Magazine Reviews (Volume 2) (This page will be updated as further reviews become available)
Snippets (Some full reviews appear below) Back to home page
'It's not heavy reading, particularly for anyone with an engineering
background, but it is extremely detailed. No race boffin should be
without it.' - Old Bike Mart - 5 February 2004/Classic
Racer - March/April 2004.
(Read full review)
'...an almost overwhelming source of detailed and relevant information,
laid out simply with information suitably at hand...'
'...as relevant to karters as it is to any two wheel fans...' - KARTING
Magazine - March 2004.
(Read full review)
'If you need these books at all, they're indispensable.' - MCN Sport
- Issue 13 June 2004.
( Read full review )
'...of the highest quality...' 'Well worth the money.' - Fast
Bikes - August 2004.
(Read full review )
'...serious engineering books for anyone who wants to build a special,go
faster on what they already have, or simply find out how good bikes work.''
- Bike Sport News - August 2004.
(Read full review )
'...it's not bargain basement stuff, but something this good won't be...'
'...an investment you'll be referring to long after you've forgotten the
price.' - Classic Bike Guide - September 2004.
(Read full review )
'...a wealth of technical information just waiting to be exploited.'
- Motorcycle Sport & Leisure - August 2004.
(Read full review )
'...this book is an absolute necessity...' - Streetfighters -
Issue 129 November 2004.
(Read full review)
Old Bike Mart - February 2004 and Classic Racer - March/April 2004
Anyone into the serious technicalities of racing motorcycle design will already be familiar with John Bradley's first work of the same name. Volume two is now available. Whereas the first book dealt with engine, gearbox, chassis geometry etc, the second goes into detail on issues regarding chassis stiffness, causes of structural failure etc. For example, there are comprehensive chapters on frame building, from the choice of material, steel, alloy etc, stresses involved in cornering, acceleration and braking, to the manufacture of jigs, types of welding, bending and preparation of tubes, fabricating fuel tanks, illustrations of set up, details of stressed areas around certain joints, headstock etc, where and where not to lay weld and in what order to weld tubes in order to avoid distortion. There's a detailed chapter on anodizing and other finishes, exhaust manufacture, alloy casting, magnesium, titanium, carbon fibre, plastics etc. It's not heavy reading, particularly for anyone with an engineering background but it is extremely detailed. No race boffin should be without it.
The Racing Motorcycle - A technical guide for constructors - Volume
2 is the book to own before you even consider fabricating components or
indeed entire machines in your own workshop. And this new book is
as relevant to karters as it is to any two wheel fans, covering steel chassis
construction techniques, exhaust fabrication and identifying and dealing
with stresses with detailed ventures into construction with alloys and
more 'exotic' materials.
Volume 1 of The Racing Motorcycle concerned itself with the mechanics
and physics of engines, gearboxes, suspension and drivetrains. Each
book on its own is an almost overwhelming source of detailed and relevant
information, laid out simply with information suitably at hand and easily
absorbed by anyone with even a small amount of engineering aptitude.
Volume 2's 464 black and white pages (214mm x 279mm) are perfectly
illustrated with 326 photographs and over 400 diagrams and charts.
The price of £38 plus P&P may worry you a bit but the prospect
of not owning this book will certainly keep you awake at night.
MCN Sport - Issue 13, June 2004
For anyone seriously considering building a bike from scratch, or who simply wants to understand how bikes behave, there are perhaps four books on the planet. With these two volumes (the second one newly published), make that five.
John Bradley is an engineer and author who's spent over 30 years building and racing bikes. He knows enough for many world championship teams and factories to have bought his books. Volume 1 deals with what bikes do, and how to make them do it better; volume 2 is all about construction methods. Both are chock full of practical advice - and written with a dry humour you'd never expect. If you need these books at all, they're indispensable.
The Racing Motorcycle, a technical guide for constructors, by John Bradley,
is undoubtedly one of the most successful technical books of recent years.
First published in 1996, volume one has been sold in over 30
countries and is now on its sixth reprint. It has been bought by
most of the major motorcycle manufacturers and graces the pit wall of numerous
GP/WSB teams including current world champions.
Volume one covers performance issues, including engine characteristics,
gearing and gear ratios, chassis geometry, weight distribution, suspension
and aerodynamics using 405 extensively illustrated pages, just under A4
size.
Manufacturers have ordered as many as 20 copies at a time to
help their race mechanics and technicians.
Now, the long-awaited second volume has been released.
With 464 pages, 326 photographs and over 400 drawings/tables and graphs
it provides masses of information on materials, construction techniques,
chassis stiffness and structural issues.
If you are going to make frames, tanks, exhausts, etc., the second
volume is essential background reading. Like volume one, the reaction
of the press and top teams has been very enthusiastic.
These are serious engineering books for anyone who wants to build
a special, go faster on what they already have, or simply find out how
good bikes work.
Classic Bike Guide - September 2004
Don’t judge a book by its cover. Never has this been more true
than about Volume Two of John Bradley’s ‘The Racing Motorcycle’,
which shows the wonderfully talented Valentino Rossi on the front.
But inside there is information to help anyone who’s rebuilding a bike
or thinking about it. In fact, scan this work and you realise that
there’s so much information available that you can get just about anything
done.
John’s first book was about power units, while this one concentrates
on the rolling chasses. He says that both of them were written to
make the subject understood by both traditional and modern builders, which
means a bonus for the classic man because he tells about alternative ways
of producing something like a moulding in a lighter material.
Bradley has been around bikes for a long time, from grass tracking
through to road racing, using his own ideas on frame design and looking
and learning along the way. His standing now is such that the major
race teams and factories have his work as a reference source. One
renowned tuner told him that he’d gladly pay twice the cover price for
the list of sources he gives.
At £38 plus p&p it’s not bargain basement stuff, but
something this good won’t be. 464 pages, 326 photos and over 400
line drawings - he does them himself, he’s very talented - makes this an
investment you’ll be referring to long after you’ve forgotten the price.
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure - August 2004
If you’ve ever wondered about what exactly makes a world class race bike tick, or even if you just want to get the most out of your own machine, The Racing Motorcycle Volume 1 and The Racing Motorcycle Volume 2 are a wealth of technical information just waiting to be exploited. Volume 1 is now in its sixth reprint and now Volume 2 is here - covering such topics as materials, construction techniques, chassis stiffness and much, much more over some 464 pages, complete with 326 photographs, tables and graphs.
These two books, by author John Bradley, are of the highest quality. Paper back but beautifully bound, they are titled 'The Racing Motorcycle, a technical guide for constructors' Volume 1 and 2. Press and race teams alike have described these books with such words as, 'indispensable', 'invaluable' and 'awesome'. Well worth the money.
Streetfighters - Issue 129 November 2004
For anyone who's even contemplated building, or modifying, their own bike then this book is an absolute necessity - 'The Racing Motorcycle - a technical guide for constructors Volume 2' by John Bradley, is even more comprehensive than the first volume, and certainly contains just as much, if not more, information pertinent to the specials builder. From materials specifications, to welding procedures, materials, construction techniques, causes of structural failure, testing and reducing structural failures, and structural stiffness characteristics.