Top Motorcycle Books
Posted by Ben Baker on Nov 11th 2016
| Winter is coming and that's not just a line from Game of Thrones. Some of us are lucky to live in places where we can ride year round, others, not so much. |
| When the winter doldrums hit, pull out a book. Here's a list of some of the best bike books out there. They can be purchased at bookstores and online retail outlets. |
| Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values. Let Mike Werner take you deeper into the book that tops every list of best motorcycle books. |
| Once past the No. 1 slot, biker books spread all over the place. |
| Amazon's No. 1 with a bullet seller is Neil Peart's Far and Wide: Bring That Horizon to Me!. If the name Neil Peart sounds familiar, it should. Peart is the ax man for the legendary Canadian rock trio, Rush. When Rush hits the road, Peart packs his BMW and uses down time to find new roads. |
| Over at Goodreads, Bink Cummings holds the No. 2 slot with The Diary of Bink Cummings: Vol 1. This is a work of fiction and it's an adult romance novel. Goodreads is a place where people can buy, sell and trade books. |
| At No. 2 at Amazon is the kid's book The Mouse and the Motorcycle. This is the first of a series of books about Ralph the Mouse and his adventures on two wheels. Ever read it? If not, buy a copy, read it and pass it on to kids. |
| If you want to read about road trips, Anil Polat has a list of eight books to make you want to get in the saddle and ride. Topping his list is Jupiter's Travels. Ted Simon logged 78,000 miles and 45 countries on the back of a Triumph. Jupiter's Travels tops most lists for biker road trip books. |
| Talk about bikes long enough and the Hell's Angels are going to come up. Hunter S. Thompson, the journalist who created the Gonzo Journalism genre, applied his unique skills to the MC in the book Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga. Nonfiction, but Thompson's writing style will make you wonder how much of the story is true and how much was "chemically enhanced." Thompson lived with the HAs for two years to create the book. |
| If you are a gear head, then Classic Motorcycle Race Engines: Expert Technical Analysis of the World's Great Power Units is the book for you. Engines covered start in the 1930s with the Guzzi 500 120-degree twin to the 2012 Yamaha YZR M1 in-line four. |
| From the other side of the Pond, the UK newspaper The Guardian recommends Setting Free the Bears by John Irving. Reporter John Mullan has nine other suggestions in his Top 10 list. |
| For the last item, coffee table books. These are the giant books that have huge pictures that sit and collect dust on fine furniture. If you have $700 (or more), then The Impossible Collection of Motorcycles can be yours. Amazon has used copies at $450. If you're not willing to drop a mortgage payment and a bike payment on one book, then The Ride: New Custom Motorcycles and their Builders won't shred your wallet. Barnes & Noble has it for $46.91. |