If you'd like to develop your spannering skills somewhat, then Graham Blighe has written the ideal book to help you get the best from your old bike...

Graham Blighe is a qualified mechanical engineer who also happens to have mis-spent the last 30-odd years mucking about with motorcycles.

His shed currently houses a 1969 BSA Bantam B175, a 1970 BSA Starfire, a 1966 Triumph 3TA (with the engine modded to Tiger 90 spec), and a 1973 Triumph Daytona 500. These machines have given him plenty of opportunity to hone his spannering skills, improving the bikes to make them as usable as their modern counterparts.

'Improving Classic Motorcycles' is a compilation of Graham's experiences - missing out most of the experimental stages and reporting the solutions which have worked for him on his old bikes during their working lives as daily transport.

There are moments in the book when Graham makes a suggestion and the reader needs to understand that it is ONLY a suggestion and not an outright recommendation - such as his musings on modifying inlet manifolds to improve the airflow.

Graham wonders if taking his existing modification a stage further might produce a greater effect, but doesn't have a spare manifold to monkey around with so freely admits; 'It may be that the original design gives better performance in other areas than high speed… better economy or better low speed response.'

So if you want to take up the challenge then I reckon he'd be delighted to hear of your results!

Even if you don't intend to work your way through all of the modifications included in this hundred-page A4 book, you should find it an interesting read and discover at least a couple of hints which will improve your classic motorcycling. Every chapter contains a few throw-away suggestions, almost scattered about in passing, which could gently enhance your enjoyment of your old bike. For instance, if you ride long distances on a twin carb bike, with the throttle held open for extended periods, you might want to swap to a single carb or use softer throttle return springs to ease the stress on your wrist. There's a minor change in performance, sure, but it could make a major impact on your life with your bike.

'Improving Classic Motorcycles' is only available online, as it is published via Lulu.com and each copy is printed upon order. This means you can read some sample chapters online and get a feel for the style and substance of the book.

If you don't like tinkering with your bike at all and just want it to fire up first prod, needing nothing more than its tyres pumped up, then it is hard to see what you'd gain from 'Improving Classic Motorcycles'. If, however, you enjoy doing routine maintenance and have had some successes with replacing worn out parts or upgrading to modern components, then you should find plenty to interest and benefit you and your riding. In some cases the easy answer to Graham's quandaries is simply to throw away the old component and fit a modern, new part instead - but there's almost always a way to get the best out of the old kit, involving a little thought and spanner-wielding, and that's what this book is about.

Reviewed by Rowena Hoseason

-------------------

'Improving Classic Motorcycles' by Graham Blighe is published via Lulu.com and costs £14.99. You can buy a copy at: www.lulu.com/improvingclassicmotorcycles

Preview 'Improving Classic Motorcycles' here: www.lulu.com/browse/preview.php?fCID=1844368

-------------

search: Books DVD Popular Music Classical Music Software PC and Video Games All Products keywords:

Search for books and magazines on Ebay.co.uk