Rating: 
Summary: Nothing better for basic information
Review: If you've never ridden a motorcycle in your life, this is a great book to pick up. Experienced bike riders will find the book uninformative and will criticize the authors opinions about certain aspects such as sportbikes. The author, although he does an outstanding job laying out the basics such as types of bikes, motorcycle safety, and actual riding of the bike, he is very critical of sportbikes for beginners, and rightfully so. But a novice, properly trained, can handle these bikes provided he knows his personal limits and has respect for the machine. Although I would recommend this book to a beginner, there is no substitute for a training course such as the MSF Ridercourse, offered at most community colleges.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: It's hard to find information on how to ride properly. This book explains it all... How to ride, riding gear, how to choose the right bike for you, maintenance, and a bunch of other things I found very useful. This book is a bible of MC riding.
Rating:
Summary: A great introduction
Review: Like most "Idiot" books, this is a great introduction. Not a lot of depth in some places, but that is better left to specific subject books. What this book does well is get you acquainted with terms and different varieties of bikes so that you can avoid making a complete fool of yourself. Also gives good resources for further education. You wouldn't want this to be your only bike book, but it is a good place to start.
Rating:
Summary: A great introduction
Review: Like most "Idiot" books, this is a great introduction. Not a lot of depth in some places, but that is better left to specific subject books. What this book does well is get you acquainted with terms and different varieties of bikes so that you can avoid making a complete fool of yourself. Also gives good resources for further education. You wouldn't want this to be your only bike book, but it is a good place to start.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: Probably one of the best books written on learning how to operate a motorcycle. Great for both beginners and experts. The author has a wonderful sense of humor that makes the book a joy to read. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Anatomy section not so good
Review: The book is fine overall, however since this book caters to beginners I was really annoyed that there wasn't a diagram of an engine included in the "Anatomy" chapter. I found myself frustrated that the author went on and on about parts, yet offered no diagram to situate the reader as to were the parts were.
Rating: 
Summary: I wasn't overly impressed.
Review: The idea, and the effort behind this book was good, however, I found the writing style very hard to follow. The author used several terms before defining them, and some of the definitions were a little iffy at that. There were also some places where the information seemed confusing and maybe even wrong. For example the author refered to a kickstarter being on the left side of a motorcycle, then on the right. In several chapters I felt that the important subjects were glanced over in a paragraph or two, and at other times too much detail on something was given. I have about 15 books on various aspects of motorcycling, and this was the first book I have returned. [as motorcycle instructor, I want to be able to recommend good books to my students when they ask, therefore I try to keep up with current motorcycle related books] As I said, the author had good intentions, but the book felt rushed, as if he had a deadline and couldn't smooth things out in time.
Rating:
Summary: Less History-More substance
Review: The material is easy to read. Pictures and layout are simple. So what's the problem? As someone who is in the process of learning to ride a motorcycle, from the detailed mechanics of shifting to what to expect and look out for on the road, this book was disappointing. Although this material is covered in the book (briefly, and in basic sense), there just wasn't enough meat to learning HOW to ride and WHAT to look out for. Too many pages were spent on when (the history of motorcycles) and where (do we really need to know about bike rallys and clubs? This could be picked up in any motorcycling magazine). I was hoping that the relevant information that was printed would have been expounded on, because it would have been excellent in this type of format.
Rating:
Summary: Great all around book
Review: This book covers everything from the history of motorcycles to basic riding techniques, street strategies, maintenance, advice on buying a motorcycle, a buyer's guide in the back of the book, etc. If there is a more enjoyable, informative read on the subject of motorcycles, I haven't found it. Great book, highly recommended and well worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Not a bad place to start.....
Review: This book covers the basics. It's a good look at motorcycling for a beginner. If you are currently a rider and are looking for a book that tells you something that you don't already know, then this book is not for you. On the other hand, if you are fairly new to morotcycling and you're looking for entertainment and information on the hobby, then you've come to the right place. The book covers many topics and is easy to read... Well worth the time invested. Enjoy, and motor on.
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