"The Racing Motorcycle"
a review by Charles Falco

Date: Mon, 06 Jan 1997 19:46:53 -0700 (MST)

Subject: Review of a new book

A week or so ago a new book that I bought arrived in the mail. After finally having had the chance to read it, I thought enough others on Brit-Iron would be interested in the content of the book to make writing a review worthwhile. For what it's worth, here's what I think of the book:

"The Racing Motorcycle: A Technical Guide for Constructors"

"Volume 1: Gearing, geometry, aerodynamics and suspension"

John Bradley (Broadland Leisure Publications, 1996)

ISBN 0-9512929-2-7

406 pages, 8-1/2"x11"

[U.S. Distributor: Michael Moore/Euro Spares]

This book, the first of a promised two-volumes (the second to deal with materials and practical construction techniques), fills a huge void in the available literature. In terms of topics covered, the nearest equivalent would be John Robinson's three small volumes of the late 1980s. However, Bradley packs so much valuable information in his book, and does it in such a useful and accessible way, that it really stands apart from any other.

The only flaw, if one can call it a flaw, is the title--the information in this book will be useful and interesting to far more people than just the relatively few who are thinking of building their own racing motorcycles. Are you curious, say, to what degree tire pressure affects the rolling resistance of your motorcycle? If so, on page 172 you will find formulas--in English as well as metric units--for calculating this. How about a formula for the total number of links of chain needed to connect two sprockets a certain distance apart? That's on page 93. Finding these, or any of the other approximately 100 formulas in this book is easy, thanks to the alphabetized Formula Finder just before the Index.

That there are 100 formulas gives a good indication of the technical depth of this book, but a clue as to its breadth comes from the explanation on page 286 of how a plunger suspension system works. Certainly no racing motorcycle today would be made with a plunger suspension, but understanding the principle behind this technological dead end helps with an overall understanding of suspension systems in general. I should mention that Bradley nicely sets the stage for his chapters on suspensions by using such examples as girder forks, Velocette's adjustable damper angles, and Vincent's triangulated cantilever.

Whether you are deeply involved with the technicalities of constructing a road racer, or simply curious about some of the engineering details that make motorcycles the fascinating vehicles that they are, I highly recommend this book to you.

Charles Falco

© 1997 Charles Falco

Who is Charles Falco? On the Brit Iron list Charles is well known as one of the more erudite and helpful members of the list.

Besides being a keen motorcyclist (owner of Vincent, BSA, Triumph, Ducati and Bultaco motorcycles (among others)) he is the author of "The Gold Star Buyer's Companion,"and he previously edited an anthology of writings on the early years of motorcycling entitled "Motorcycling at the Turn of the Century".

Charles is also a noted scientist, holding the positions of Professor of Physics and Professor of Optical Sciences at a major Southwestern university. Falco's principal research interests are the growth (by Molecular Beam Epitaxy-MBEand sputtering), structure (using a wide range of probes, including x-ray and electron diffraction, in situ and ex situ surface probes, electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopies, etc.), and studies of the physical properties of metallic superlattices and ultra-thin films, including research on magnetism, superconductivity, x-ray optics, elastic properties, and nucleation and epitaxy of thin films.

My thanks to Charles for allowing me to reprint this review which was originally posted to the Brit Iron list.