarest, most expensive, and highly exotic motorcycles and written comprehensive road tests on them. His latest book, Classic Motorcycles 32 Great Bikes and their Road Test Reports, compiles updated road tests of some of the most interesting bikes. When I got in touch […]

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“Going the Wrong Way” Motorcycle Book Review [Rider’s Library]

Gary Ilminen — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 06:09:55 +0000

In the 1970s, Northern Ireland’s Belfast was a cauldron of sectarian strife and violence. Disillusioned 21-one-year-old Chris Donaldson, the eventual author of “Going the Wrong Way”, decided to see if the world—specifically that part of it called Australia—had something better to offer. His ticket out was a Moto Guzzi Le Mans motorcycle; his passport was […]

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The Art of Advertising – BSA Promotional Art 1967-1970 Review

Gary Ilminen — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 07:04:44 +0000

Three of Brad Jones’ recent books provide a history of the BSA brand of motorcycles that is quite unlike that available on any other brand. The series includes BSA Motorcycles – The Final Evolution, From the Inside – BSA/Triumph’s Umberslade Hall Research Establishment Revealed. Now, Jones has added The Art of Advertising – BSA Promotional […]

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MV Agusta Since 1945 Book Review: Birth, Death and Resurrection

Gary Ilminen — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 06:56:46 +0000

Though the book’s title—MV Agusta Since 1945—indicates Ian Falloon tells the MV Agusta story only from 1945 onward, the author also provides background on the company’s deeper origins as an aircraft manufacturer before World War I. Falloon also provides insight into the Italian firm’s adaptations and survival during the Great Depression and immediately after World […]

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Motorcycle Streamliner Book Review [Rider’s Library]

Gary Ilminen — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 01:37:52 +0000

If you didn’t know any other name associated with motorcycle land speed racing, here’s one to remember: Denis Manning. Manning has designed and built more land speed record-setting motorcycles than anybody. The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame member’s land speed racing career stretches back six decades and includes being the designer, builder, and leader of […]

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Freddie Spencer Autobiography Book Review [Feel: My Story]

Teejay Adams — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 01:45:43 +0000

These days we are exposed to overwhelming amounts of information on MotoGP racers’ lives—detailed blow-by-blow reports of injuries they may be struggling with to their love lives, and death was a perennial threat. “Feel: My Story”, a reflective autobiography by Freddie Spencer (with Rick Broadbent), is a unique insight into a world full of exploits […]

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The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride Book Review

Gary Ilminen — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 07:18:54 +0000

It has been a decade since the first Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride in 2012. This ever-growing event first occurred in Sydney, Australia, the brainchild of Mark Hawwa. Inspired by a photo of Mad Men’s Don Draper astride a classic motorcycle in a business suit, Hawwa writes that he thought, “What if there was a bigger, more […]

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“Jump First, Think Fast” Book Review [Gilroy Indian and more]

Gary Ilminen — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:06:49 +0000

Frank J. O’Connell is perhaps one of the most broadly experienced top business executives ever to lead a motorcycle manufacturing company. He is also a serious motorcycle enthusiast who has written a new book: “Jump First, Think Fast — An Unconventional Approach to Higher Performance”. O’Connell’s résumé includes leadership positions at Reebok Brands North America, […]

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BMW Motorcycles – 100 Years Book Review [Rider’s Library]

Gary Ilminen — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 04:46:38 +0000

To look at BMW motorcycles today, you’d never know the parent company didn’t have its roots in the motorcycle industry and came close to abandoning the motorcycle product altogether. In his new book, BMW Motorcycles – 100 Years, Alan Dowds looks back on the sometimes-tough history of BMW Motorrad with tremendous historical and technical detail. […]

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“Classic Superbikes II” by Frank Melling Motorcycle Book Review

Jonathan Handler — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 20:44:44 +0000

Frank Melling is back with Classic Superbikes II, following up on the 2020 release of his Classic Superbikes, which we have reviewed. This softcover, 130+ page tour-de-force book of vintage superbikes is chock full of the dream bikes many of us have drooled over in years gone by. Melling has written 13 chapters about some […]

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Valentino Rossi – Life of a Legend – Revised and Updated [Review]

Gary Ilminen — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 09:28:47 +0000

When nine-time Grand Prix World Champion Valentino Rossi retired in 2021, it ended a soaring career in the premier level of professional road racing that began in 1996. Published in 2017, London’s Michael Scott wrote spectacular biography—Valentino Rossi – Life of a Legend—that covered Rossi from his beginnings. Scott has covered Grand Prix motorcycle road […]

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Sunday Rides on Two Wheels: Motorcycling in Southern Wisconsin Review

Gary Ilminen — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 05:23:32 +0000

Full disclosure: As a long-time resident of and motorcycle rider in Southern Wisconsin, I admit to having a strong bias in its favor as some of the best motorcycling territory in the world. Or, at least darn close. Barbara Barber does a superb job proving my point in her book, Sunday Rides on Two Wheels: […]

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The Complete Book of Ducati Motorcycles, 2nd Edition Review

Gary Ilminen — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 01:01:35 +0000

Ian Falloon is one of the motorcycle industry’s foremost brand historians. What’s more, he doesn’t rest on his laurels; his brand histories are dynamic resources that he keeps up to date. His latest offering is The Complete Book of Ducati Motorcycles – Every Model Since 1946 – 2nd Edition from Motorbooks. It joins his Complete […]

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Rider’s Library: Norton Villiers Triumph by Brad Jones Book Review

Gary Ilminen — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 06:11:19 +0000

It is a story with a lot of moving parts. It involves problems with products, people, policies, and politics, plus promises not kept. Poor judgment and indecision by multiple corporate, labor, and government entities, plus competing interests, intensifying competition in the marketplace, and global economics all figured in the collapse of some of Britain’s most […]

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Burma-Shave – The Rhymes, the Signs, the Times Review [Rider’s Library]

Gary Ilminen — Mon, 16 May 2022 08:15:35 +0000

Riders of a certain age—myself included—may remember seeing them. They were those small, unobtrusive but often funny placards in sets of six along the roads that always ended with the placard hustling the “brushless” shave cream called Burma-Shave. They are only seen now as novelty displays or by collectors. However, from 1926 to 1963, it […]

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Rider’s Library: “Freddie Ludlow. His Life on Two Wheels” Book Review

Gary Ilminen — Sun, 06 Mar 2022 02:23:37 +0000

These days, it’s not uncommon to see classic films with the notation “digitally remastered” to bring the old content to a new generation in the 21st century. Don Emde’s latest book is something like that. In Freddie Ludlow. His Life on Two Wheels, award-winning author/publisher Don Emde dramatically brings Freddie Ludlow’s personal scrapbook together with […]

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The Big Book of Motorbikes First Look: For New Readers and Riders

Don Williams — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 07:12:29 +0000

If you have a new reader on your Christmas shopping list, we’re going to make things easy for you—buy The Big Book of Motorbikes. Written by our colleague Rennie Scaysbrook of Cycle News and Pikes Peak International Hillclimb fame, his new book is designed to do two things—get kids interested in motorcycles, and prompt them […]

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“Ride Captains and Tail-Gunners” Book Review [Rider’s Library]

Gary Ilminen — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 01:34:05 +0000

Motorcyclists are social types. We tend to enjoy each other’s company, and that results in club events, gatherings, and group rides. Group rides can be a lot of fun, but like anything else, there are right ways and wrong ways to do them. In a group ride, doing some things incorrectly can spell disaster. The […]

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“Culture & Customization – The Motor Scooter Story” Book Review

Gary Ilminen — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 07:55:50 +0000

If you love scooters—and let’s face it, a lot of us do because we may have experienced our first motorized two-wheel rides on one—Barry John’s new Culture & Customization: The Motor Scooter Story is a book you’ll want to give a look. With over 200 color and black-and-white images, illustrations (drawn by the author), the […]

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Gary’s 2021 Holiday Gift Guide For Ultimate Motorcyclists [Two Top 5s!]

Gary Ilminen — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 08:43:12 +0000

It’s an annual event or dilemma, depending on your point of view—selecting the right holiday gift to get that motorcycling special someone, be it a spouse, significant other, life-long riding buddy, best wrench-spinning friend, or whatever. Santa photo credit: Andrew Lozovyi, Deposit Photos With budgetary constraints in mind, we’ll not consider extravagant gifts, such as […]

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The Harley-Davidson Sourcebook Book Review [Rider’s Library]

Gary Ilminen — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 08:07:04 +0000

Just when you thought about everything that could be written about Harley-Davidson motorcycles had been written, Canadian author and custom bike-builder Mitch Bergeron hits the bookshelves with his new homage to The Motor Company, The Harley-Davidson Sourcebook—All the Milestone Production Models Since 1903. Bergeron writes from a wealth of hands-on experience; his custom builds have […]

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