The Strange Death of the British Motor Cycle Industry

This book provides a dispassionate examination of the evidence leading to the decline of motorcycle manufacturing in Britain. Although there are now Triumphs and Nortons available again, the decline during the latter half of the 20th century was spectacular. Steve Koerner is a British motorcycle enthusiast and historian from British Columbia who completed a PhD dissertation on the subject at…

Joey Dunlop: a real racer’s life

  This softback biography of TT legend William Joseph Dunlop is one of the few publications on this subject to be given official approval by the TT Riders’ Association. Written by Ray Knight, himself a road racer of considerable accomplishment, it was published in the year of Dunlop’s death – but the author had already spent the previous decade researching…

Overland to Vietnam

On his earlier expeditions, Gordon G May rode a BSA Bantam to the pyramids of Egypt, and then a Royal Enfield Bullet to southern India. His most recent adventure involved a WW2 military Matchless and a circuitous route across Europe to the Black Sea, through the Caucasus and into Central Asia, through China, over high-altitude passes and into Pakistan, across…

The Motorcycle Files: insider info

As you might imagine, after decades in the business of thrashing fast bikes around race tracks, journalist Alan Cathcart has built up a simply staggering archive of information about iconic, often unique racers and roadbikes. Taking advantage of modern technology, he’s sharing his roadtests, data and insider info in a series of ebooks, The Motorcycle Files. Since it was launched…

Frank Melling: The Flying Penguin

Frank Melling tells a mean tall story. You’d seek him out on Friday night, pint in hand, to hear ripping yarns about being black-flagged on Sammy Miller’s Norton Kneeler, or staring down the wrong end of a Colt 45 barrel in backwoods Missouri. The twist to this second collection of postcards from a riding life is that Frank’s tall stories…

Far Horizons by Andrew Earnshaw

f you’re going to ride around the world in instalments, then America would seem like a fairly safe place to start. Rowena Hoseason reads all about it… Most motorcycle adventure books revolve around an extraordinary premise. The rider may be extraordinary in some way – a celebrity, or perhaps a person overcoming a substantial impediment who wouldn’t normally be considered…