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32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Helpful Guide for New Motorcycle Owners, 14 May 2004
Your new motorcycle came with an owner's manual. Why in the world would you need a more general one?If you are like me, you do not really know very much about motorcycles other than how to ride one. The manufacturer's owner's manual assumes more knowledge than you really have, and encourages you to get professional maintenance for all but the most routine matters. But if you love your motorcycle (and who doesn't?), you want to take good care of it. Here's where Mr. Wilson's guide is valuable. It simply explains keeping your motorcyle clean and safe. It also provides good background on how motorcycles are designed and the parts work. Even if you never plan to do any repairs, you will find this interesting. The photographs are very clear and detailed, and allow you to see what he is talking about. My only complaint about the book is that some of the explanations assume a level of knowledge above what I have. "If you can rewire a plug, you can work on your bike." Well, I still don't know what "rewiring" a plug is, even after reading the book. My guess is that he is referring to adjusting the gap for the spark, but I'm not sure. I did come away with a sense of what needs to be done with motorcycles. I recently read a similar book by the same publisher on bicycle maintenance. I found that there are more differences than similarities between bicycle and motorcycle maintenance. Also, because you will be riding your motorcycle at higher speeds than a bicycle, I came away thinking that professional maintenance is not such a bad idea. The economic benefit from this book will come mostly from helping you be more aware of the importance of preventive maintenance (so you are more likely to do it) and spotting repair needs before they become more expensive. But I doubt if all but the most ardent do-your-own-repair people can hope to recover their money by owning this guide right away. Rather, the return will mostly come from improved knowledge and the comfort you have in knowing that your motorcycle is safer because of your enhanced awareness. How much conscious competence is valuable to you? You probably don't know much about electricity, but you can turn on the lights. I suspect that you can improve your enjoyment of life if you learn more about how things work that you love . . . and use all the time. A good place to start is to seek out books like this one that explain and photographically illustrate the basics in simple ways. Have a great ride!
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by Phillip Coyne
by Mark Zimmerman
by Matthew Coombs
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