Afternoon all…it may be morning, but go with me, I’m setting a scene here.
Owing to the fact that I can talk a lot of rubbish and have been known to read books from time to time, the Fantastic Ms Foxy has asked me to be so kind as to Review one of the latest offerings from the Haynes manual collection.
Alright, before we go any further on this, I’ll come clean…she asked me to do this ages back, but about a week after I picked the book up, my missus decided (correctly) that I was an eternal slob and we needed to clean the house up…so we did. Needless to say my organised chaos became a series of neat piles and I lost track of EVERYTHING I owned from clean pants to remains of the previous days’ kebab I’d been saving for when I was hungry.
Anyway to cut a long story short, this book got “put away tidily” and I totally lost track of it…DOH… however Chaos rules and slowly the organisation has collapsed once more and as it did, the tidiness fell away to reveal my homework, which had just been collecting dust since Foxy had asked me ages back. Anyway, here we go…
I feel a bit of a fool but I have to say, this is probably one of the most useful books you could possibly have. Helpfully entitled “The Motorcycle Book”, it should be really easy for you to find either on-line or at your nearest book shop. I can’t sing its praises enough, BUT let me put that into perspective.
What Haynes author, Alan Seeley has done is to lay out a spectacularly useful spread of information for the Beginner to Mid-range experienced biker who needs to know the useful stuff for A) Buying a Bike, and B) Maintaining, or at the very least understanding their new bike.
OK, imagine you’ve been riding a bike for about a year, and you think you’re starting to get the hang of things. Right, now remember the first time you went in to a dealer and started looking around for a bike, thinking you knew what you wanted. With me still?
Right, now you walked up to the dealer and said, “Hi, I want a motorbike.” and the next 15 minutes worth of words that came out of his mouth made “No sense whatsoever”. I mean what is the difference between an in-line 4 and a V Twin? How can I tell if the leathers I want to buy are up to European Safety Standards? What is an aftermarket can? And where does the lid go if I buy a helmet?
Yes, The Motorcycle Book is the book that takes you from ueber keen novice to actually having some useful bike-related information that means next time the Flatster starts laughing in your face cos you didn’t know the difference between 2 and 3 pot brake callipers, you can turn round and laugh back in his face. Not cos of this book, just cos I said it would be ok to do so…?
Basically “The Motorcycle Book” is written in a language that you really couldn’t fail to follow, and it is laid out in the truly easy to understand style that marks all Haynes manuals and bike-related books,
I was given this book to review cos everyone else at LB knows the difference between a Sports Tourer and a Sports Bike…I admit, I didn’t. But don’t get me wrong, this book isn’t one of those “Motorbikes for Dummies” kind of books. The assumption is you know your way around bikes, but like anyone learning there will always be some gaps in your knowledge base.
Take the simple lay out that is the hallmark of a Haynes. The book is neatly divided into 4 sections. Part 1 is a great bit of history/common knowledge that outlines all the different forms of bike, the kind of rider that would appreciate them and a little of their history. It outlines the differences between Sportsbikes and Sport Tourers (so now I know). Then there’s Trail bikes, Monster Trailies and Supermotos. And yes there’s even two mini-chapters devoted to Scooters and Mopeds. I have to admit I didn’t know there was a difference, but Mr Seeley has definitely put me right on that one.
OK, this may sound a bit obvious if you’ve been riding for awhile, but someone like me whose come to motorbikes pretty late in life, never hung around garages as a kid, and only just bought my first Sportsbike, this is useful knowledge and really helped me out when I was deciding on my replacement for my crushed Bandit 600.
Now truth be told, this Part of the book interested me, cos I need to know these sort of things if you lot are going to take what I have to say seriously, but honestly speaking this is probably the least practically useful part of the book. It’s a potted knowledge of the world of motorbiking and although not much use practically speaking, I can now hold my own in a generally bike-related conversational way…
BUT, the gold mine is what’s left - 3 other sections of the most spectacularly useful material possible for people who are getting to grips with their bikes and the whole biking life style.
Section 2 takes the rider out of the dream world of “one day, I’ll own a bike” and actually aims to get you on the road. It takes the reader through the training systems including CBT, theory and practical tests and what to do if you want to hunt down some more advanced training. It outlines the safety equipment, insurance issues and luggage systems available. It even goes into the gadgets that’ll both improve the look and ride-ability of your beloved machine.
Section 3 couldn’t be any more useful if it tried. Someone said to me once, “Remove the split pin, undo the main axle nut and loosen the wheel from the swing arm!” Yeah ok, so I know what all those bits are now, but if you don’t this section of the book takes you step by step through the major components of your bike and in a simple and easy to comprehend fashion. If you are planning any maintenance work at all, and haven’t bought the Haynes manual for your specific bike but want to know what’s going, then start with this book…its almost a must.
You’ll find out the basics of how tyres are put together, how to choose a tyre that’s right for your riding style, the difference between 2 and 4 stroke engines with great diagrams to show you. Lay-outs of the different engine types from 4-stroke opposed twins to the less common in-line triples. Do you want to know how the carburettor works? Its all here. Or how about tuning your carbs…well the basics are outlined for you. Now this doesn’t mean you’re instantly going to turn into someone who could tune Rossi’s new 800 but knowing what’s going on will make you that bit better equipped to deal with any problems you might face.
What else, well we’ve got the exhaust systems explained, power-commander basics are laid out for you to learn about, suspension, shocks, swing arms, brakes and even a bit about the accessories side of things…yeah, you know THE BLING stuff.
And best of all Section 4. More often than not a cager will climb into their little box and drive off without EVER checking any of the mechanical elements…why? Well because being sealed inside that little box, with airbags and safety belts, their life ISN’T really at risk. You ride a bike right? So you probably know just how dangerous it is to ride a machine that isn’t properly taken care of right? One badly adjusted brake calliper could very easily kill you, and here’s where this book is ace. It’s not gonna teach you perfect maintenance, but it will give you enough confidence to know what to look for so you can make sure your brakes are going to work and more importantly, save your life.
This Section breaks down the parts of the mechanical process that you can keep an eye on. Depending on your experience you can then repair yourself or get some help, but this Section shows you “what must be” and what could indicate problems. Brake systems, chain care and maintenance, how to change your oil and oil filter and so on.
It also offers some great advice on how to store your bike if you plan on not using it over the winter, what tools will help you out, how to keep your electrics alive and kicking and most important of all, how to make sure your bike is road legal so you don’t feel old Bill’s fingers on the back of your collar.
Now it may seem like I’ve done nothing but rave about this book, but truth be told, since I found it again, I’ve read it from cover to cover twice, just cos I’m interested in this stuff. If you’re relatively new to biking or have gaps in your understanding of how your bike works, then I cannot recommend this book any more strongly. I’ll be honest though, if you know your stuff, this book might make an interesting read, but it probably won’t be telling you anything you don’t know already.
This is the book you should be buying as a gift for the next person who says to you, “God I love my bike, I just wish I understood it a bit better.” Happy reading.
Related Linkswww.haynes.co.uk
