Unique pleces of 20th century Americana, Choppers have inspired motorcycle customizers across the globe and are some of the most sought after motorcycles in the world. This book presents a history of Choppers, tracing the genre from the early days when motorcycles were stripped down, or chopped in an attempt to improve performance, to modern times, when builders like Jesse James of West Coast Choppers create USD 100,000 works of rolling art.
Published by ZG Publishing Co., Box 670, Carbondale, CO 81623. A photodocumentary (with a generous admixture of posed shots) of the remarkable bikers who gather in the Black Hills each August. Verme's (above) presents the same exotics carefully posed and exposed on 4x5" film. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
One part Plato, one part Aristophanes, two parts Easy Rider, Organ Grinder is a cocktail of lewd wisdom gathered equally from the poetry of antiquity and from near-death experiences on the open road. In a series of short works inspired by Horatian satire, Alan Fishbone bounces from gonzo fever-dream to philosophical treatise, investigating the conflicts between idealism and cynicism, love and sex, body and soul. Here's a taste:
After my accident, I thought I was done with motorcycles. Until a few years ago-- I was lying in bed having trouble sleeping when I heard a voice say to me, "Alan, get a Harley and ride to Death Valley." I didn't even like Harleys. And I didn't believe that God had called me and told me to get one. It seemed unlikely that the monotheistic god we're stuck with would endorse a brand of motorcycle. Maybe the pagan gods of antiquity. Zeus might have ridden a Road King, or Apollo a BMW; you can imagine Aphrodite on the back of Ares's Ninja, zooming around the planets with the tip of a golden thong sticking out of her robe. Even that twerp Hermes on a Vespa delivering messages. Those gods liked to drink and screw and run around, like bikers, but not Yahweh or the Lord or Allah--strictly black limousines and security goons for those guys. Thou shalt not ride. Thou shalt not be free. Thou shalt pay off the debt of thy sins. So writes Alan Fishbone, our motorcycle riding scholar of ancient Greek and Latin, in one of the salty, sharp-eyed pieces that fill the pages of Organ Grinder.
Sensational color shots of the finest Harleys around Panheads, Shovelheads, Knuckleheads, and more 1903-1991. All are featured in superb color photography capturing all the details of the most interesting Harleys from every decade. Girdler's colorful text tells the history of Harley's company and racing bikes in a style that's pure pleasure to read.
Recognized the world over as an icon of the American lifestyle and the American Dream, Harley-Davidson's 100th anniversary is celebrated in this over-sized volume. Written by the grandson of the company's founder, the book contains the family business's inside story, along with rare photographs.
A mix of photos, paintings, reminiscences, movie posters celebrating the hog. The cultists and auto history buffs will want This Old Harley . Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).
What is it about bikes that leaves so many of us powerless to resist?
This entertaining guide charts the history of the bike from its origin as a cheap means of transport to its modern incarnations: a symbol of rebellion, a high-tech racing machine and the rich kid's plaything. Richard Hammond, passionate biker and collector of bikes, looks at the machines that have propelled people across the world to work, to school - and occasionally to their doom.
With his trademark expertise and wit, Hammond examines bikers of every type, from the happy farmer trundling through fields on his Honda Cub to the Hells Angel terrorising towns on their hog.
Go on a 60-year ride with Harley-Davidson's Sportster
Things got a little weird in the American motorcycle industry after World War II. People hungered for new motorcycles, buying just about everything manufacturers could build. But on rare occasions a manufacturer produced a machine that nobody wanted. Such was the case with the Harley-Davidson Model K. The Model K had most of the features buyers wanted in a modern machine, like hand-operated clutches, foot-operated shifters, and cool-running aluminum heads, but it lacked perhaps the most important technological upgrade: a modern overhead-valve valve-train design.
The Model K retained the antiquated side-valve design because of arcane AMA racing rules written when Harley-Davidson and Indian competed head-to-head on American racetracks, but by 1952 Indian was on its last legs. This should have made the Model K a massive sales success. What nobody counted on was the British bike invasion. Thanks to their modern overhead-valve engines, the lightweight British bikes humiliated the side-valve Harleys on the track and on the street. Upgrades to the Model K didn't help; Harley finally relented and introduced a new overhead-valve middleweight for the 1957 model year. Dubbed the Sportster, it was everything the Model K was not. More importantly, it was faster than the British competition. Thus began the Sportster's sixty-year reign.
Harley-Davidson Sportster: Sixty Years tells the complete Sportster story. Noted Sportster expert Allen Girdler covers all the bikes--the XLCH, Caf Racer, XR1000, XLX, 883, Iron, Forty-Eight, Seventy-Two, and Nightster--that have made the Sportster one of the most iconic motorcycles on earth.
