Topic: Favorite Motorcycle Books

[MacM2010]

Hi all.  I teach English at a community college in southern NM, and I'm thinking of putting a class together where we read about motorcycles.  Not manuals or back issues of CycleWorld, but, you know, books and stuff.  I searched around for some favorite books by forum members, and came up with a few.  What other books do people like?  I've got Hunter Thompson's "Hell's Angels" on here, and I'm looking for things in that vein, narratives about motorcycles as opposed to straight history.

So, the few I've got from searching:

"Hell's Angels" by Hunter S. Thompson
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig
"Jupiter's Travels" by Ted Simon
"Long Way Round" by Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor

What else do you all like?

Thanks much,
Mac

[rhos1355]

"The Motorcycle Diaries"
A bit of History, a bit of Politics, a bit of Geography and a bit about bikes.

[ColinMc]

Peter Egan books are good reads too...usually just compilations of his articles he's written but good stuff, he has two bike ones if i remember correctly of his collection of articles from cycle world.

Remembered the titles!  Leanings 1 and the other is the very creatively titled Leanings 2 lol

EDIT: Sorry I just realized you said no cycle world stuff....it's not back issues but they are all his articles from said magazine. Good reading but not sure if it's the kind of thing you are looking for.

[Shenanigans]

"The Longest Ride : My Ten-Year 500,000 Mile Motorcycle Journey
 by Emilio Scotto"

[Rocking-M]

One Good Run: The Legend of Burt Munro , by Tim Hanna

[MacM2010]

Good suggestions, thanks everyone.  Keep 'em coming, if you've got more.

"Sorry I just realized you said no cycle world stuff....it's not back issues but they are all his articles from said magazine. Good reading but not sure if it's the kind of thing you are looking for." - No problem, I'm not opposed to the magazine in any way, I just didn't want to read a bunch of reviews of new bikes or anything like that.  A collection of columns is a good idea, definitely.  I suppose I'm looking for the more "philosophical" side of riding, not the nuts-and-bolts of riding and wrenching.

We'll probably be looking at motorcycling as a culture, the image people have of riders and where that came from.  Mostly it's an excuse to watch and make fun of biker movies.

Anyway, thanks again.  I appreciate the help.

[Bob Wessner]

"Leanings" by Peter Egan

[gerhed]

"Restoring the Indian"
Ups and downs of a difficult project.

"Racers to the Sun"
Flat tracking an old Henderson.

[754]

Deeley, MOTORCYCLE MAN..

 I think that is the title..

[Rocking-M]

Here is a book that just popped up on the ST Duck list,

Craig Bourne in his great book "Philosophical
Ridings - Motorcycles and the meaning of life".

Published last year by Oneworld Publications, ISBN-13: 978-1-85168-
520-2). Chapter numbers are Gears, a miscellaneous selection is The
end of the road: what's so bad about death; Leather, sex and
violence: a day in the life of a biker; The need for speed; Billy-no-
mates - the last human alive; Bikers with attitude (quote, "...And
not just to me: in my experience a Ducati merely parked in the street
can draw a crowd of admirers who will stand and stare for longer than
they know they should."); and Do many motorcycles on the road create
more roadworks or more artworks; plus many more intriguing elements.

Craig Bourne is a Lecturer in Philosophy at Cambridge University,
England, and as you may have guessed, rides a Ducati. Highly
recommended.

[hoodellyhoo]

+1 on the Peter Egan books

[MacM2010]

You guys rock, these are great suggestions.  My Amazon wish list grows with each post.

Thanks very much,
Mac

[bert96]

 Soichiro Honda biographie's