Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent guide to buying and riding a British bike, 26 Jul 2000
By A Customer
This is the one book every prospective British bike buyer should read before he/she buys! It's extremely practical and honest about these wonderful (and not-so-wonderful) machines, and written with immense knowledge, wisdom and humour, by a man who is immense - er, immensely experienced in riding (and sometimes pushing) the machines of our dreams (and nightmares). Pity it doesn't have any colour pics, except on the cover, but buy Classic Bike Guide every month for them - and no, I'm not his son/father/accountant/publisher, just yer average British bike nut who recognises a quality publication when he sees it. I suppose I ought to read it one day... Only kidding, Frank! It really is a brilliant book, and I thoroughly and unreservedly recommend it!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent intro to old bikes, 23 Feb 2000
By A Customer
Confession first; the author is my husband! But hey, before you turn off, this is still a sensible review. Before we got together I wasn't interested in older bikes at all; thought they were nasty, leaking old clunkers and couldn't see the appeal. I also knew very little about how and why the original British bike industry failed. Most bike books I've looked at didn't help! They're generally dull, worthy and often inaccurate. Frank's book is exactly the opposite, and succeeded in interesting me in a subject I'd previously scoffed at. That's some achievement! It's easy to read, funny, and full of really useful information you need if you're really going to buy an old Brit. bad news? it's let down by the binding, which is like a manual, and the lack of colour photos. But you get zillions of words for your money!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely useful buying guide from a knowledgable author, 27 Nov 2008
This has been in print for over a decade now but the advice it contains is still relevant and useful for anyone thinking of buying an old British bike.
I write about classic motorcycles for a living and this is the first book I turn to when I want to get a feel for a certain model, and when I want to know how it will perform on the road today. It's unusual for 'special interest' books like this to stay in print for so long, but The British Classic Bike Guide is a steady seller because the advice and over-view it provides of the classic bike market are still spot-on, and come from one of the most experienced and authoritative writers on the scene.
Frank Westworth has been involved with classic bike magazines for over two decades (he currently edits RealClassic magazine) and he has been riding British bikes for twice that time. In this book he gives a heap of very useful general advice -- what to check when buying (split into chassis and engine) -- plus several detailed sections about popular classic marques.
Each of the big names (BSA, Triumph, Norton, Ariel, AJS and Matchless) gets an historical overview, with plenty of extra info about the most practical models from each manufacturers to own and ride today. There's also details about some of the less well-known marques (Royal Enfield, Sunbeam, Panther, Velocette and Vincent) with the author's recommendations for purchase and maintenance.
Inevitably, some of the info has dated -- prices have gone up, the nature of Indian-built Royal Enfields has changed completely, club details are different -- and the publisher should really ask Frank to update his manuscript for the next edition. This book should also have been published in colour; there are plenty of mono images but they would be much more helpful in colour.
But the core information is extremely useful.
If you are thinking of buying an old bike then this really is the place to start!
8/10
(And I also wrote a much earlier review of this book, which somehow got separated from my byline. Interesting to see that I still pretty much agree with what a wrote a very long time ago!)
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