Arguably the world's biggest and best collection of motorcycles is to be found in Birmingham, Alabama at the Barber Museum, where more than 700 immaculately restored bikes of all ages are on display. The spectacular Barber Motorsports Park circuit, alongside the Museum, recently hosted the world press introductions of Honda's CBR600RR and Kawasaki's ZX-6R.
Photo © Roland Brown
Roland Brown’s latest book is the History of the Motorbike, which traces two-wheeled development from the first motorised bicycle to the latest superbikes. The book features several hundred photographs, many of them from this library. In the UK it is published by leading department store Marks and Spencer.
ISBN number is 1-84461-104-3
Retro is all the rage in motorcycling right now, as confirmed by the introduction of models such as Ducati’s SportClassic series, Triumph’s Thruxton and Harley-Davidson’s latest Sportsters, styled to resemble machines from the 1970s, when even the fastest bikes had aircooled engines, twin shocks and minimal wind protection.
Roland Brown’s latest book is Superbikes of the Seventies, featuring tests of the finest machines from that decade. The line-up of 34 machines includes Ducati’s 900SS, Honda’s CB750, Moto Guzzi’s Le Mans 850, Triumph’s X-75 Hurricane, and Kawasaki’s Z1.
Riding impressions, technical details and period brochures bring these modern classics to life. And Superbikes of the Seventies contains many memorable photos of the bikes, which are among the most beautiful ever built. (All images are available via this web site.)
The book is published by Bull Publishing of Phoenix, Arizona. ISBN number is 1-893618-17-X. British buyers can find it on www.amazon.co.uk at £19.38 including delivery. It’s also available through book shops or via the publisher's web site at www.bullpublishing.com
The Ultimate History of Fast Bikes is a photo-packed guide to the most rapid bikes ever built, from the FN Four and Scott two-stroke of the early years of the last century, to the modern Suzuki GSX-R1000, Honda Fireblade and Harley V-Rod. ISBN number is 0-75258-507-X.
There’s also a much slimmer book called Dream Machines: Motorbikes, which contains selected highlights from Fast Bikes. Both these books are published by Parragon.