New motorcycle book: "Classics - Great Motorcycles and People"

[Bender]

Geoff Osborne and I have just published a new book about classic bikes called "Classics - Great Motorcycles and People." We've been working on it for four years.

www.apexbikes.com (http://www.apexbikes.com) I hope some of you will be interested in a great book and this is also a perfect Christmas present (hint hint).

It's $55 plus postage ( $6.50 in NZ) for 150 pages of motorcycling goodness.

It’s a high quality publication featuring 10 bikes. There are loads of studio-shot photos of each bike and the words go into detail about the bike, what marque it's from and its place in history. I undertook detailed research before I wrote it.
The bikes featured are:
• Graeme Crosby’s Suzuki XR69 – a rare works example.
• Yamaha TZ750 – is this the greatest Grand Prix motorcycle of all time? This is the bike restored by Al Wilton, who is well known on the site as malcy25.
• Ivan Miller’s Suzuki RN400 – a multiple championship winner and one of fewer than 30 works models built.
• From Ken McIntosh’s famous workshop, the mighty Manx Norton, Egli Vincent and Jawa 500 – all showing the engineering excellence that made this small NZ company world famous.
• Ginger Molloy’s first Bultaco TSS125 – featuring a detailed interview with Molloy about his experiences racing on the Continent in the 60’s.
• Russell Burling’s CZ360 twin port - the ultra rare CZ model that changed the motocross world.
• John Nicholson’s Triumph TR5 and Yamaha DT1 - both created new directions in sport motorcycling, two decades apart.

Classics has in-depth interviews with motorcycling greats including: Graeme Crosby, John Boote,
Ginger Molloy, Ivan Miller, Peter Ploen and Stu Avant.

It also features passionate and talented enthusiasts : Ken McIntosh, Alistair Wilton, Russell Burling and John Nicholson.

Here's the cover:

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[HenryDorsetCase]

This is relevant to my interests.

[Crasherfromwayback]

Looks great mate!

[Bender]

Thanks Crasher, it's fantastic to have it finished after four years.

Just wanted to let people know that it is only available from the website, it won't be in shops this side of Christmas.

We had a great review from Michael Esdaile in Kiwi Rider mag, who said:

Kiwi Rider’s long-term photographer extraordinaire Geoff Osborne has collaborated with Shane Kelly on a brilliant antidote to the ‘Christmas motorcyclists’ victimisation’ described above.

All you have to do is drop some not so subtle hints (to daughters or nieces) and leave this review laying around.

Shane Kelly has gone way past the ‘once over lightly’ approach and dived in deep. Consequently, there is examination of each motorcycle represented and its provenance in 154 pages of nicely laid out text and images.

So prompt the whanau, goad if necessary, and order them to get you a copy of this wonderful treasure for Christmas.

[Bender]

This book is now also available from Motomail on College Hill, Auckland.

[Grubber]

This book is now also available from Motomail on College Hill, Auckland.

Sweet. Good excuse to go do some browsing.

[Bender]

I thought I'd throw up a couple of the opening spreads for a couple of chapters.

This will give you a taste of what the book is all about.


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[Yow Ling]

I thought I'd throw up a couple of the opening spreads for a couple of chapters.

This will give you a taste of what the book is all about.


306300306301306302


When will you start shipping?

[HenryDorsetCase]

I paid for one this week. Hopefully soon-ish :)

Looking forward to it in my annual Christmas to New Year reading binge.

[Bender]

Couldn't delete this post so I've changed it. Just we issue that is sorted out.

[Yow Ling]

really nice book, probably worth more than the asking price. Im well pleased with it

[HenryDorsetCase]

Mine arrived last week. I've done nothing more than read the foreword and flicked through looking at the pictures. I was wearing a bib so no drool got on the pages.

This is a quality book. Great format, pictures are brilliant, what I have read of the words part has been excellent.

Great for the motorcycle obsessive in your life.

[Bender]

Thanks to all the guys who have bought the book - it's going very well and the feedback has been excellent. Some buyers have come back and bought extra books to use as Christmas presents coz they were so impressed. It's just amazing to get feedback like that.

Just thought I'd put this up as an example of another chapter - dealing with the heritage of the Norton Manx 500.

306680

[jellywrestler]

Thanks to all the guys who have bought the book - it's going very well and the feedback has been excellent. Some buyers have come back and bought extra books to use as Christmas presents coz they were so impressed. It's just amazing to get feedback like that.

Just thought I'd put this up as an example of another chapter - dealing with the heritage of the Norton Manx 500.

306680

is it just a picture book of some mototcycles?

[eelracing]

• Yamaha TZ750 – is this the greatest Grand Prix motorcycle of all time? This is the bike restored by Al Wilton, who is well known on the site as malcy25.
• Ivan Miller’s Suzuki RN400 – a multiple championship winner and one of fewer than 30 works models built.

A small point to some but the TZ750 was never a Grand Prix bike or should I buy your book and learn something new?


is it just a picture book of some mototcycles?

The RN400 alone would be worth the cover price.

[Bender]

is it just a picture book of some mototcycles?

Nope. It's actually a book of words with lots of great photos. 35,000 words, actually. About 165 photos.

[Bender]

A small point to some but the TZ750 was never a Grand Prix bike or should I buy your book and learn something new?



Yes indeed. I argue the case, because the 750 formula did in fact have official world championships and the TZ won them both. But I also cover the fact that the TZ is not considered by the purists to be a grand prix motorcycle in the same way the 125, 250, 350 and 500cc bikes are.

Such a grouse bike and the story of the TZ also includes the history of John Boote on the bike (including the great story of how he transported one to the US in suitcases as luggage on a plane) and Stu Avant, Ago, Kenny Roberts, Kel Carruthers..... ah such a history.

Read the book and be enlightened.

The RN400 - when I first heard that bike fire up at the Leadfoot Festival my knees went weak and I felt about the same as I did when the first girl I ever asked out said "yes." An old-school 400 with unsilenced low-slung expansion chamber. I have photos of Ivan Miller on it, totally roosting, at Helensville in the '70s and I remember being stunned at how fast he was.

I just had to have it in my book and the whole story did not disappoint as I researched it. The beginning of the MX arms race of the 70s and the advent of hand-built factory works bikes.

[eelracing]

I look forward to being enlightened.

[Bender]

We'd like to let you know the the book Classics - Great Motorcycles and People will be available at the following up coming bike meetings - classic bikes at Pukekohe next weekend (January 29th - 30th) and Hampton Downs (February 7th/8th).

We're looking forward to catching up with anyone who wishes to purchase a copy at either meeting (as well as seeing all the fantastic bikes that usually attend with their masters.)
See you there, thrillseekers.

[jellywrestler]

We'd like to let you know the the book Classics - Great Motorcycles and People will be available at the following up coming bike meetings - classic bikes at Pukekohe next weekend (January 29th - 30th) and Hampton Downs (February 7th/8th).



where will they be for sale?

[jellywrestler]

where will they be for sale?
where will they be for sale?

[Bender]

I'm not sure yet as I get the location "on the day" from the organisers.

However we will be walking around all areas over the weekend so hopefully we will get to talk to anyone who wishes to get hold of a book.

[jellywrestler]

I'm not sure yet as I get the location "on the day" from the organisers.

However we will be walking around all areas over the weekend so hopefully we will get to talk to anyone who wishes to get hold of a book.

if you have arranged it with them they may tell me otherwise get hold of me as i'm doing some of the commentating over the weekend and can push it. When's the second edition coming out?