Triumph Norton BSA Ariel Kawasaki Suzuki Yamaha Honda Book ISBN # 1-55267-2264-6

The Encyclopedia of the Motorcycle  by Peter Henshaw.  Published in 1999 by Prospero Books.  ISBN # 1-55267-264-6   #HD-41

New.  Hard Cover.  The book measures 12 x 9 1/2 inches and has 448 pages printed on thick high quality glossy paper.  Full of pictures.  It's a very heavy book.

Humanity is capable of many wonderful things, but the art of making motorcycles is arguably not its greatest achievement.  Throughout history there have been far more pressing needs than the desire to get from A to B more quickly and more pleasurably than anyone else.  And yet, thousands of entrepreneurs have gravitated to the motorcycle industry; scratch any of them, and one will most likely find an enthusiast beneath the skin.  Why else would anyone be willing to risk time and money in a business notorious for its glorious failures?  There are surely easier ways of earning a living.  The product is a complicated one;  it calls for skilled assembly, and if one is lacking the wherewithal to produce the more complicated parts in-house, they must be bought in, expensively, from outside suppliers.  Of those firms that were forced to obtain their engines from elsewhere, most eventually fell by the wayside.  Some obtained virtually all of their components from outside sources and simply bolted them together.  Motorcycles have never been easy to produce and in addition have to contend with a highly competitive market in order to tempt conservative, yet fickle customers.  That is why the succesful, long-lived manufacturers have not, by and large, been great innovators; they simply made the best use of what was available and assembled it into an arrangement that people actually wanted to buy.  Other, more idealistic producers tried hub-centre-steering, monocoque chassis, rotary engines and feet-forward layouts, only for them to be rejected on the showroom floor.  But all these ideas (apart from the rotary engine, which now seems genuinely to have died a death) eventually made a comeback, and if the brave first-timer failed to make a success of them, then someone else eventually would once the world was ready for them.  Are we living in more hard-headed times?  Brough-Superior, Vincent-HRD and Hesketh were all brave attempts (in the 1920's, '30s and '80s respectively) to produce big British V-Twins, but all ultimately failed.  Somehow, one cannot imagine the same fate befalling the many new motorcycle ventures of the 1990s.  Production of bikes like the new Triumph, the Voxan and Excelsior-Henderson have been based on clear-sighted business plans.  There is always an element of risk, of course, but these latest marques appear to have some indefinable extra on their side.  The last ten years of the 20th century has seen a renaissance in European and American motorcycling.  Whether it is greater affluence or the arrival of well-off baby boomers at middle age (more than ever, this is a 40 something sport), or even the shift to motorcycling as a leisure activity, the older names are being reborn.  In Italy, Ducati is enjoying a new lease of life, Cagiva is relaunching the MV Agusta name, while Laverda and Moto Guzzi are planning new-generation engines, BMW has expanded its range and, with Voxan, France has a motorcycle industry for the first time in decades.  In America, Harley-Davidson's recovery has inspired a group of businessmen to bring back the Excelsior name and another to launch a new one, the Victory-Even Indian, subject to so many grand designs for relaunch in the past, may now finally be back in production.  Similarly in Britain, one has seen John Bloor's Triumph as one of the first born-again marques, and Norton's chequered career keeps the motorcycle in the headlines.

The Author, Peter Henshaw  has for many years been a full-time journalist specializing in motorcycles, and is currently editor of Motorcycle Sport & Leisure Magazine.  His small collection of motorcycles keeps him fully occupied in his spare time, as well as his keen interest in customization, and his many trips to the United States and the rest of the world has allowed him to amass a store of knowledge which has enabled him to write this wonderful book.  He lives in Dorset, England.