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For the first half of the twentieth century, Great Britain led the world in motorcycle design and production, exporting its products to countries all over the globe. However, by 1960 this once-great industry had fallen into what was to be a terminal decline. During the 1960s and '70s Britain still manufactured a wide range of machines, but a combination of poor management, lack of investment, foreign competition (notably from Japan), and the arrival of the small, affordable car conspired to sound the death knell for most British motorcycles by the end of the 1970s. Mick Walker uses a host of colourful illustrations to explore the models produced by British companies and their foreign competitors, and explains what the industry did to fight its ultimate demise.
In the 1950s and '60s the British motorcycle industry was at its postwar peak, with its large-capacity high-performance bikes in strong demand all over the world. AJS/Matchless, BSA, Norton, Royal Enfield and Triumph were all making 100mph-plus big twins, with the king of them all, at least into the 1950s, being the mighty1000cc Vincents, while among the ton-up singles were the BSA Gold Star and the Velocette Venom and Thruxton. In this book veteran motorcycle writer Steve Wilson reviews the top-of-the-line bikes of all these manufacturers, first giving an introduction to the motorcycling scene in the period, with a particular look at the emergence of the Rockers, the black-leather too-fast-to-live-too-young-to-die bikers who developed a culture all their own, inspired indirectly by Marlon Brando behaving badly on his Triumph Thunderbird in the banned-in-Britain 1953 movie The Wild One. Then the motorcycle makers are dealt with alphabetically, with their big bikes described in detail and their performance, handling, strengths and weaknesses discussed. In addition to a wide selection of archive photographs, specially commissioned colour photography features examples of the outstanding bikes of the period: AMC/Matchless CSR 650 twins and their Norton Atlas-engined 'Hybrid' siblings, BSA A7SS 500, Gold Star singles, AIO Super Rocket and Rocket Gold Star 650 twins, Norton SS 500/600/650 twins, Velocette Venom and Thruxton 500, Royal Enfield Constellation 700 twin, Triumph pre-unit 500 and 650 twins and unit Bonneville 650, and finally the Vincent 1000 vee-twin.
Racing Line is the story of big-bike racing in Britain during the 1960s - when the British racing single reached its peak; when exciting racing unfolded at circuits across the land every summer; and when Britain took its last great generation of riding talent and engineering skill to the world.
A fascinating and nostalgic compilation of rider profiles written over a three year period, which originally appeared in Classic Motorcycle magazine, and is now accompanied by a new set of over 100 photographs. All of the riders featured became top achievers in their field, although, for some, it was their first interview. During the 1950s and 60s, scrambling especially drew huge crowds to meetings all across the country, and, thanks to TV coverage such as BBC Grandstand Trophy, and ITV’s World of Sport, many of the competitors featured in this book became household names. Each chapter includes the competition years of the riders, and also gives an overview of their careers, and conveys their enthusiasm for the sport.
This book deals with the golden age of the British motorcycle, featuring 100 machines shown in over 200 photographs. It offers a chronological survey of British motorcycles from the pioneers of 1900 through to the end of the 20th century. It features all the famous marques, such as AJS, Brough, BSA, Douglas, Greeves, Norton, Panther, Royal Enfield, Rudge, Scott, Sunbeam, Triumph, Velocette, Vincent and Zenith. Each entry includes information about the history of the bike, with specification panels detailing years in production, engine type, bore and stroke, capacity, gearbox, brakes, transmission, power, weight and top speed. From the beginning of the 20th century, the British motorcycle rapidly gained in reliability and sophistication. It began as a plaything of the leisured classes, until the war forced it into a utilitarian role. When peace returned in the 1920s, it was poised to fill a demand for mass transport, ushering in a golden age. Divided into four sections - The Pioneers, Vintage Days, The Classic Era, and Endings and Beginnings - this book profiles 100 of the best-loved machines that shaped a century of motorcycle design. It includes all the famous marques, each one illustrated with identification photographs, making it a book every bike enthusiast will want to own.
At long last, Steve Koerner presents an original and in-depth analysis, based on hitherto unused sources, of what really happened. Fascinating, detailed and totally convincing, this book provides the first thorough explanation of the strange death of the British motor cycle industry.
This is the book collectors, restorers, and nostalgic fans of the machines of our youth have been waiting to arrive! After years of extensive research through archives of motorcycle magazines, books, and brochures from the classic era, the founder of the seminal Tiddlerosis website has published his magnum opus on the subject. The Tiddler Invasion covers many miles of two-wheeled motorized nostalgia. Thousands of facts, figures, colors, specifications, and even original prices are packed into more than 600 detailed pages. The story of the invasion of the USA by small motorcycles and scooters in the 1955-1975 era is told with enthusiasm for these many wondrous little machines by someone who lived through that special time in our nation's history. The book includes approximately 180 charts of the popular models sold in the U.S. during the period and well over 400 B&W photos. The author and two major collectors of these special little bikes share nostalgic personal remembrances of a wondrous time past. The focus of The Tiddler Invasion is on the most common machines of the period, mostly from Japan. Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki each have a detailed chapter. Bridgestone, Hodaka, Tohatsu, and other early brands share a chapter. The story basically begins with the arrival of the Honda 50 in 1959 and ends with the release of the Gold Wing in 1975. The tiddler era rose to prominence in the Sixties and began its slow descent into obscurity as the Kawasaki Mach III, the Honda 750 Four, and the Kawasaki Z-1 took over the U.S. motorcycle market. The major brands from the USA are detailed in a chapter, too. This group is of course dominated by Harley-Davidson, Allstate, and Cushman, just as it was back then. There are no H-D Big Twins here, but plenty of Hummers, Toppers, Super Eagles, Mopeds and Twingles! There were countless European brands and models imported in the Sixties, but only those of significance are included. As we all know, most of the European models were either large road burners, obscure small Italian bikes and scooters, or off-road competition machines. You will not find Nortons, Guzzis, Maicos or Parillas here, but the European chapter is quite sizable nonetheless. The most difficult element to communicate to a prospective reader is the definition of the machines and parameters included in this book. The concept of The Tiddler Invasion is unique to the time and place. Although the 50cc machines began Americans' rush to motorcycle dealerships, the market rapidly expanded from that point. The smallest machines covered in the book are the true tiddlers, but these little putt-putts for kids comprised only the tip of the iceberg. Many classic 250cc sports machines such as the Ducati Diana, Harley-Davidson Sprint H, Honda Hawk, Yamaha YDS-2, Suzuki X-6, and Bultaco Metralla roar through the pages of this book! The Kawasaki Triples scream through it so much you will choke on the two-stroke smoke! The author has a thing for the Honda Scramblers, as if they were dark-haired beauties in bikinis or something. The kings of upswept exhaust pipes and crossbrace handlebars get their own chapter. Once you have possession of this book, you will never want to give it up. The Tidder Invasion is not a coffee table book of pretty color pictures. It is a reference guide crammed to the Snuff-or-Nots with useful info for collectors and enthusiasts of small classic motorcycles. The author began collecting motorcycle brochures and magazines in 1962. Reproductions of and detailed information from these sources are included in this extensive reference guide. The author of this book is not a collector, a photographer, or a restorer. He is a super-nerd who clearly loves these classic machines. The earliest part of this book was written in 1985 on a 1959 IBM typewriter. Now with the help of modern computers, the whole, wonderful, magical story of that very special era in American history can finally be told!
An outrageous sortie on a pre-war BSA and two obscure, obsolete Yorkshire-made, single-cylinder Panther motorbikes. Poorly funded, with little planning, the ride depends on good luck, blind loyalty and terminal optimism. The struggle is managed with a youthful naivety. This is a recollection of a youth well-spent. Love and adventure are in the air with every chapter a precarious adventure. "I was parched and scarcely able to breathe but I pushed and shoved and swore, screamed, yelled and cried and somehow I got Penelope up that bloody hill and struggled on until I could see the brick outpost over a sand dune. In the last 20 yards I bogged down again, and so leaving Penelope upright in the sand I staggered in, to the amazement of the soldiers. I beg for water"
The true, inside story of what caused the dramatic decline of the British motorcycle industry at a time when it had to face up to increasing competition from foreign manufacturers.