The inside story of an industry which, as recently as the late 1960s, was the third largest dollar earner for Great Britain, after cars and whisky, recounting how it was mismanaged in later years. The book describes what caused the dramatic decline of the British motorcycle industry at the time when it had to face up to increasing competition from foreign manufacturers. It details the mass manufacture of motorcycles during World War II and illustrates little-known prototype and experimental motorcycles.
| ||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £10.50
Trade in Whatever Happened to the British Motor Cycle Industry? for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £10.50, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Card, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more
|
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
THROUGH the 1920s, the grand and massive showrooms of Birmingham's motorcycle dealers interested me greatly and there is no doubt that this early window gazing served as my introduction to the world of motorcycles. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
THROUGH the 1920s, the grand and massive showrooms of Birmingham's motorcycle dealers interested me greatly and there is no doubt that this early window gazing served as my introduction to the world of motorcycles. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"This is it" opened the contemporary review in 1981, when first published. An uncharacteristically literate review in a motorcycle magazine concluded " students writing thesis and chronicles of our times need look no further". Prophetically this book is finding its way into university libraries as questions that should have been asked 30 years ago are now taxing a new generation of intelligentsia.
And there in may be a big part of the "problem" It has taken a generation to pass to remove the raw edge of reality of life in an industrial nation. The lofty spires of our universities, many built on the proceeds of industry , were much more at ease with sociology than the grimy world of their benefactors. The public face of industry became a quilted coated Brummie barking " down tools " on a 1970's newsreel. Some lecturers may have thought it a nice idea to have the "workers" running the country but having them round to tea was an altogether different matter.
Thankfully Bert Hopwood, a man at the centre, chronicled the rise and fall of a mighty industry. And what a fall it was. BSA had 72 ( yes seventy two ) satellite factories, motorcycles were a massive export employing staff in their thousands at each factory. Ariel, Triumph, Norton and BSA are all covered by Hopwood as is the industry at large after his lifetime of experience.
This is a personal rather than a technical book. After all it is personalities that made and ultimately killed the industry.
It's a small thing but Hopwood recalls entering the management dining room ( canteen ) in motorcycle gear only to be told he was underdressed ! I n a motorcycle factory ? Although Hopwood doesn't say as much the "class" factor is recorded elsewhere .... Read more ›
And there in may be a big part of the "problem" It has taken a generation to pass to remove the raw edge of reality of life in an industrial nation. The lofty spires of our universities, many built on the proceeds of industry , were much more at ease with sociology than the grimy world of their benefactors. The public face of industry became a quilted coated Brummie barking " down tools " on a 1970's newsreel. Some lecturers may have thought it a nice idea to have the "workers" running the country but having them round to tea was an altogether different matter.
Thankfully Bert Hopwood, a man at the centre, chronicled the rise and fall of a mighty industry. And what a fall it was. BSA had 72 ( yes seventy two ) satellite factories, motorcycles were a massive export employing staff in their thousands at each factory. Ariel, Triumph, Norton and BSA are all covered by Hopwood as is the industry at large after his lifetime of experience.
This is a personal rather than a technical book. After all it is personalities that made and ultimately killed the industry.
It's a small thing but Hopwood recalls entering the management dining room ( canteen ) in motorcycle gear only to be told he was underdressed ! I n a motorcycle factory ? Although Hopwood doesn't say as much the "class" factor is recorded elsewhere .... Read more ›
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By David
Format:Paperback
If you have any interest in British motorcycles and how the industry that created them eventually strangled itself, and especially if you grew up in the '50s and '60s, when British machines led the world, this book is a fascinating revelation of how a relatively small number of men dominated the evolution of the major brands. As Hopwood moves between Ariel, Triumph, BSA, Norton and AMC we see, through his eyes, how pride, arrogance and complacency led a major industry through decline and decay to extinction.
Hopwood's book focuses exclusively on the rise and fall of the British motorcycle industry but the factors that led to its demise are not exclusive to that industry; they read across to shipbuilding, cars, aircraft etc. Read this book and mourn for what might have been.
Hopwood's book focuses exclusively on the rise and fall of the British motorcycle industry but the factors that led to its demise are not exclusive to that industry; they read across to shipbuilding, cars, aircraft etc. Read this book and mourn for what might have been.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the book I have wanted for years but did not know of its existence. Bert Hopwood was a senior engineer and then manager in Triumph, Norton and BSA so that he is well placed to comment. Obviously it is his view rather than an impartial examination by an authoritative outsider but his experiences and analyses ring true with my experiences of similar companies. He highlights constant short-termism, often by people with no understanding of their market or prodeuct and even contenpt for their customers, and a terribly amateurish approach. Crucially, at a critical point in their fortunes, they fell for the blandishments of management consultants. Recently such companies have been shown to take on naive employees and give them three weeks of training (indoctrination?) and then send them out to call for a 30% cost reduction by firing employees. What a con! The whole book is a massive indictment of the British management of those days, and one suspects it is typical of too many companies today. It is an absorbing read but also sad and frustrating.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By speedtwin007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I think any biker from the sixties would be interested in learning how the British motor cycle industy met its end. We all knew British bikes leaked oil and were unreliable, but we still loved them. Now we have a book written here by a man who worked in all the big factories and was privy to all the information that explains all this and everything else that was wrong with the industry and why it was not rectified. Its a great read alongside Hughie Hancox book Tales of Triumph Motor Cycles and the Meriden Factory to get a more balanced view. Both books excellant value for money.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a must-read for anyone interested in british bikes. But, it's like being cornered by an old Brummie who just wants to gripe about management, especially Edward Turner. Hopwood actually seems to believe that his Norton twin of 1947 was an advance on Turner's 1936 Triumph design. He can't have noticed all those Tritons?
By Raimo K
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
An insider's view of the demise of the British motorcycle industry - a well written classic. A must for everyone interested in British bikes.
By S. J. Kirby
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed reading the book. It confirmed my thoughts about the decline of the British bike industry.
Bert was clearly incapable of making friends and persuading people.
The bottom line is that nobody made much money from British bikes. That is stated in the book.
What is not stated is the sheer lack of design flair evident when Honda, in particular, brought clean, fast, reliable bikes to the UK.
The Motorcycle (a weekly paper) complained about the Phobov Flyers. These were the same old British bikes, now available in a different colour for this year. Complete with oil leaks, 6 Volt electrics and crass unreliability.
What people needed and wanted was exactly what the Japanese gave us.
A bit surprising that Bert had worked in senior positions with so many British bike makers and was totally incapable of persuading his colleagues to act.
You can always tell a Brummie, you just can't tell him much.
Bert was clearly incapable of making friends and persuading people.
The bottom line is that nobody made much money from British bikes. That is stated in the book.
What is not stated is the sheer lack of design flair evident when Honda, in particular, brought clean, fast, reliable bikes to the UK.
The Motorcycle (a weekly paper) complained about the Phobov Flyers. These were the same old British bikes, now available in a different colour for this year. Complete with oil leaks, 6 Volt electrics and crass unreliability.
What people needed and wanted was exactly what the Japanese gave us.
A bit surprising that Bert had worked in senior positions with so many British bike makers and was totally incapable of persuading his colleagues to act.
You can always tell a Brummie, you just can't tell him much.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 8 reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Whatever Happened to the British Motor Cycle Industry?
This is a book I was meaning to buy for some years. I'm glad I waited, as the revised edition really concludes the story after the demise of both Triumph and Norton. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Phil Soltan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unbelievable
A thoroughly riveting read. A must for anyone remotely interested in the British Motorcyle industry & its demise. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Eds Mum
5.0 out of 5 stars
Customer review of Bert Hopwood's 'Whatever Happened to the British...
An absolutely facinating read. It's an elegiac and increasingly splenetic take on the decline of England's motorcycle industry by one of its key figures. Read more
Published on 26 April 2011 by Dave Sheehan
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best motorcycling books I have ever read
The delivery-service from the vendor was excellent......the book was one of the best pieces of motorcycling history I have ever read .... Read more
Published on 26 April 2011 by Laurie
2.0 out of 5 stars
Bert Hopwood - totally ineffectual ?
As a history of the when's and where's of the British bike industry, this book is a reasonable/good diary of events. Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2010 by Maxcaddy
5.0 out of 5 stars
What ever did happen to the British Motorcycle Industry.
It truly shows just how the British Motorcycle Industry did not seem to acknowledge even the most obvious facts staring them in the face. Read more
Published on 17 May 2009 by R. S. Boyce
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Biographies & Histories > Business & Economic History
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Economics
- Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > History of Engineering & Technology
- Books > Reference > Transport > Automotive > Motorcycles > History
- Books > Science & Nature > Engineering & Technology > Automotive > Automobiles
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
