Motorcycle Book Reviews. Page 1.

Moto Guzzi 1921 - 2021.

Publisher: FBA MOTOITALIANE. ISBN: 978-88-86774-13-0.

Moto Guzzi 1921–2021 is a quality limited-edition book dedicated to 100 years of Moto Guzzi. We can recommend it to all enthusiasts of this famous Italian marque.

People who ordered the book when it was first announced in early June 2020 had their name printed on the spine of the dust cover. A nice personalised touch.

It is a 160-page large format book (30x23cm) with text in both Italian and English and contains beautiful illustrations by Ettore Gambioli. There are many rare photographs charting Guzzis illustrious history. Printed on extremely fine paper, the book features all the main protagonists and engineers involved with some of the world’s most innovative motorcycle designs. As you would expect both road and racing models are covered.

This book does not list all the motorcycles produced by Moto Guzzi, but it does provide an overview of their most important models.

There are four main chapters:

People: Carlo Guzzi, Giorgio Parodi, Giuseppe Guzzi, Enrico Parodi, Giulio Cesare Carcano, Enrico Cantoni, Umberto Todero, Lino Tonti, John Wittner, Stanley Woods, Omobono Tenni, Fergus Anderson, Enrico Lorenzetti, Bruno Ruffo, Ken Kavanagh, Duilio Agostini, Dickie Dale, Bill Lomas, Keith Campbell and Renato Pasini.

Standard Production Motorcycles

History Of Racing Bikes

Company History

Price is 49 Euro plus 7 Euro delivery. When all stocks have been sold it will not be reprinted. The publishers ship worldwide. For further information contact: info@motoitaliane.it 

Order via PayPal: https://www.motoitaliane.it/en/books/ 

25 Years of Buell.

Publisher: Whitehorse Press. ISBN: 978-1-884313-74-5.

25 Years of Buell by Court Canfield and Dave Gess is a must have book for all Buell enthusiasts. It is the definitive history of Buell motorcycles between 1983 and 2008, starting with Erik Buell’s early years and interest in motorcycles right up through to the 1125R. Court Canfield and Dave Gess were involved with Erik from the very beginning.

The book covers every Buell made up to the 2008 model year, with specifications and photos on each model. There are many photos illustrating the early years, the people involved and Team Elves at Bonneville salt flats. Sidebars explain how various technical features were developed plus stories of unexpected events that made the business a roller coaster ride.

The RW 750, Erik’s first production motorcycle, is covered in some detail. This was a race bike with a square four, rotary valve, liquid cooled 2 stroke engine. His next motorcycle, the RR 1000, used a Harley Davidson XR 1000 engine in the same Buell chassis design he developed for Lucifer’s Hammer II, a Harley Owner’s Group sponsored racer. The RR 1000 featured fully enclosed aerodynamic bodywork which was a refined version of the RW 750. These two motorcycles were the basis for the many models that followed.

Those early RW 750s and RR 1000s were built in an outbuilding on a farm in Mukwonago, Wisconsin where they managed to produce the first bikes before moving up to a Quonset hut. Money was always scarce but if bikes could be produced, shipped, and paid for, the parts could be reordered to build more. These modest beginnings led to a company which produced well over 100,000 motorcycles while building an extremely loyal following among owners. The book also covers how the vital investment by Harley Davidson came about as well as the move to the XB series and away from the original tube frame models.

To the best of our knowledge this book is no longer available new. In July 2016 the original publishers, Whitehorse Press in New Hampshire, USA closed their publication operations and transferred the rights for their most active publishing titles to the Motor Books division of Quarto Book Group. During the time since then, Whitehorse Press have sold all their inventory. As of October 2020, Quarto Book Group do not show the 25 Years of Buell book in their current lists.

Second-hand copies crop up occasionally. Depending on condition, we have seen prices ranging from £50 to as much as £395 for ‘as new’ examples. We bought our copy at the official book launch on the 3rd July 2008 at the Buell Factory in East Troy, Wisconsin during the 25th Anniversary celebrations. It is signed by Court Canfield, Dave Gess and Erik Buell. It is one of our most treasured pieces of Buell memorabilia. See pictures below.

Also see: Buell 25th Anniversary 2008 + Buell 25th Anniversary Videos