Rating: 
Summary: A dull book by a writer who didn't get it.
Review: Brock Yates did some reading about Harley-Davidson motorcycles, collected some pictures, and wrote a book. The resulting book is dull because Yates doesn't understand motorcycles. He tries to hide his lack of understanding of the subject and appear scholarly by using obscure words. (hagiography - look it up Brock!) I'm glad I got the book from the library. I'd be mad if I had bought the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Take it for a ride
Review: Brock Yates provides a compelling overview of the Harley-Davidson history, and interesting thoughts on what Harley means to America. In some cases his philsophical pronouncements exceed his grasp, and in a few spots he becomes repetitive. Still, as a Harley owner, I greatly enjoyed the book. It does not get mired in tech specs, nor in meaningless detail of the Davidson family lineage. It is definitely not a hagiography -- he strikes the balance between pointing out flaws and giving credit where due. Others here say he stumbled on some history, but I value his writing that quickly moved me from cover to cover. It hits the high spots, and entertainingly tells me more about the Harley company and history than I knew before.
Rating:
Summary: Get 'cher motor running ... head out on the highway ...
Review: Country artist Travis Tritt sings a song, "Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof," in which he explains how, after he gets a few drinks under his belt, he starts thinking he's Superman. Respected automotive journalist Brock Yates suggests that same thing happens to Harley riders. Regardless of their walk in life, once they hop aboard that hog, the invincible menacing outlaw comes out. Interesting theory. (And perhaps it explains in part why so few Harley riders bother to put on a brain bucket, unless mandated to!) Yates provides a brief and interesting history of the HD Motor Company, its rise from humble beginnings in 1903, through the declining, turbulent years of the "Japanese Invasion" in the sixties and seventies, and how it has emerged to become the number-one worldwide supplier of heavy street bikes. He touches on the unlikely affinity for the big, raucous machines in countries all around the world. But the bulk of this book is Yates' spin on the riders, and why they ride. He suggests that the "biker outlaw" thing began in the late 40s, when Life Magazine did a sensational write-up about a rider gathering in Hollister, California. According to Life, the gathering started peacefully enough, but degenerated into a drunken bacchanalia of debauchery and decadence. From that moment on in the eyes of the public, motorcycle riding - particularly if the bike was a Harley - became synonymous with rebellion and outlaw living. Yates opines that every rider who straddles his Harley - from the "one percenters" such as the Hells Angels and Bandidos, to the "trend surfers" and "RUBS" (rich urban bikers), is motivated to some degree by that aura of rebel / outlaw. Interesting theory. As a long-time motorcycle rider, who fairly recently in life has finally risen to the income level that I can afford a Harley-Davidson, I feel it's dangerous to stereotype a group of millions. While I'm sure there are many riders who gravitate to the "outlaw" image - and certainly NO Harley riders who don't enjoy the indescribable sense of power one gets while mounted on his/her hog - I also believe if you ask a million Harley riders why they ride, you'll get at least half that many varying replies. Yates got one thing right for sure - the Japanese manufacturers just don't get it! I would recommend this book to anybody who has an interest in Harleys, or in modern American culture - no denying it's a very interesting study of the phenomenon that Harley-Davidson has become in the last few years.
Rating:
Summary: Outlaw Machine: Harley-Davidson and the Search for the Ameri
Review: Covering the history of the Harley-Davidson marque relative to American culture in the 20th century, Outlaw Machine is an enjoyable essay for all motorcycle enthusiasts. All manner of topics are covered, even those which bikers would just as happily forget. However, Yates' roughly-hewn writing style and badly put foreign language cliches, particularly his brutal grammaire francaise, become terribly distracting if not annoying. I would also recommend skipping the epilogue if the reader is not from the USA, as it is ripping of American domineering and ignorant views of foreign culture. Regardless, this work's broad scope of the historical development of the motorcycle industry in North America is fun reading, and if nothing else an excellent source for further reading with its many references to previous publications on the subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Outlaw Machine: rough around the edges
Review: Covering the history of the Harley-Davidson marque relative to American culture in the 20th century, Outlaw Machine is an enjoyable essay for all motorcycle enthusiasts. All manner of topics are covered, even those which bikers would just as happily forget. However, Yates' roughly-hewn writing style and badly put foreign language cliches, particularly his brutal grammaire francaise, become terribly distracting if not annoying. I would also recommend skipping the epilogue if the reader is not from the USA, as it is ripping of American domineering and ignorant views of foreign culture. Regardless, this work's broad scope of the historical development of the motorcycle industry in North America is fun reading, and if nothing else an excellent source for further reading with its many references to previous publications on the subject.
Rating: 
Summary: The little bit of outlaw in all of us
Review: Do you ask yourself what is the reason someone would buy a outdated technology like a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Or why on-lookers will crowd around a Harley-Davidson in a parking lot and ooohh and aaahhh the antique like chromed HOG. Most Harley riders will say, "if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand." By reading the Outlaw Machine it is possible to understand without being part of that exclusive, in the know, Harley crowd. Brock Yates starts out as if he is a Harley antagonist in favor of Japanese and German sport bikes, but you soon realize he is setting the stage for a truely hard hitting romp through the American psyche. His travels through the American and Harley history makes it very clear what it is that so many see in the Harley motorcycle and what is missing in the Japanese copies. If you sit proudly on your high tech Japanese cruiser with the feeling of superiority with your nose down to all the Harley riders, you may just change your mind once you read Outlaw Machine. You may also find yourself saving your pennies so you too can have a piece of the American iron. Mr. Yates makes no appologizes or excuses for Harley-Davidson and is brutely honest about its technology, but he does bring us closer to why it is so loved as an America tradition and points out that there is a little bit of outlaw in all of us. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the true mystery of motorcycling.
Rating:
Summary: A book that's nearly as good as the machine
Review: Ever since my first ride on a motorcycle I've lusted for a Harley and my single ride on one did nothing to diminish the desire. Although so far I've sublimated it with a Yamaha and a Triumph I'm just waiting for that great day when I get my piece of the American dream. Brock Yates' fine book makes for interesting reading while waiting. It's filled with facts and stories and history all woven together artfully and enjoyably. If you like motorcycles at all and especially if you like Harley Davidson motorcycles you need this book. You'll want it after you have it. You'll keep it till it wears out. Then you'll get another one. It's a good book by a fine author about a fabulous machine and the company that builds them along with its fascinating history.
Rating:
Summary: A book that's nearly as good as the machine
Review: Ever since my first ride on a motorcycle I've lusted for a Harley and my single ride on one did nothing to diminish the desire. Although so far I've sublimated it with a Yamaha and a Triumph I'm just waiting for that great day when I get my piece of the American dream. Brock Yates' fine book makes for interesting reading while waiting. It's filled with facts and stories and history all woven together artfully and enjoyably. If you like motorcycles at all and especially if you like Harley Davidson motorcycles you need this book. You'll want it after you have it. You'll keep it till it wears out. Then you'll get another one. It's a good book by a fine author about a fabulous machine and the company that builds them along with its fascinating history.
Rating:
Summary: Good Introduction to Bike History
Review: Having started with a minibike at age 5, and eventually moving up through dirt bikes, Japanese bikes and eventually to Harley's by the time I was 30, I wanted to know a bit of motorcycle history. I picked up the book on a whim thinking it would have a good bit of history without taking the rest of my life to read, and wasn't disappointed. The book, though not a detailed account of every facet of motorcycling, served its purpose well. It's a good and entertaining introduction into the history of the Harley Davidson. Several of its points rang true. For instance the fact that Japanese bikes, though undoubtedly technologically superior, just don't have the soul of a Harley sums up the reasons I eventually abandoned the former bikes for the American brand (the difference in price tags had a bit to do with buying one later in life as well, come to think of it). I truly enjoyed the book, and would suggest it to anyone who is looking for an introduction into Harley history.
Rating:
Summary: Brock Says It Well
Review: I finally found the the words I needed to tell a friend in this book - "...Like most Japanese products, Honda motorcycles offered perfect function but no passion." That clearly describes the difference between those of us on scoots and the wannabe racers on rice rockets. Brock brings his awesome powers of observation and ability to get the facts straight to this book, and leaves no doubt in any readers mind of the bad, the good and the VERY ugly in the story of an American icon - Harley-Davidson Motorcycles. If you are a true student of the marque as well as a business buff, this is a must-read on both counts.
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