Joe's Required Reading List

Contributed by Joe Michaud - Writer and Brit-bike fanatic

Someone last week asked for a list of gearhead books...the kinda things that ya can read rather than wasting your time with useless fiction...here's some of my favorite stuff. Your results may vary...what ya got in YOUR bookcases?

Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners, and Plumbing Handbook , by Carroll Smith. ISBN 0-87938-406-9. The man is certainly opinionated but this book is THE handbook on the preparation of race machinery. The "how, why, where, and when"; of every type of fastener is covered in detail. A fine book and worth a reread just for the info on torque settings..

Engineer To Win , by Carroll Smith. ISBN 0-87938-166-8. This book covers types of material and appropriate use of technology. See above for the authors opinionated credentials.

Tuning For Speed , by Phil Irving. ISBN 0-908031-29-7. Australian Phil Irving was responsible for the design of the Vincent and numerous F1 racing engines. The Eric Clapton of vintage motorcycle performance...God, as an engineer.

Triumph Speed Secrets , by Stan Shenton. ISBN 0-933078-09-9. Late '60's skunkworks Triumph stuff. Most is applicable to street-motor use...whooohooo. A nice dream book.

Scientific Design of Intake and Exhaust Systems , by Phillip Smith and John Morrison. ISBN 0-837603-09-9. A tough and chewy book. I've never been able to finish it but I can now understand scavenge, cam overlap, intake swirl, squish bands, tuned headers, intake plenums/air-boxes, and why 99% of after-market Harley pipes aren't worth crap for performance.

The Fiberglass Repair and Construction Handbook , by Jack Wiley. ISBN 0-8306-2779-0.
Learn to fix anything made from fiberglass. Have you ever wanted to make your own café bike gas-tank, or fix a seat pan? With this book and some fearless daring, you may be able to.
Or at least you'll be able to make a weird and hot lump of acrid fiberglass. Do NOT use this book in Mom's kitchen.

Mechanics Guide To Precision Measuring Tools , by Forbes Aird. ISBN 0-7603-0545-5. Performance begins with precision parts...make 'em fit by understanding the measurement tools needed. If for no other reason, you may be able to have an intelligent conversation with your mechanic.

Norton Service Release , Norton Villiers, Ltd. A reprint and compilation of all the Norton service bulletins sent to dealers by Norton Villiers. It's nice to see that consumers were always considered to be beta-testers. "Ohh, the main bearings in those Combat motors all self-destruct, eh? We'd better tell the dealers what to do, Nigel."
Nonetheless, a necessary read for any Commando owner. One assumes that all brands have similar compilations, if one is lucky enough to find someone that has them and has reprinted them.

She's A Bad Motorcycle ...Writers On Riding, edited by Geno Zanetti. ISBN 1-56025-317-7. A nice collection of fine prose concerning our own little sickness. Contributions range from Sonny Barger, Che Guevera, Hunter Thompson, Tom Wolfe, Robert Pirsig and many others. Some articles will thrill you, some—–like the outlaw ones—–may have a far different effect. However, all are related by the one common thread that we all understand...if it leans and it corners, it thrills us.

The Perfect Vehicle...What It Is About Motorcycles , by Melissa Holbrook Pierson. ISBN 0-39331-80-95. The first ten pages of this book will immediately hook you, if you are a rider. If it doesn't...well... you have lost your soul. Pierson hits the mark with the thing, the spirit, the what-ever-it-is about bikes that quickly serves as an addiction to folks like us. Nice work.

Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance , Robert Pirsig. ISBN 0-553-27747-2. It's either a scholarly work of Eastern mindfulness and nonrationalism intelligently reconciled with Western subject/object dualism. Or it's a literary mishmash of psycho-babble and poor history...you be the judge. I've not read it since I was a pretetentious college student, but as a rider I feel I gotta own at least one copy.

Jupiter’s Travels , by Ted Simon. ISBN 0-9654785-0-5. Ted is on the road again, these days, attempting to duplicate his semi-heroic 75,000 mile circumnavigation of the globe in '73-'74m on a Triumph 500. We think Bloors new Triumph company stupidly dropped the ball by not giving him a new bike. We think Ted may have bitten off more than he can chew these 28 years later but we wish him well.

Classic Bike , an expensive monthly mag imported from England. They must fly it over on the bloody Concorde to cost $44/year but what's a Brit bike guy gonna do? It is the essential vintage bike mag for my interests, anyway. Nice photos, nice blend of newer/older machines. I still like it despite its lack of respect by many on the vintage email lists.

Cycle World , the 800-pound gorilla of American motorcycle magazines. In my opinion, a fine and balanced blend of the new, the old, and the future. I never miss the columns by Dave Edwards, Kevin Cameron or Peter Egan. Always a good read.

American Iron , the ONLY Harley magazine that I would have on my coffee table. No tattoos, no naked skanky babes draped over bikes, and no letters from convicts eager to share what kinda Hog they're gonna acquire right after they're paroled out...just a nice collection of vintage and modern American bikes with well-written tech. Plus, they print me and pay me.

Any and all factory shop/parts manuals, restoration guides, pictorial histories. Do yourselves a large favor and acquire every available factory-authorized shop and parts manual as well as any other sources including the Clymer or Haynes manual for every bike that you have. Some marques will have reprints of long-out-of-print works, done by teh entusuastic clubs that support them. Find these books. Cherish them. Use them.

Any book with period photos or any collection of period bike reviews can be a very nice source of info when you're elbow-deep in an obscure bike restoration. There is no substitute for more information.

Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners, and Plumbing Handbook , by Carroll Smith. ISBN 0-87938-406-9.	The man is certainly opinionated but this book is THE handbook on the preparation of race machinery. The "how, why, where, and when"; of every type of fastener is covered in detail. A fine book and worth a reread just for the info on torque settings..
Engineer To Win , by Carroll Smith. ISBN 0-87938-166-8.	This book covers types of material and appropriate use of technology. See above for the authors opinionated credentials.
Tuning For Speed , by Phil Irving. ISBN 0-908031-29-7.	Australian Phil Irving was responsible for the design of the Vincent and numerous F1 racing engines. The Eric Clapton of vintage motorcycle performance...God, as an engineer.
Triumph Speed Secrets , by Stan Shenton. ISBN 0-933078-09-9.	Late '60's skunkworks Triumph stuff. Most is applicable to street-motor use...whooohooo. A nice dream book.
Scientific Design of Intake and Exhaust Systems , by Phillip Smith and John Morrison. ISBN 0-837603-09-9.	A tough and chewy book. I've never been able to finish it but I can now understand scavenge, cam overlap, intake swirl, squish bands, tuned headers, intake plenums/air-boxes, and why 99% of after-market Harley pipes aren't worth crap for performance.
The Fiberglass Repair and Construction Handbook , by Jack Wiley. ISBN 0-8306-2779-0.	Learn to fix anything made from fiberglass. Have you ever wanted to make your own café bike gas-tank, or fix a seat pan? With this book and some fearless daring, you may be able to. Or at least you'll be able to make a weird and hot lump of acrid fiberglass. Do NOT use this book in Mom's kitchen.
Mechanics Guide To Precision Measuring Tools , by Forbes Aird. ISBN 0-7603-0545-5.	Performance begins with precision parts...make 'em fit by understanding the measurement tools needed. If for no other reason, you may be able to have an intelligent conversation with your mechanic.
Norton Service Release , Norton Villiers, Ltd. A reprint and compilation of all the Norton service bulletins sent to dealers by Norton Villiers.	It's nice to see that consumers were always considered to be beta-testers. "Ohh, the main bearings in those Combat motors all self-destruct, eh? We'd better tell the dealers what to do, Nigel." Nonetheless, a necessary read for any Commando owner. One assumes that all brands have similar compilations, if one is lucky enough to find someone that has them and has reprinted them.
She's A Bad Motorcycle ...Writers On Riding, edited by Geno Zanetti. ISBN 1-56025-317-7.	A nice collection of fine prose concerning our own little sickness. Contributions range from Sonny Barger, Che Guevera, Hunter Thompson, Tom Wolfe, Robert Pirsig and many others. Some articles will thrill you, some—–like the outlaw ones—–may have a far different effect. However, all are related by the one common thread that we all understand...if it leans and it corners, it thrills us.
The Perfect Vehicle...What It Is About Motorcycles , by Melissa Holbrook Pierson. ISBN 0-39331-80-95.	The first ten pages of this book will immediately hook you, if you are a rider. If it doesn't...well... you have lost your soul. Pierson hits the mark with the thing, the spirit, the what-ever-it-is about bikes that quickly serves as an addiction to folks like us. Nice work.
Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance , Robert Pirsig. ISBN 0-553-27747-2.	It's either a scholarly work of Eastern mindfulness and nonrationalism intelligently reconciled with Western subject/object dualism. Or it's a literary mishmash of psycho-babble and poor history...you be the judge. I've not read it since I was a pretetentious college student, but as a rider I feel I gotta own at least one copy.
Jupiter’s Travels , by Ted Simon. ISBN 0-9654785-0-5.	Ted is on the road again, these days, attempting to duplicate his semi-heroic 75,000 mile circumnavigation of the globe in '73-'74m on a Triumph 500. We think Bloors new Triumph company stupidly dropped the ball by not giving him a new bike. We think Ted may have bitten off more than he can chew these 28 years later but we wish him well.
Classic Bike , an expensive monthly mag imported from England.	They must fly it over on the bloody Concorde to cost $44/year but what's a Brit bike guy gonna do? It is the essential vintage bike mag for my interests, anyway. Nice photos, nice blend of newer/older machines. I still like it despite its lack of respect by many on the vintage email lists.
Cycle World , the 800-pound gorilla of American motorcycle magazines.	In my opinion, a fine and balanced blend of the new, the old, and the future. I never miss the columns by Dave Edwards, Kevin Cameron or Peter Egan. Always a good read.
American Iron , the ONLY Harley magazine that I would have on my coffee table.	No tattoos, no naked skanky babes draped over bikes, and no letters from convicts eager to share what kinda Hog they're gonna acquire right after they're paroled out...just a nice collection of vintage and modern American bikes with well-written tech. Plus, they print me and pay me.
Any and all factory shop/parts manuals, restoration guides, pictorial histories.	Do yourselves a large favor and acquire every available factory-authorized shop and parts manual as well as any other sources including the Clymer or Haynes manual for every bike that you have. Some marques will have reprints of long-out-of-print works, done by teh entusuastic clubs that support them. Find these books. Cherish them. Use them.
Any book with period photos or any collection of period bike reviews can be a very nice source of info when you're elbow-deep in an obscure bike restoration. There is no substitute for more information.