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BIKES: “The Little Book of Fast Bikes” By Jon Stroud
Book Review by Gregg Leary
Gregg Leary  |  Posted December 13, 2010   Charlotte, NC
“The Little Book of Fast Bikes” By Jon Stroud
“The Little Book of Fast Bikes” is one of many “Little Books” offered at SPEED.com. The series is a fun, easy to read library of automotive and motorcycle titles that offer great “bang for the buck.” “Fast Bikes” may be the best of the bunch. As a researcher for “Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain” I try to fill in my motorcycling knowledge gaps by reading books such as this, because Dave is a true dyed-in-the-wool motorcycle nut…and I like to have at least a basic knowledge of his passion.

The back dust-jacket cover gives a nice summary:

“Speed, handling, style and excitement-all attributes that go towards making today’s Fast Bikes an experience to behold.

Ever since man first strapped an internal combustion engine to a bicycle frame at the end of the nineteenth century he has been obsessed with the desire to travel at ever increasing speeds with the wind in his face and the open road before him.

First came the pre-war TT heroes, next the ton-up café racers of the Fifties and Sixties. Then, in the 1970s a new phenomenon emerged from the Land of the Rising Sun-The Super Bike.

From the Seventies muscle of the Kawasaki Z1 to the futuristic incarnation of the 500bhp Dodge Tomahawk of the new millennium, The Little Book of Fast Bikes celebrates the best and most exciting motorcycles of the last thirty years including specifications and performance figures for each model.”

Sixty motorcycles are featured…from the Aprilia RS250 to the Yamaha YZF-R1 SP. Aprilia, Benelli, Bimota, BMW, Buell, Dodge, Ducati, Ghezzi & Brian, Harley-Davidson, Harris, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Lavera, Martin, Mondial, MotoCzysz, Moto Guzzi, Moto Morini, MTT, MV Agusta, Petronas, Suzuki, Triumph and Yamaha are all represented.

Most of the Motorcycle profiles are two pages with a pair of photographs…usually an overall image showing the entire bike and a close up picture of one of the special features about the vehicle. The Specification section includes Engine Capacity, Type, Bore, Stroke, Compression Ratio, Dry Weight, Maximum Power, Maximum Torque and Maximum Speed. Author Jon Stroud has a keen wit and an entertaining writing style. His profile on the Aprilia RS250 is a fine example of his prose.

“Fancy a MotoGP bike but can’t quite stretch to the budget of Valentino Rossi’s YZR? With its howling two-stroke power plant, sublime handling and bodywork directly copied from the factory racers, the Aprilia RS250 is about as close to a GP bike as reasonable money can buy. The Italian pocket-rocket was hailed a classic of its time and revered for its stunning Latino looks and pin-point handling. As soon as you hit the magic 8,000rpm mark it explodes into life, taking on the characteristics of a guided missile with a soundtrack to match.” Writing doesn’t get much more entertaining than this!

Some other examples:

“With futuristic, aggressive styling more akin to an F117 Stealth Fighter than a motorcycle, the Aprilia RSV-R Nera is a machine that will turn heads whether blasting along the autostrada flat out at 160mph or just parked up outside the local café whilst its owner enjoys a suitably strong espresso.”

“With a three-cylinder soundtrack more akin to a World War Two fighter plane, this happily propels machine and rider to a top speed of 175mph when conditions allow.” (Benelli Tornado TRE1130) Too bad Stroud used “more akin” twice in only four pages, but I may be nitpicking.

“There are many words that have been used to describe the Bimota Tesi 1D; weird is one of them and perhaps the most appropriate. Instrumentation was by way of an unreliable, hi-tech LCD console which by modern standards would look more appropriate adorning an exercise cycle in the local gym rather than an Italian superbike.”

“Sell the house, sell the car and sell the kids! Without any shadow of a doubt the MV Agusta F4-CC is the most stylish motorcycle available anywhere in the world, period, and whatever it takes you just have to find the 100,000 Euros to buy one!”

“The Little Book of Fast Bikes” rates four out of five lug nuts. Buy the book here! You won’t be disappointed.
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Gregg Leary

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