How to Restore Your Motorcycle (Motorbooks Workshop): Second Edition

This book makes interesting reading and it will definitely get you to question whether the dream to buy and restore an old or classic motorbike is just that - a dream, or something that could be reality. It makes the point that restoring old bikes is not easy or cheap and many restoration effort fail in the attempt. I think that the advice it gives is good, especially the recommendation that the novice restorer choose a bike that is closer to modernity and one that had a high production run, making spares more plentiful and less costly. The book takes you through the things you will need for the workshop and the 'how to' on the process of restoration from the frame onwards. I found it hard to follow, in some respects, without an actual bike in front of me to refer to but, in any case, you wouldn't attempt a restoration work without the workshop manuals: this book is not a substitute for these, but good guide to the process of restoration and the order in which work will be done - a guide to organisation as much or more than mechanics. With a restoration in mind, this book has certainly helped me narrow the choices down for which bike to even think about restoring and a quick check on EBay, for instance, will show you that even a 'Barn Find' wreck will not be cheap, but the book can give good advice and the confidence to start, showing that the process is do-able, even if the learning curve is a steep one.

This book is well written and contains a lot of usefull information. That is , if you're working on a British classic. If , like me , you spend your weekends working on 80's and 90's Suzuki's , this book offers little more than an interesting read.All in all , its a good book , but not what I needed.

Nicely written book, very interesting but not as detailed as I'd hoped. My fault for being too demanding

I think a good guide for everyone (especially beginners) who plans to buy a bike for restore or start to work on already own vehicle. Many practical information and recommendation.

A really interesting read even if your just thinking about getting hold of an old bike as a project.

well written and illustrated.. my bike really deserves a book like this. The best book I have found so far. Thanks

I bought this book because I was thinking about buying & restoring a machine from my youth. Reading this book though, completely put me off the idea!This might have been a good thing. So i'm a bit ambivalent whether a book should encourage an idea or reveal the pitfalls you might meet. Somebody else could come to a different conclusion. The book is quite well illustrated and there's lots of information. The best advice was to buy an already restored machine and tinker with that. Always cheaper than doing it all oneself!