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Motorcycle Suspension Bible - wBW
Book Review
Race Tech's Motorcycle Suspension Bible
by Paul Thede and Lee Parks
Soft Cover: 254 pages
Dimensions (inches): 8.0 x 10.0
Publisher: Motorbooks (Quayside Publishing), U.S.A.
Publication Date: June 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7603-3140-8
List price: $34.99
Available From:
Amazon.com
($23.09) wBW
Book Review by "Burn" for webBikeWorld.com
Summary
Highly detailed technical discussion about motorcycle suspension
systems, components and operation with superb illustrations and
photographs.
Probably way more information than is needed by the average
motorcycle owner but would be very useful for a motorcycle mechanic.
This book could easily be used for a Master's degree course on the
subject. One thing's for sure: it is absolutely the "Bible" of
motorcycle suspension, no doubt about it.
Motorbooks has been developing a series of highly detailed, well researched
and superbly illustrated books related to motorcycles and motorcycle
technology. The books are being released as part of their
Motorbooks Workshop series and also as general motorcycle-related
volumes.
Examples of these publishing efforts include Motorbooks Workshop
volumes such as
Modern Motorcycle Technology (review) by Massimo Clarke which was
reviewed recently on webBikeworld. Other topics in the general
motorcycle-related series include books such as
Maximum Control (review) by Pat Hahn, also reviewed recently.
Motorbooks is apparently putting a lot of time, effort and money into
motorcycle topics, and they're using some of the most well-respected authors
and illustrators available. And not to forget -- let's give credit
also to the editing and production staff, all of whom make the difference.
So the bar has been raised, as anyone who has been reading
motorcycle-related books through the years will tell you. In the past,
a publishing firm would have rarely made this kind of effort solely for the
motorcycle market.
We have a pretty big collection of motorcycle books in the webBikeWorld
library, and many of the older books have obviously been slapped together at
minimal cost, simply to exploit a market. No comparison to what we've
seen recently, with books like Race Tech's Suspension Bible being the
latest example.
There's more than a bit of irony here when you think about it. We're
in the year 2010, with the Internet as the dominant and primary source of
information for just about everything, and a publishing firm decides to pull
out all the stops for their printed editions. Who'd a thunk it
possible?
Just about any sportbike, track day and race bike owner knows the Race Tech
name. Their motorcycle suspension seminars, workshops, products and
services are offered all over the world. If it's about suspensions --
including ATVs, snowmobiles or even cars -- Race Tech seems to be the
go-to place.
Paul Thede, Race Tech's owner, is also the chief engineer, and he's
considered to be the "guru" of motorcycle suspension. Thede got
together with Lee Parks, a name familiar to webBikeWorlders as the author of
the book Total Control (review)
and the developer of an offshoot project from the book, the
Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic (attended and reviewed on
webBikeWorld by the Editor).
Parks also runs Lee Parks Design, which offers motorcycle gloves like the
DeerTours (review) and
motorcycle apparel.
Sample pages from Race Tech's Motorcycle Suspension Bible. Part 1 (L)
and Part 2 (R).
The Motorcycle Suspension Bible is an extraordinarily detailed and
superbly illustrated book that truly is the "Bible" of motorcycle
suspension.
I'm sure there is way more technical information in this
book than the vast majority of motorcycle owners will need, but it's nice to
know it's all there. Anyone with an interesting in improving a
motorcycle's suspension or learning more about how this mysterious part of
the bike really works will find everything they ever want to know -- and
more.
The book is basically divided into two parts; the first part, Chapters 1-5,
covers the basics of motorcycle suspension and all its parts. "Basics"
is not the proper word for this section at all -- this is a very detailed,
sometimes highly technical description of motorcycle suspension components
and the forces that act on them.
This section is also positively filled with graphs and illustrations that,
while nicely executed, can be somewhat overwhelming and will take some study
to understand in depth.
The second half of the book, Chapters 6-8, starts with a suspension
troubleshooting guide, followed up by a quick look at the specialized
suspension tools that might be needed for a complete overhaul. It then
gets into a very detailed photographic essay or guide to disassembling and
rebuilding a motorcycle suspension, front and rear. I skimmed through
this section, which consists of 3-4 photos per page with limited text in
captions only.
The average owner will probably never get as far as breaking down and
completely rebuilding a suspension, but again, it's nice to know the
information is available and I think this section (and the first) will be
very useful for motorcycle shop mechanics.
In fact, I'd say that the book will be much more useful for experienced
mechanics and could probably be used as a textbook to train staff on the ins
and outs (or should we say "ups and downs") of motorcycle suspension
intricacies.
Conclusion
Race Tech's Motorcycle Suspension Bible is a tour de force on
this topic. As far as I can tell, it covers everything you'd ever want
to know about motorcycle suspension theory, design, parts and rebuilding.
It of course focuses on Race Tech products and services, but the information
is generic to the subject.
My only hesitancy in fully recommending the book to all motorcycle
owners is the amount of detail, which just seems beyond what the average
motorcycle owner would need. Perhaps a "Bible Light" version would
also be a good idea for the non-technical owner?
But anyone with a curiosity about how a motorcycle suspension works or for
serious streetbike tuners, track day participants and, of course, motorcycle
racers, there is nothing else like Race Tech's Motorcycle Suspension
Bible.
Buy It: From
Amazon.com
($23.09)
wBW
Rating:
The wBW
"Flaming Helmet" Book
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