Motorcycle Owner's Manual

Rating:
Summary: Good for Novices, Very General
Review: As a neophyte to mechanics, this gave me an introduction to motorcycles. Not one to just loosen bolts and see what is underneath, this proved to be a helpful and descriptive book with illustration. Anyone who has used and enjoyed the DK Publishing Travel Guides will appreciate the structure.

Note: There is only general information about how or why things work.


Rating:
Summary: Motorcycle Owner's Manual
Review: Hugo Wilson has put together the essentials for learning to maintain a UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle;) though many of his techniques apply to many or even most bikes, his examples are all Japanese models, such as Yamaha, Honda & Suzuki.

This small book has many attractive, full-color photos, showing exactly the bits in question, and the tools used to fix them. There are also areas which explain the basics of how items like spring/damper suspension units work, which many people new to the inner workings of motorcycles will surely find interesting.

Wilson's text is easy-to-follow, and informative. The book may contain some information that well-acquainted riders don't know, but is, I believe, most useful for those who are relatively new to maintaining their bikes.

Rating:
Summary: Not for the beginners
Review: I have read this book. Contains very bright beautiful pictures, but nothing more than that for ordinary people like me. I am sure you will love this book if you are accustomed to mechanics or an engineer. If not, don buy it!!

Rating:
Summary: Very Good for the Novice
Review: I'm new to bikes (3,500) miles and even newer to bike terminology and design. Placing a handle on motorcycle language, design and parts, and concepts comes fairly easy with this short and simple book. I'm giving 5 stars because of Hugo's simplicity, clarity, and useful graphics. As such, his overall presentation is very comprehensible by the average reader. It will take the inexperienced rider-mechanic from ground zero to a respectable distance up the learning curve, considering the cost and time required by the text. I do recommend it for the novice, especially the electrical explanations.

Rating:
Summary: A quick overview - fairly basic.
Review: It is not that this book is really bad in anyway, but it is very basic and only skims the surface. A nice little introduction, but if someone is really going to do maintenance on their cycle, they need a book specific to that bike.

Rating:
Summary: A good, basic, supplemental book.
Review: This is a good book to go along with the manufacturer's manual. On it's own, its not that great. It gives more basics than the owner's manual that came with your bike, but if you're hoping for something to help you in a job that's more than just routine maintenance, you're SOL. I rented this book from the library. I'm going to buy the OEM (original equipment manufacturer's) manual and see where I end up. If it's too hard to follow, I'm going to buy this one. The photos are great, they are more helpful than most drawings. If you have a Suzuki 500cc twin, this is a good book. He uses that bike for most of his illustrations because it's so simple.

Rating:
Summary: Could be better
Review: This is a very basic maintenance book. Like someone told here, a compilation of several user's manuals. Very well illustrated, nice pics, good advices, but falls short in going into the deep issues of bike maintenance. Buy it only if you're quite new to motorcycling.

Rating:
Summary: A Helpful Guide for New Motorcycle Owners
Review: Your new motorcycle came with an owner's manual. Why in the world would you need a more general one?

If you are like me, you do not really know very much about motorcycles other than how to ride one. The manufacturer's owner's manual assumes more knowledge than you really have, and encourages you to get professional maintenance for all but the most routine matters. But if you love your motorcycle (and who doesn't?), you want to take good care of it.

Here's where Mr. Wilson's guide is valuable. It simply explains keeping your motorcyle clean and safe. It also provides good background on how motorcycles are designed and the parts work. Even if you never plan to do any repairs, you will find this interesting. The photographs are very clear and detailed, and allow you to see what he is talking about.

My only complaint about the book is that some of the explanations assume a level of knowledge above what I have. "If you can rewire a plug, you can work on your bike." Well, I still don't know what "rewiring" a plug is, even after reading the book. My guess is that he is referring to adjusting the gap for the spark, but I'm not sure.

I did come away with a sense of what needs to be done with motorcycles. I recently read a similar book by the same publisher on bicycle maintenance. I found that there are more differences than similarities between bicycle and motorcycle maintenance. Also, because you will be riding your motorcycle at higher speeds than a bicycle, I came away thinking that professional maintenance is not such a bad idea.

The economic benefit from this book will come mostly from helping you be more aware of the importance of preventive maintenance (so you are more likely to do it) and spotting repair needs before they become more expensive. But I doubt if all but the most ardent do-your-own-repair people can hope to recover their money by owning this guide right away. Rather, the return will mostly come from improved knowledge and the comfort you have in knowing that your motorcycle is safer because of your enhanced awareness.

How much conscious competence is valuable to you? You probably don't know much about electricity, but you can turn on the lights. I suspect that you can improve your enjoyment of life if you learn more about how things work that you love . . . and use all the time. A good place to start is to seek out books like this one that explain and photographically illustrate the basics in simple ways.

Have a great ride!

Rating:
Summary: A Helpful Guide for New Motorcycle Owners
Review: Your new motorcycle came with an owner's manual. Why in the world would you need a more general one?

If you are like me, you do not really know very much about motorcycles other than how to ride one. The manufacturer's owner's manual assumes more knowledge than you really have, and encourages you to get professional maintenance for all but the most routine matters. But if you love your motorcycle (and who doesn't?), you want to take good care of it.

Here's where Mr. Wilson's guide is valuable. It simply explains keeping your motorcyle clean and safe. It also provides good background on how motorcycles are designed and the parts work. Even if you never plan to do any repairs, you will find this interesting. The photographs are very clear and detailed, and allow you to see what he is talking about.

My only complaint about the book is that some of the explanations assume a level of knowledge above what I have. "If you can rewire a plug, you can work on your bike." Well, I still don't know what "rewiring" a plug is, even after reading the book. My guess is that he is referring to adjusting the gap for the spark, but I'm not sure.

I did come away with a sense of what needs to be done with motorcycles. I recently read a similar book by the same publisher on bicycle maintenance. I found that there are more differences than similarities between bicycle and motorcycle maintenance. Also, because you will be riding your motorcycle at higher speeds than a bicycle, I came away thinking that professional maintenance is not such a bad idea.

The economic benefit from this book will come mostly from helping you be more aware of the importance of preventive maintenance (so you are more likely to do it) and spotting repair needs before they become more expensive. But I doubt if all but the most ardent do-your-own-repair people can hope to recover their money by owning this guide right away. Rather, the return will mostly come from improved knowledge and the comfort you have in knowing that your motorcycle is safer because of your enhanced awareness.

How much conscious competence is valuable to you? You probably don't know much about electricity, but you can turn on the lights. I suspect that you can improve your enjoyment of life if you learn more about how things work that you love . . . and use all the time. A good place to start is to seek out books like this one that explain and photographically illustrate the basics in simple ways.

Have a great ride!